60 Second Simpsons

[CousinMerl]

Happy Halloween! @euthanasiataeaf was on the right track that I had a THOH Showdown ready, but I swapped out THOHII and did THOHIII vs THOHIV. Enjoy!

Good job done with this showdown video. I think that III vs. IV was probably the best and most interesting match-up you could have gone for as I think that the two are more or less even, more so than it would have been with I vs. IV or II vs. IV.

As for III and IV I think both are a lot of fun and has a lot of good stuff; IV has the better creep factor and III has the better humor (and the 'Dial Z For Zombies' segment which is my favorite of the six; interestingly it's your least favorite) but the thing with III is that 'Clown Without Pity' and 'King Homer' isn't as strong as 'Zombies' and it's barely any creepy & IV is a little more uneven and the ending is a confused mess where they just throw everything at you. I think I'd have to pick III because it has the overall stronger jokes and that great last segment.

(And I agree that the next Treehouse showdown should be I vs. II).

[ataeaf]

So, after the news about John Lasseter, are you still going to continue with your Pixar project?

[Jims]

So, after the news about John Lasseter, are you still going to continue with your Pixar project?

I think I will, but oh boy does it make the timing of this video's release awkward today.

So, uh, this is a review of Up. It's made by a studio helmed by an asshole who gropes people. So, yeah. Here is the video. Whohoo.



*sigh*

[CousinMerl]

I hope the bad news won't get you down too much, @Jims.

[Jims]

It isn't really, I am just really disappointed in Lasseter and Pixar's management in general. I can't imagine how uncomfortable and disturbing it was for employees to have to work there, having a boss that gets that hands-y and inappropriate with people. And then I've been hearing the reports of Rashida Jones clarifying that she left Toy Story 4 because she felt women and people of color's voices weren't being respected, as well... It's making me think about Brenda Chapman and how Brave went down. Pixar's films give so many messages of family and togetherness and inclusion and stuff ("Anyone can cook!"), it's disappointing to hear about the problems that pervade that studio.

The other part of it was that I had been producing the review for so many hours and days now that I didn't want the timing to be in bad taste. Someone in the comments said they appreciated the aside about talking about trying to not talk about Pixar like they're one person. I guess there's that.

I kind of want to review Homer Badman next. I had been avoiding it a little because, as a man, I have never felt particularly qualified to speak about the episode... But it is becoming more and more relevant these days.

[CousinMerl]

I'd love to see you do a review of Homer Badman (which is one of my favorite episodes) and hear your thought and opinions on it. I'm sure you'd do it justice even if you're unsure about it now, @Jims.

And yeah, I see what you mean with what you're saying about Pixar. They have had problems before and this is essentially the top of the iceberg (and seeing Pixar as not just one person makes good sense; it's kinda like how I feel about this).

[Financial Panther]

Just got around to watching your THOH showdown. Great work as always. I think I agree with your decision, but it’s mostly because The Devil and Homer Simpson is soooo good. I think it’s my third-favorite segment of the show. Terror at 5 1/2 Feet is decent, although I’d consider it the weakest of the six, and Bart Simpson’s Dracula is good, but they can’t come close to Devil.

In III, I think I like Clown Without Pity more than most do. It’s funny, and I do find it somewhat chilling, and I love the stupid ending. King Homer has grown on me over the years. I’ve never seen King Kong, but it’s funny enough for me to like without knowing the reference. The Godzilla parody 23 years later didn’t achieve that at all. Dial ‘Z’ for Zombies is kind of in a tough spot as to when it aired, because zombies weren’t yet a mainstream thing, but violence on television was also subject to tighter restrictions. So if it had aired later, they may have been able to get away with more blood, but it might have seemed played out because zombies would have been everywhere then. It’s still a pretty good segment, though.

[Captain Squid]

Great video on Up, I never noticed how many pieces are set in place in those first 20 minutes.

[Jims]

New video!
New series!

...Finally.

After getting a lot of good feedback and interest from people about the Herman episode, I wanted to do a character spotlight series focusing on the secondary characters. I was thinking about either 1) characters that had undergone some kind of arc or change, or 2) obscure characters like Herman who fell out of focus for whatever reason. And because I am bad at names, I'm calling it Simpsons Histories.

Enjoy!



I wanted to start the series talking about Nelson because he's always been one of my favorite secondary characters. And also I just felt like he was a nice basic example of the techniques the writers use to change-up his joke deliveries and then give him depth. Also because I know how much @Financial Panther loves the character.

[CousinMerl]

Very good video (and good choice for a new series).

I think they have handled Nelson quite well even into the post-classic seasons (including the HD years) even though he has changed quite a bit; I like how they expanded the humor of the character and gave him all these interests and secrets that he keeps (or occasionally doesn't keep) from the other characters.

A lot of folks really doesn't like that that they've softened him up by making him more emotional, insecure and such over time, but honestly, I like it because it added a lot of depth and also likeability to the character (not to mention made him more fun and interesting, at least in my opinion); otherwise he would probably still have been just the archetypical 'the bully' and not much more beyond that.

I think the crew decided they could expand and develop him like this since Jimbo, Kearney & Dolph had started to fill the more one-note school bully role really well, even though he still appears with them from time to time and hasn't lost his bullying streak (which is important to the character) even though he's softer and more likeable now.

[Jims]

Finished a new set for 60 Second Simpsons. This time, tackling Mr. Plow, a classic I hadn't hit before.

I wanted to get them worked on quicker and posted on here, but these two videos have been nothing but trouble. Since posting the 60 Second Simpsons video, I proceeded to get a stuffy nose, my computer started having problems, and then Fox took down the first video. Which is weird for a 60 Second Simpsons video. Still not sure if I've gotten the computer issue fixed (I doubt it), but I braved through the Extra Seconds anyway, stuffy nose and computer glitches and all. I think this was all a hint to encourage me to enjoy Christmas with the family and not work on this video series.

I'm playing around with the YouTube tag systems (getting rid of "the simpsons" and "episode" as terms) which will hopefully let them go under the radar more. Struggled a little bit with the Mr. Plow review, because those really popular standards are hard to critique. I find it hard to explain precisely why it's great without feeling like I'm dissecting and killing the thing. I dunno, perhaps I am being neurotic. I hope you all enjoy them!





Will probably do another Extra Seconds and then Pixar #5. Then gotta start working on another Simpsons Histories entry.

[Jims]

Going to go crawl into a hole this weekend a write a Pixar review. I always put off the writing part of film reviews because I get super nervous about them and put a lot of pressure on myself to get the themes right and read them correctly. Always have the most trouble writing the first page of the review. I need to just force myself to do it.

[CousinMerl]

Oh, so that's why you started using the "I'm Bartman" avatar (and it's the same screenshot as the video still), @Jims.

Anyway, this is probably one of my favorite S2 episodes. One of the most simple premises but it manages to do it really well and has a lot of that great early Simpsons humor (I never actually thought about how it partially feels like a S3 episode but now that you brought it up I can see why).

About the Bartman thing, while the term 'Bartman' existed previously I interpret it the way that the Bartman in this episode is the superhero alter-ego Bart created based on his previous alter-ego/nickname (which the song was about) and it stuck much better; think of it as a replacement.

(And when are some folks gonna learn that it's so easy to skip the spinning heads on the DVD by pressing the 'root menu' button?)

[Captain Squid]

Great reviews! Three Men and a Comic Book has long been a favorite of mine, because I was (and still am) collecting comics when the episode came out. So I really could relate to wanting that unattainable #1 issue.

Its funny, because thanks to this episode, I really wanted the actual Radioactive Man #1 when Bongo published it. Interestingly, Bongo actually explained why the Bongo version and the issue in Three Men and a Comic Book are different looking in the letters column. I can't recall the exact reason, I'd have to look it up, but I think it was something like the one from the episode was not a first printing and it was some later reprint of the first issue and CBG was being his usual self and taking advantage of the situation.

[Jims]

(And when are some folks gonna learn that it's so easy to skip the spinning heads on the DVD by pressing the 'root menu' button?)

Haha, I had so many people in the comments tell me that! I feel like I have tried hitting the Menu buttons and stuff before, but it never works. Maybe I never did actually hit Menu. I have always just spun those dumb heads like an idiot.

Anyway, finally finished my latest Pixar review. This one is somewhat good timing with the recent announcements, as it is a review of The Incredibles.



The Pixar films are difficult reviews for me because they take so long, I end up living with the movie for awhile. And this was a hard film to live with for a week because of Bob's character arc. It's weird to go to a 9-5 job all week when thinking about Bob languishing in his 9-5 job. My job isn't nearly as bad as his, but it did kinda shine a spotlight on how slowly the work day goes...

I think I want to do a couple Simpsons Histories in a row, so those should be next up.

[ataeaf]

Rough guess for the Top 4:

4. Wall-E
3. Ratatouille
2. Inside Out
1. Toy Story 3

[Jims]

I put together a new Simpsons Histories episode, this time about Krusty the Clown.



I went a little crazy with the research on this one, watching every episode appearance from Seasons 1-8. He is a little tougher to chronicle than Nelson, as Nelson has had a more defined character arc and change over the season. Krusty feels like a character the writers understood right away and then proceeded to do slight variations and expansions on similar themes. A lot of his arcs are more relationship and continuity-driven. I also find him kind of fascinating how well the writers tiptoe the line of likability with him, despite all the terrible things he does. It's hard to stay mad at Krusty.

Working on an extra fiery Extra Seconds for the next one.

[Brad Lascelle]

Might as well bump this thread for @Jims new Just Stamp The Ticket Man Simpsons Histories vid. Even ResetEra is going nuts over this one.

[CousinMerl]

It's been a few months since the last thread update and for someone who doesn't keep an close eye on the channel except for this thread I see there's been several new videos to check out, including another Pixar review for Inside Out which I'd like to comment on;

Maybe an unpopular opinion, but I think that is maybe Pixar's most adult movie in a sense. It is fairly deep and cerebral and requires a bit of thinking to understand everything (and it also does deal with an emotional breakdown of someone whose world is falling apart) so I think that older teens and adults might understand and enjoy it more than kids.

Also, just a little thought I have about it (and I'm spoiler tagging);  If Riley by chance is reminded of Bing Bong somehow, will he be resurrected? I think that would make sense unless unless there is some unspoken rule against that . What do you think, @Jims?

[hutz]

jims dropping the ball on updating his own thread tsk tsk

[hutz]

alright @Jims you wore me down. I updated the ep archive on page 1 except for your pixar review since the numbering is off and didnt want to screw it up

[CousinMerl]

I must say that the lack of updates by @Jims in this thread is a little disappointing.

[Financial Panther]

Jims left the forum, actually.

[CousinMerl]

He did? I must have missed that. Why did he leave?

[Financial Panther]

I think it was something about losing his enthusiasm for boarding. I know he posted about it in the mod channel, so one of them would be able to answer it better than I could.

[Ryan]

Pretty much what Panther said. You can still reach Jims via his YouTube channel.

[Brad Lascelle]

Jims is also still active on ResetEra so you can catch up with him there provided you can tear him away from Splatoon 2.

[Jims]

I haven't necessarily left the forum, but I did want to take a hiatus after stepping down from my post. Sorry for leaving this thread dormant for so long, and a big thanks to @hutz for updating the OP while I was gone. He was amazingly thorough in adding everything, I was totally expecting to do a lot of additions to the list.

I was also in the middle of a lot of writing last month, for the two Pixar reviews and the Simpsons Histories. The writing of these projects was becoming increasingly stressful and I started avoiding situations where I would need to write anything. It's a really difficult thing to describe. There is something about constant content creation that just makes you... tired after awhile. Maybe it is just spending too much time working behind a computer between my day job and this hobby. Maybe it is the expectation of having a new take on something, or the expectation of providing commentary. I'm not saying I dislike doing the videos or want to quit or anything. But it has led to this situation where, in my free time, I would rather just lurk and enjoy other people's contributions.

I know @CousinMerl had been a big supporter of my work from very early on, and I should have at least followed up with him to let him know what was going on. Sorry about that. Please forgive my usual aloofness.

I put together recent reviews of Coco (#4) and Ratatouille (#3), in case people had missed them. I struggled a lot with the writing of the Ratatouille review, but working on it made me kind of fall in love with the film all over again. Such a good film. The only stuff left are the Toy Story 3 and WALL-E reviews which will be another double feature in August. I am really excited to write the Toy Story 3 review, but have absolutely no idea what to say about WALL-E.

This is going to be a busy week as well, as I am editing a way-too-long Simpsons Histories and be having another podcast appearance soon.

It's been a few months since the last thread update and for someone who doesn't keep an close eye on the channel except for this thread I see there's been several new videos to check out, including another Pixar review for Inside Out which I'd like to comment on;

Maybe an unpopular opinion, but I think that is maybe Pixar's most adult movie in a sense. It is fairly deep and cerebral and requires a bit of thinking to understand everything (and it also does deal with an emotional breakdown of someone whose world is falling apart) so I think that older teens and adults might understand and enjoy it more than kids.

Also, just a little thought I have about it (and I'm spoiler tagging);  If Riley by chance is reminded of Bing Bong somehow, will he be resurrected? I think that would make sense unless unless there is some unspoken rule against that . What do you think, @Jims?

I dunno if I would agree that Inside Out is their most adult movie, but I completely agree that kids and adults will have way different experiences watching it. It's a lot like Toy Story 3 and Finding Nemo in this regard. I actually bought this movie for my older sister for Christmas (since, as a mom with a baby, she couldn't see it at the theater). And she had actually moved states as a young child around the same age as Riley. So the movie really hit her personally as an adult in a way it didn't exactly hit me.

As for the plot question...  Yeah, that is an interesting question or plot point. We could have a situation where the parents show her a picture of her drawing Bing Bong or something and it could awaken some dormant memory, or maybe he's somewhere in one of those colored balls. But he's not technically in her "subconscious" locked away with the clown, he's technically not in any of her memories. Is it that the original feeling she had toward Bing Bong that is erased, would any future memory just be a conceptual echo? This is probably going waaaaay too deep into this plot point, but I would think that in some way, it would be possible to resurrect him as a concept.