"Can't talk..... watching "Simpsons" marathon.

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by vince, Aug 23, 2014.

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  1. No, FX is another channel in the Fox empire. They shifted over much of the comedy programming from FX and created FXX out of their abandoned sports channel.
     
  2. lugnut2099

    lugnut2099 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Missouri
    FX still exists as a standalone channel, FXX is a relatively new one that launched earlier this year (or maybe last year) and seems to be designed to be their "comedy network." You might get it and not realize it, because it was originally the Fox Soccer Channel (or something to that effect) and was located in the sports tier. It took a while for my cable provider to acknowledge the format change and move it out of the sports package. From what I've read, it's still relatively buried among a bunch of obscure channels on most cable/satellite providers.
     
  3. nbakid2000

    nbakid2000 On Indie's Cutting Edge

    Location:
    Springfield, MO
    I can't stand watching syndicated shows on tv. It seems depressing to me. I'd rather watch the DVDs. :shrug:
     
  4. lugnut2099

    lugnut2099 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Missouri
    They're actually running the original broadcast versions without cuts. It's just the damn 16x9 crop job that's screwing this up.
     
  5. The Hud

    The Hud Breath of the Kingdom, Tears of the Wild

    The cropping is annoying, but I am still having a great time watching the marathon and playing Tapped Out.
     
  6. vince

    vince Stan Ricker's son-in-law Thread Starter

    Like I said.... it's a challenge, for sure.... the wife and I forced ourselves to stay up to see the "Two Dozen and One Greyhounds" episode last night.
     
  7. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    I can't comment too much except to say that I've said for 7-8 years now that any syndicated show is going to look very old if it's not being broadcast in 16x9. My preference would've been for Fox to spend tons of money and go back and re-animate the backgrounds to stretch them out to widescreen -- if not redo every episode -- to optimize them for 16x9. But they chose to repurpose the old shows instead.
     
  8. lugnut2099

    lugnut2099 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Missouri
    Yeah, but I'd almost think you're getting into George Lucas territory there because, with re-done backgrounds, you'd have a version that doesn't represent the original anymore - and I'm sure it would be hard for them to resist the temptation to fix other things while they were at it, such as the color issues on Wiggum's hair and Black Smithers. These cropped versions aren't any better obviously, and doubly so since I imagine these will be replacing the old 4x3 masters in all of syndication, not just for FXX. I've complained before about the show usually looking godawful in syndication, so these restored versions will definitely be an upgrade over that, but if the crop-job absolutely had to be done, they probably should have brought in people from the show to supervise it.
     
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  9. vince

    vince Stan Ricker's son-in-law Thread Starter

    I always wished they had made a "Don't Blame Me. I Voted For Kodos" T-shirt.
     
  10. JAuz

    JAuz Forum Resident

    Location:
    US
    That's an interesting possibility for animated shows, extending the backgrounds on the left and right to fill in the 16x9 image. Has this ever been done before? I'd be curious to see a test episode done that way to see if anything felt 'off', both to new viewers and ones that are familiar with the original.
     
  11. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    No, we'd be breaking new ground if that were done. It would work if all the animation companies still had access to the original cels and backgrounds, but I know in the case of The Simpsons most of those are scattered. What's really befuddling is that they didn't go back to the original 35mm films and rescan them in HD.
     
  12. vince

    vince Stan Ricker's son-in-law Thread Starter

    We're still on the funny ones..... my brain's melting!
     
  13. SonOfAlerik

    SonOfAlerik Forum Resident

    Location:
    Westland, MI USA
    In this case I would be fine with having them reanimated for 16X9. As long as they try to stay true to the original cells and don't get too creative.
     
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  14. sgtmono

    sgtmono Seasoned Member

    I think that's just silly. The episodes were made in 4:3, that's how they should remain, just like any other TV show from the 20th century.
     
  15. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    As I said: from about 2010 on, any show in 4x3 is going to look "old." If they can do anything to fill the 16x9 screen -- as they did with Seinfeld -- it'll give the show a much, much longer life in syndication. It's just a question of dollars and cents.
     
  16. SonOfAlerik

    SonOfAlerik Forum Resident

    Location:
    Westland, MI USA
    With the way hollywood remakes everything I am actually surprised "reanimating" old cartoons hasn't already been done.
     
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  17. Bryan

    Bryan Starman Jr.

    Location:
    Berkeley, CA
    I care about seeing the shows composed as they were originally intended. I don't care about keeping them profitable in syndication.
     
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  18. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    You clearly are not Fox Television!

    I try to see both sides. I think there is a good middle ground that will satisfy everybody, but they'd have to spend huge money to get it done, and that's the sticking point.
     
  19. vince

    vince Stan Ricker's son-in-law Thread Starter

    Just saw the "PBS/"Missonary"/ "SAVE ME, JEEBUS!" episode..... the 'classics' are just about done!
     
  20. Captain Groovy

    Captain Groovy Senior Member

    Location:
    Freedonia, USA
    That episode's in my top 5 of all time. "I'm not not licking toads..."

    "Sanctuary!!!!" - Homer
    "Ugh, why did I teach him that word?" - Rev. Lovejoy

    And for those wondering about The Simpsons think of Rupert Murdoch and his hunger for power and money (not necessarily a bad thing), they've got that great last bit. "You saved my network!"

    Looks like The Simpsons are doing it again for FXX!

    Jeff
     
  21. SonOfAlerik

    SonOfAlerik Forum Resident

    Location:
    Westland, MI USA
    Considering how long it has now been on the air you could reanimate old episodes and present them to new audiences. How many episodes are in the can at this point?
     
  22. Yeah, but in syndication they have to cater to the flywheels who can't deal with black bars and must fill up that wide screen, even if it means stretch-o-vision.
     
  23. sgtmono

    sgtmono Seasoned Member

    Understood, but in that case they might as well just stick with bad cropping, instead of taking the time to animate new backgrounds, since they are catering to the lowest common denominator. I think it goes without saying (here at least) that the folks who shell out big bucks for the blu-rays should get the OAR. And hopefully less annoying menus than the old DVDs!
     
  24. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    552 episodes thus far, and they were only produced in 16x9 since 2008.
     
  25. lugnut2099

    lugnut2099 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Missouri
    It may just be crazy fan-conspiracy stuff, but I still think that theory about FXX intentionally "sabotaging" these broadcasts as an anti-piracy measure may hold some water. If these hadn't been cropped, it would mean that both these new restorations as well as the seasons that aren't currently on DVD would exist in sparkling new uncut transfers for all the world to grab. Since they've already confirmed their "Simpsons World" streaming channel (which requires a cable subscription to access) will have the 4x3 versions, it seems clear they know that these crops aren't what most fans want, and since they've got no problem running other shows like Mad About You in 4x3 pillarbox, it's clear that they're not just one of the networks that arbitrarily does this to all 4x3 content as a matter of practice. No word yet, but I dunno, I just smell some kind of Blu-Ray box in the near future.
     
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