simpsons season 26 ep 5 'opposites a-frack'

I always like to watch a little something with my breakfast and this morning SBS was playing of all things The China Syndrome. I saw this film when it came out, at Hoyts Cinema Centre in late 1979, I was 14. As it happens this was the first time I went to the movies by myself and it was a spontaneous decision made from boredom. There was a little consternation about this at home when I came back from the city but, you know, no-one had asked me when I would be back and no-one had ever told me not to see a film by myself (these are the trials of the eldest child). 

Seeing a little bit of The China Syndrome on TV is not in itself noteworthy but amazingly I then had some morning tea and returned to the TV and watched the second half of 'Opposites A-Frack', which I had almost given up on as uninspiring, if not depressing. I am so glad I didn't. 

Spoiling the ending: Something I failed to notice until today about these season 20something Simpsons is that even though I don't hate them and think the harsh criticisms of them are misjudged - i.e. it's still a pretty good show - I don't laugh at them, either. Well, I kind of hate myself for finding this so funny and believe me, this is not a reflection of my life, honestly, but the final scene (continued over the credits!) of Mr. Burns sitting up in bed with Maxine Lombard, the 'liberal' 'assemblywoman' (that's a word?!) who challenges his every view. The big point of most of the story is that they are opposed on everything but they are instantly sexually attracted to each other and celebrate in many ways their intense passion. However, the end just has them looking at emails, ads on their tablets and making half-aware conversation with each other. I'm sorry but it's very, very funny.

I think this is 'there's a sale at the garden furniture store' (yep, that first word means 'in a garden furniture store'. 

Here Mr Burns is complaining about how most cars these days are black or grey and that it's rare to see a red one. 

Seriously, I laughed and laughed, and I don't do that much at anything really (usually it's at something Laura says certainly never on my own at the television). 

Anyway. the other amazing thing was this: Maxine Lombard is played by Jane Fonda!!!

i didn't do it

 

This is from the very beginning of episode 19 season 23 of The Simpsons, 'A Totally Fun Thing That Bart Will Never do Again'. I make no further comment. Alright, one comment: whenever we think the time came when The Simpsons jumped the shark, clearly the people who work on it had their own opinions long ago, presumably before April 2012 when this episode was aired. 

more guests you never knew about, or knew about but had forgotten, or knew about and remembered, on the simpsons

You better believe Julian Assange had a brief guest role in an episode (in fact, the 500th episode) of The Simpsons in I think 2011. Whatever the Finnish translation says above,* the actual line is 'you should get out less'. 

* google translate says it's 'you would stay at home more'. 

funny

 'Do you know her, Funny?' 'At least she knows me' 

14 December 2023. Continuing the Covid era posts from, well, 17 days ago...

I have been alternating today between watching 2011 episodes of The Simpsons (as you will recall, I watch them with Finnish subtitles) and episodes of Friends from the very start. It began running in 1994. 

In Finland, Krusty is known as 'Funny', which strikes me as fairly basic, unless there's a more subtle meaning to this appellation that I don't understand, though I suppose calling a clown 'Funny the Clown' (except the Finns don't have definite articles, so they're a bit hamstrung with that trope) is suitably grim. 

There's a lot of talk these days (that's a lie, but there is some talk) (what would I know. It's still on TV, maybe people talk about it all the time) about when The Simpsons jumped the shark. If you'd asked me, let's say, a year ago I would have said probably after 6 or 7 years, but really, no. These 2011 eps are actually usually pretty strong, who knows, maybe new episodes sometimes still hit the right note today, though I kind of doubt it (but then, what would I have said a year ago? exactly). Not that I can remember anything much that they have been about. There was the episode featuring Ted Nugent (yep, apparently he is actually doing his own voice there) as a celebrity who Homer, as a right-wing TV commentator, wants to endorse for president. I know The Simpsons' joke about 'President Trump' ten years (or whenever) before the real thing was the most prescient they got about Trump, but this is pretty prescient. 

I've referred to this before, probably not that long ago, but I read once in a magazine a critic's opinion that Lou Reed only got loud and raucous when his lyrics weren't up to scratch (I mean LR was a professional, maybe he thought certain kinds of music went with certain kinds of lyrics, like, bad ones went with raucous music). I think that when The Simpsons is low on ideas or even ways to convey ideas it goes violent and cruel, particularly to animals, which I don't really find that funny.*

Friends is an interesting show. As it's finding its feet in these early episodes, I'm intrigued by the way it tries to hard to get us engaged with these characters who, of course, meant precisely nothing to anyone in 1994 (neither did any of the actors, I think, though maybe Courteney Cox had a career before this?). It does this partly by heaps of reaction shots and glances between characters hearing a line, split-second shots that go nowhere, breaking up the rapid fire nature of the dialogue and instead forcing us to think: wow, these kids really do care about each other and enjoy each other's company. So we should too! 

I'm also interested to think about the impact Seinfeld had on Friends, by which I guess I also mean every sitcom after Seinfeld. The way the Friends people sometimes dwell at the fringes of celebrity (Joey is Al Pacino's butt double the way that Kramer was in a Woody Allen movie, for instance - and both took their roles way too seriously and got fired, ha ha) or the way that the Friends people are often regretlessly shallow. Gosh it must be hard to set up a sitcom and keep it going. It takes a lot of talent, probably even more luck. According to Wikipedia the six stars of Friends (or at least the five living ones) make twenty million dollars a year just from repeats of the fucking show. No-one deserves that (or everyone does). 

*Partly because it reminds me that the world is cruel, to animals and people, but also because I just don't  understand why it should be funny.

stop or my dog will shoot (the simpsons s18 e20)

'The opening speech will be given by New York's most famous mayor'

He's just addressing dogs, so he's saying 'who's a good boy?' etc 

According to wikipedia Giuliani recorded his guest appearance but then had to be replaced by an actor because he was a presidential candidate... but now, his voice has been reinstituted in the currently available version of this episode. If that's true, it really doesn't sound like him (you'd think they'd find someone who sounded more like him) although I suppose this is 16 years ago. It doesn't look much like him either but ditto. 

As mentioned, I am watching a lot of this because it's not exactly Finnish practice, more precisely a useful reminder that it's a lifetime's work learning all this Finnish, for crying out loud. 

trip to europe a month ago

Finnish television is completely terrible in almost every way imaginable. Well, I suppose I don’t mind Simpsonit (I’m surprised to realise how much of the first few seasons are completely lodged in my brain) but ffs, I said to Laura this morning I was going to watch an episode of Simpsonit and just turned on Star TV (channel 12) and there was… an episode of Simpsonit (well, actually about five minutes of the same three ads they show on that station, but essentially yes, that was the next thing that came on). It’s actually quite depressing. Most of the locally made shows as far as I can tell are idiotic game shows, etc it’s pathetic. That said, if they do have local drama or something I wouldn’t know where to find it or even necessarily recognise it, so I should probably shut up.

This afternoon I walked into central Kuopio to see what I could see. Most things were closed, I went to this ‘flea market’ which had a lot of crummy things and possibly some great things but I was not in the mood. Amazing how Moomin stuff gets such a guernsey here – I was surprised to find a Moominpappa mug which I have two of (why?!) was on sale for (I nearly wrote ‘was worth’) 26 euro.