@@davidpescitelli8004gotta remember that Jim does try to post them regularly but it’s becoming more of a chore in this mid section since he mentioned how season 17 was a drag to do
I feel like this is the first time I’ve heard the phrase “middle era Simpsons,” which feels like much better context than the fandom’s general consensus of “the first eight or nine seasons and everything else.”
This is honestly one of my favorite seasons of the Simpsons. One of my favorite scenes of all time was either the White Stripes' cameo in "Jazzy and the Pussycats" or the scene from "Stop, Or My Dog Will Shoot" where Santa's Little Helper traverses the corn maze to the tune of "Freak on a Leash". The only episode I can say I didn't really like was "The Boys Of Bummer", the whole town was just so mean to Bart in that episode. But I never really had that "anything beyond season 9 sucks" mentality. Maybe because I was just a kid at the time (I didn't actually start watching the Simpsons until a year later, and at this time, I literally would not watch anything on TV other than The Simpsons). That being said, I 100% agree with Jim's "middle era Simpsons" mentality.
I love how much Jims talks about each season. Most people talk about how bland and uninteresting the modern seasons are but Jims instead is able to summarize each season in a way that feels unique.
This is especially impressive in the Al Jean era. I binge watched the entire series a couple years back and I barely remember anything from the HD era.
Is it bad that the Secondary Character Stockwatch might be my favorite segment from this channel? I love seeing the ebbs and flows of how the writers feel about certain secondary characters.
I absolutely love hearing you talk about the "post-classic" seasons. I grew up watching the 2000s episodes air every week (while rewatching the old episodes), so it's pretty fun hearing you discuss the seasons that people often just write-off without a second thought. I hope you can one day make it all the way to some of the more underrated new seasons.
Yeah. And I never watched 24 and I could enjoy it. A parody episode succeeds when its still funny without the viewer knowing the source or just having a vague knowledge of what's being parodied.
Oh, man. Watching this unlocked a memory of browsing Simpsons fanart on deviantART way, WAY back in the day. Someone made an entire A/U based off the one episode where Lisa befriends Fat Tony’s son (I wanna say Michael?). In the A/U, Lisa “goes bad” and grows up to be a mob wife. I remember being intrigued by the fanart enough to check out the episode, but I guess it underwhelmed me because I remember the fan stuff better than the episode itself. I guess the episode didn’t leave much an impression on you either, and probably most viewers in general. But it just goes to show that any random episode could be someone’s absolute favorite and inspire them enough to create a small mountain of fanart or fanfic.
These Jean-era seasons really do blend together, so I'm finding these middle year retrospectives really fascinating as you're able to find prevalent themes in them. I find this era of the show particularly fascinating because between this, The Simpsons Movie, and the surprisingly good Simpsons Game, this era was kind of a last little burst of popularity for the show. Then we got the Season 19 premiere with that neat revision of the opening to address the movie and it was back to the tried and true.
I appreciate you giving the post-Golden Age seasons a fair evaluation and not immediately dismissing them as unwatchable garbage. Like a few other folks in this comment section, this is the first season I watched as it aired, so I definitely have some nostalgia for it. I’ve always thought of it as one of the better “teen” seasons.
It is unwatchable garbage though, you can rate which dog shit tastes better but it doesn’t make the dog shit anything but that, post season 4 Simpsons.
Unironically I have a nostalgic soft spot for S18. It was the first Simpson season I actively watched in my early teens and since my school took us to watch the movie in theaters as a special start-of-bimester activity, I quickly wanted to catch up with as much of the show as possible whenever it was on TV since I haven't really watched much of it before. And S18 was the latest at the time ofc.
I think its one of if not the strongest middle year season. It was also one of the seasons I watched as they aired with my family. Probably not a coincidence
I was in the same age group when this season was airing. 😊 Vividly remember getting mildly freaked out by Dark Stanley, and thinking the White Stripes episode was the coolest thing.
I can’t wait to see people argue and explain how Ralph mean’t that he was a viking at sleeping (as in he’s good at it) even though he’s a child with a very low intellect
When Krusty dubbed Itchy & Scratchy is probably one of my low-key favorite Krusty moments. How half-assed he does it while basically ad-libbing it. Gets me every time.
This season was the first I watched as it aired. I was young and remember kind of liking it, but in that kid "haha Homer is dumb" way. Growing up with this is why it took me decades to visit the older seasons and appreciate the show as a whole.
This is the season that introduced me to Simpsons. My local TV station really loved replaying season 18 a lot, so I got on board here. Still brings back good memories.
I have a soft spot for ice cream salesman homer because I remember being like 12, seeing it air for the first time in my country, and laughing so hard at the dress up sequence that it gave me an asthma attack. I am surprised looking at this retrospective and seeing how many episodes I watched on release and didn't remember, like the marge carpenter one.
Something I noticed in the teen years of the Simpsons was that the characters got bored, and it dawned on me that it was the eyes: Bart and homer would start a scene eyes half lidded instead of eyes fully opened. This gave them a bored expression, and coincidentally they started getting bored, sarcastic, and inattentive more. Too cool for school you might say. As someone who has watched basically every Simpsons episode a dozen times when do you think that started? You briefly mentioned it in the season 17 retrospective but I feel like it might’ve started earlier, however I’m a casual and I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a full season even with all the early year reruns so it might’ve just started.
I'll always remember the ice cream episode because it was the first time I watched like the current Simpsons season. Shows in general were always shown way behind in my country, but when I discovered I could just find episodes of all the shows online, I started watching them on my PC instead of on TV. As a kid this was like opening a whole new world for me with streaming, no longer did I have to wait months or years to see new episodes and bound by broadcast times and commercials, I think this was the moment I basically stopped watching TV altogether, and the ice cream episode just happened to be the first one.
I was really sick a couple months ago. I'm mostly better now, but while i was dealing with it, I binged all your videos... They honestly kept me sane while i was stressing about my health. So thanks for all that. Happy to be watching this one in a better headspace
You know, Nelson has really changed throughout the years, starting out as Bart's enemy, and later becoming part of his friend circle, and I think season 18 might be the turning point.
I think this was the season that was airing about the time I first started watching The Simpsons regularly as a kid, so I have fond memories of it. Not to mention it was just before the movie came out, which I was excited for. Later, after watching the 90s episodes I realized how far the show had fallen from it's peak, but there's still a lot I enjoy from this era, nostalgia playing a role in that viewpoint.
I have a little nostalgia for this season since there was a period years ago when Channel 4 would air reruns of it rather frequently along with 16 and 17.
I think the nice way of describing Season 18’s job dependency is that they were trying to keep the stories and settings surprising. It’s not one of my favourites by a longshot, but I personally find it to be stronger than 16, 17 and even 15 for feeling more themed. Like you can identify a Season 18 episode from a distance, which can’t be said for most solo Jean seasons up to then. But with how not much is changing about the characters or comedy anymore, and the movie then not doing that much to revive broader interest in the new episodes, I can see why this is around when some fans started to be more critical of the Al Jean’s solo tenure than the Scully era. The seasons after 18 feel even more complacent, so it makes 18 feel more like one of the last times for a long time where The Simpsons can be identified as having consistently fresh ideas.
@@Game_Hero Season 16 is great, I think Beware the Roofer is one of the funniest post-golden age episodes, Future-Drama is my favorite future episode and I really like Bart's little speech at the end of The Father, The Son and the Holy Guest Star. I've been enjoying binge-watching the show again after doing it for the first time 5 years ago, and I don't feel tired yet, there are some episodes that are boring on the teen years but even those at least have a couple moments or jokes that I still find enjoyable. It remains worth watching.
3:05 hold on TheRealJims, Fat Tony's son isn't a hidden talent episode. First, this is the first we've seen of Michael in any real capacity, so it isn't a suddenly introduced talent missing in all of his previous appearances. Second, he doesn't have a hidden talent for cooking, cooking is his actively honed and intentionally pursued passion which he had even prior to Lisa discovering his talent. Third and finally, unlike other hidden talent plots where characters discover a talent suddenly and then immediately pursue them, this episode revolves around Michael hiding his passion from his father, who would disapprove, and working up the courage to reveal it to him. The retrospective was excellent but I watched this episode like 3 days ago and felt I had to stick up for it in fairness after laughing at Truck Truck Truck.
Fair point about the new character thing. In his example, I mean it more in a "you wouldn't expect this in the mafia" kinda way (The truck truck truck joke is amazing)
You know, the more of these retrospectives I watch, the more I realize that my time watching the Simpsons was a lot longer than I remember it being? I'm starting to seriously think I didn't fall out of watching the show regularly until like, the 20th season or more. I dunno why that surprises me but I guess I just assumed it was after season 9... but clearly not as I remember so many of these bits. Especially the box fort battle.
It's either this season or the next one where I stopped watching new episodes on TV. I'm a Scully apologist and the first few Jean seasons are decent but the late teens are where the laughs start drying up for me. I'm also not a huge fan of the new job episodes so seeing how many are here helps explain why this season can be a bit of a drag to me. Also I agree with you 100% on list jokes. That said "The Premarital Sextet" from the jazz episode lives rent free in my head.
I was younger when I first watched the Bart & Nelson episode. I remember it really striking a cord with me, and it's part of what keeps me wanting more from Nelson. Any time he's used as a friend of Bart or Lisa appeals to me.
I remember being shocked with where they took Flanders this season. In fact, I think I learned the term Flanderization that year. The writers were obviously getting frustrated by fundamentalism around this time, plus Proposition 8 in California was becoming a thing. This might be when folks started openly choosing a side, but also when both sides still talked to each other...
This was the first season I struggled to watch episode to episode in my quest to watch the entire show. You hit the nail on the head with the observation that 18 feels like a bunch of stuff happening TO the family. I'm hoping 19 is a serious shakeup because 18 is just hard to get through for me.
Hey kid, watch where you're drumming! Also, I'd love an Extra Seconds on 24 Minutes. It's a fantastic episode. Edited to add: The box fort might be my favorite B plot.
Personally, this was always my absolute favorite season of the entire show. A part of it, I'll admit is nostalgic and sentimental value, I had many debut episodes from this era put on a VHS my sister and I would watch over and over again together in our rooms at night as kids, and unfortunately stolen by our jerk stepdad when he fell out our lives. I honestly hate him more for that than him threatening to beat me.
Good timing, I was just rewatching some episodes from season 18 the other day. One thing I appreciate about your retrospectives on The Simpsons seasons is how you point out trends within the season which I don't always pick up on, like you mentioned this season some of the characters had different jobs or the stylish montages in different episodes. I think overall, besides a few episodes, I prefer seasons 17 and 19 to 18 but, I do have a number of episodes I quite like from this season, including The Wife Aquatic, Kill Gil Vol 1 & 2, 24 Minutes, G.I. (Annoyed Grunt) and You Kent Always Say What You Want.
I watched your season 17 retrospective after I finished that season for the first time when I binged The Simpsons, and have waited for this video ever since 😂
This was the first season I watched live in-full as a kid after finishing up the DVDs I had! It was a little jarring going from Golden Age Simpsons directly to this, but some of these episodes were good enough to carry me through the Movie, Season 19, and early Season 20.
It's always great to see these season retrospectives, and I agree that Season 18 is another season I am not as familiar with, given I mostly dropped off from watching the show at this point, and only really know about most of them from watching them for the first time on Disney+. I also have my episodes from this season that I enjoy, but like most of the later teen seasons, they don't stand out to me as much as the best episodes from Seasons 13-15. I look forward to the top 10, and we all know that at this point, we're in that awkward era where the top 10 is going to have some not so good episodes, since we have to settle for episodes that are better than other meh or not so good episodes, due to the era of the show we're in, and it will only be that way from here on out. Great work as always Jim.
Your ability to analyse this magnificent series on a bigger scale never fails to amaze me. I always wondered what your thoughts are on the deleted scenes of the earlier episodes.
forgot just how much of this season i've actually seen casually on tele. kinda crazy the stuff i remember as a kid was season 18, that is so far from the golden years people always go on about.
I am currently on season 11 of my half-yearly Simpsons marathon and this might be the season I remember the least of all. This is the first season that really feels like what I think of when I imagine average "modern" Simpsons to be like. Around season 14-ish, it feels like the direction they're going is being set, but this is where I don't see anything nostalgic or "classic" anymore. The seasons I watched on TV growing up were around the 20s (which I don't remember much from) and the seemingly endless season 15 and 17 (but not 16 curiously) reruns. Once I started collecting the seasons on DVD, I stopped watching the show on TV and basically grew up with the classic years instead. Because I never saw season 18 on TV, it's inherently "fresher" and less familiar to me. Unfortunately, I find this one to be quite boring, despite its high moments. The selection of episodes honestly doesn't even feel like a full season, as if they took out half a dozen of stronger, more memorable episodes that fit more in line with Kill Gil and Marge Gamer in terms of quality. You put it perfectly. The stories just don't leave much of an emotional impression this season. Before watching this video, I probably wouldn't have been able to name even 4 episodes from this year. The jokes also don't land that often for me. The pop culture and celebrity jokes are consistent causes of groaners in this one (and honestly most seasons since 9 or 10) What also doesn't help season 18's case is that this was around the time they replaced the german voice actress for Marge with a much worse sounding one. I've read similar things about other seasons in different countries as well, although I doubt this had as much impact as losing Homer's voice or entirely replacing the cast did. Keep up the amazing videos Jims, I'm looking forward to the top 10!
season eighteen episodes are probably the most fun to put on as background noise, mostly because, to me at least, it’s the one that has the most “wait, what’s going on?” moments. it’s such a weird year for the show, but i legitimately enjoy it just for the fun of it all! (the only exception to my enjoyment of s18 is the boys of bummer, but we don’t need to mention that one!)
We’re no longer in the Frinkiac era; I definitely remember watching these but they’re not as clear in my head as S17 is, randomly stumbling across screenshots in Frinkiac.
I know this is just a throwaway line but in the episode Little Big Girl it was said that Carl & Lenny are half-brothers due to them sharing the same mother I wish the writers built upon that throwaway line.
17:55 I don't know about this, for I believe 14 years (since I first got a grasp about Simpsons), I've considered bart as the main character, I always liked him way more than homer, which still belongs until today, I've always seen him as my favorite character. I also feel like the show back in the season 13 or so era, the producers began to slowly switch the main character title from Bart to homer. I guess there could be a chance I am right, as season 13 got a new show runner (and yes I know his name, it's just probably not important to mention it here.)
Great video! I've kept in mind in this era of 2006-2008 the cast and crew of The Simpsons were extra busy since they were working on the series, movie, video game, and theme park ride around the same time! Have An Animated Day! 🤓👍
I'm surprised that you liked that Looney Toons part so much. That was one of my final straws with The Simpsons. It felt like four and a half minutes of The Simpsons making a deeply unfunny joke about Family Guy making a deeply unfunny joke. I kept watching after that, but I couldn't stop thinking back to that scene whenever something made me want to quit watching the show. It was a huge factor in me letting go of a show I had always watched and had been a fundamental part of my childhood.
I feel like Season 18 episodes tend to be very formulaic in nature. Definitely not a favorite season of mine, but still awesome to see it discussed without just lumping it in with everything past Season 13 lol
This is a bitter sweet video for me. Glad to see more realjims, but this is the season that killed the show for me as a kid. Even as a wee 11 year old, I could tell that the stories were becoming more slap dash and surface level. It was like, "oh homer's an ice cream man, cool I guess. Oh, marge is playing an online game now, that's cool I guess." Nothing sticks with you.
I really enjoy how consistent you're with this style, it's very iconic in my eyes. But, y'know, I wonder. How much of your video editing is, at this point, automated? I would imagine you have made your own motion presets at this point, but sometimes I get the feel (by the speed of things and some layouts) that you always edit by hand. I'd love to know.
All by hand, it's in an animation suite. I've always wondered if there was some macro I could use to automate, but the different image sizes would probably break it. Can usually edit 2-3 minutes of content per hour, depending on the project.
@@lrrroftheplanetomicronpersei8 Yes, and he only says every word once and doubles it. He's not willing to pay himself for more than one time he says any given word.
Wait, wait, wait... you mean to tell me THE Stephen Sondheim was in the Yokel Chords episode??? Well, now I need to boot up Disney+ so I can watch it! Also, very interesting turn of events to learn that Jims knows who Stephen Sondheim is! The Simpsons later homage of Sweeney Todd makes a lot more sense now!
I actually really like GI-Doh a lot, mainly for the final act where Homer and a bunch of idiots outsmart the US Army through idiotic means and kinda wish that was most of the episode (the whole Chinese new Year bit is honestly great). It's a fun little section of the episode where you're wondering just how Homer is going to get out of this incredibly dangerous situation and while it has its ups and downs I still enjoy watching that episode in Season 18 a lot. I do wish it ended in a dumb luck kind of way just to go with whole "Homer is a lucky idiot" idea, but I think everyone in town coming together to defeat them is still pretty good.
It's funny that you say this is the season you revisit the least, during the early/mid 2010s I'd say this was the season that was rerun the most on live TV where I was from. No idea why. I remember nearly every episode of this season since it was replayed so much. Some were played less than other sure or I actively avoided some because they were extremely dull or weird. Definitely one of the duller seasons but there's some gems scattered in there and jokes/references I liked. Always a sucker for a J.Jonah Jamison reference.
This video's runtime is 24 minutes, which is a reference to Season 18's "You Kent Always Say What You Want"
Congrats, you've officially reviewed the 1st half of The Simpsons!
I Think You Mean “24 Minutes”
How was the comment uploaded 18 minutes before the actual video?
@@jessetorres8738for now
@@austinjaydignon3935 that's the joke
Congrats, you've officially reviewed the 1st half of The Simpsons!
You know, despite how long he's been going. It still feels quicker than I thought it would take to get to this point.
@@davidpescitelli8004gotta remember that Jim does try to post them regularly but it’s becoming more of a chore in this mid section since he mentioned how season 17 was a drag to do
First half of The Simpsons so far!
It's a race!
@@JoshuaBublin😂😂
I feel like this is the first time I’ve heard the phrase “middle era Simpsons,” which feels like much better context than the fandom’s general consensus of “the first eight or nine seasons and everything else.”
This is honestly one of my favorite seasons of the Simpsons. One of my favorite scenes of all time was either the White Stripes' cameo in "Jazzy and the Pussycats" or the scene from "Stop, Or My Dog Will Shoot" where Santa's Little Helper traverses the corn maze to the tune of "Freak on a Leash". The only episode I can say I didn't really like was "The Boys Of Bummer", the whole town was just so mean to Bart in that episode. But I never really had that "anything beyond season 9 sucks" mentality. Maybe because I was just a kid at the time (I didn't actually start watching the Simpsons until a year later, and at this time, I literally would not watch anything on TV other than The Simpsons). That being said, I 100% agree with Jim's "middle era Simpsons" mentality.
I love how much Jims talks about each season. Most people talk about how bland and uninteresting the modern seasons are but Jims instead is able to summarize each season in a way that feels unique.
well, he's the only one who's actually watched these seasons lul
This is especially impressive in the Al Jean era. I binge watched the entire series a couple years back and I barely remember anything from the HD era.
The man's pain tolerance is immense.
Wow you guys are so cool you dont like the seasons other people dont like.
@lmads8023 if you are resorting to making comments like these, you probably spend too much time reading RUclips comments.
Is it bad that the Secondary Character Stockwatch might be my favorite segment from this channel? I love seeing the ebbs and flows of how the writers feel about certain secondary characters.
Nah I love it as well it’s interesting to see how many moments characters get in each season probably reflects on which writers like to write about
Nope, it's my fave too!
I absolutely love hearing you talk about the "post-classic" seasons. I grew up watching the 2000s episodes air every week (while rewatching the old episodes), so it's pretty fun hearing you discuss the seasons that people often just write-off without a second thought. I hope you can one day make it all the way to some of the more underrated new seasons.
What are the underrated new seasons?
24 Minutes = one of the best episodes of teen-age Simpsons.
100% agree with you
@@patwaters-actormoviereviewer🫡
Yeah. And I never watched 24 and I could enjoy it. A parody episode succeeds when its still funny without the viewer knowing the source or just having a vague knowledge of what's being parodied.
I hope it takes home the #1 spot
Very funny episode, absolutely.
Oh, man. Watching this unlocked a memory of browsing Simpsons fanart on deviantART way, WAY back in the day. Someone made an entire A/U based off the one episode where Lisa befriends Fat Tony’s son (I wanna say Michael?). In the A/U, Lisa “goes bad” and grows up to be a mob wife. I remember being intrigued by the fanart enough to check out the episode, but I guess it underwhelmed me because I remember the fan stuff better than the episode itself. I guess the episode didn’t leave much an impression on you either, and probably most viewers in general. But it just goes to show that any random episode could be someone’s absolute favorite and inspire them enough to create a small mountain of fanart or fanfic.
Yeah, it was Michael, since he and the episode was a reference to Michael Corleone from the Godfather.
God so we are at the half way point but also we've reached the movie. What a milestone
If there's one thing the movie taught us, it's that we've reached the half way point...so far
These Jean-era seasons really do blend together, so I'm finding these middle year retrospectives really fascinating as you're able to find prevalent themes in them.
I find this era of the show particularly fascinating because between this, The Simpsons Movie, and the surprisingly good Simpsons Game, this era was kind of a last little burst of popularity for the show. Then we got the Season 19 premiere with that neat revision of the opening to address the movie and it was back to the tried and true.
“Homer is a Viking at sleep” Turn on your location, I just wanna talk.
"Oh boy, behind my keyboard! That's where I'm a Viking!"
Jk, I'm sure you're a Viking at "just talking" 😁
I just want to talk to him
I just want to talk
I appreciate you giving the post-Golden Age seasons a fair evaluation and not immediately dismissing them as unwatchable garbage. Like a few other folks in this comment section, this is the first season I watched as it aired, so I definitely have some nostalgia for it. I’ve always thought of it as one of the better “teen” seasons.
It is unwatchable garbage though, you can rate which dog shit tastes better but it doesn’t make the dog shit anything but that, post season 4 Simpsons.
@@hansmoleman2666chill out man
Unironically I have a nostalgic soft spot for S18. It was the first Simpson season I actively watched in my early teens and since my school took us to watch the movie in theaters as a special start-of-bimester activity, I quickly wanted to catch up with as much of the show as possible whenever it was on TV since I haven't really watched much of it before. And S18 was the latest at the time ofc.
Same. I didn't watch the show in order till 2017
I think its one of if not the strongest middle year season. It was also one of the seasons I watched as they aired with my family. Probably not a coincidence
Same for me.
I was in the same age group when this season was airing. 😊 Vividly remember getting mildly freaked out by Dark Stanley, and thinking the White Stripes episode was the coolest thing.
Still pushing the Ralph is a viking debate I see.
It drives engagement
I can’t wait to see people argue and explain how Ralph mean’t that he was a viking at sleeping (as in he’s good at it) even though he’s a child with a very low intellect
It's clearly a Newfie
Oh boy, debate! That's were I'm a Viking!
Thought I was the only one who noticed
When Krusty dubbed Itchy & Scratchy is probably one of my low-key favorite Krusty moments. How half-assed he does it while basically ad-libbing it. Gets me every time.
I feel that a Simpsons History on Ned Flanders would be quite interesting as he went through quite some major changes
The face Mr Burns makes after Smithers says "Sir, I'm FLAMING" is just fantastic. Gives me a hearty belly laugh everytime
It's Jack Benny's standard take to camera. And I assume they did it with Burns and Smithers because Harry worked on his shows as a child actor.
This season was the first I watched as it aired. I was young and remember kind of liking it, but in that kid "haha Homer is dumb" way. Growing up with this is why it took me decades to visit the older seasons and appreciate the show as a whole.
Yeah same
This is the season that introduced me to Simpsons. My local TV station really loved replaying season 18 a lot, so I got on board here. Still brings back good memories.
I have a soft spot for ice cream salesman homer because I remember being like 12, seeing it air for the first time in my country, and laughing so hard at the dress up sequence that it gave me an asthma attack.
I am surprised looking at this retrospective and seeing how many episodes I watched on release and didn't remember, like the marge carpenter one.
Something I noticed in the teen years of the Simpsons was that the characters got bored, and it dawned on me that it was the eyes: Bart and homer would start a scene eyes half lidded instead of eyes fully opened. This gave them a bored expression, and coincidentally they started getting bored, sarcastic, and inattentive more. Too cool for school you might say. As someone who has watched basically every Simpsons episode a dozen times when do you think that started? You briefly mentioned it in the season 17 retrospective but I feel like it might’ve started earlier, however I’m a casual and I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a full season even with all the early year reruns so it might’ve just started.
I'll always remember the ice cream episode because it was the first time I watched like the current Simpsons season. Shows in general were always shown way behind in my country, but when I discovered I could just find episodes of all the shows online, I started watching them on my PC instead of on TV. As a kid this was like opening a whole new world for me with streaming, no longer did I have to wait months or years to see new episodes and bound by broadcast times and commercials, I think this was the moment I basically stopped watching TV altogether, and the ice cream episode just happened to be the first one.
I think this season was so job heavy because shows like deadliest catch and ice road truckers were popular around this time.
I was really sick a couple months ago. I'm mostly better now, but while i was dealing with it, I binged all your videos... They honestly kept me sane while i was stressing about my health. So thanks for all that. Happy to be watching this one in a better headspace
I hope that you feel completely better soon!
You know, Nelson has really changed throughout the years, starting out as Bart's enemy, and later becoming part of his friend circle, and I think season 18 might be the turning point.
It's interesting how these videos seem to bump up the price of the DVD on eBay. People remember that these seasons are actually pretty good.
My god the thumbnails on these retrospectives go HARD.
This, omg
I love the joke about how important the Secondary character stock watch is....but I do get hyped up every time.
I think this was the season that was airing about the time I first started watching The Simpsons regularly as a kid, so I have fond memories of it. Not to mention it was just before the movie came out, which I was excited for. Later, after watching the 90s episodes I realized how far the show had fallen from it's peak, but there's still a lot I enjoy from this era, nostalgia playing a role in that viewpoint.
I have a little nostalgia for this season since there was a period years ago when Channel 4 would air reruns of it rather frequently along with 16 and 17.
I just remember Channel 4 airing Bart's Friend Gets A Girlfriend like four days in a row once. Wtf was that about
Man, season 18 is such an underrated season. So many episodes that I love, but are unfortunately overlooked.
I think the nice way of describing Season 18’s job dependency is that they were trying to keep the stories and settings surprising. It’s not one of my favourites by a longshot, but I personally find it to be stronger than 16, 17 and even 15 for feeling more themed. Like you can identify a Season 18 episode from a distance, which can’t be said for most solo Jean seasons up to then.
But with how not much is changing about the characters or comedy anymore, and the movie then not doing that much to revive broader interest in the new episodes, I can see why this is around when some fans started to be more critical of the Al Jean’s solo tenure than the Scully era. The seasons after 18 feel even more complacent, so it makes 18 feel more like one of the last times for a long time where The Simpsons can be identified as having consistently fresh ideas.
I'm currently re-watching the show, I've completed my collection of Seasons 1-20 on DVD and Blu Ray a couple months ago, finished Season 16 today.
what did you think of it?
@@Game_Hero Season 16 is great, I think Beware the Roofer is one of the funniest post-golden age episodes, Future-Drama is my favorite future episode and I really like Bart's little speech at the end of The Father, The Son and the Holy Guest Star. I've been enjoying binge-watching the show again after doing it for the first time 5 years ago, and I don't feel tired yet, there are some episodes that are boring on the teen years but even those at least have a couple moments or jokes that I still find enjoyable. It remains worth watching.
3:05 hold on TheRealJims, Fat Tony's son isn't a hidden talent episode. First, this is the first we've seen of Michael in any real capacity, so it isn't a suddenly introduced talent missing in all of his previous appearances. Second, he doesn't have a hidden talent for cooking, cooking is his actively honed and intentionally pursued passion which he had even prior to Lisa discovering his talent. Third and finally, unlike other hidden talent plots where characters discover a talent suddenly and then immediately pursue them, this episode revolves around Michael hiding his passion from his father, who would disapprove, and working up the courage to reveal it to him.
The retrospective was excellent but I watched this episode like 3 days ago and felt I had to stick up for it in fairness after laughing at Truck Truck Truck.
Fair point about the new character thing. In his example, I mean it more in a "you wouldn't expect this in the mafia" kinda way
(The truck truck truck joke is amazing)
You know, the more of these retrospectives I watch, the more I realize that my time watching the Simpsons was a lot longer than I remember it being? I'm starting to seriously think I didn't fall out of watching the show regularly until like, the 20th season or more. I dunno why that surprises me but I guess I just assumed it was after season 9... but clearly not as I remember so many of these bits.
Especially the box fort battle.
It's either this season or the next one where I stopped watching new episodes on TV. I'm a Scully apologist and the first few Jean seasons are decent but the late teens are where the laughs start drying up for me. I'm also not a huge fan of the new job episodes so seeing how many are here helps explain why this season can be a bit of a drag to me.
Also I agree with you 100% on list jokes. That said "The Premarital Sextet" from the jazz episode lives rent free in my head.
This felt like, by far, the snarkiest, least complimentary retrospective you've done so far. And I'm absolutely down for snarky TheRealJims.
I was younger when I first watched the Bart & Nelson episode. I remember it really striking a cord with me, and it's part of what keeps me wanting more from Nelson. Any time he's used as a friend of Bart or Lisa appeals to me.
Oh yeah it blew my mind as a kid
I remember being shocked with where they took Flanders this season. In fact, I think I learned the term Flanderization that year. The writers were obviously getting frustrated by fundamentalism around this time, plus Proposition 8 in California was becoming a thing. This might be when folks started openly choosing a side, but also when both sides still talked to each other...
Omg, you're right that Prop 8 was huge around this time
This was the first season I struggled to watch episode to episode in my quest to watch the entire show. You hit the nail on the head with the observation that 18 feels like a bunch of stuff happening TO the family. I'm hoping 19 is a serious shakeup because 18 is just hard to get through for me.
S19 is a strong one. Then again, I like S18 quite a bit more than, say, 10 or 14, so we probably have different tastes.
These are the episodes of my childhood and will always hold a special place in my heart
I just wanted to say, I appreciate that you take the extra effort to add subtitles to your videos! Really helpful :D
Hey kid, watch where you're drumming!
Also, I'd love an Extra Seconds on 24 Minutes. It's a fantastic episode.
Edited to add: The box fort might be my favorite B plot.
Ive been enjoying these retrospectives as I definitely remember seeing these episodes new as they aired but don't really remember much about them.
I like these random square rpg references in your reviews of things.
a lot of the background music is remixed pieces from middle Final Fantasy, too. RealJims' B plot is his love of late 90s JRPGs, apparently.
This plus the Bravely Default jab in a previous video were both excellent jokes!
Personally, this was always my absolute favorite season of the entire show. A part of it, I'll admit is nostalgic and sentimental value, I had many debut episodes from this era put on a VHS my sister and I would watch over and over again together in our rooms at night as kids, and unfortunately stolen by our jerk stepdad when he fell out our lives. I honestly hate him more for that than him threatening to beat me.
This is season is just so nostalgic for me!
Surprised Dr. Phil didn't get the "some asshole" treatment
Thank god I now have this season on DVD. It was a pain, but my Simpsons DVD collection is now complete.
Good timing, I was just rewatching some episodes from season 18 the other day. One thing I appreciate about your retrospectives on The Simpsons seasons is how you point out trends within the season which I don't always pick up on, like you mentioned this season some of the characters had different jobs or the stylish montages in different episodes.
I think overall, besides a few episodes, I prefer seasons 17 and 19 to 18 but, I do have a number of episodes I quite like from this season, including The Wife Aquatic, Kill Gil Vol 1 & 2, 24 Minutes, G.I. (Annoyed Grunt) and You Kent Always Say What You Want.
I watched your season 17 retrospective after I finished that season for the first time when I binged The Simpsons, and have waited for this video ever since 😂
This was the first season I watched live in-full as a kid after finishing up the DVDs I had!
It was a little jarring going from Golden Age Simpsons directly to this, but some of these episodes were good enough to carry me through the Movie, Season 19, and early Season 20.
It's always great to see these season retrospectives, and I agree that Season 18 is another season I am not as familiar with, given I mostly dropped off from watching the show at this point, and only really know about most of them from watching them for the first time on Disney+. I also have my episodes from this season that I enjoy, but like most of the later teen seasons, they don't stand out to me as much as the best episodes from Seasons 13-15. I look forward to the top 10, and we all know that at this point, we're in that awkward era where the top 10 is going to have some not so good episodes, since we have to settle for episodes that are better than other meh or not so good episodes, due to the era of the show we're in, and it will only be that way from here on out. Great work as always Jim.
Your ability to analyse this magnificent series on a bigger scale never fails to amaze me.
I always wondered what your thoughts are on the deleted scenes of the earlier episodes.
Boys of Bummer reminds me alot of Miracle on Evergreen Terrace just overly cruel
forgot just how much of this season i've actually seen casually on tele.
kinda crazy the stuff i remember as a kid was season 18, that is so far from the golden years people always go on about.
I am currently on season 11 of my half-yearly Simpsons marathon and this might be the season I remember the least of all. This is the first season that really feels like what I think of when I imagine average "modern" Simpsons to be like. Around season 14-ish, it feels like the direction they're going is being set, but this is where I don't see anything nostalgic or "classic" anymore.
The seasons I watched on TV growing up were around the 20s (which I don't remember much from) and the seemingly endless season 15 and 17 (but not 16 curiously) reruns. Once I started collecting the seasons on DVD, I stopped watching the show on TV and basically grew up with the classic years instead. Because I never saw season 18 on TV, it's inherently "fresher" and less familiar to me.
Unfortunately, I find this one to be quite boring, despite its high moments. The selection of episodes honestly doesn't even feel like a full season, as if they took out half a dozen of stronger, more memorable episodes that fit more in line with Kill Gil and Marge Gamer in terms of quality.
You put it perfectly. The stories just don't leave much of an emotional impression this season. Before watching this video, I probably wouldn't have been able to name even 4 episodes from this year.
The jokes also don't land that often for me. The pop culture and celebrity jokes are consistent causes of groaners in this one (and honestly most seasons since 9 or 10)
What also doesn't help season 18's case is that this was around the time they replaced the german voice actress for Marge with a much worse sounding one. I've read similar things about other seasons in different countries as well, although I doubt this had as much impact as losing Homer's voice or entirely replacing the cast did.
Keep up the amazing videos Jims, I'm looking forward to the top 10!
season eighteen episodes are probably the most fun to put on as background noise, mostly because, to me at least, it’s the one that has the most “wait, what’s going on?” moments. it’s such a weird year for the show, but i legitimately enjoy it just for the fun of it all!
(the only exception to my enjoyment of s18 is the boys of bummer, but we don’t need to mention that one!)
The viking at sleep joke really got me 🤣
We’re no longer in the Frinkiac era; I definitely remember watching these but they’re not as clear in my head as S17 is, randomly stumbling across screenshots in Frinkiac.
Cletus’s kids being able to sing and Tony’s kids being good cooks are actually obvious writing choices if you think about it for a minute …
Jims talking about this seasons list jokes reminded me of Crook and Ladder's joke about Homer's mood swings. It's so long and tedious.
you always upload right when my dinner is ready you are my savior
I know this is just a throwaway line but in the episode Little Big Girl it was said that Carl & Lenny are half-brothers due to them sharing the same mother I wish the writers built upon that throwaway line.
Just three more seasons until Manjulah wins Secondary Character Stopwatch for Season 21.
Jims doesn’t know it’s coming but it’s coming,
17:55 I don't know about this, for I believe 14 years (since I first got a grasp about Simpsons), I've considered bart as the main character, I always liked him way more than homer, which still belongs until today, I've always seen him as my favorite character. I also feel like the show back in the season 13 or so era, the producers began to slowly switch the main character title from Bart to homer. I guess there could be a chance I am right, as season 13 got a new show runner (and yes I know his name, it's just probably not important to mention it here.)
I'm hopeful that you'll continue these retrosepctives because I'm taking my time watching the seasons as you post these!
i love this retrospective so much. one of my favorites so far 🎉
That's my favorite Simpsons season. Thanks for the retrospective.
I think I actually started watching the show "When it was new" around this time. Mainly as I would watch on Fox right after football.
Great video! I've kept in mind in this era of 2006-2008 the cast and crew of The Simpsons were extra busy since they were working on the series, movie, video game, and theme park ride around the same time! Have An Animated Day! 🤓👍
7:16 No mother that’s just the northern lights
Springfield Up is hands down my favorite of the season. Great gimmick episode.
13:20 I still can't believe they brought in Andy Dick after the part he played in Phil Hartman's death. Jon Lovitz was right!
i read up on him and that is really interesting. do you know who the other person he called some asshole was?
@@lunchtiem Looks like Rudy Giuliani.
I'm surprised that you liked that Looney Toons part so much. That was one of my final straws with The Simpsons. It felt like four and a half minutes of The Simpsons making a deeply unfunny joke about Family Guy making a deeply unfunny joke. I kept watching after that, but I couldn't stop thinking back to that scene whenever something made me want to quit watching the show. It was a huge factor in me letting go of a show I had always watched and had been a fundamental part of my childhood.
A tough one to get on dvd.. Many thanks!
Season 18 was where I checked out of the show. Really didn’t jump back in again until last year, which was entirely your fault. (Thank you)
Finally! I've been waiting for a new season retrospective
I feel like Season 18 episodes tend to be very formulaic in nature. Definitely not a favorite season of mine, but still awesome to see it discussed without just lumping it in with everything past Season 13 lol
I'm Italian and I want to thank you for having used the proper singular form of "paparazzi"
This is a bitter sweet video for me. Glad to see more realjims, but this is the season that killed the show for me as a kid. Even as a wee 11 year old, I could tell that the stories were becoming more slap dash and surface level. It was like, "oh homer's an ice cream man, cool I guess. Oh, marge is playing an online game now, that's cool I guess." Nothing sticks with you.
Season 18 is an underrated season of the Simpsons… except for Boys of Bummer that really sucked
chief wiggum's TOH death had traumatised me so much as a kid lmao, it took me years to like his character again
If only the show had ended with this season plus the movie. Could have been a glorious way to go out.
Season 18 has the evolution couch gag which is one of the best couch gags ever made. It also has the really funny clone couch gag.
"One must imagine the real Jim's happy."
Honestly, I really like Lisa helping Fat Tony’s son plot
Homer seems like a way more suitable character to be a Viking at sleep than Ralph
i just watched this season 17 one and was sad there wasnt the next one. good timing lol
A very mixed season in quality but congrats on finally reviewing the first of the adult years of the Simpsons!
And with that Dick Wolf reference you now have to pivot to being a Law and Order reviewer
TheRealJims can no longer pretend that these seasons are still watchable!
I really enjoy how consistent you're with this style, it's very iconic in my eyes.
But, y'know, I wonder. How much of your video editing is, at this point, automated? I would imagine you have made your own motion presets at this point, but sometimes I get the feel (by the speed of things and some layouts) that you always edit by hand.
I'd love to know.
All by hand, it's in an animation suite. I've always wondered if there was some macro I could use to automate, but the different image sizes would probably break it.
Can usually edit 2-3 minutes of content per hour, depending on the project.
He edits it by hand live, despite the terrible strain on his wrist.
@@lrrroftheplanetomicronpersei8 Yes, and he only says every word once and doubles it. He's not willing to pay himself for more than one time he says any given word.
TheRealJims is truly the strongest willed simpsons reviewer
The "And he's a viking at sleep" joke is like an omega level simpsons reference
He did a whole video on the debate a few years ago
Wait, wait, wait... you mean to tell me THE Stephen Sondheim was in the Yokel Chords episode??? Well, now I need to boot up Disney+ so I can watch it! Also, very interesting turn of events to learn that Jims knows who Stephen Sondheim is! The Simpsons later homage of Sweeney Todd makes a lot more sense now!
I actually really like GI-Doh a lot, mainly for the final act where Homer and a bunch of idiots outsmart the US Army through idiotic means and kinda wish that was most of the episode (the whole Chinese new Year bit is honestly great). It's a fun little section of the episode where you're wondering just how Homer is going to get out of this incredibly dangerous situation and while it has its ups and downs I still enjoy watching that episode in Season 18 a lot. I do wish it ended in a dumb luck kind of way just to go with whole "Homer is a lucky idiot" idea, but I think everyone in town coming together to defeat them is still pretty good.
It's funny that you say this is the season you revisit the least, during the early/mid 2010s I'd say this was the season that was rerun the most on live TV where I was from. No idea why. I remember nearly every episode of this season since it was replayed so much. Some were played less than other sure or I actively avoided some because they were extremely dull or weird. Definitely one of the duller seasons but there's some gems scattered in there and jokes/references I liked. Always a sucker for a J.Jonah Jamison reference.
final fantasy 5 mentioned i love you
Next playthrough I'm naming the mc Bort.
It gave us Party Posse and The Forget-Me Shot, so I can't diss it too much.