FTA-TV The Simpsons

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Bomberboyokay

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Season 4 Episode 19 "The Front". Aired April 15th, 1993.

This is the first episode that nails everything it's going for in the mid-90s way. If I'd stumbled across it on T̶e̶n̶ 7mate I would've placed it anywhere from season 5 to season 7. It's the exact style and look people remember The Simpsons being before it went down the toilet 1998 onward. Loads of jokes and cutaways that have little or nothing to do with the plot. Not unlike Family Guy. Worlds apart from seasons 1 and 2.
 

Bomberboyokay

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Season 5 Episode 1 "Homer's Barbershop Quartet". Aired September 30th, 1993.

One of my personal favorites although probably not much funnier than the rest of season 5-9. Parody of The Beatles. Strongly remember watching it on Channel 10 as a kid after what felt like ages since a new episode. First episode I remember watching as new. I would've been 7 or 8 when it aired here.

The first four seasons of The Simpsons aired on Channel 10 between February 1991 and August 1993 (bouncing between Sunday and Tuesday evenings), but season 5 didn’t premiere until February 1995. For a year and a half, Australia didn’t get any new episodes of The Simpsons! Instead, 10 screened re-runs of seasons one to four, 6:00pm Monday to Friday (replacing re-runs of M*A*S*H). This had the effect of fans of the show becoming really, really, really familiar with those episodes. (Having seen those episodes so many times in that period, combined with my pre-pubescent age at that time, means it’s difficult for me now to remember the first time I saw them, although I definitely remember the very first time I saw Homer plummeting down Springfield Gorge, and thinking it was the single funniest thing I had ever seen in my entire life. I also remember the first time I saw “I Love Lisa” – well, not the episode itself, but I recall laughing the next day with my fellow seventh-graders over Skinner’s tragic ’Nam flashback, which we agreed was one of the most hilarious things the show ever did.) There weren’t many official Simpsons VHS releases at the time – only a smattering of season one episodes – but of course, there was the magic of the VCR. That said, it almost felt like there was no point in recording any episodes, because it wouldn’t be too long before they aired again.

The lack of new Simpsons episodes in 1994 meant that it was a massive deal when season 5 finally premiered the following year. And boy, did Channel 10 hype the advent of new episodes. The long wait was over! (And that long wait delineated the show for me: I tended to look upon seasons one to four as “old Simpsons,” and seasons five onwards as “new Simpsons.” Of course, these days, I regard about the first ten seasons as The Simpsons and everything after that as “Zombie Simpsons.” Thanks, DHS. [Ed note: We do what we can.]) In 1995, season 5 was screened every Wednesday evening. This was followed by season 6 (which – oddly – continued through the 1995/1996 non-ratings period). Channel 10 still kept the weekday seasons one-four re-runs going, this time at 7:00pm (the 6:00pm slot went to old episodes of The Brady Bunch. The Brady Bunch?! This seems weird now, but at the time, Ten tried to capitalise on the release of The Brady Bunch Movie). Also, “Treehouse of Horror IV” and “Treehouse of Horror V” premiered together on one night, on 1 November 1995. I remember that, after “Bart Simpson’s Dracula,” there was a commercial break, followed by “The Shinning.” We were deprived of the opening credits of “Treehouse of Horror V” for some years. Other noteworthy occurrences included the screening of “Bart vs. Australia” (it didn’t go down well, but that’s a whole other story), and the revelation of who shot Mr. Burns getting leaked here a while before “Who Shot Mr. Burns? Part 2” actually aired. (I remember lots of people at school mentioning that Maggie did it. Turns out that radios DJs were spilling the beans, although I imagine the nascent World Wide Web played its part.)

https://deadhomersociety.com/2013/07/25/the-simpsons-in-australia-a-fan-remembers-and-rambles/

Pissed myself at this:


Ye can always go doontoon!

 
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Bomberboyokay

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Season 5 Episode 2 "Cape Feare". Aired October 7th, 1993.

This is much earlier than I thought even accounting for the Australia delay. Channel 10 really held this one back, sure I was about 10 by the time me and my brother watched it.
 
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Season 5 Episode 1 "Homer's Barbershop Quartet". Aired September 30th, 1993.

One of my personal favorites although probably not much funnier than the rest of season 5-9. Parody of The Beatles. Strongly remember watching it on Channel 10 as a kid after what felt like ages since a new episode. First episode I remember watching as new. I would've been 7 or 8 when it aired here.



Pissed myself at this:


Ye can always go doontoon!


Best part of this episode is where he meets George Harrison.
 

Bomberboyokay

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Season 5 Episode 10 "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)". Aired December 16th, 1993.

Casino interior is great watching on a modern big TV. Such harsh lighting.




Season 5 Episode 11 "Homer the Vigilante". Aired January 6th, 1994.

Can't believe this aired after it. In my head they were years apart. Not sure I knew Sam Neill played the Cat Burglar. This is only 7 months after Jurassic Park came out.




Season 5 Episode 15 "Deep Space Homer". Aired February 24th, 1994.

Good episode. Neat visuals at NASA and in space.
 
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Bomberboyokay

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Season 5 Episode 17 "Bart Gets an Elephant". Aired March 31st, 1994.

Even for The Simpsons this has an absurd premise, but it's funny and episode zips along. First appearance of Cletus the slack jawed yokel. Some enjoyable camera angles of Homer in the basement and Bart in the treehouse.
 
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Bomberboyokay

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Would you say Simpsons season 5 the best individual season of TV ever?

Yes I would Kent.

Watching in order it stands out how much the show changes near the end of season 4. The same show but they went "We've really fleshed out this family, now let's just have fun with it". Every episode in season 5 would probably be the funniest if aired in seasons 1-3.

Think season 8 is when the next turn happens (for the worse in the long run). Interested to see what I think of some of those episodes now.
 

Brad Goodman

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Without having watched any for a few years now, I guess the first few seasons are more your typical family sitcom, albeit animated, and the further it went the more surreal and creative the situations got. Then of course they eventually ran out of ideas, hence the last 15 years or so...
 

Bomberboyokay

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Season 6 Episode 2 "Lisa's Rival". Aired September 11, 1994.

Winona Ryder guest stars as new smart girl Alison. This threatens Lisa. Very good episode. Lisa is a better character with age. Themes and jokes the rest of the family can't really do.

 

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