tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post4793971693837788479..comments2024-02-04T05:13:04.501-05:00Comments on Nik at Nite: The Simpsons: They've Still Got ItNikki Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04463618183850438914noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-34837049397205440822014-12-24T04:53:04.701-05:002014-12-24T04:53:04.701-05:00I really liked your post on The Simpsons. It was t...I really liked your post on The Simpsons. It was the most popular series. Actually I need to know about <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/best-family-guy-episodes/reference" rel="nofollow">family guy list of episodes</a> and there links to download. Actually my kids are asking to watch full episodes.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15727782710562074927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-79680017165693128022014-10-02T16:16:30.330-04:002014-10-02T16:16:30.330-04:00Check out The Nerdist podcast they did. It's a...Check out The Nerdist podcast they did. It's almost an hour and a half long but covers a wide variety of subjects including their own favorite shows right now, what they wanted to do with Avatar as animators, how they came up with the idea and pitched it, the movie, the leak of the Spanish Korra episodes and the online move. They seem guarded when discuss it, saying it's online numbers were fantastic for Book 2 but the way it was moved online was not the best. Something happened they were clearly unhappy about. <br /><br />And it also still baffles me why they started Book 3 on TV *specifically* saying they would not post them online then shift to *only* online just before Comic-Con. Dusknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-38062350092462160822014-10-02T15:56:26.889-04:002014-10-02T15:56:26.889-04:00@Dusk: online-only release thanks to Nickelodeon p...@Dusk: <i>online-only release thanks to Nickelodeon pulling it from TV. Book 3 just wrapped up in August so it feels like they want to burn off their best show</i><br /><br />FWIW I've read some interviews with the creators where they spoke very positively about the online-only move. Apparently Korra has always done really well online (getting bigger numbers there than the TV broadcasts, though I'm not sure how comparable those two really can be), and they don't feel at all slighted that Nick moved it to online-only. <br /><br />Granted, they could just be toeing an official company line, but they seemed genuine in the interviews. It could just be Nick playing to the show's strengths, rather than an indictment of their opinion of it. Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-23273279673091931272014-10-02T15:53:12.316-04:002014-10-02T15:53:12.316-04:00Yes! Technically speaking Avatar is not anime as i...Yes! Technically speaking Avatar is not anime as it's not made in Japan (it's an American show animated by South Koreans). And a lot of the cultures on the show are Eastern influenced but you can also see Western storytelling in it as well. Stay far, far away from the 2010 live action movie. It's even worse then the original Buffy one. Avatar/Korra have earned the right to be called Game of Thrones for Kids. <br /><br />Check out "Avatar-New Beginnings" and "Avatar-Cells" on Youtube by ravenhpltc24 to get a vibe for it.<br /><br />I'll set up the basic plot for you:In this world there are 4 groups of people. Air Nomads, two Water Tribes, The Earth Kingdom & The Fire Nation. Each has some people that are able to telekinetically their birth element, making them benders.Only one person in each generation, the Avatar can bend all 4 elements. The Avatar must keep peace and balance between the nations and be the bridge between the human and spirit worlds, when the Avatar dies the new one is born into the next element according to the Avatar Cycle. The Fire Nation plans to conquer the world and the Avatar should have stopped them, but failed. The Fire Nation knew the next Avatar would be born to the Air Nomads so they commit genocide of the Air Nomads but do not find the Avatar and make 100 years of war against the rest of the world. At the start of the show two Southern Water Tribe siblings Katara and Sokka find the Avatar, Aang the 12-year-old airbender frozen in an iceberg.<br />Start with Avatar Book 1: Water. It's all one continuous arc so you need to watch all the episodes. It is also made for little kids so as an adult I know the early episodes are alright but not great for grown-ups. If you want to see how it can be good can be for adults watch episodes 12 & 13 The Storm & The Blue Spirit, and then go to the beginning with The Boy In The Iceberg and The Avatar Returns. The show is 3 seasons, 61 episodes, the episodes are only about 20 minutes long so easy to binge.<br /><br />Korra's final season Book 4: Balance starts tomorrow (online-only release thanks to Nickelodeon pulling it from TV. Book 3 just wrapped up in August so it feels like they want to burn off their best show). It is a worthy successor to the original show but also it's own thing. Their will be 7 seasons waiting for your family! Dusknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-7353752957801440012014-10-02T08:46:10.252-04:002014-10-02T08:46:10.252-04:00Dusk: You're not the first person to recommend...Dusk: You're not the first person to recommend The Last Airbender to me. I've never been a huge anime fan, but my daughter loves reading manga now so this might be perfect for both of them.Nikki Staffordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04463618183850438914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-5423808281541233602014-10-01T16:35:35.515-04:002014-10-01T16:35:35.515-04:00I got in trouble as a kid because I liked to watch...I got in trouble as a kid because I liked to watch The Simpsons. I even loved Homer's Enemy. I am far from a regular viewer but of the recent ones I have seen Pulpit Fiction with Edward Norton as the new younger person running the church only for things to go horribly wrong involving frogs. And the couch gag led directly to the main plot of the episode. It was decent. The marathon of all 25 seasons in the States did really well in the rating so they are still doing something right. <br /><br />Also if you want another show that is great for kids and adults pick up Avatar: The Last Airbender DVDs. It and it's sequel Legend of Korra can be thought about deeply by both adults and kids. It's animation and action are beautiful, it's message thought-provoking and it's characters feel real. Doug Walker posted vlog reviews of the episodes, Mark Watches did the entire original show and loved it, and a woman on The Mary Sue is posting newbie recaps now and already thoroughly enjoys it and she's just over halfway done the show. <br /><br />And Korra is a worthy successor despite all the things it had to go through with the network, it rivals what happened with Firefly in terms of confusion and upsetting the fandom.Dusknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-78265431102666107732014-09-30T20:13:56.317-04:002014-09-30T20:13:56.317-04:00It took me a while to get into the Simpsons. I act...It took me a while to get into the Simpsons. I actually enjoyed it more as I was older. <br />That being said, in the past two summers (not this one we just had), I went to Universal Studios in FL primarily to go to the Harry Potter stuff, which is at Islands of Adventure. We decided to do both parks because they had made a Simpsons ride and my (now) husband LOVES the Simpsons. We thoroughly enjoyed the ride and the small touches of the area. Then we found out they were expanding the whole area to a Simpsons land. We returned the following summer for wedding planning (we got married at Disney 7 months ago), and just had to go back to see the new Simpsons stuff. It was amazing. New rides, restaurants, shops, etc. Total immersion. I loved it. We had a Krusty burger and a Duff beer. We sat in Moe's and took it all in. We also commented how amazing it was that after ALL THESE YEARS they JUST built this place and it was a HIT. I think it stands true to everything you posted, Nikki. It's timeless and has current fans and new ones in the future generation. Jazzygirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08451286913250300082noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-59122491821957064132014-09-30T15:29:08.633-04:002014-09-30T15:29:08.633-04:00"That sounds like rock and/or roll!""That sounds like rock and/or roll!"Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-69532173341835515202014-09-30T15:24:45.647-04:002014-09-30T15:24:45.647-04:00yourblindspot: That was an excellent open, to be s...yourblindspot: That was an excellent open, to be sure. But my all-time favourite open is still the one where Milhouse and Bart replace the organist's music and they all have to sing "In the Garden of Eden" by I. Ron Butterfly. Just thinking about it makes me laugh. ;) Nikki Staffordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04463618183850438914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-69164760603615664802014-09-30T15:12:48.380-04:002014-09-30T15:12:48.380-04:00The Gummi Venus de Milo episode bears perhaps my f...The Gummi Venus de Milo episode bears perhaps my favorite open from the entire series. The riot at the candy convention, ending with that brilliant sequence when Homer opens the Pop Rocks, kicks the soda machine, grabs the soda, shoves the two together and lobs it behind him like a hand grenade, then dives through the doors as the whole place explodes behind him? Doesn't get any better than that.yourblindspothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17976169517693699335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-50487571696849969712014-09-30T11:09:08.496-04:002014-09-30T11:09:08.496-04:00and the episode where Bobby was kicking everyone i...<i>and the episode where Bobby was kicking everyone in the nads is still one of my favourite things on television EVER. </i><br /><br />THAT'S MY PURSE!<br /><br />I know we've talked about it before, but still worth repeating. :) <br /><br /><i>From the satirical Rock Bottom news program to the kids telling Homer that the TV did a better job of raising them than he did, it was utterly brilliant.</i><br /><br />"Somebody had to take the babysitter home. Then I noticed she was sitting on [splice] her sweet [splice] can. [splice] -- so I grab her -- [splice] sweet can. [splice] Oh, just thinking about [splice] her [splice] can [splice] I just wish I had her -- [splice] sweet [splice] sweet [splice] s-s-sweet [splice] can."<br /><br />Classic stuff. <br /><br />Also, FWIW, <i>American Dad</i> is easily the best show out of the MacFarlane factory - it does some amazing things with plot expectations and narrative structure, and even characterization (character development is much more akin to <i>Simpsons</i> than <i>Family GuyG</i>). It still has the crassness and toilet humor of <i>Family Guy</i>, but marries all that to a much more ambitious show. <br /><br />Definitely not for kids, and not something you need to start from the beginning and watch every episode, but worth checking out sometime. It's much closer to the <i>Simpsons</i> (in terms of cultural satire)and <i>South Park</i> (in terms of darkness/twisted sensibilities) wheelhouses than <i>Family Guy</i>. Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30892649.post-86486877291769035032014-09-30T10:57:41.481-04:002014-09-30T10:57:41.481-04:00First of all Nikki, thanks for writing this post. ...First of all Nikki, thanks for writing this post. <i>Simpsons</i> is hands down, easily, without-a-doubt my all time favorite TV show, and I've stuck with it, watching every new episode, week in, week out. So I'm very pro articles that counter the perceived notion that the show is worthless and hasn't been good since the Clinton administration. <br /><br />I do think the show has lost a tick since those heady Golden Age seasons of the mid-90s, but only because not every episode of each season is an all time great anymore (and really, that's a pretty unfair expectation for any show). The show is still capable of turning out a handful of really great episodes each year, and its series-average is still pretty high. Even when a more current episode may not be as funny, it finds other ways to succeed: the animation is better than its ever been, and is often packed with subtle jokes itself, while the actors haven't lost a beat, and consistently turn out fantastic performances (this week's episode, for example, featured some all-time great work from Yeardley Smith). <br /><br />I will say that I didn't enjoy this particular episode as much as you did - it was, to borrow, a phrase, thoroughly "eh" and messily plotted (the writers still haven't quite figured out how to make the four act structure work for them). But there was still plenty to enjoy (the sight gag of Groucho Marx dancing with Karl Marx in Jewish heaven was worth the price of admission, Kent Brockman's Perd Hapley-esque monologue about TV news, Maurice LaMarche's Wellesian TV critic), and that's what's great about even latter day <i>Simpsons</i>: even the worst episodes (and this wasn't the worst, by any means) still have something to recommend them. Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.com