KD^3C^3 - 20241117 You could call her a jumpin' bean
Sometimes I think I want to write about something for this newsletter, but then I have to ask myself if I already wrote it at some point in the past. Checking on this isn't as easy as I would like it to be. I have an archive of all the newsletters from when this was on tinyletter, but it's in a format that is difficult to scan through at a glance. And since then I have written almost another year's worth of newsletters on this platform.
I remember one of the writers on The Simpsons saying they had to impose a rule where they don't have to worry about repeating a joke if the last time was more than five years ago. Which makes sense. The show has been on for a very long time (either 1987 or 1989 depending on if you count the shorts from the Tracey Ullman Show) and they have produced such an unbelievable number of episodes.
Now I don't want to say writing this newsletter is the same level of accomplishment as putting out an episode of the Simpsons, but they only have to do 22 a year, and I put a new one out every week. And like The Simpsons, there's an argument that I peaked in the early few years, but have petered out in the time since. I don't think that's actually true for The Simpsons or this newsletter (if I did, I would probably stop writing it) But I do think it's an interesting experiment to put this newsletter up against episodes of The Simpsons.
By my count, which could be wrong, this is the 343rd issue of this newsletter I've put out. Which is no small feat in and of itself. Wikipedia tells e the 343rd episode of The Simpsons is Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass, the 8th episode of the 16th season. The 16th season is well past most metrics of when the "Prime" seasons of the Simpsons were.
Homer & Ned's Hail Mary Pass is an episode I remember watching! I didn't remember the name, but the summary triggered the memory. It was a Super Bowl themed episode, that aired after the Super Bowl. This was back when I watched both the Super Bowl and the shows that would air directly afterwards. The Post-Super Bowl spot was a coveted one in TV land, as it had the largest guaranteed lead in of any show on network television. Or anywhere for that matter. I don't know if the Super Bowl is as much of a ratings juggernaut anymore, but even still, I know it's probably a sweet spot for any TV show to get.
Often it was a chance to show off a big hit show, or premier something the network wanted to have the biggest chance of a success. Examples of the former include the episode of This Is Us where the dad dies or the Grey's Anatomy episode with a bomb inside a guy's chest(spoilers I guess?) and examples of the latter would be the pilot episode of Family Guy (a show famous for being cancelled multiple times) or the pilot of The Wonder Years (which only got cancelled once, as far as I know.)
What was I talking about? Oh, the Simpsons. Anyway, this episode that aired after the Super Bowl, was not a particularly memorable one, except that it revealed the name of Comic Book Guy in the most understated way possible. It was a throwaway line, where he said his name when asked, and then the show moved on. BUt I still remember it, so that's petty funny.
But I don't remember if I wrote about the thing I origiannly sat down to write about, so maybe I'll check and write about it next week.
I remember one of the writers on The Simpsons saying they had to impose a rule where they don't have to worry about repeating a joke if the last time was more than five years ago. Which makes sense. The show has been on for a very long time (either 1987 or 1989 depending on if you count the shorts from the Tracey Ullman Show) and they have produced such an unbelievable number of episodes.
Now I don't want to say writing this newsletter is the same level of accomplishment as putting out an episode of the Simpsons, but they only have to do 22 a year, and I put a new one out every week. And like The Simpsons, there's an argument that I peaked in the early few years, but have petered out in the time since. I don't think that's actually true for The Simpsons or this newsletter (if I did, I would probably stop writing it) But I do think it's an interesting experiment to put this newsletter up against episodes of The Simpsons.
By my count, which could be wrong, this is the 343rd issue of this newsletter I've put out. Which is no small feat in and of itself. Wikipedia tells e the 343rd episode of The Simpsons is Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass, the 8th episode of the 16th season. The 16th season is well past most metrics of when the "Prime" seasons of the Simpsons were.
Homer & Ned's Hail Mary Pass is an episode I remember watching! I didn't remember the name, but the summary triggered the memory. It was a Super Bowl themed episode, that aired after the Super Bowl. This was back when I watched both the Super Bowl and the shows that would air directly afterwards. The Post-Super Bowl spot was a coveted one in TV land, as it had the largest guaranteed lead in of any show on network television. Or anywhere for that matter. I don't know if the Super Bowl is as much of a ratings juggernaut anymore, but even still, I know it's probably a sweet spot for any TV show to get.
Often it was a chance to show off a big hit show, or premier something the network wanted to have the biggest chance of a success. Examples of the former include the episode of This Is Us where the dad dies or the Grey's Anatomy episode with a bomb inside a guy's chest(spoilers I guess?) and examples of the latter would be the pilot episode of Family Guy (a show famous for being cancelled multiple times) or the pilot of The Wonder Years (which only got cancelled once, as far as I know.)
What was I talking about? Oh, the Simpsons. Anyway, this episode that aired after the Super Bowl, was not a particularly memorable one, except that it revealed the name of Comic Book Guy in the most understated way possible. It was a throwaway line, where he said his name when asked, and then the show moved on. BUt I still remember it, so that's petty funny.
But I don't remember if I wrote about the thing I origiannly sat down to write about, so maybe I'll check and write about it next week.