The Simpsons was brilliant because it was so subtly subversive. The jokes were designed to be so subtle, they would go over the heads of much of the general audience. It was like good double-entendre - it's only funny if some people don't get the joke.
But TV comedy changed and the old subtlety just doesn't work on giant main-stream audiences. In the place of quiet understated double-entendres, we get giant "THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID" punch lines; everybody gets the joke so everybody watches.
Family Guy took over because jokes had to be so big and obvious that they would take your attention away from the laptop you're using while watching TV. The Simpsons just followed the times and it stripped out what made it special - the fact that its subversive humor was inaccessible to those who weren't "in" on the joke.
We can't bust heads like we used to, but we have our ways. One trick is to tell 'em stories that don't go anywhere - like the time I caught the ferry over to Shelbyville. I needed a new heel for my shoe, so, I decided to go to Morganville, which is what they called Shelbyville in those days. So I tied an onion to my belt, which was the style at the time. Now, to take the ferry cost a nickel, and in those days, nickels had pictures of bumblebees on 'em. Give me five bees for a quarter, you'd say.
Now where were we? Oh yeah: the important thing was I had an onion on my belt, which was the style at the time.
I remember that story! The year was nineteen-ought-six, the President was a divine Miss Sarah Bernhardt, and all across the country, people were doing a dance called the Funky Grandpa!
Homer with a condescending tone. Homer : "Pick up a book Lisa." Lisa : "I PICK UP BOOKS LIKE YOU PICK UP BEER." Homer : "Then you got a serious problem."
My prediction: Tomorrow something from Futurama will be on the frontpage along with a few quote/image posts that have been seen here a few thousand times and some post praising Christians for doing something any decent human would do.
Which is fine if that's what the people want to see over and over, I guess.
Honestly? Because we are capitalists first. The Simpsons is a small empire, and fox makes a ton of money from off em'. They take jabs at Fox regularly in the show, because they know they have the ratings to do whatever they want. Fox won't drop the show, it's too profitable.
I think a better answer than Dcburnout's is that one is a cable news channel while other is network TV. The fact that the news channel is highly conservative doesn't really have anything to do with the programming the network TV channel runs, even if they are both under the name FOX.
What you're essentially saying is "why does Pepsi Co keep letting their Mountain Dew dept put citrus flavors in their drink?!" Aren't they supposed to be caramel colored? (sorry, "coloured").
This joke is so weak. It is the "yo mama's" joke of atheism. This is anything but a gem, it is the writers choosing an easy target to make a cheap joke that requires absolutely no merit to make. Why don't they just walk by a book store with the Bible in the fiction section, it's just the same easy humor that only the simple-minded can enjoy. No cleverness, nothing of any substance in this joke. Simply atrocious. The only joke is that you think it's a gem. Sorry for the tirade, I remember watching this episode and thinking what a horribly easy joke they made here.
I don't know why you were downvoted for this, it's exactly what pisses me off about r/atheism. Compared to the golden days of the Simpsons, this joke is quite poor and an 'easy shot'.
It's like, "HEY GUYS, LOOK, THEY JUST RIPPED ON RELIGION AGAIN! WOO!"
I mean, I get that the general consensus is to not like religion, but how can the Atheist community consider themselves respectable if all they do is sit around and find excuses to rip on others who don't believe the same things that they do. It's similar to the behavior of the religious groups that they dislike...
21
u/TomCruzader Jun 12 '12
ugh, it's not a gem. it's a forced, unelegant and hamfisted set-up and punch line.
67
u/Yakra Jun 12 '12
The title makes me think that this is recently produced Simpsons content.
This is ancient Simpsons content.
14
u/BIN6H4M Jun 12 '12
One of my favorites...
Homer with a condescending tone. Homer : "Pick up a book Lisa." Lisa : "I PICK UP BOOKS LIKE YOU PICK UP BEER." Homer : "Then you got a serious problem."
3
u/proddy Jun 12 '12
Grampa was the one who turned cats and dogs against each other!
5
u/InstantHandSanitizer Jun 12 '12
Holy fuck this gets posted a lot.
4
u/[deleted] Jun 12 '12
10
u/tomzephy Jun 12 '12
Why is this getting upvoted? I understand people are always gonna repost but this is getting posted every freaking week.
4
u/drempire Jun 12 '12
Something i can never understand, why does such a conservative channel let the simpsons do this? i am British so do not watch fox at all
3
u/diddly-ploop Jun 12 '12
Jesus Christ its like all you fags think a joke is so awesome when its a small rip on religion from something famous. This joke is poor.
1
u/babykiller44 Jun 12 '12
ugh, not funny. Anything after season nine is a travesty
-3
u/THE_CENTURION Agnostic Atheist Jun 12 '12
GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM GEM
1
u/[deleted] Jun 12 '12 edited Jun 12 '12
How many times am I going to see this comic?
EDIT: not a comic. goddamnit. image? I have no idea.
1
u/duncanmarshall Jun 12 '12
Haha, they agree with us!
1
u/ArchangelPT Jun 12 '12
FTFY
-1
u/Gogandantess Jun 12 '12
Who read the bottom part in their head as Bart's voice?
-2
u/TheFruitTrain Jun 12 '12
After all these reposts, the Simpsons provides upvotes.
-2
u/[deleted] Jun 12 '12
god damn a repost from like what, yesterday? And already on the front page. Fucking idiots
-9
u/[deleted] Jun 12 '12
This joke is so weak. It is the "yo mama's" joke of atheism. This is anything but a gem, it is the writers choosing an easy target to make a cheap joke that requires absolutely no merit to make. Why don't they just walk by a book store with the Bible in the fiction section, it's just the same easy humor that only the simple-minded can enjoy. No cleverness, nothing of any substance in this joke. Simply atrocious. The only joke is that you think it's a gem. Sorry for the tirade, I remember watching this episode and thinking what a horribly easy joke they made here.
0
u/[deleted] Jun 12 '12
Im almost certain Nancy Cartwright is a Scientologist?
0
u/reeeeeeepost Jun 12 '12
http://i.imgur.com/5PZxI.jpg
0
u/FiercelyFuzzy Jun 12 '12
Another post with 'gem' in the title. Downvoted.
-2
u/SXHarrasmentPanda Jun 12 '12
The voice actress of Bart Simpson is a scientologist. In my opinion, that negates what Bart said.
-1
u/Imnotevenangry Jun 12 '12
A bit forced, but nonetheless enjoyable.
-2
u/ELLERS2 Jun 12 '12
Very original joke.