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Matt Groening on Internet and Cartoons

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the let-the-man-speak dept.

prostoalex writes "Online Journalism Review posted an interview with Matt Groening, the mastermind behind The Simpsons and Futurama. Matt lists his favorite comic sites, talks about how Internet changed the cartoons, shares his view on Fox Network's idea to put Simpsons on cell phones, as well as his own plans for Web cartoons."

36 of 99 comments (clear)

  1. Under Construction by mmoncur · · Score: 5, Funny

    Matt Groening is officially the last of the Web holdouts:

    MG: Um ... I've reserved mattgroening.com. (Laughs) It's said "This Site Is Under Construction" for three years now. I'll get around to it.

    I think he really took it down just before the interview, and it was full of Dancing Jesus GIFs.

    "Ooh. They have the Internet on computers now."
    -- Homer

    --

    It's Slashdot's evil twin... SlashNOT
  2. The reason he hasnt gotten around to his site.... by sheepab · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Fox would C&D it faster than he could upload it.

    Right Dennis?

    Anyone who has owned a major Simpsons fan site should know what Im talking about....

    --


    In college, really poor, need a flatscreen.
  3. Mozilla-unfriendly by Jugalator · · Score: 3, Informative

    That site seem to have been made for IE's poor understanding of CSS rules. :-(

    Readable on Phoenix, but it looks awful, and it would be surprising if Mozilla was wrong here, with IE being the browser that hasn't had any major improvements to the parser for years.

    --
    Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
    1. Re:Mozilla-unfriendly by blufive · · Score: 5, Informative
      That site seem to have been made for IE's poor understanding of CSS rules. :-(
      Nope, just dumb webmasters. As far as I can tell, they're using a server-side browser-sniff to send different code to different web browsers. Thing is, they're mis-identifying mozilla (and presumably other mozilla-based browsers) as Netscape. Then, it looks like they still subscribe to the theory that there'e only one Netscape, and are using one tailored for NN4.x, hence it looks crappy. Opera gets given the IE style sheet, and renders everything just fine. I suspect Moz-based browsers would similarly work fine if they got given that CSS.
    2. Re:Mozilla-unfriendly by JWhitlock · · Score: 2
      Nope, just dumb webmasters. As far as I can tell, they're using a server-side browser-sniff to send different code to different web browsers. Thing is, they're mis-identifying mozilla (and presumably other mozilla-based browsers) as Netscape. Then, it looks like they still subscribe to the theory that there'e only one Netscape, and are using one tailored for NN4.x, hence it looks crappy. Opera gets given the IE style sheet, and renders everything just fine. I suspect Moz-based browsers would similarly work fine if they got given that CSS.

      Isn't there a way in Moz to fix this? I did a search at Mozilla.org on browser sniff, which led me to general.useragent.override and user agent strings. The documentation says the user can redefine the user-agent string and make a Mozilla browser tell websites that it is IE, but it doesn't tell how to do this.

      This could be a cool Mozilla hack - a sidebar panel where you can choose what web browser you want Mozilla to pretend to be, and see how the pages are rendered differently. It could also get around the stupidity of some webmasters.

      It looks like they are working on something like this, but it's hard to get right.

    3. Re:Mozilla-unfriendly by Jugalator · · Score: 2

      Looks the same in IE6, Mozilla 1.1, and Opera 7 beta 2. It took all of 15 seconds to test...

      To me, it took 15 secs to see it did not look very nice at all. Barely readable. No line spacing. Actually... Negative line spacing. I'm not lying to you. Perhaps it's a bug since after Moz 1.1 was released? I have no clue how Opera acts, just commenting on my problem.

      --
      Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
  4. Interesting... by doubleyewdee · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm surprised he didn't say more about how godawful the quality of syndicated comics is these days. They're so bland and unentertaining that it hurts to even look at them. I think the best thing the internet has done for comics is to allow some really great offbeat stuff (like Diesel Sweeties) to exist and get some recognition. In a print-only world some really good, funny comics would never be seen by most people.

    In fact, I think the great thing about the internet in general, and something that still hasn't been fully embraced, is the ability to self-publish. In days gone by it was only possible to self publish in a small geographic region without spending a lot of money. These days I can self publish media of many forms online with no muss or fuss, and people from all over the world can look at my writing, listen to my music, or watch my home videos(heh, right..).

    I guess at the end of the day it's about empowerment. The internet empowers me by allowing me to find what I want, to separate the wheat from the chaff. I'm certainly better equipped to do it than the suits who only look for the lowest common denominator and play to that. Also, of course, it empowers the artist to not only be able to create and publish, but to reach a large global audience without the aid of a middle-man. Overall, it's the removal of a rather shoddy bidirectional filter.

    On the flip side, of course, the internet has caused the downfall of the community artist, and it's only going to get worse. Around here, local alternative press is all but dead. I mean, who wants to read poorly printed dead tree stuff when you can go to poorly designed websites instead, and for no money? And since that's the mentality, why pay to print it at all? The sad thing is, of course, that local "scenes" will continue to fade away like this, especially as music and movies become more easy to retrieve online, and to publish. I guess it's the death of the local community in order to give birth to the global.

    --


    you can take the road that takes you to the stars...
    1. Re:Interesting... by nomadic · · Score: 4, Insightful

      You have two sides; one are the comics editors and midwestern housewives who like their comics family-oriented, bland, and predictable.

      The other side are the edgy l33t comic crowd who think that a comic is only good if it's an incomprehensible mishmash of bad art, pop culture references, and unfunny punchlines.

      It's a lose-lose situation.

  5. Groening just became an ennemy of the MPAA... by Max+von+H. · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I bought myself an all-region DVD player so I can watch British TV shows that aren't broadcast over here. But you can't play them here [without it]. I don't know if that's a phenomenon, but I think it's overlooked.

    [Jack Valenti mode ON]
    Well, not only his shows are unamerican but he now admits to being a criminal! Fortunately for us, the MPAA shall remind him about the laws of this country with a copy of the DMCA tattooed on his forehead. Our business model is endangered by such evil communists!
    [Jack Valenti mode OFF]

    Gee, serioulsy, finally someone from the USA complaining about this absurd DVD region coding. It's basically a requirement to have a region-free player if you enjoy films and shows that weren't produced in your region of the world (or don't appeal to the General Audience - foreign stuff mostly). It's easy for big US media corporations to flood the world with their (mostly) crappy productions, but smaller european, asian or wherever-they're-from companies have no way to penetrate the North-American market. Say you're in the USA and wish to watch that great British humour DVD your european cousin sent you for xmas, you have to get a region-free player and thus perform an illegal operation. Mind you, if you can play all 5 regions the MPAA will even consider you got at least 4 illegal players, since that's the MPAA math nowadays. The same problem occurs if you dare travelling with your laptop and wish to watch a DVD you rented locally. Where's the sticker saying "this laptop only for use in USA, Canada and selected nations"?

    I've noticed some DVDs have no region coding at all, mostly the ones from small, indie film production companies. I've tried and they play in any player. I hope we'll see more of those, now that ppl really seem to get pissed off by that region coding thing. It's maybe not too much of a problem in North America, but the rest of the planet isn't in Zone One and thus can't access such DVDs, and has to wait for the local copyright owner to allow distribution of said DVDs to your country of residence (you can just forget about it most of the time). C'mon, if I buy a DVD, I want to be able to play it wherever I goddamn want it! Hey, with the actual system I can't even buy a DVD and offer it to my cousins in the USA... How crappy is that? Wait, they want to extend the system to audio now... Next thing will be news, maybe. Given the fascist manners of the actual US government, we ain't too far from it.

    Time to practice civil disobedience again, eh...

    Cheers,
    max

    --
    -- It's always darker before it goes pitch black.
    1. Re:Groening just became an ennemy of the MPAA... by Max+von+H. · · Score: 5, Interesting
      Perhaps you would have noticed Groening mentioned it in the interview, raising the very issue:

      "As somebody who's a glutton for entertainment, I'm amazed that I can listen to Indian pop music on the Internet from New Delhi radio stations. Yet there are whole regions of the world that I can't easily access [when it comes to] DVDs and television shows. I bought myself an all-region DVD player so I can watch British TV shows that aren't broadcast over here. But you can't play them here [without it]. I don't know if that's a phenomenon, but I think it's overlooked."


      IMHO it is relevant that this "old rant about DMCA/MPAA/RIAA etc" be discussed here, because a rather important producer is now complaining about how it restricts his viewing of foreign media, hence restricting his exposure to what's being made around the world. As an artist and media "glutton" I can perfectly understand his concerns about this piece of regulation.

      Yes, the "rant" is ON TOPIC since, in this case, we're also talking about accessibility to independent cartoons/films/shows/media.

      Next time I suggest you read the article before snapping and telling ppl what can be discussed or not, especially when the subject is about new media (cartoons in this case) and the ways to access them.

      Cheers,
      max
      --
      -- It's always darker before it goes pitch black.
    2. Re:Groening just became an ennemy of the MPAA... by tempmpi · · Score: 4, Informative
      Region-free DVDs. They do exist. Why don't they make more in Europe & Asia?

      They are quite common in Europe, in some countries in Europe more than 50% of all DVD players are codefree. On the other hand the movie industry is fighting against it. Codefree brandname players are often much more expensive than the regioncoded ones, they are also harder to get than their regioncoded counterparts.

      The movie industry is also using minor protection laws to fight against imported DVDs. Imported DVDs don't got the local ratings marks. Many european countries got heavy restrictions on selling unrated videos and DVD. For example in UK selling DVDs not rated by the BBFC isn't permitted and in Germany mail-order of DVDs not rated by the FSK (and stuff rated 18) isn't allowed.
      --
      Jan
    3. Re:Groening just became an ennemy of the MPAA... by Max+von+H. · · Score: 2

      I was talking about region-free DVD *discs*, movies that you can play in any player, whether it's code-free or not.

      Cheers,
      max

      --
      -- It's always darker before it goes pitch black.
    4. Re:Groening just became an ennemy of the MPAA... by glesga_kiss · · Score: 2, Redundant
      Technically speaking, region free in the USA would be a waste of time. Even if your DVD player could play the disk, you won't be able to watch it.

      The problem is the NTSC and PAL standards, which are a completely different on how the colour component of the picture works. If you don't sort this out, you'll be watching black and white. To fix it, you need either a multi-standard television, capable of using PAL and NTSC, or a DVD player and TV that has component video (e.g. RGB) which doesn't use PAL/NTSC to encode the colour information.

      Both of these things are pretty uncommon in the US televisions, but fairly common elsewhere. That, and the abundance of media, is why modded DVD players are rare in USA/Canada.

      Of course, the MPAA will probably tout this as a success story for region encoding.

    5. Re:Groening just became an ennemy of the MPAA... by Shrubbman · · Score: 2, Interesting

      //or a DVD player and TV that has component video (e.g. RGB) which doesn't use PAL/NTSC to encode the colour information

      Actually, many newer mid-sized and large screen TVs and mid-ranged to high quality DVD players over here have component video as an option, it's just the cheap stuff that leaves component out nowadays. Just last month picked up a 25' Samsung TV for $350 Canadian and while it lacks S-Video input, its got Component, figure that one out!

    6. Re:Groening just became an ennemy of the MPAA... by Warin · · Score: 3, Informative

      Actually, you are wrong.

      The DVD itself has no direct coding in NTSC or PAL. A Region 1 DVD and a Region 2 DVD are identical, save for the region code. It is the PLAYER that controls the output. Thus, if you have an NTSC region free DVD player hooked to an NTSC television and you stick a Region 2 DVD into it, it will display perfectly.

    7. Re:Groening just became an ennemy of the MPAA... by isaac · · Score: 5, Informative
      The problem is the NTSC and PAL standards, which are a completely different on how the colour component of the picture works. If you don't sort this out, you'll be watching black and white. To fix it, you need either a multi-standard television, capable of using PAL and NTSC, or a DVD player and TV that has component video (e.g. RGB) which doesn't use PAL/NTSC to encode the colour information.

      No.

      The important difference between PAL and NTSC discs is the frame (really, field) rate of the encoded MPEG2 stream: ~59.9 fps for NTSC, 50 for PAL.

      Also, the type of component outputs available differ depending on region - US component outputs are explicitly NTSC (Luma [y], and two Chroma channels [Cr, Cb]), not RGB. This is a requirement of DVDCCA licensing, actually. Why? RGB signals can't carry macrovision! Seriously, that's why no US (non-computer) DVD player has an RGB output. RGB output exists on just about every DVD player in the UK, though, through the SCART output. Why? Got me. I guess most or all UK VCRs can't record the RGB signal. Neither can US VCRs, so who knows what logic's at work here.

      Anyhow, all region-free DVD players I've seen in the US will perform the necessary frame rate conversion for you - my cheap Apex player certainly does.

      Appropriately enough, I use the region-free capabilities of my DVD player for watching... Futurama, which is only available on DVD in Region 2.

      -Isaac

      --
      I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice. For Entertainment Purposes Only.
    8. Re:Groening just became an ennemy of the MPAA... by glesga_kiss · · Score: 2
      Actually, you are wrong.

      Actually, I'm not. I've been importing DVDs for personal use ever since the format came out. I was one of the early adopters, who had trouble with the limited selection of Region 2 disks in the early days. What disks there were had little or no special features, or cost much more than the region 1 alternative.

      You are arguing with an AV/hi-fi autophile. I'm speaking from personal experience and research on all counts.

      A Region 1 DVD and a Region 2 DVD are identical, save for the region code.

      Nope. A Region 1 DVD has a frame rate of ~30 fps (60 Hz scan rate), a Region 2 DVD has ~25 (50 Hz). It's another thing that can go wrong in playing foreign media, but I never mentioned that because most TVs made in the last 5-8 years can handle either. On old ones, you could adjust the V-HOLD dial to compensate. Have a problem here, you'll get a rolling screen with no option to fix other than a new TV.

      Thus, if you have an NTSC region free DVD player hooked to an NTSC television and you stick a Region 2 DVD into it, it will display perfectly.

      Nope. Try it. You need component video, or a PAL supporting television. The DVD player still has to encode the colour information into either PAL or NTSC, if you want to feed it through composite or S-Video. That's the way those hook-ups work. It does this based on the original format of the disk; put in PAL disk, you'll get a PAL signal.

      Component video doesn't require PAL/NTSC encoding because the colour information doesn't need to be encoded. I'm cool on both counts, my TV has RGB inputs as well as being capable of displaying either PAL/NTSC.

      If you don't believe me, try a google groups search for "DVD black white region free", or take a look at this FAQ.

    9. Re:Groening just became an ennemy of the MPAA... by glesga_kiss · · Score: 2
      The important difference between PAL and NTSC discs is the frame (really, field) rate of the encoded MPEG2 stream: ~59.9 fps for NTSC, 50 for PAL.

      Nope, I still stand by what I say. See my earlier reply to another "you're wrong!" post, or do a web search for "DVD black white region".

      RGB signals can't carry macrovision!

      Ah! I wasn't aware of that! Macrovision is irrelevant to me, had that disabled on my DVD player before I got it home. Allows me to pipe the DVD player signal thru my VHS into the RF feed around my home. DVD/VHS/Cable in every room. Macrovision is mostly irrelevant anyway now, thanks to DeCSS.

      US component outputs are explicitly NTSC (Luma [y], and two Chroma channels [Cr, Cb]), not RGB.

      Must be US specific, my Euro player has Cr,Cb,Y outputs as RCA jacks, a normal S-Video out put, and two SCART sockets, one outputing RGB and the other as RGB input for pass-thru connection of my other RGB gear (PSOne / PS2), as well as some composite/audio jacks that are wired to my VHS. The number of hook-ups on the back was the deal clincher. It's a Sony 725D model if anyones interested, but they might not sell them anymore, it was four years ago it came out.

      I guess most or all UK VCRs can't record the RGB signal

      Yup, that's right. In all my (expensive) AV years, I've never seen a video with RGB inputs, only S-VHS/S-Video units and they were rare and expensive.

      It also explains the PS2 having a green picture when playing a DVD over RGB. I never did find out why they did that, until you dropped the macrovision hint! Thanks! ;-)

      Anyhow, all region-free DVD players I've seen in the US will perform the necessary frame rate conversion for you - my cheap Apex player certainly does.

      Another new thing learned for me, some of the new(ish) DVD players can allow you to choose the colour format you want. In my older DVD player, that's not an option, it bases it on the disk.

      This gives another option to the "must-have" table:

      1. Use RGB
      2. Use a TV capable of using either NTSC/PAL colour
      3. Use a DVD player capable of sending either NTSC/PAL colour.
    10. Re:Groening just became an ennemy of the MPAA... by glesga_kiss · · Score: 2

      Most players - including my 60$ apex can play in either pal or ntsc mode.

      Yup, that was the only thing I omited from the original post. I wasn't aware of the fact that some of the new players can do this. Every one I've heard mention it has mentioned Apex players, are they unique in this way?

      My 3/4 year old one can't

    11. Re:Groening just became an ennemy of the MPAA... by glesga_kiss · · Score: 2
      I don't have any "technical speaking"

      Apparently some of the NTSC region free ones can output PAL disks as NTSC, probably because of this problem. So I was mostly right...and you got lucky. (unless you bought your DVD player with region free in mind)

      The problem does still exist in the PAL world though, I have a number of friends who have this issue when playing NTSC disks.

      Is your DVD player an Apex one by any chance?

      most of the world uses NTSC - everywhere except Europe, I believe.

      Pretty much. There are a few other places with PAL such as Austrailia. I could start the "my system is better than yours" argument, but I won't. Oh, wait...I just did. ;-)

    12. Re:Groening just became an ennemy of the MPAA... by geekoid · · Score: 2

      I said it when the region encoding started, eventially only the US films will be region encoded. It makes no sense for any other film distributor to do so.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  6. Nice line heights by Wylfing · · Score: 4, Funny
    [rant on]

    Let me guess, "This page is best viewed in Internet Explorer." Mm hm.

    I followed the link for the web design company and checked out some of the other sites they designed. I guess I need to "upgrade my browser" because Mozilla nightlies aren't cutting edge enough for these guys.

    [rant off]

    --
    Our intelligent designer has never created an animal that we couldn't improve by strapping a bomb to it.
  7. DVD Revolution and Online Shows by dWhisper · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm surprised that they didn't bring up how rampant TV-show trading had become on the internet. Simpsons is probably the hottest ticket out there, and Futurama is a distance behind that.

    Nice to see him giving the whole "region free" thing a nice kick. He's an actual major voice in entertainment, so it'd just be wonderful if he wasn't pro-MPAA. Since I already have the Simpsons Boxed sets, I'd like to see the rest go "any region"

    1. Re:DVD Revolution and Online Shows by LostCluster · · Score: 2

      Is there any region in the country that doesn't have access to twice-daily Simpsons reruns? Set a Tivo (or your homebrew PVR if you really have to) with a big enough HD up, and you'll have the entire collection of the Simpsons withing a couple months.

  8. Re:Just one question..... by handsomepete · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It's better, in my opinion at least, because it's better written, more thought out with more interesting characters than current Simpsons episodes. The Simpsons have traded their old wit/biting satire in for unfunny sex humor, Saturday morning slapstick, and a shitload of bad bad guest stars. I'm sure it's funny to some people to see Homer getting cut up and bleeding in every episode and then yelling boobies, but not me.

    Hmmmm.... that sounds a lot funnier when I describe it than in practice...

  9. Life in Hell online? by kisrael · · Score: 2

    Has anyone seen Love in Hell online anywhere? I get one or two cartoons in it a month in Cleveland's "Funny Times" (delivered up to me in Boston) but I think it comes out weekly, so I'm missing a lot...

    --
    SO YOU'RE GOING TO DIE: The Comic for Dealing with Death
  10. Changes in Simpsons Animations? by gozar · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I noticed in the last episode, Special Edna, it appeared to me that they are starting to use some of the Futurama computer techniques. I noticed several busy backgrounds with parallax scrolling and subtle shadows on the characters. Did anyone else notice it or was it just me?

    I noticed it at the IMAX movie and at the amusement park.

    --
    What, me worry?
    1. Re:Changes in Simpsons Animations? by Gorphrim · · Score: 2, Informative

      supporting evidence courtesy of Google:

      from http://bit.sit.ac.nz/olsen/kenny/Season14.html:

      The Simpsons style of animation is changing from episode The Great Louse Detective (EABF01) onwards, as the show will now being using computer digitised animation from then on. The reason: Because it's hard to find professionals who still use the old medium. The show will still keep the same consistant look, and will hopefully be improved slightly. There will also be a piece of digital animation in the "Send in the Clones" segment in the upcoming Treehouse of Horror XIII (DABF19).

      --

      Queens of the Stone Age - they rule
  11. Actually, pay attention to the show... by Jerf · · Score: 5, Informative

    Actually, if you pay attention to the show, the websites they mention frequently really exist.

    The one that leaps to mind is WhatBadgersEat.com used in the episode where the town is split in half and Homer is the mayor of the sucky half.

    The TV show Alias set up a Followers of Rambaldi fake site, which I've seen but may not be working now. (Much info is on this fan site.) Also in alias they once mentioned an IP address directly, and while I couldn't determine what that computer was (legally ;-) ) because it wasn't running any obvious services, it did exist, which makes me wonder if it was deliberate or if the show's author's didn't consider that a randomly selected IP address stands a pretty good chance of existing now-a-days.

    And I once located the source information for a quick display on the Egyptian god Seth used on Daniel Jackson's screen in Stargate: SG-1. It was actually from a wierd site that I assume is info for a role-playing game, though it gave no hint that the site didn't really believe it and it's sometimes hard to tell... I often wonder if the web site was told what use their text was put to.

  12. Re:Just one question..... by drsquare · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I don't agree at all.

    Whilst Futurama is funny in parts, the fact is that the characters are completely dull and uninteresting. Whereas in the Simpsons, even rarely-seen marginal characters are interesting and amusing, Futurama's main characters are bland and lifeless. The only two decent characters are Bender and Zapp Brannigan. The rest, including the other main characters, are not in the slightest bit interesting to watch.

  13. Simpsons doing Pulp fction by Stonent1 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Don't know how many of you have seen this, but it is funny. Apparently some animators made some drawings of the Simpsons characters doing scenes from pulp fiction.Simpson Pulp Fiction

  14. Re:Just one question..... by handsomepete · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Obviosuly I don't expect everyone to agree with me, but let me put this out there (mainly because I'm bored and feel like ranting):

    The Simpsons: A nuclear family stars - a married couple with 2.5 kids (is a baby half a kid in that deal? I dunno). A formula that has been done a million times and, IMHO, the family characters have become about as one-dimensional as you can ask for:

    Homer - All he does is go on wacky adventures now. The writers have even pointed out that he hardly ever goes to work anymore. He's almost always a jerk or uncaring to everyone around him (family included).

    Marge - The writers attempted to inject some "life" into Marge by adding some sexuality to her part in recent seasons, but it's mostly just seemed uncomfortable. She has been, and always will be, the loving mother and wife. She cleans and cooks but generally doesn't want much more out of life than her family. I've got no problems with that, really, but not much too her.

    Lisa - Standard issue know-it-all. "No one gets me because I'm too smart!"

    Bart - Standard issue trouble maker. "No one gets me because I'm slow. That's why I act out!"

    Maggie - Can't talk/do much. I still find her amusing.
    As far as other characters, almost everyone fills similar one-dimensional stereotypes (and they're really pushing Lenny and Carl on us now - they were much more fun as peripheral characters). That's not to say that they're not interesting or amusing stereotypes, but after 13 seasons they do tend to be played out.

    Futurama: A young adult from 1,000 years in the past stars, along with a disturbingly old professor and his delivery crew.

    Fry - You've got to enjoy a semi-geeky 90's boy who seems to fall for every woman he comes across. It hits so close to home. :)

    Leela - Similar to Lisa in the "I don't fit in!" sort of way only with one eye and as an adult. She also has the mystery of where she came from and an on again/off again flirtation with Fry. Note that, with the bizarre exception of Skinner and Krabapple, the Simpsons almost prides itself on its lack of continuity (how many times has Bart has a last day of school? 5?). I find that I enjoy characters when there is actually some sort of continual timeline happening, not just random weekly events that everyone forgets about the following week. That's just me.

    Bender - A bending robot who likes drinking and stealing. Yep.

    Professor - Old, forgetful but supposedly brilliant professor. Even if you don't find him amusing, some of his inventions are.

    Hermes - Ok, there's really not much to Hermes. They can't all be winners.

    Zoidberg - A lobster creature who acts a little like a Jewish mother. A doctor who doesn't know a whole lot about human anatomy.

    Amy - Rich future girl. Fun.

    Honorable mention - Celebrity heads. I hate guest stars on the Simpsons, but when they're in glass cases, it seems so much more tolerable.

    So, I'm not really expecting you to change your mind (If you've given Futurama a fair shot, you probably don't need to read this anyways). Don't get me wrong, I love the Simpsons (I've been moderating the forums at The Simpsons Sourcebook for a couple years at least), but for the past couple years I've been enjoying Futurama a lot more. Ok. I'm done. Sorry about the long reply.

  15. Re:Just one question..... by Fig,+formerly+A.C. · · Score: 2
    how many times has Bart has a last day of school? 5?

    In 13 years? Seems like he's missing a few, to me. If they had continuity, he'd be grown up by now. :-)

    --
    Murphy was an optimist.
  16. Re:Just one question..... by matrix29 · · Score: 2

    how many times has Bart has a last day of school? 5?

    In 13 years? Seems like he's missing a few, to me. If they had continuity, he'd be grown up by now. :-)

    Or even worse, Halloweens & Christmas episodes (there oddly enough is only one Thanksgiving episode I remember and about 3 Valentines Day episodes if you include "Love Day").

    Homer even admitted the extra Christmasses (Well it is a Mass = "Death Sacrifice" of Christ. Thus making a plural of Christ+Mas = Christ+Masses. It isn't my fault that everybody drops the other "S" on the end of the word "Christ+Mass". I feel this to be the proper spelling in place of "Christmases") in the Gary Coleman guest episode with the FUNZO toys. Yet there still remains Bart + Lisa in the 5th grade (remember the "Bart gets an "F" episode? Bart Gets an F (#7F03) 11 Oct 1990 - If Bart fails another test, he may have to repeat the fourth grade. So he enlists the aid of the class brain to help him pass.) Bart passes so the kids are in 5th grade - FOR 12 YEARS! That seems a worse punishment than anything I could imagine.

    --
    "Face it, a nation that maintains a 72% approval rating on George W. Bush is a nation with a very loose grip on reality.
  17. Re:Just one question..... by FuzzyBad-Mofo · · Score: 2

    <comicbookguy>
    While I agree with your post overall, I think Hermes has his moments. I need only mention episode 2ACV11, "How Hermes Requsitioned his Groove Back".
    </comicbookguy>

  18. Re:Futurama by RatBastard · · Score: 2
    To make it worse, the US hasn't even gotten season 1 on DVD yet!

    True, but Cartoon Network is rebroadcasting Futurama Sun-Thur at 11:00 pm, EST/PST. Just wamr up the old TiVo/Replay and burn your own.

    --
    Boobies never hurt anyone. - Sherry Glaser.