Family Guy, The Simpsons, South Park- chicken soup for the pop-culture junkie soul?

SpectralJulianIsNotDead · 10.26.2007, 02:53 AM

Seriously. . . whatever happened to comedy that doesn't rely on pop-culture references for laughs?

Not that pop-culture references aren't funny- they are pretty well done in tv shows like Arrested Development- but that show didn't rely on those to be funny.

Of course everything joke needs to have some frame of reference for it to be funny, I guess pop-culture comedy just appeals to the lowest common denominator.

atsonicpark · 10.26.2007, 04:40 AM

Yeah, but the Simpsons aren't just a "pop-culture-reference humorfest", they actually DO have real jokes. Like, I think pop culture referencing makes up perhaps.. 20% of the show. The Simpsons are timeless.

The other two shows you mentioned, though, wow.. yeah.. they could barely exist on their own merits, because they base whole episodes around making fun of other things in pop culture. South Park is by far one of the worst fucking shows I've ever seen, just terrible, I've seen about 50+ episodes of it and haven't laughed once (can't believe South Park is left to be on season infinity but a good fucking show like Futurama or Super Milk Chan is shunned!). Family Guy is pretty hit-or-miss as a television show, but indeed it's random flashbacks to pop culture pretty much make up 75% of the humor -- though, they DO riff on a lot of obscure pop culture moments that might go over some younger viewer's heads (like commercials from the 80's). So yeah.

pbradley · 10.26.2007, 04:42 AM

My television is broken and has been for most of the year.

atsonicpark · 10.26.2007, 04:48 AM

The Simpsons are the only thing I watch on TV...

Okay, I lied: I turn on X-Play and stare at Morgan Webb. I put it on mute.

ALIEN ANAL · 10.26.2007, 05:00 AM

it doesnt bother me how a show makes me laugh

I can enjoy southpark, family guy, simpsons, curb your enthusiasm, the office, the mighty boosh and other shows and not worry what is using pop culture references to get laughs or not. I really dont give a fuck, as long as im laughing ill be happy.

atsonicpark · 10.26.2007, 05:10 AM

Very true, alien anal, but I think constant pop culture referencing gets very tiring. ESPECIALLY with South Park, who builds entire episodes around one joke. I mean, South Park to me is the perfect example of a show that would make for awesome shorts.. maybe an Adult Swim-type show so it'd only have be 11 minutes in length... but they just take one annoying pop culture thing and they beat the joke into the fucking ground for 22 minutes. Rah.

ALIEN ANAL · 10.26.2007, 05:25 AM

there is so much more to southpark though than this 'one joke' the whole show is a constant parody of stupid shows and cliche things you see in movies or life. i think there is a lot of missed jokes in southpark.

atsonicpark · 10.26.2007, 05:33 AM

Well, yeah, if you wanna get down to it, there is a bit more than that, but it doesn't help that the characters are annoying and the creators think they're more clever than they really are. It may not be a "one-joke" show, but it is a "one-note" show.

Regarding Trey and Matt, I really like Orgazmo and ... Cannibal! The Musical is boring, but it's not bad (probably one of the worst Troma films).. but man, I HATED Team America... and never saw BASEketball..

ALIEN ANAL · 10.26.2007, 05:48 AM

why did you hate team america?

atsonicpark · 10.26.2007, 06:03 AM

i didn't think it was funny.

ALIEN ANAL · 10.26.2007, 06:10 AM

yeh but to say you HATED it seems like there was more about it u didnt like than just not finding it funny..or im wrong and that is all.

Washing Machine · 10.26.2007, 06:18 AM

I gotta say I love all these shows; The Simpsons, Family Guy, South Park, Futurama, King of the Hill, Daria, Adult Swim....its really great lighthearted entertainment.

PAULYBEE2656 · 10.26.2007, 06:24 AM

fuck all the high brow shit. family guy IS inanely funny. simpsons WERE inanely funny. south park is just stupid. love these shows

american dad.... meh, its ok.

atsonicpark · 10.26.2007, 06:26 AM

I didn't think it was funny. It bored me, it annoyed me, etc. Again, something that could have been a short film and would have been reasonably entertaining; over the course of a whole film, it was just... mehhhh...
I think Trey and Matt are talented people, at least so far as having interesting ideas and having the ability to write catchy songs (weird but true). However, the execution of their products is always a bit long winded, monotonous, and droning.

PAULYBEE2656 · 10.26.2007, 06:28 AM

they should rerelease their cannibal the musical film. that was funny!

PAULYBEE2656 · 10.26.2007, 06:29 AM

atsonicpark · 10.26.2007, 06:29 AM

Family Guy is weird to me, because I think it was really good for a while and then really awful and I've been watching it again and think it's pretty good. Simpsons have always been good; I just think their early episodes were great. But it's not like the new episodes are BAD; they're just... well... I mean, when you lose Lionel Hutz and Troy McClure, what can you really do?

American Dad is probably the only show that approaches South Park's level of badness.

PAULYBEE2656 · 10.26.2007, 06:44 AM

family guty is now excellent again. it did go through a slupm but from season 4 i think, it got back its original writers and cast. i think its just a great show and always makes me laugh.....

PAULYBEE2656 · 10.26.2007, 06:44 AM

slupm=slump btw

Danny Himself · 10.26.2007, 08:59 AM

The Simpsons is an institution. South Park continues where The Simpsons leaves something, what with The Simpsons world being bound into some sense of reality and continuity. Family Guy isn't good enough to lick either shows' balls.

10.26.2007, 02:53 AM	#1
SpectralJulianIsNotDead invito al cielo Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 7,409	Seriously. . . whatever happened to comedy that doesn't rely on pop-culture references for laughs? Not that pop-culture references aren't funny- they are pretty well done in tv shows like Arrested Development- but that show didn't rely on those to be funny. Of course everything joke needs to have some frame of reference for it to be funny, I guess pop-culture comedy just appeals to the lowest common denominator.
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10.26.2007, 04:40 AM	#2
atsonicpark invito al cielo Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 28,843	Yeah, but the Simpsons aren't just a "pop-culture-reference humorfest", they actually DO have real jokes. Like, I think pop culture referencing makes up perhaps.. 20% of the show. The Simpsons are timeless. The other two shows you mentioned, though, wow.. yeah.. they could barely exist on their own merits, because they base whole episodes around making fun of other things in pop culture. South Park is by far one of the worst fucking shows I've ever seen, just terrible, I've seen about 50+ episodes of it and haven't laughed once (can't believe South Park is left to be on season infinity but a good fucking show like Futurama or Super Milk Chan is shunned!). Family Guy is pretty hit-or-miss as a television show, but indeed it's random flashbacks to pop culture pretty much make up 75% of the humor -- though, they DO riff on a lot of obscure pop culture moments that might go over some younger viewer's heads (like commercials from the 80's). So yeah. __________________
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10.26.2007, 04:42 AM	#3
pbradley invito al cielo Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: SoKo Posts: 10,621	My television is broken and has been for most of the year.
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10.26.2007, 04:48 AM	#4
atsonicpark invito al cielo Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 28,843	The Simpsons are the only thing I watch on TV... Okay, I lied: I turn on X-Play and stare at Morgan Webb. I put it on mute. __________________
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10.26.2007, 05:00 AM	#5
ALIEN ANAL invito al cielo Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Australia Posts: 5,461	it doesnt bother me how a show makes me laugh I can enjoy southpark, family guy, simpsons, curb your enthusiasm, the office, the mighty boosh and other shows and not worry what is using pop culture references to get laughs or not. I really dont give a fuck, as long as im laughing ill be happy. __________________ www.instagram.com/alienanal
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10.26.2007, 05:10 AM	#6
atsonicpark invito al cielo Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 28,843	Very true, alien anal, but I think constant pop culture referencing gets very tiring. ESPECIALLY with South Park, who builds entire episodes around one joke. I mean, South Park to me is the perfect example of a show that would make for awesome shorts.. maybe an Adult Swim-type show so it'd only have be 11 minutes in length... but they just take one annoying pop culture thing and they beat the joke into the fucking ground for 22 minutes. Rah. __________________
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10.26.2007, 05:25 AM	#7
ALIEN ANAL invito al cielo Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Australia Posts: 5,461	there is so much more to southpark though than this 'one joke' the whole show is a constant parody of stupid shows and cliche things you see in movies or life. i think there is a lot of missed jokes in southpark. __________________ www.instagram.com/alienanal
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10.26.2007, 05:33 AM	#8
atsonicpark invito al cielo Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 28,843	Well, yeah, if you wanna get down to it, there is a bit more than that, but it doesn't help that the characters are annoying and the creators think they're more clever than they really are. It may not be a "one-joke" show, but it is a "one-note" show. Regarding Trey and Matt, I really like Orgazmo and ... Cannibal! The Musical is boring, but it's not bad (probably one of the worst Troma films).. but man, I HATED Team America... and never saw BASEketball.. __________________
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10.26.2007, 05:48 AM	#9
ALIEN ANAL invito al cielo Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Australia Posts: 5,461	why did you hate team america? __________________ www.instagram.com/alienanal
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10.26.2007, 06:03 AM	#10
atsonicpark invito al cielo Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 28,843	i didn't think it was funny. __________________
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10.26.2007, 06:10 AM	#11
ALIEN ANAL invito al cielo Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Australia Posts: 5,461	yeh but to say you HATED it seems like there was more about it u didnt like than just not finding it funny..or im wrong and that is all. __________________ www.instagram.com/alienanal
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10.26.2007, 06:18 AM	#12
Washing Machine expwy. to yr skull Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Cardiff, Spiderland Posts: 1,465	I gotta say I love all these shows; The Simpsons, Family Guy, South Park, Futurama, King of the Hill, Daria, Adult Swim....its really great lighthearted entertainment. __________________ ....Of Course its some kinda cosmic payback for being too ironic!
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10.26.2007, 06:24 AM	#13
PAULYBEE2656 invito al cielo Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: wexford, rep of ireland Posts: 6,930	fuck all the high brow shit. family guy IS inanely funny. simpsons WERE inanely funny. south park is just stupid. love these shows american dad.... meh, its ok. __________________ myspace facebook *twitter*
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10.26.2007, 06:26 AM	#14
atsonicpark invito al cielo Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 28,843	I didn't think it was funny. It bored me, it annoyed me, etc. Again, something that could have been a short film and would have been reasonably entertaining; over the course of a whole film, it was just... mehhhh... I think Trey and Matt are talented people, at least so far as having interesting ideas and having the ability to write catchy songs (weird but true). However, the execution of their products is always a bit long winded, monotonous, and droning. __________________
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10.26.2007, 06:28 AM	#15
PAULYBEE2656 invito al cielo Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: wexford, rep of ireland Posts: 6,930	they should rerelease their cannibal the musical film. that was funny! __________________ myspace facebook *twitter*
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10.26.2007, 06:29 AM	#16
PAULYBEE2656 invito al cielo Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: wexford, rep of ireland Posts: 6,930	__________________ myspace facebook *twitter*
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10.26.2007, 06:44 AM	#18
PAULYBEE2656 invito al cielo Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: wexford, rep of ireland Posts: 6,930	family guty is now excellent again. it did go through a slupm but from season 4 i think, it got back its original writers and cast. i think its just a great show and always makes me laugh..... __________________ myspace facebook *twitter*
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10.26.2007, 06:44 AM	#19
PAULYBEE2656 invito al cielo Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: wexford, rep of ireland Posts: 6,930	slupm=slump btw __________________ myspace facebook *twitter*
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10.26.2007, 08:59 AM	#20
Danny Himself invito al cielo Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 9,623	The Simpsons is an institution. South Park continues where The Simpsons leaves something, what with The Simpsons world being bound into some sense of reality and continuity. Family Guy isn't good enough to lick either shows' balls.
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