Results of the Simpsons Episode Ideas Contest!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TheAbman
I'll first start off with The Rack's comments.
BEST IDEAS
[8] Children of a Lesser Maude - J. Lennington
[8] My Homer The Car - N. Tominack
[8] What Dreams May Go - J. Lennington
[8] Those Were The D'Ohs - M. Reed
[8] The Great Squishy War - D. Dreibelbis
[8] King of all Springfield - N. Tominack
[7] Homey Sings The Blues - D. Dreibelbis
[7] Simon Church - J. Lennington
[7] Homer Simpson, USMC - D. Dreibelbis
[7] Lisa the Mind - N. Tominack
[7] The Fling: II - J. Lennington
[7] Simpsons Throughout History - N. Tominack
[7] Last of the Bohemians - J. Lennington
[7] Lisa the Eccentric - J. Lennington
[7] (Marge gets trendy) - GagnonSux
[7] Gift of the Maggie - M. Reed
[7] (Frankie M. Spelling Bee) - GagnonSux
[7] Something... Mel's Funny - J. Lennington
NOT SO BEST IDEAS
[0] Marge The Marriage Consular - GagnonSux [Skinner/Edna Wed]
[0] Bart To The Future III - N. Tominack
[0] More Bad Neighbors - N. Tominack
[1] Legends Of The Small - J. Lennington [Gavin]
[1] Toady In The Hole - D. Dreibelbis [John]
[1] Where on... Maggie Simpson? - J. Lennington
[1] Lush Life - D. Dreibelbis [Barney]
[1] Milhouse Is Not A Home - D. Dreibelbis
[1] (Cecil Returns) - GagnonSux
[1] Marge And Lenny? - GagnonSux
[1] Another Man's Trash - GagnonSux [derivative]
[1] (Uncle Herb Returns) - GagnonSux
BEST THOH SHORTS
[10] The Springfield Wives - D. Dreibelbis
[8] The Anti Misfits - D. Dreibelbis
[8] "Untitled" - M. Reed
[8] (Ghostbusters Spoof) - GagnonSux
[7] Dr. Jeckyl & Mr. Simpson - J. Lennington
LEAST GOOD THOH SHORTS
[2] The Last Sideshow - N. Tominack
[2] (Alien Spoof) - GagnonSux [derivative]
[2] Rage Of Angel - D. Dreibelbis [Grimes]
HONORABLE MENTION:
[9] (Act II Christmas Episode) - M. Reed
COMMENTS ON BEST IDEAS:
-The best ideas seem centered on flashbacks and back stories, and others
were just
very creative. Back story with Maude/Ned (Maggie Roswell guest starring)
would
be a nice touch, and it would provide great moments. The USMC idea is
creative;
the guys are mistaken for recruits. Cool.
COMMENTS ON NOT SO BEST IDEAS
-I really dislike episodes that try to fix perceived "wrongs" on the show,
esp.
those dealing with inconsistent continuity. At the top of the worst, though,
are episodes that put unnecessary (new) continuity into the series. Don't
center
episodes on unlikeable characters like Gavin or Gerald. Some ideas just
weren't
fleshed out enough, which made them sound pretty boring. Also, any episode
that
tries to link Futurama and Simpsons gets an automatic zero from me... sorry
:)
THOH COMMENTS:
-The best have good literary/movie references, and they ask interesting
questions.
"The Springfield Wives" may be the single best idea in the contest; creepy,
and
intriguing. A Ghostbusters spoof may be long overdue, and it would go over
well.
The worst segments were either derivative of other segments, too wacky, or
once again--try to fix percieved series-continuity wrongs.
COMMENTS ON CONTESTANTS
J. Lennington - Lisa-centric, with flavors of Season 3 & 6
especially--though a
stock market Marge episode sounds like Season 10 fare.
M. Reed - Some ideas are a little derivative (Hawaiian vacations/Kids
writing
cartoons/episode like "Bart the Daredevil"/Rodeo Clown ideas from King of
the
Hill) but he attempts to link characters that haven't really interacted
before...
that's a good thing (Homer/Snake, Gil/Lisa) None of his ideas were too bad.
D. Dreibelbis - Nice sense of humor, and creative plot twists. Made me think
the
most of Season 4 on the best ideas. Unfortunately plagued by the "lets fix
bad
continuity" bug.
N. Tominack - Ideas are from the political, wrestling, and science fiction.
Plots
are good, but theres some derivative work there with the space trips and
Sideshow
Marge
GagnonSux - Needs to flesh out the ideas more, as they are a little sketchy.
Also,
tries to repair "bad continuity" and put Skinner/Krabappel together (which,
IMO,
was one of the big mistakes ever made on The Simpsons in the first place).
And now, my own comments.
BEST IDEAS (from best to worst)
A Diamond in the Rough
Simon Church
My Brother's Keeper
Lisa the Eccentric
Simpsons Throughout History
Bob Burns
Those were the D'ohs
What Dreams May Go
The Great Squishy War
Lisa Helps Gil
Marge vs Grampa
NOT SO BEST IDEAS (from worst to best)
Marge and Lenny?
Pilot
A School of Two Cities
Lush Life
Marge the Marriage Consular
Another Man's Trash
Duff Love
Like Homer, Like Son
Wides of Marge
lisa skips into bart's grade
WHICH SEASON EACH SUBMISSION REMINDED ME OF
jake - season 6 / season 8
reed - season 9 / season 10
gagnonsux - seson 12
dreibelbis - season 5
noel tominack - season 5 / season 11
COMMENTS ON BEST IDEAS
The best episodes were ones that had interesting character interactions, a
solid sense of conflict, and room for satire. Lisa episodes seemed the most
promising. Diamond In The Rough was my choice for best idea, because it seemed
like it would make a great political satire and would put Lisa in a good
conflict. Simon Church sounds like a great secondary character episode; it
introduces background into Lovejoy and introduces a new character. My Brother's
Keeper sounds like a worthy addition to the Sideshow Bob series, because it has
the two Terwilliger brothers pitted against each other again, and the potential
for a good caperish episode. Simpsons Throughout History is a natural sequel to
Simpson Bible Stories, and leaves room for much more satire than Simpson Tall
Tales. The Great Squishy War sounds like it would work on a number of angles:
Apu's business competition and maintaining his marriage. Lisa The Eccentric is
a very natural idea for Lisa, because she's always been a bit of an outcast.
COMMENTS ON WORST IDEAS
I didn't like episode ideas with forced conflicts, emphasis on minor characters
that I don't care about (a very common problem in episode ideas), and episodes
that are too recycled. Marge and Lenny? is a very random pair of 2 characters
who have nothing to do with each other, so I don't think it would make a good
episode. Pilot seems like it would feature some type of bizarre conspiracy, and
we had too much of that in season 12. A School of Two Cities is derivative.
Like Home, Like Son too much resembles Boy Scoutz n' The Hood. Another Man's
Trash is a formulaic idea about another of Homer's schemes. Lisa Skips Into
Bart's Grade has forced conflict between Bart and Lisa. Duff Love focuses too
much on Duffman. As funny as he is, Duffman is still a one-dimensional
character and shouldn't be fleshed out.
COMMENTS ON THE CONTESTANTS
Jake Lennington's submission really captured the spirit of The Simpsons. There
were a lot of interesting but plausible situations, ranging from adventure to
econdary character studies to mystery to political satire. He's clearly a Lisa
fan.
Some of Mike Reed's ideas were a little dark (like Homer joining the mafia),
and there were a few rehashes, but most of his ideas were creative. Lots of
flashbacks and focus on secondary characters.
GagnonSux's ideas may have been a bit too sitcomish, but he shows good
character interactions. (Homer and Karl, Marge and the kids, Uncle Herb and the
kids, Lisa and Thelonius.) Very plausible for an actual season of the Simpsons,
with likeable characters and solid plots.
Daniel Dreibelbis had very good plots with great conflicts, like My Brother's
Keeper, The Great Squishy War, and Toady In The Hole. Sometimes, ideas are
slightly unrealistic, like Right Brain, Wrong Time. D'oh Canada seemes a much
more clever premise for The Simpsons going on a vacation than recent vacaton
episodes.
Noel Tominack seems to have a taste for exotic, complicated episodes of the
Simpsons. Although most of his ideas wouldn't really work for The Simpsons
(like Bart traveling in a time machine and Homer becoming consulate for
Croatia), they are nonetheless creative, and work in a non-canonical way.
And now, what we all came here to see, the winners of the contest! The
contestants are Jake Lennington, Mike Reed, Daniel Dreibelbis, Noel Tominack,
and GagnonSux.
Scroll down
keep scrolling
winner: JAKE LENNINGTON
runner-up: MIKE REED
All the contestants did a fantastic job. They all came up with episode ideas
that are many times more creative than the current episodes coming up. If any
of you ATSers ever get an agent, and are subsequently hired into the Simpsons
staff, please show them these ideas. Special thanks to TheRack for assisting me
in evaluating the contestants.
Congratulations especially to Jake Lennington and Mike Reed. Both truly
understand The Simpsons, more than many current writers, and both have showed
ATS what we should expect from The Simpsons.
***********************
TheAbman,
HOM++ LIS+++ BAR++++ BOB++++ 7G12, 7F10,
8F15, 9F22, 1F04, 2F10, 3F13, 4F14, 5F02, AABF03,
BABF05, CABF14
"Is there no place for the man with the 105 IQ?!?!"
***********************
Jake Lennington
ATS: Don't push your luck! Don't push your luck!
---
Seriously, though, thanks for the vote(s) of confidence.
Jake
thea...@aol.comdamnspam (TheAbman) wrote in message news:<20010814133332...@mb-fo.aol.com>...
mirilidium
>
> Here it is: the final results of the Simpsons Episode Ideas Contest.
>
Were these posted on ATS? If they weren't, will they be? If not, will
they make it onto snpp.com?
- mirilidium
For the love of G-d, won't you let me live, Marge?!?
Daniel L. Dreibelbis
> >
> > Here it is: the final results of the Simpsons Episode Ideas Contest.
>snip<
I must say, I did better than I expected to with some of my entries.
Of course, some of my other entries were rated as possible "worst
episode evers", so everything is nicely balanced out :)
still, having my ideas described as "season 5" was probably the best
compliment I could expect. And having two of my THoH ideas wind up in
the top ideas was a very big surprise.
I'm glad, though, that my fellow opponents also did as well as they
did, particularly Mike and Jake. All of them came up with some great
ideas that I would personally like to see expanded into full-blown
fanscripts.
It was a tough slog getting together even 14 possible episodes, and I
can well see the amount of effort those on the Simpsons staff have to
put in to try to keep the show as fresh and funny as possible. They
don't always succeed, but they do hit the bullseye enough for my liking
:) I can at least thank my bicycle: some of my best ideas came while
riding about town on it, it really seems to be condusive to creativity.
And speaking of creativity: a few weeks ago, while on my vacation in
NYC, I began writing out a fanscript for "The Springfield Wives" on my
Apple Powerbook. This has me excited, as I've had the outline in my
head for months, but what really has me excited is the direction the
plot is taking now that I've actually commiting words to bits - the
inspiration is of course the classic horror/sci-fi film "The Stepford
Wives", but I found that I'm also adding a rather interesting thread
along with it, (as well as a really laugh-out-loud moment with Homer's
brain that came completely out of left field). If anyone's interested in
giving it a critique, let me know and I'll upload what I've written so
far to ATS as a work in progress.
Thanks, Abman, for coming up with such a neat exercise that has kept
my fellow contestants, ats and I so well amused over the summer.
TheAbman
>they make it onto snpp.com?
Go to angelfire.com/tv2/simpideas.
mirilidium
Muchas gracias.
- mirilidium
Mike Reed
TheAbman wrote:
> winner: JAKE LENNINGTON
> runner-up: MIKE REED
Runner-up? That's a fancy word for losing! Seriously, though, second place is a lot
better than I thought I'd do, especially after seeing the stiff competition I was
up against. Everyone sent in good ideas, and I think that Gagnon, Daniel, and Noel
could have easily gotten runner-up as well. Oh yeah, and congratulations to Jake.
> Congratulations especially to Jake Lennington and Mike Reed. Both truly
> understand The Simpsons, more than many current writers, and both have showed
> ATS what we should expect from The Simpsons.
Thanks. By the way, I'm sorry that my postings here have become far less frequent,
but I really haven't been able to find the time lately. A lot has been happening in
my life lately (some good, some bad) and everything has kept me from being able to
post much. But, by the time the new season starts, I think I'll be posting
regularly again.
==
Mike Reed