Scully Off Simpsons

[James Harvey]

Here ya go:

After a lot of complaints from fans, it seems that Mike Scully, current executive producer of "The Simpsons," is no more. Instead, FOX has decided to appoint Al Jean to the job! Al Jean has been with the show since its early beginnings and is famous for writing such episodes as "Lisa`s Pony" and "Stark Raving Dad." It has been rumored that Mike Scully has recently been gearing the show more towards kids, since he does have kids of his own, which I would believe ANY second. But for the fans, this should be a good move for the show! -- Simpsons Sourcebook

This means next season might actually be pretty good!

[Anthonynotes]

Originally posted by DickGrayson
Here ya go:

After a lot of complaints from fans, it seems that Mike Scully, current executive producer of "The Simpsons," is no more. Instead, FOX has decided to appoint Al Jean to the job! Al Jean has been with the show since its early beginnings and is famous for writing such episodes as "Lisa`s Pony" and "Stark Raving Dad." It has been rumored that Mike Scully has recently been gearing the show more towards kids, since he does have kids of his own, which I would believe ANY second. But for the fans, this should be a good move for the show! -- Simpsons Sourcebook

This means next season might actually be pretty good!

Uh-huh...I'd want another source (an official Fox press release, etc.) before believing this report (which sounds like a hoax). Though it still wouldn't get me to start watching again anytime soon, Al Jean did seem to keep everyone in character on the eps he worked on....

-B.

[DR. BELCH]

Gearing the show towards the little 'uns, eh? That's good, if it means we won't see Homer spongebathing anymore naked hobos and happily consuming the cojones of large bovines.
Then again, The Simpsons could go maudlin and turn into The Wonder Years, with a focus on Bart and Lisa growing up (hey, it's high time; they've been 10 and 8 for over a decade). I can see it now: Bart gets his first chest hair, Lisa explores the world of training brassieres, and Maggie comes down with cradle cap.

[Craig Marinaro]

Brainatra:

Actually, the Al Jean rumor does seem to be true. I've heard it from numerous sources (and mentioned it myself on the Old Board a few weeks ago). Plus, several of the episodes this season have listed Al Jean and George Meyer as executive producers, under Scully.

As for how much Jean will improve the show...that remains to be seen. The episodes he's written the last few seasons have been a mixed lot, including the good ("Lisa's Sax" in season 9, the one where Homer bowls a perfect game, the recent re-re-re-re-re-return of Sideshow Bob), the mediocre (the "Homer as a food critic" one, the "pop art" episode), and the attrocious (the "crayon-in-the-brain" ep, the "babysitter Homer" episode two weeks ago). The fact that the episodes apparently undergo a lot more rewriting these days than what they used to makes it harder to discern how much of those episodes was Jean's work, and how much was injected into later drafts by the writing team.

But time will tell, I guess. Hopefully he still has some sensibilities left over from his stint as co-executive producer during the third and fourth seasons, and will pull back a bit from what Scully's done to the show. It can't get too much worse at any rate.

(or I should hope not. =X)

-C
Official ToonZone Scully-Basher League, Member No. 519.

[DR. BELCH]

--who still thinks "HOMR" was a good idea that simply suffered from poor, muddy execution? Same with "Day of the Jackanapes"; my theory is, Jean actually knocked out a couple of decent scripts before some mooks rewrote them and frigged them all to blazes. "New Kids on the Blecch", on the other hand--bad idea, worse script. "Trilogy of Error"*, however, was fairly interesting, esp. Mr. Teeny's comment at the end--"This makes no sense! Warn the people!"...and I also enjoyed "I'm Goin' to Praiseland". Season 12's biggest problem was that the writing/character work was uneven at best.

*However, I still stand by my assertion that pickle juice is no way to preserve a thumb for reattachment----although I have noted that the vinegar in mayonnaise keeps lettuce from going brown for several days longer than usual.

[Leaping Larry Jojo]

Originally posted by DickGrayson
Here ya go:

After a lot of complaints from fans, it seems that Mike Scully, current executive producer of "The Simpsons," is no more. Instead, FOX has decided to appoint Al Jean to the job! Al Jean has been with the show since its early beginnings and is famous for writing such episodes as "Lisa`s Pony" and "Stark Raving Dad." It has been rumored that Mike Scully has recently been gearing the show more towards kids, since he does have kids of his own, which I would believe ANY second. But for the fans, this should be a good move for the show! -- Simpsons Sourcebook

This means next season might actually be pretty good!

You know, I'm starting to wonder if the Simpsons could possibly cover any more new ground. They've lampooned and satirized every possible thing on Earth by now, and they have, as far as I'm concerned, taken the characters to the limit of their capabilities without compromising their essential cores. What else can they do? I'd hate to write the show at the present time, in its 12th or so season.

[Sharklady]

Good point, Larry.

*Any* show- even the very best- is bound to lose it's freshness over the years. That's not necessarily the fault of the producers or the writers or anyone else; it's just the nature of Time.

[Craig Marinaro]

That's true. I've often said that it's more the fault of the network, for trying to keep the show going after it's past its peak. But even they're not really at fault...their job is to make money, not promote quality programming. Too bad the world works as it does, but...

My main gripe with the writers is not that the writing is no longer of the calibre that it once was, but that they have betrayed the integrity of the show to an extent. Groening and Brooks and Simon and all the writers in the first 5 or 6 seasons were often interviewed, and they were always proud of the fact that they had created a separate "universe," with its own rules. To them, it was art, and it was something they really wanted to do their best at. These days, writers like Scully and Ian Maxtone-Graham brag in the press that there is no "plan," and they just come up with plots randomly. Any rules the universe, or the characters, once had can be thrown away in favor of a cheap laugh. Scully cites the "it's just a cartoon" excuse often enough, which also annoys me and a lot of other fans. The thing that annoys me most, I guess, is the fact that they really don't seem to care.

But, um...Scully is supposed to be a nice enough guy anyway. Very easygoing, fun-loving...rather goof off than work...my kind of guy, actually. Come to think of it, I probably wouldn't make much of a Simpsons writer either.

Hopefully he'll find a project more suited to his abilities in the future...

-C
Official ToonZone...oooh, a bobby pin!