Futurama: Bender's Big Score

[J@3]

1) Homer
2) Cartman
3) Stewie
4) Mr. Burns
5) Randy Marsh
6) Ralph Wiggum
7) Chef
8) Roger (American Dad)
9) Hank Hill
10) Stan (American Dad)

I know peoples opinion of The Simpsons has dropped over the years but Homer's the undisputed number 1 to me, Cartman is beyond awesome and Stewie is easily the best Family Guy character.

I think Randy Marsh is possibly the most underrated character in all cartoons, he was fairly plain and boring in the beginning but he is now consistently fantastic.

[Jackal]

1) Cartman
2) Butters
3) Stewie

[adv1s5]

The Simpsons probably will not have an episode as engaging as Jurassic Bark or Luck of the Fryish, simply because they do not want to take the risk. As great as these episodes are, they don't draw in nearly as many viewers as the standard Homer meets Tony Hawk show sort of thing.

I don't mind having The Simpsons just have episodes of funny (though I don't watch anymore).

I just want Futurama back on the air.

[Andrew]

this makes me wonder, if you guys had to pick a top 10, or top 5, top 3, whatever, if you had to pick your top animated characters from the prime time shows, who would the be?

My top five would probably be:

1. Homer
2. Bart (simply for the way "Bartmania" ruled the early 90s)
3. Cartman
4. Brian
5. Stewie

The Simpsons probably will not have an episode as engaging as Jurassic Bark or Luck of the Fryish, simply because they do not want to take the risk. As great as these episodes are, they don't draw in nearly as many viewers as the standard Homer meets Tony Hawk show sort of thing.

I don't want to take anything away from Futurama, especially those two episodes which are absolutely fantastic but I'd have to disagree, at least in terms of episodes that were done back in the classic era. I agree that the current tone of The Simpsons is unlikely to match episodes like "Jurassic Bark" or "Luck of the Fryish" because they handle the emotional side of the plot very superficially and instead of using humour to "cut through the treacle" as the saying goes, often ruin potentially engaging plots these days by slotting a joke in where it doesn't belong.

But as far as the classic era goes, I would put episodes such as "The Way We Was", "Mother Simpson" and "Lisa's Substitute" up there with the best of Futurama, to name just a couple.

[adv1s5]

I have to admit, Bart Sells His Soul is one of my favorite episodes of anything.

[Andrew]

Another great episode and a fine example of how episodes in the classic era could feature an engaging and thoughtful character driven plot alongside a more light hearted subplot (in the case of "Bart Sells His Soul", Moe turning his bar into a family restaurant).

I'd add "Lisa's Wedding" to the list of episodes I mentioned before.

[Andreas Dahl]

this makes me wonder, if you guys had to pick a top 10, or top 5, top 3, whatever, if you had to pick your top animated characters from the prime time shows, who would the be?

1. Zoidberg
2. Zoidberg
3. Zoidberg
...

[Andrew]

Come to think of it, I'd probably have Professor Farnsworth in my top five over Brian and Stewie.

[Sauru]

i guess i should have put my top 10 in so here goes


1. homer, even in a bad episode he owns
2. zoidberg, bender gets the glory but zoidberg owns
3. brian, main reason i still watch family guy
4. ralph, the kid has way too many great one liners to not include him
5. bart, still love his character
6. the professor, i laugh even when he says nothing
7. stewie, the only other reason i still watch family guy
8. bender, drunk robots are great fun
9. mr burns, still a fav even after dropping off in recent years
10. gil, maybe a odd choice but he is great imo

for the hell of it let me throw in top 3 most annoying characters

1. peggy hill, hands down winner here
2. Zapp Brannigan, most people call me crazy for not liking him
3. peter griffin, again call me crazy but, half the time he is funny the other half he is just pissing me off

mention to lisa simpson here. few years ago she makes the list easy but not anymore

[Andrew]

Really, Lisa? Just out of interest, do you find her annoying as she's characterised more recently or throughout the series? Narrator Lisa/Activist Lisa tend to be fairly unpopular amongst Simpsons fans on the Internet compared to how she was portrayed in earlier seasons.

Peggy Hill I definitely agree with. For me, Brannigan doesn't get too annoying because he's so often the butt of the joke so it's more a case of his attitude setting him for a fall.

[Drex]

Top 5

1. Homer
2. Cartman
3. Bart
4. Stewie
5. The Professor

Kenny kicks their asses, though.

[Oznogrd]

Top six for me because i couldnt justify cutting any out:

1. Bart-some people think im crazy but his classic era attitude is so awesome compared to now..he's just a kid who likes to have fun and get into trouble, he really doesnt mean to be "bad it just sorta happens. That sort of honesty is why old episodes of the Simpsons are so much better, the characters come through in every episode

2. Cartman-No questions asked, no character has made me fall out of my chair laughing as often as Eric Cartman. This could be writing but they love Cartman so much they give him most of the one liners. He couldnt be more evil or more of an asshole, and thats what makes him so hysterical

3. Homer-As much as i love Bart, its hard to not put Homer up there with him. Second to only Cartman in making me laugh "I take a vodka drink, i take a whiskey drink, and when i have to pee, i use the kitchen sink" While it seems non sequitur, lines like that are way i was so madly in love with old simpsons episodes

4. Timmy/Jimmy-I know their different characters but being disabled myself, i love these guys. Cripple Fight and Up the Down Steroid are so close to true it makes me sick, yet that is why i laugh so damned hard at it. It may give a bad portrayal of the disabled once in awhile, but who isnt portrayed badly on south park?

5. Bender Bending Rodriguez-His one lines are part of what keeps Futurama afloat when it may be dragging a little...for instance from the topic title "Bender: I dont blame myself, I blame all of you! Amy:Us? How can you blame us? Bender: It aint easy, but it just proves how great I am" Had me floored. He's so cocky, so sneaky, and yet you love him anyway

6. Brian Griffin-Smartass cynical martini swilling dog. Has most of my favorite lines from Family Guy and is the slightly intelligent balance to the stupidity of the rest of the family The only reason i can still stand family guy is Brian

As for annoying characters:
1. I actually often find Bill just as annoying as Peggy as king of the Hill, they're tied
2. Flanders is actually the character that annoys me most on simpsons...which is probably on purpose by the creators but hey, the howdily doodily makes me go "must kill flanders" like homer
3. Meg Griffin-they never make her have good lines, they just use her for an easy out joke when the show gets heavy. Always being the brunt does not a character make....

Also on the original topic- Just saw this flick: pretty good stuff and i'm looking forward to the next one. I just wish the time travel storyline hadnt been so stupid. I also had begun praising them for their continuity then they blow up everything at the end...i was like "dammit, there went that theory" but hey i was entertained enough to watch it a couple times while i had it rented and figure thats good enough for me

[Indy]

1.) Cartman
2.) Homer
3.) Stewie
4.) Bender
5.) Riley (The Boondocks)
6.) Professer Farnsworth
7.) Master Shake (Aqua Teen)
8.) Peter Griffin
9.) Butters
10.) Zoidberg

[Sauru]

Really, Lisa? Just out of interest, do you find her annoying as she's characterised more recently or throughout the series? Narrator Lisa/Activist Lisa tend to be fairly unpopular amongst Simpsons fans on the Internet compared to how she was portrayed in earlier seasons.

Peggy Hill I definitely agree with. For me, Brannigan doesn't get too annoying because he's so often the butt of the joke so it's more a case of his attitude setting him for a fall.

i guess you could say lisa was more boreing for me than annoying, but that fact that imo she would slow down an episode is what annoyed me about her, i guess. this has changed though as i actually like her more in the latter years

i guess zapp and peter both bother me for the same reason. the way zapp treats kipp and the way peter treats, well everyone. sometimes it is actually funny, and i know most people find it funny, but thier attitudes just bug the hell outa me lol. though i do have to admit that zapp has had some good one liners and he was great in the episode with the giant amazon women.


just a note, i named more common characters i think to be on my annoying list, there is probably even worse characters but since they have alot less screen time it dont get to me much

[el badman]

Can't really rank them (just too tough), but here are 10 of my favs:

Brian Griffin
Cartman
Butters
Chief Wiggum
Tom Tucker (FG)
Randy Marsh (SP)
Cletus the Slack-Jawed Yokel (Simpsons)
Monty Burns (Simpsons)
Adam West (FG)
Glen Quagmire (FG)

Also eligible: Moe, Jimmy (SP), Stewie, Professor Frink, Joe Quinby, Mr Mackey (SP), Mr Slave (SP), Bumblebeeman (Simpsons)

[Andrew]

i guess you could say lisa was more boreing for me than annoying, but that fact that imo she would slow down an episode is what annoyed me about her, i guess. this has changed though as i actually like her more in the latter years

It's interesting to think how the series might be if Lisa had been more of a "female Bart" with a bratty personality, as she was sometimes portrayed in the Ullman shorts and in "No Disgrace Like Home". I think the series would have missed out on some of their great character driven/emotional episodes like "Lisa's Substitute" and "Lisa's Wedding" but I think it's safe to say Bart instantly became the more popular character.

i guess zapp and peter both bother me for the same reason. the way zapp treats kipp and the way peter treats, well everyone. sometimes it is actually funny, and i know most people find it funny, but thier attitudes just bug the hell outa me lol. though i do have to admit that zapp has had some good one liners and he was great in the episode with the giant amazon women.

I see what you mean. I think "Amazon Women in the Mood" is actually good example of how the character doesn't annoy me; Zapp is obnoxious as always but the beating he takes serves some kind of justice.

As far as Family Guy is concerned, the way Peter treats Meg has kind of gone beyond a joke in my opinion. I think the fact the Family Guy writers have admitted they can't really do anything with Meg because they find it hard to write a story from a teenage girl's perspective demonstrates that while they do their brand of humour very well, as writers they're not up there with the best of the Simpsons alumni, in particular co-creator James L. Brooks and David Stern (actor Daniel Stern's brother and former writer for The Wonder Years) to name only a couple.

just a note, i named more common characters i think to be on my annoying list, there is probably even worse characters but since they have alot less screen time it dont get to me much

Would you place the Crazy Cat Lady and The Yeeeeeess Guy in that group of lesser seen yet still annoying characters?

[Sauru]

the yeeeeesssssss guy is definetly annoying but i dont find the cat lady that bad honestly. if just for that one show where she kept throwing cats at lisa while she tried to upstage bart.

[Andrew]

I'm not really bothered by her either but she's another character a lot of online Simpsons fans seem to hate. Some of her appearances have been a bit gratuitous though.

[Patr1ck]

The Yes guy is hilarious.

Based upon Frank Nelson.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JA_r1Ynl4Ls[/youtube]

The cat lady is awesome, too.

Hans Moleman is one of my favourites.

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=Kb9gOAWmAOo[/youtube]

[Andrew]

I've never been all that annoyed by The Yes Guy either but like the Cat Lady he's often mentioned as a lot of fans' least favourite character.

[Sauru]

I've never been all that annoyed by The Yes Guy either but like the Cat Lady he's often mentioned as a lot of fans' least favourite character.

overall he dont annoy me either but thats just cause he is rarely seen, if he had a bigger role however......

[el badman]

Hans Moleman is one of my favourites.

forgot about him, he's amazing indeed, especially when he finds himself in trouble just because he's in the wrong place at the wrong moment...
I forgot to mention Nelson too, his "HAHA!" is just legendary...

[Patr1ck]

I believe the yes man is fine where he is at. He shows up at random times. If he showed up too often then the joke could get old. Besides, there are plenty of characters in Springfield that deserve a centric episode more than him.

[Andrew]

Hans Moleman is one of my favourites.

forgot about him, he's amazing indeed, especially when he finds himself in trouble just because he's in the wrong place at the wrong moment...
I forgot to mention Nelson too, his "HAHA!" is just legendary...

Moleman has a lot of classic cameos throughout the classic era but two of my favourite would have to be his reading of the wine list in "Selma's Choice" ("Comb...chicken...biscuits...mailman...") and the THOH ep with the short "Terror at 5 1/2 Feet" where he's run off the road and narrowly avoids hitting a tree, only to have his car explode for no particular reason.

[J@3]

My favourite Moleman bit is when he goes to a gay club thinking it's his army reunion and gets taken away by that fag in the military outfit