The SIMPSONS - After 23 Seasons it's The End ???

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It looks like The Simpsons — 20th Century Fox Television’s multibillion-dollar cash cow, the anchor of the Fox network’s Sunday prime-time schedule, and the longest-running sitcom in the history of broadcasting—might stop production after the current 23rd season ends next spring.

The reason is a negotiating impasse between the studio and the six principal actors who voice the beloved characters on the animated series that hilariously satirizes middle-class Midwestern angst.

Difficult bargaining is nothing new for the show, which was created by James L. Brooks and Matt Groening. Fox studio execs have occasionally threatened to replace uncooperative cast members with sound-alike actors. But for the first time in nearly a quarter century of haggling, the executives have insisted that if the cast doesn’t accept a draconian 45 percent pay cut, The Simpsons will die an abrupt death as a first-run series.

Apparently Dan Castellaneta (Homer, Grampa Simpson, Krusty the Clown, and others), Julie Kavner (Marge and others), Nancy Cartwright (Bart and others), Yeardley Smith (Lisa), Hank Azaria (Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum and Apu Nahasapeemapetilon), and Harry Shearer (Mr. Burns, Principal Skinner, Ned Flanders, and others) were willing to take a cut of around 30% with "a tiny percentage of the show’s huge back-end profits", but that isn't good enough for Fox.

Who knows what will happen but if the ultimatum holds we could well be looking at the end of tv's most famous family.
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[quote name='Lyricsborn']I'm a big fan but in all honesty they should have stopped long ago.[/QUOTE]

This is very true.
 
The Simpsons is still a top notch production. I can't stand the inevitable attitude of "Pah. I only watched through season 10." whenever the Simpsons come up on the Internet.
 
[quote name='whoknows']I haven't watched for awhile, but some of the recentish ones I did watch were actually pretty good.[/QUOTE]

He also likes Godzilla and the new Sonic games, so take this opinion with a grain of salt.
 
[quote name='zewone']He also likes Godzilla and the new Sonic games, so take this opinion with a grain of salt.[/QUOTE]

Glad to see you're still the douche you've always been.

Have you watched any to be saying otherwise?
 
[quote name='Rocko']The Simpsons is still a top notch production. I can't stand the inevitable attitude of "Pah. I only watched through season 10." whenever the Simpsons come up on the Internet.[/QUOTE]

In what way is it still top notch? The episodes of the last ten years pale in comparison to what the show used to be.
 
[quote name='whoknows']Glad to see you're still the douche you've always been.

Have you watched any to be saying otherwise?[/QUOTE]

Yes, the few I've watch are fucking awful. I love The Simpsons, so to see it be bastardized feels like a slap in the face. You can actually get more laughs out of worse (in the sense that The Simpsons is iconic) cartoons like Family Guy and American Dad.

They should have stopped, instead it somehow is still making money for Fox.
 
I'm sure it will all be worked out in the end. This is an empty threat released by an agent in an attempt to put pressure on the network to offer the voice actors a better deal. Even if there is no deal, I'm sure there are people who can do the Simpsons voices indistinguishably from the current actors at a fraction of the cost. They aren't irreplaceable IMO.
 
Fox should kill off 1 or 2 characters... problem solved. But really I'd prefer a show that focused on a different character within the Simpson's universe.
 
[quote name='wageslave']I'm sure it will all be worked out in the end. This is an empty threat released by an agent in an attempt to put pressure on the network to offer the voice actors a better deal. [/QUOTE]

This

/thread

No need for "teh simpsonz sucks now" posts.
 
I still enjoy watching it. It'll never be like Seasons 2 - 4 (or 5?), but it's still entertaining and 100x better than any reality crap clogging up most of the timeslots on every major network today.
 
Praise Jebus. I have been such a long time fan and it was time for that show to stop a LOOONG time ago. The re-telling of how the meet the Flanders had my nerd rage at all time high and I stopped watching after that.
 
[quote name='E-Z-B']I still enjoy watching it. It'll never be like Seasons 2 - 4 (or 5?), but it's still entertaining and 100x better than any reality crap clogging up most of the timeslots on every major network today.[/QUOTE]

Pretty much. Every now and then there's a good one, but people seem to have it stuck in their head that not an old episode = automatically sucks, which isn't the case. Far better than most of the garbage on TV nowadays.

Maybe they'll cancel Simpsons and we can have a 4th Seth McFarlane show :roll:
 
Stopped watching around 2002 or 2003 cause it wasnt the same as it used to be. Tuned in few months ago and it felt like Family Guy (aka Peter refers to a situation and they stop the storyline to go to it for the joke). Honestly surprised it hasnt already been canceled already.
 
[quote name='Cerebral_One']Fox should kill off 1 or 2 characters... problem solved. But really I'd prefer a show that focused on a different character within the Simpson's universe.[/QUOTE]

Most of the voice actors do a lot of different characters, they'd have to kill off a lot of characters if they dropped any of the cast.
 
The voice actors should take what they get. They'll never get another gig like The Simpsons. Reminds me of those two dumbasses on CSI that quit because they wanted more money, couldn't find work, and came crawling back.
 
I only like old Korn. I only like old Metallica. I only like old Simpsons. Look at me I am too cool for school.

Fox should just take some of that money they are paying Seth for Cleveland Guy and pay the actors what they want. Simpsons isnt as funny as it once was but it is still a great show. Pretty much the staple of Fox. I am sure they will work something out.

Crunchb3rry does have a good point though, these voice actors were damn lucky to have been where they were when they started the Simpsons. It isnt like they all have a great movie career lined up or anything. They are all low class actors/comedians and the Simpsons is as good as it will get for them, salary cut or not.
 
Have you guys read the Simpsons comics? Those are funny as hell! They need to make the comics into animated shows which can go on for many seasons. More Dr. Collosus and scorpio.
 
If its about money Fox should just kill off a few of its crappier shows. Let them run to season 25 and then call it quits
 
[quote name='Ziv']I was a fan, but I stopped watching a long time ago.[/QUOTE]
Same here. They need to retire forever!!
 
[quote name='crunchb3rry']The voice actors should take what they get. They'll never get another gig like The Simpsons. Reminds me of those two dumbasses on CSI that quit because they wanted more money, couldn't find work, and came crawling back.[/QUOTE]

If they been spending their money wisely they don't need to work another day. They also know that Fox won't be able to produce a TV show that will have the same result.


[quote name='TheRock88']Looks more and more likely that The Simpsons wont be around much longer. According to this site, Fox would actually save $750 million if they decided to end the series rather than continue to air it.

http://www.avclub.com/articles/fox-would-make-even-more-money-if-it-canceled-the,62859/[/QUOTE]

They don't save $750 million, they make additional $750 mil from selling it to other network. If they let it run for another 2-3 seasons that could be additional millions they get from selling it.
 
While I agree that the show is nowhere near as good as it used to be, and probably *should* end soon, I admit I still watch it religiously. No matter how bad it gets, it still has a charm about it that nothing else can replicate.

That said: this is BS. No way in hell Fox will drop the Simpsons like that.
 
I believe the Simpsons should end... eventually. Look at its Japanese counterparts Sazae-san and Doraemon, running for at least 30 years weekly almost non-stop! So never say die, Groening.

But this is an issue about money. Fox wants to cancel this lucrative franchise to "save money" even though it would get a buttload of money either way, due to its many deals. The voice actors were willing to take a 30% paycut and some syndication money, but Fox wants 40% and none of the sweet syndicated silver.
 
[quote name='62t']If they been spending their money wisely they don't need to work another day. They also know that Fox won't be able to produce a TV show that will have the same result.
[/QUOTE]

I imagine they are. I don't see TV voice actors living very lavish lifestyles. The real issue seems to be the writers. I recall a lot of the ones that were responsible for the show becoming huge, post-Tracy Ullman, have left.

I don't think it's about the voice actors at all. It's all about content. I kinda noticed the show was becoming a little too much like Family Guy (which I loathe) because of too many pop culture tie-ins and "cameos" from celebrities. It started feeling more like a variety show than the antics of a weird family. I almost wonder if they did that on purpose because Family Guy threatened their viewership.

With any show though, where people start to say "it should end", that's pretty much an indicator that it ran its course. Like with ER, where Noah Wylie was the only guy left (and even then only sporadically) and nobody cared about all the replacement characters. The problem is they don't end it when they should (a la Friday Night Lights) in as pleasing a manner as possible to fans, they end it after everybody lost interest and the finale goes over like a wet fart.
 
[quote name='MrX']Praise Jebus. I have been such a long time fan and it was time for that show to stop a LOOONG time ago. The re-telling of how the meet the Flanders had my nerd rage at all time high and I stopped watching after that.[/QUOTE]

There was a flashback episode of how Homer was dating Marge while she was in college before they had the kids. It was set in the 90's...
 
I think the problem with The Simpsons is they are running out of ideas and then returning to old ideas that completely invalidate anything in the past.

I mean if you watched the classic Simpsons Homer wins a Grammy for his group "The Be Sharps" and then now they do a episode where Homer has no kids and is in a Grunge band in the 90's. Now if you look at "The Be Sharps" episode he won a Grammy in 1986 with Bart as a baby.

I guess one of the reasons I stopped watching was how can they completely change the past stories of how the Simpsons met so often and get away with it. I mean I understand times change, but at least don't just make up random crap whenever you feel like it.

Do I want to see it end? Well I really don't care about the show at this point. It has become painful for me to even watch and I use to religiously watch The Simpsons every day.
 
The re-tellings or retcons of past events can be annoying, but you don't have to accept them as canon.

This past Sunday's episode with Bart and Superintendent Chalmers was pretty funny.

Obviously a lot of stuff won't measure up to the first 10 seasons (or less, depending on your opinion), but the episodes post-movie have been better than the second decade of episodes.

A lot of shows decline over time. Like the first few seasons of Its Always Sunny blow away the past few seasons. I'm sure there are numerous comparisons you can make across television history. I think its amazing that the Simpsons had at least a solid decade before a really noted decline. But all of that stated, that doesn't mean there still isn't enjoyment to be found in new Simpsons episodes. I just don't see why so many are compelled to thread crap even if they no longer wish to support the show anymore.

South Park is in a similar position in terms of declining in the quality of their episodes and people's tastes changing over time, and I think they nailed it with this brilliant episode: http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s15e07-youre-getting-old
 
IMO the series has been struggling to squeeze out any laughter for the past few seasons and I'm sure if the early seasons were as poor as the recent ones, the Simpsons wouldn't have lasted this long.

In any case, the voice actors won't take 45% pay cut. I doubt they care too much if the show ends since I am sure they are all very wealthy (they get paid hundreds of thousands of dollars per show).
 
[quote name='Sir_Fragalot']
I mean if you watched the classic Simpsons Homer wins a Grammy for his group "The Be Sharps" and then now they do a episode where Homer has no kids and is in a Grunge band in the 90's. Now if you look at "The Be Sharps" episode he won a Grammy in 1986 with Bart as a baby.
[/QUOTE]
#-o It's like they're trying to shit on as much of the established story as they can to see who's still paying attention.

Characters acting out of character, celebrity of the week, Family Guy flashbacks, retcons... yeah. That is why I stopped watching. Matt Groening and his friends at Fox will just grind this into the ground as long as it makes a profit.

Pull the plug, please.
 
[quote name='Indecisive Rattle']There was a flashback episode of how Homer was dating Marge while she was in college before they had the kids. It was set in the 90's...[/QUOTE]



Right but as the post below this one have said how many times have the retconned things and made them go complete against things from earlier seasons? In the early seasons Marge and Homer dated in High school and not college and it was also the late 70's early 80's not the 90's. They have ran out of ideas and just need to let it die. It should have died 10 years ago when it was still relevant or like Matt used to claim all the time after the movie was released
 
Ratings are flat to down over the last several years. No real growth, yet costs to produce the series are up tremendously. Only natural for the studio to look to cut costs.

The show has basically continued on the past few seasons because it brings in massive sums of profit from syndication rights. This is a profit center that will continue for decades to come, regardless of the show continuing with new content from this point.

Personally, I think they could cut a lot of costs by simply not having the celeb of the week do a 3 line guest star in half of the episodes every seasons.

There is no question that the quality of the show has dropped dramatically over the past 5-7 years but the show still manages to entertain and put out the occasional gem episode that is worth watching more than once.

Fox will reach a deal with the voice actors. The voice actors won't want to lose a super easy pay-day and I really doubt Fox wants to actually cancel the show that built it's network.

I still DVR the series but the show has gone from a must watch to a show to watch when there is nothing else on.
 
[quote name='Rocko']The Simpsons is still a top notch production. I can't stand the inevitable attitude of "Pah. I only watched through season 10." whenever the Simpsons come up on the Internet.[/QUOTE]

QFT. If Seasons 1 through 10 didn't exist The Simpsons would STILL be one of the best shows of all time. I don't watch it religiously like I used to but I always get a few laughs out of each episode. I also can't believe it has been 23 years - I remember watching them on the Tracey Ullman Show. Now there are college grads who have never lived in a world without The Simpsons. Damn I'm old.

They will come to an agreement - I think they are only a few million dollars apart and there's no way FOX will kill this cash cow. There is really no reason it can't go on forever or until the cast members start dying.
 
[quote name='BillyBob29']Personally, I think they could cut a lot of costs by simply not having the celeb of the week do a 3 line guest star in half of the episodes every seasons.
[/QUOTE]

YES! I enjoyed Seth Rogen and Stephen Colbert doing guest voices on the show, but would it have really changed anything if those characters *weren't* voiced by celebs? Another one that comes to mind is Jon Stewart -- he had like a 3 minute scene with Krusty, and that was it.

And I'm sure it didn't cost much, but the guest appearance I despised was the cast of Glee. I didn't like that episode much in the first place, but shoehorning them in was just...worthless. It will eventually fade into irrelevance, and their appearance will mean nothing in reruns.
 
Wow Javeryh, you've been watching for quite a while.

But I really think they should've ended the show, preferably right after Groening said he would end it if they didn't get the Grammy.

As for musha saying low rate, Hank Azaria is not low rate!!!!!!! You should watch the show he had on Showtime, it's fucking superb. I wish I could remember the name but it was so good. Unfortunately it didn't do well enough in it's second season so it was canceled
 
[quote name='PR Mega X']And I'm sure it didn't cost much, but the guest appearance I despised was the cast of Glee. I didn't like that episode much in the first place, but shoehorning them in was just...worthless. It will eventually fade into irrelevance, and their appearance will mean nothing in reruns.[/QUOTE]

I thought that episode was hilarious, not for Glee, but because the Flight of the Conchords cameo was awesome and funny, and they played a big role throughout the episode. But FOX didn't even advertise them, just the cast of Glee.
 
[quote name='kodave']I thought that episode was hilarious, not for Glee, but because the Flight of the Conchords cameo was awesome and funny, and they played a big role throughout the episode. But FOX didn't even advertise them, just the cast of Glee.[/QUOTE]

Agreed. I never watched either show but those guys saved the ep. from being terrible. Poor Lisa.

I don't track down episodes by season, but I know there have been plenty of great episodes after Season 10 (I don't know ep titles so I'll go by short descriptions instead):

Bart playing the drums (loved the scene with The White Stripes)
Moe dating a woman he met on MySpace
Homer becomes a helicopter parent ("Black Hawk Down")
The "robot wars" episode with Bart and Homer (somewhat similar to "Real Steel")
THE PIE MAN
And just the other day I saw a great episode where they turned "Angry Dad" into a movie.

I could go on, but The Simpsons is still great.

As far as this dilemma with voice actor pay cuts goes, I remember this happening before a few years back so I'm sure things will get straightened out again. If the show ends, there are plenty of new "episodes" available via the comic books if fans want more Simpsons (including one story based on "Death Note" which won an Eisner award).
 
Pie man was a long-ass time ago. Most of those other ideas sound like rehashes.

Honestly at this point the Simpsons is suffering from "Simpsons did it"
 
[quote name='detectiveconan16']http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/06/us-simpsons-idUSTRE79505F20111006

Deadline's noon PST.

Fox wants to pay them $250,000 an episode, and the actors want $300,000 and syndication money. Cancelled or paycuts, Fox wins and that just pisses me off.[/QUOTE]

Why does that piss you off? New production is just not profitable at current prices. Ratings are down for the show while costs are up. What is wrong with Fox trying to bring costs back in line with reality?
 
[quote name='silentevil']Dunno if it's been said but I read somewhere they have enough episodes to last until the emd of 2012[/QUOTE]

According to what Variety is reporting, the decision was set for today so that in the event an agreement couldn't be reached, the writers would have time to write a true finale episode and get the episode completed in time to air in May 2012......the end of the current season.
 
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