Hour long Simpsons tonight.

[flvegan]

[Deja Q]

1. Sex has more cerebral stimulation

And that can last far more than an hour. :P

[BarenakedLady]

9. Really?

I thought that was just a myth.

;)

[Fox Mulder]

2. Yep, and they're celebrating their 400th episode.

:woohoo:

[AlCzervik]

3. Ludacris has a cameo as a rapping toothpaste tube--Ludacrest.

[terrya]

4. And it's a excellent parody of "24"

Great premise. :-)

[Deja Q]

5. So far, 9/10. Surprisingly excellent indeed.

[Mike Daniels]

11. The first half episode was infinitely superior to the second

The first was what The Simpsons used to be...a smart, clever, irreverent but loving take on popular culture.

The second is what The Simpons has now become...a humorless and heavyhanded commentator on political or social issues that's rarely worth watching.

[Jade Fox]

13. Kent Brockman doing Edward R. Murrow wasn't clever?

Baloney!

[Mike Daniels]

14. The Simpsons attacking FOX or FOX news hasn't been that clever or

original for years. The FOX News scroll parody from a couple of years back was much funnier than any of yesterday's episode.

When the hand that feeds you lets you bite it repeatedly it's obvious that the bitee is in on the joke. Hardly what I would call daring on any level.

[Jade Fox]

15. The bitee is certainly aware of the joke.....

but the Simpsons producers are in a unique position to tweak Fox--hard-- because the show is a long-time Fox cash cow. What interests me is how blatant the Simpsons people have become. Their tweaking has turned into unmistakable assaults on Fox style media as a whole. It's almost as if they are seeing just how far they can push Fox before getting back-handed, because of genuine political concerns that go beyond creating a TV show. The result may not be the most subtle of entertainments, but it is a timely cultural phenomenon. Has any show ever dared such outrageousness against the very network that gives them life? Not that I can recall. And I'd like to think Simpsons episodes like the one last night aren't just preaching to the choir, but causing Fox News watching types (not the subtlest of folks) to start doing some critical thinking.

[Mike Daniels]

16. Actually, it shows that Murdoch is a genius

One of the reasons that The Simpons has failed to be as funny as it once (at least to me) was is that it replaced subtle and clever political/social jibes with a ham-handed approach that doesn't lend itself to witty or smart writing.

However, with the increasingly leftward drift of the writing, Murdoch knows that he's captured a certain portion of the audience that demographically brings the advertisers the audience they want to attract.

Meanwhile, you have the FOX News commentators swiping at The Simpsons for it's leftist bent which in turn draws in the right wing crowd who then tune into the show to see just what has the commentators so bent out of shape. That, or upon hearing about what happened on The Simpons the righties then drift to FOX News to listen to the commentators kvetch about the program.

I don't know the exact terminology but it seems that Murdoch has a nice cyclical money-making machine in place with this arrangement.

[Jade Fox]

17. So Murdoch is effectively working both sides of the fence....

to his own monetary advantage, because the bottom line is: Controversy equals increased audience equals more money for the network. You make a good point.

However, I would still argue that what is going on with The Simpsons (outside of the Murdoch profit motive) is an in-house Media war of a type never seen before, in which the stakes are higher than either the making profits or the creating of sophisticated entertainment. I just read on another DU post that the Simpsons has a contract with Fox stipulating no censorship. Assuming that is true, the Simpsons people are taking full advantage of that clause, seemingly out of serious concern over the crap their own network presents as News.

Again, a show waring with it's own network may not result in the subtlest of entertainment, but it's a hell of a cultural/political phenomenon, one which Murdock may have less control over than he thinks. I understand that Fox News ratings have been dropping steadily over the last few years. I don't believe the same is true of The Simpsons ratings. That's a simple measure of who's winning this "war", but it may be an accurate one.

[Mike Daniels]

19. I do agree that a show swiping at its benefactor is unprecedented

and whereas earlier jibes were mostly at the FOX network the attacks are increasingly more and more directed at FOX News.

As far as to whether the Simpsons has declined as a show as a result of the changed focus is obviously up to personal taste. I've found some of the political/social issue shows to be entertaining (prescription drug episode had some good moments) but more often than not the execution seems forced. For my money, King of the Hill manages this type of overlap better. That may be because KOTH is at heart a traditional sitcom/dramady that just happens to be animated. It could also be because a lot of the people involved with the early/classic Simpsons period also eventually pulled duty with KOTH.

That said, Murdoch is a money-man who knows what sells. If the guy didn't object too terribly to being portrayed in a less than flattering light on The Simpons I seriously doubt he cares that much what one of his properties may say regarding the other as long as he benefits economically.

[Deja Q]

6. "This is as boring as mainstream cinema."

:spray: :spray: :spray: :spray: :spray: :spray: :spray:

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

7. the USMC thought enough of it

to have the first commercial after the intro. (at least in my area.)

[Cush]

8. Mexican gays sneak into the US and unplug our braindead women

[flvegan]

10. Best. Episode. Evah!!!!

Man, they went after Fox with a vengeance.

Now...for Family Guy.

[Jade Fox]

12. Great episode...

I love the way they kick Fox News' ass. :)

[JackBeck]

18. I love how Marge found matches from House of Blues.

Way to be really on top of current, pop culture references!