anlyze/review Season 8

[Rhodan]

Season 8 is for me controversial season. While a lot of us would seen it as a lot of better than Scully years, that isn´t much of solid apologise.

For the start, those which weren´t actually produced in 4f block:
You only move twice - this one had two problems, ironically contradicting. 1)Parody was overdone, 2)Scorpio actually provided only funny stuff in it.

El Viaje de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer) - sorry but it´s for me fine example of totally junk plot.

The Springfield Files - This one actually helped season 8 a lot. I know, it´s only crossover but despite that I am not such strong X-files fan as I was when I saw it for the first time, it never stopped to entertain me.

Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala (Annoyed Grunt) cious - Felt much like THOH without scary premise.

Now to the real S8 stuff:
I´am afraid that many experiments actually failed. Majority of them were trying to make simpsons world and characters more real but it actually made series more tasteless. TRhey could exploring interesting themes but it felt like watching different show .These include:
A Milhouse Divided
Hurricane Neddy
The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show
Homer's Phobia
Homer´s enemy was maybe only one decent of them.


Unfortunaly many other´s tried the traditional style but still were unfunny or didn´t give anything new....
Bart After Dark
Lisa's Date With Density
The Twisted World of Marge Simpson
Mountain of Madness
The Canine Mutiny
The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase
The Secret War of Lisa Simpson
So, there a few (except allready mentioned) that actually suceeded. I know some of them are actually quite unpopular but this is my opinion.
Treehouse of Horror VII
The Homer They Fall
Burns, Baby Burns
Brother From Another Series - at the same time unfortunaly I didn´t know anything about Frasier and it´s sort of start of SB declining
My Sister, My Sitter
Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment
Grade School Confidential
In Marge We Trust
And Legacy in 9:
The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson - definitly should have been in 8 as it would make very good finale or just another ordinary episode.
The Principal and the Pauper- *cough*, *cough*, *cough*
Lisa the Simpson - I can´t belive that it wasn´t actually made by Scully

So all in all, I Fear that W&O did a ver bad job in creating most of these and it proves that Scully wasn´t responsible for everything.

[Imperciph]

Mainly copied and pasted from a previous thread :

THOH VII - A-
You Only Move Twice - A+
The Homer They Fall - C
Burns, Baby Burns - C+
Bart After Dark - A
A Milhouse Divided - B+
Lisa's Date With Destiny - A-
Hurricane Neddy - A-
El Viaje de Nuestro Jomer - B+
The Springfield Files - B
The Twisted World of Marge Simpson - B-
Mountain of Madness - B+
Simpsoncalifrag.... - B
The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show - A+
Homer's Phobia - B+
Brother From Another Series - A-
My Sister, My Sitter - A-
Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment - A-
Grade School Confidential - B
The Canine Mutiny - C
The Old Man and the Lisa - B+
In Marge We Trust - B
Homer's Enemy - A
The Simpsons Spinoff Showcase - B+
The Secret War of Lisa Simpson - B-

There are a lot of stuff in your post I disagree Rhodan, but instead of challenging a newer member its better i post my own thoughts on Season 8.

The strength of Season 8 : ambition and experimentation. Experimental and controversial plots like Homer's Enemy, The Itchy and Scratchy and Poochie Show, The SpinOff Showcase gave the show a unique feeling. It felt like a show that was high and above the rest of television : it could tell such stories that other shows rarely even attempted. Season 8 touched on risque thing likes the roll of alcohol in the society, a divorce, the darker side of sibling rivalry, homophobia, and cheesy television conventions. It rarely gets any experimental than this.

Another strength of season 8 is many of the episodes were devoted to fleshing out extremely one-note characters and establishing new character back story and dynamic. A Milhouse Divided gave us the hilarious loser version of Kirk van Houten we know today. Grade School Confidential did substantial development of Skinner and Krabbaple. Lisa's Date With Density was the first episode to conisiderably focus on Nelson. e saw previously unexplored sides of Ned and LoveJoy in Hurricane Neddy and In Marge We Trust respectively.

However I spotted two problems that the show started to develop in Season 8.

The first season of the show to develop notable third act problems :Although "In Marge We Trust" is the most obvious example, "Homer's Phobia" and "The Canine Mutiny" also had this problem. Homer becoming tolerant to gays because one saved him from being squashed by rampaging reindeers certainly isn't the best wrap-up in the world. And I don't even know what is up the ending of The Canine Mutiny. Secret War of Lisa Simpson also had a serious "character in danger" climax in its third act which are always boring.

And the biggest problem of Season 8 : unfortunately sometimes it simply wasn't funny enough. Bad Mirkin episodes had gags that bombed, but s8 episodes like The Homer They Fall and The Canine Mutiny were bad episodes because they were simply not hilarious enough compared to standard of the show. And sometimes when the show opted for going on all-out wackyness, the result wasn't always very great (You Only Move twice and Homer vs. The 18th Amendment are proud exceptions, as well as a few others) : The Springfield Files, Burns Baby Burns and Simpsoncalifrag.... basically derived most of the humour from their gimmicky premises.

[H Thompson]

People are far too harsh on this season, it has it's flaws yes and I agree with some of the criticisms of it yes but I can't help but think people wouldn't be complaining so much about some of these episodes if they were part of an earlier season.
Which is a bit of an unfounded claim but I don't know how else I can understand some of the criticism it gets.

[That Jerk]

I do love El Viaje de Nuestro Jomer, but I can't stand how much praise it gets from stoners. Especially since the episode does get really stupd when Homer goes to the lighthouse.

[Imperciph]

Which is a bit of an unfounded claim but I don't know how else I can understand some of the criticism it gets.

What is truly baffling is that some posts on alt.tv.simpsons suggest that they viewed season 9 as an improvement over season 8. :boggled: Was a jab at the internet fanbase and an episode with a truly controversial ending the result of this hatred ?

[Reverend Lovejoy]

People are far too harsh on this season, it has it's flaws yes and I agree with some of the criticisms of it yes but I can't help but think people wouldn't be complaining so much about some of these episodes if they were part of an earlier season.
Which is a bit of an unfounded claim but I don't know how else I can understand some of the criticism it gets.

I agree. It's my favourite season. In Marge we trust is treated very harshly, too. It makes it seem that the third act ruined the episode, but it didn't, IMO.

[The Homer]

I think the less and less people see of a Season, the more and more they hate it. Just remember, Season 8 is when they started commercializing it up, and that means more and more deleted/unaired scenes.

[Jayrayman]

THOH VII - B+
You Only Move Twice - B+
The Homer They Fall - B+
Burns, Baby Burns - B+
Bart After Dark - A
A Milhouse Divided - A-
Lisa's Date With Destiny - B
Hurricane Neddy - B
El Viaje de Nuestro Jomer - B
The Springfield Files - A-
The Twisted World of Marge Simpson - B
Mountain of Madness - B+
Simpsoncalifrag.... - A-
The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show - A+
Homer's Phobia - A-
Brother From Another Series -B
My Sister, My Sitter - B-
Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment - A
Grade School Confidential - C+
The Canine Mutiny - B
The Old Man and the Lisa - B+
In Marge We Trust - B+
Homer's Enemy - A-
The Simpsons Spinoff Showcase - B
The Secret War of Lisa Simpson - A-

Great season, though not as good as seasons 2-7.

[Rhodan]

What I´am trying to say is that this season simply wasn´t much funny.I would enjoy "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show" more if it was less self-referential and had more authentical material like "The Front" for example. Homer being homophob wasn´t much out of character but I still felt it to being forced.And experiments with various characters were maybe interesting but quickly went surreal (once again, don´t forget war crime called Armin Tamzarian).

[Drunk Barney]

THOH VII - Not much to say on this, other than I loved it A+

You Only Move Twice - Very good. Whilst I enjoyed Homer's plot, I sometimes felt Bart and Marge's subplot was a little dull. A

The Homer They Fall - Good. But quite poor for Oakley and Weinstein. It was a pretty good idea, but it felt cheap and nothing special in the sense that it was another Homer in danger plot. Humour was dry at times too. B+

Burns, Baby Burns - I'm not sure if pictured Burns to have a son like this, but I found this episode as fun and funny as hell. A

Bart After Dark - Great all around. Possibly the best musical episode. A

A Milhouse Divided - A bit all over the place, but it was good. B+

Lisa's Date With Destiny - Nice episode, with a wacky but fun Homer subplot. Classic. A

Hurricane Neddy - Sometimes I wonder if I'd rather the episode didn't exist. Sometimes I don't. A-

El Viaje de Nuestro Jomer - Very, very good. Okay so it's another Homer/Marge love twist, but this was done in a very intresting, funny and different way. A/A+

The Springfield Files - ...A-

The Twisted World of Marge Simpson - Very dull, but well plotted and a good characterization of Marge. The third act picks up as well. B-

Mountain of Madness - Fun. A-

Simpsoncalifrag.... - B+

The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show - One of the best episodes ever. The humour here was awesome. One of the funniest episodes ever, with a decent plot. A+

Homer's Phobia - The third act is a bit silly at times, but it's a very good episode. A-

Brother From Another Series - Bob's brother was great. Fun episode with a new twist to Bob's character. Odd ending though. A

My Sister, My Sitter - A sharp look at Bart's bad behaviour, but I think it worked. The only thing that was over the top for me was Bart knocking himself out. It went on for too long. A

Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment - Marge was poorly characterized, but this was a very clever episode with good humour. Slightly boring at times if I'm being honest. A-

Grade School Confidential...A-

The Canine Mutiny - Nothing special about this episode. Quite good, but SLH never end up being amazing. B+

The Old Man and the Lisa... A

In Marge We Trust - Third act was quite poor, but the first two acts were excellent. B

Homer's Enemy - Maybe a tad too dark for my tastes, and I've never being a fan of the ending. Still an excellent episode, which brilliantly looks at a situation if Homer was to meet a normal working guy. A-

The Simpsons Spinoff Showcase - First act was quite dull, the second was fun and the third was silly. C+

The Secret War of Lisa Simpson - I've always had a soft spot for this one. I know it has it's problems, but A-

[coltonwiggum]

People are far too harsh on this season, it has it's flaws yes and I agree with some of the criticisms of it yes but I can't help but think people wouldn't be complaining so much about some of these episodes if they were part of an earlier season.
Which is a bit of an unfounded claim but I don't know how else I can understand some of the criticism it gets.
I Agree. I also think this is true for season sveneteen. If some of these more harshly rated episodes had appeared in season 6 or 7, I bet everyone would have loved them. (Now everyone's going to say I'm wrong, but I'm not!)

[Joel Duffman]

One thing I haven't seen mentioned about El Viaje de Nuestro Jomer is the quality of the animation. The show typically uses basic shapes and colors, at least up to season 8, it's nice to see the animators show off a little. We forget that these people are real artist. This episode also encapsulates the relationship with Marge & Homer. She knows him better than he knows himself and he is completely dependant on her. A theme that is repeated several times over diffrent episodes. Plus it reminds me of my relationship with my wife!

[Veryjammy]

I Agree. I also think this is true for season sveneteen. If some of these more harshly rated episodes had appeared in season 6 or 7, I bet everyone would have loved them. (Now everyone's going to say I'm wrong, but I'm not!)

How on earth can you substantiate this? What has the number of the season it appears in got to do with anything, particularly in a season which is widely regarded as still part of the golden era anyway.

The general consensus seems to be that it was a good season but a step-down from what had come before it, which I would totally agree with. Time has been kind to the season in light of what came after it, but I don't think that, on the whole, it can really be compared to 2-7.

At times this season was just flat-out slow and boring. They started having trouble with endings and third acts, and there was a lot less heart; although the latter is not necessarily a bad thing I find it interesting that 7 and 8 contrast so much in that department. It really verged on blandness at times and the joke writing seemed to become less inspired.

I think what you have to bear in mind with criticism of this season is that it is normally when you put the season up against 2-7. I can be very very harsh on Season 8 if I want to be, but there's no doubt it is much superior than anything after it and is a good season on its own. It was just disappointing at the time.

[box elder]

I think what you have to bear in mind with criticism of this season is that it is normally when you put the season up against 2-7. I can be very very harsh on Season 8 if I want to be, but there's no doubt it is much superior than anything after it and is a good season on its own. It was just disappointing at the time.


ditto on everything. when this season first was airing is when i began to lose interest in the show. i remember thinking "this sucks" because i was comparing it with the years past (i actually think season 7 showed signs of a downslope, but i digress). however, when i see the episodes now there's a lot of worthwhile stuff in there. and if compared to everything that came after it, it's a work of near genius.

[bluemoose]

It is when they began to slide, so there are a few bad episodes in it, but overall, I think this was a pretty good season.

[Reverend Lovejoy]

At times this season was just flat-out slow and boring. They started having trouble with endings and third acts, and there was a lot less heart; although the latter is not necessarily a bad thing I find it interesting that 7 and 8 contrast so much in that department. It really verged on blandness at times and the joke writing seemed to become less inspired.


As I mentioned, I didn't really notice much wrong with season 8's third acts, and people are being a tad harsh on that issue, especially on giving brilliant episodes grade B's and lower just because the third act isn't up to standards, without mentioning any names... :uhh:

[Rest your giant head]

THOH VII - A+
You Only Move Twice - A+
The Homer They Fall - B+
Burns, Baby Burns - B+
Bart After Dark - A
A Milhouse Divided - B-
Lisa's Date With Destiny - A-
Hurricane Neddy - A-
El Viaje de Nuestro Jomer - A++
The Springfield Files - A
The Twisted World of Marge Simpson - B-
Mountain of Madness - B+
Simpsoncalifrag.... - B
The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show - A+
Homer's Phobia - A
Brother From Another Series - A-
My Sister, My Sitter - F
Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment - A-
Grade School Confidential - C+
The Canine Mutiny - C+
The Old Man and the Lisa - B+
In Marge We Trust - D+
Homer's Enemy - A++
The Simpsons Spinoff Showcase - B
The Secret War of Lisa Simpson - B-
This is one of my favorite seasons.
However,it has some of my least favorite episodes.