Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Why The Simpsons isn't my thing

You know that meme that's been going around where people make lists of things everyone else likes but they don't? Yeah, I'm not going to do a whole list, but I do have one: The Simpsons.

Let me say, I do recognize that the show is brilliant. It's funny, it's smart, it's sarcastic. In theory it's the kind of show I would like. It makes fun of everything and does it well.

But in practice I just don't enjoy watching it. The cartoon voices are so GRATING. That's the main thing. And also half the characters are really annoying.

So yeah. It's not that I don't get it, or don't understand why others like it. It's just that I can't take it. It is not something I would choose as a half hour of relaxing programming before bed, or whatever.

Of course, Torsten loves it, and we always have at least 10 episodes on the DVR. But when he watches it I can never buy into it. I love listening to him laugh at it, and every now and then he pauses it and tells me about something hilarious that just happened, and sometimes it legit sounds hilarious, but I just... can't get into it. So I usually read a book or catch up on blogs or whatever while he's watching it.

So, yeah. Brilliant, hilarious, iconic show. BUT AGH THE VOICES GAH.

19 comments:

  1. I could have written this exact post myself!

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  2. I'm with you, so with you! Then again, I really don't like most of the adult cartoon shows ... The Family Guy, King of the Hill, etc. I find them all annoying.

    Other TV shows most people watch (or used to watch) that I don't ... Friends, Seinfeld, The Office, Lost, Gray's Anatomy, Glee, Gossip Girl ... I'm sure there are others, but none come to mind right now. I'm weird when it comes to TV ... I will admit that much. =)

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  3. How do you feel about Futurama? It's like Simpsons, but I think the characters are more loveable and less grating.

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  4. I think we've discussed this before. I always hated that show and used to feel insecure that everyone thought it was brilliant and funny and anyone who didn't obviously didn't have an evolved sense of humor...blah blah. Then I owned my own tastes and decided it was okay that I didn't like the Simpsons. Gag, I think it is grating too and it gives me a headache.
    Another show everyone loves that I don't: Seinfeld...I think the characters are so unwatchable.

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  5. I have a love/hate relationship with The Simpsons. When it first came on TV, I watched it all the time. My brother loved the show (still does), so we never missed an episode. Now the show annoys me even though I find parts of it to be funny.

    Much to my surprise, I really liked the movie. I didn't expect to be entertained or interested, but I actually enjoyed it.

    So yeah, The Simpsons, I can totally take them or leave them. But preferably leave them!

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  6. Yeah, also not my thing. I'm not sure I've ever sat through an entire episode, actually...cartoons have never held my attention.

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  7. Yeah I don't really do cartoons and I really dislike the Simpsons. I'm with you on this one.

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  8. I'm not a huge cartoon fan but most of the men I've dated have been so I've watched many of them. Family Guy and The Simpsons and now Archer. They are smart and hilarious but I'm not into cartoons. I never watch them on my own. If Mr. Darcy wants to watch it, I will, but I will probably be half-watching while I am on line or cleaning the apartment or something.

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  9. I agree with you. Never really could catch on to the Simpsons.

    My other thing is coffee. I don't like it, don't drink it. It never tastes good to me unless I put in 5 packets of sugar, and in that case, I might as well just drink sugar water!

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  10. The Simpsons came along at a time in my life when I had a need to appreciate sarcastic juvenile humor. I, uh, also like Beavis & Butthead. All the cartoons spawned therefrom, though? Do nothing for me.

    I guess what I'm saying is that a lot of times what we like is so dependent on the circumstances where we first encountered it...this might be obvious, but it always comes as a shock to me (what?! you mean my taste isn't an independent bastion of my individuality?)

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  11. This is what I have been trying to explain to others for 20 years now! (Holy crap, does that make me feel old!) I totally get it, think it is funny (at least to an extent), understand how brilliant it is, etc. And above and beyond all of that I find it irritating, the voices & several characters grate on my nerves, and it is not something that is a pleasant viewing experience for me. Same goes for South Park (my honey LOVES it, and I can only take it in extremely limited doses). Any of those cartoon shows, really. In the non-cartoon category the Sarah Silverman Show is actually even *worse* for me than either The Simpsons or South Park. I totally get what she's doing, understand the humor and find her point amusing...but the way she delivers it, the sketches, and something about her voice grates on my very last nerve like no other. I can't even stand it enough to hear someone watching it in another room. And of course my honey finds it totally hilarious. When she watches it I have to go into the bedroom, close the door & put headphones on while reading/surfing the net or watch a movie or tv show online or on the portable dvd player to drown it out.

    Or, you know, leave the house.

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  12. Do other types of noises jar you? I can't handle listening to radio commercials and sometimes, even when i am enjoying music or something, all of a sudden it is just too much....

    Sorry to go off on a weird tangent.

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  13. I don't like many "adult" cartoons either. We used to occasionally watch The Simpsons, but not much anymore.

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  14. I absolutely adore The Simpsons and have since day 1. (That show started when I was in fourth grade! Crazy!) But I despise The Family Guy and King of the Hill. Blech.

    I do love South Park, though :-)

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  15. I completely agree with you on this one. My husband loves it too, but I just find it so incredibly annoying. Glad I'm not the only one!

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  16. I can see why people wouldn't like it, and at least you have a good thing to do for this post topic! LOL.

    I grew up with The Simpsons, though. Alas. My brother and cousins were especially huge fans, and I'd watch it with them and yes, I'd laugh. Pretty darn hard. However, I'd never watch it 'weekly' for the new episodes or anything, we'd just watch it in its repeats.

    I haven't watched The Simpsons in years now, but there are still some "classic lines" from certain episodes that we loved as kids that will still make me laugh if quoted. I think for me, I only like it because it was something from growing up that I used to get a laugh from. The Simpsons is nostalgia for me, as silly as that may sound.

    My brother was born in 1989. He's the SAME AGE as The Simpson's characters (they were created in 1989). He has never lived without The Simpson's being made. Weird thought!

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  17. I feel this way about Seinfeld, but I don't know why I don't like it. I just don't think it's funny. It's awkward and uncomfortable, but not funny to me.

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  18. I am with you. Brilliant, but I never got into it. My former co-worker, also a German, looooooves it. Funny.

    I do laugh HYSTERICALLY at the Family Guy, however.

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  19. I liked it in the 90's...But now, it's just overdone, IMO.

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