Animation The Simpsons

[Lily Adler]

Maggie Roswell still does occasional voice work for The Simpsons, right? Since Fox probably isn't going to pay Winona Ryder to come back, they could just have Roswell voice Allison.

Ralph? They can still bee friends, right? And it's been years since I've watched, but does Lisa still have the on-and-off friendship with Nelson? Post "Lisa's Date with Density," they've occasionally interacted on a friendship level. There has to be some certain circumstance for Lisa to interact with someone: a girl is as good on the saxophone as her, she gets a pen pal from Brazil, or she's invited to join Mensa. But it's always temporary. Lisa's never really had many friends outside of...well, Marge.

This reminds me of the meme:

 

[Lily Adler]

I just miss the days when Lisa was the voice of reason in the sense that she just stated the obvious moral answer to the problem of the week because the joke was the eight year old had more insight than the adults. But the writers got it into their head that turning her into a political activist college student in an eight-year-old's body was the correct evolution for that joke.

 

[Zantera]

I just miss the days when Lisa was the voice of reason in the sense that she just stated the obvious moral answer to the problem of the week because the joke was the eight year old had more insight than the adults. But the writers got it into their head that turning her into a political activist college student in an eight-year-old's body was the correct evolution for that joke.

You go back to the classic seasons and I feel this is the case with most of the characters. Funnily enough the term 'Flanderization' came out of this show and what they did with Ned Flanders. Initially he was just the average neighbor, he was in some ways the good version of what Homer should be. A good dad, good husband, and sure he was religious but you compare that with where his character went and he became a religious nut pretty much.

I think Homer got it pretty bad too. He was always a flawed dad who drank too much but still had a heart deep down yet he's often been reduced to being as stupid as the show needs to make certain scenarios plausible.

 

[Lily Adler]

You go back to the classic seasons and I feel this is the case with most of the characters. Funnily enough the term 'Flanderization' came out of this show and what they did with Ned Flanders. Initially he was just the average neighbor, he was in some ways the good version of what Homer should be. A good dad, good husband, and sure he was religious but you compare that with where his character went and he became a religious nut pretty much.

I think Homer got it pretty bad too. He was always a flawed dad who drank too much but still had a heart deep down yet he's often been reduced to being as stupid as the show needs to make certain scenarios plausible.

Oh yeah the joke with Flanders was always he was the stereotypical sitcom family trope. Too perfect for the real world that's why Homer hated him and envied him. But then the writers decided to make religion his character. It worked in some cases. My favorite being the episode when Homer sues Reverend Lovejoy and wins the church leaving Lovejoy to move to the bowling alley.

 

[Zantera]

I think flanderization works to a certain point. There's definitely moments when they start cranking the knob on a character turning their quirks into their whole personality when the outcome is pretty fun and you get some memorable episodes. But then past that point they keep turning and it just becomes too much instead.

For me personally I was with the show longer than most (at least a couple of seasons past when people say the golden era ended) but I really lost interest once it felt like they were starting to plug more and more real world references into the episodes. I remember one in particular that was all about Apple/Ipods with Lisa getting her own Ipod and that definitely was a moment when I felt the show wasn't for me anymore. (It was probably heavy in decline before then but that episode stands out)

I'm sure there's still some good episodes in the last 10 seasons or so but anytime I see a modern clip it just feels 'off'.

 

[OrbOfConfusion]

Oh yeah the joke with Flanders was always he was the stereotypical sitcom family trope. Too perfect for the real world that's why Homer hated him and envied him. But then the writers decided to make religion his character. It worked in some cases. My favorite being the episode when Homer sues Reverend Lovejoy and wins the church leaving Lovejoy to move to the bowling alley.

At least way back when, Flanders had other things to be known for, like the Leftorium, being the head of the PTA, and other things. He had his faith back then, but it wasn't all he had. I feel like Maude's death was the big turning point for Ned.

 

[Lily Adler]

At least way back when, Flanders had other things to be known for, like the Leftorium, being the head of the PTA, and other things. He had his faith back then, but it wasn't all he had. I feel like Maude's death was the big turning point for Ned.

In modern Simpsons, he dated and married Edna Krabappel... until she died. One of his sons became an atheist... for an episode. He still has the Leftorium... as a kiosk.