[Deleted]

Lucky, you're not alone. I'm not a big Simpsons fan, either.

And they actually DID try to do an "adult" R&S a few years back. I think it was on Spike.

[Lucky]

I think Ren And Stimpy being geared to adults is a complete fabrication. We've all been tricked into it. In part because they made the more adult cartoons late on MTV and Spike, in part because they tossed it on MTV and I think we're associating it with Beavis and Butthead, and in part because people just say it all the time. Once we realized that Ren and Stimpy were gay lovers everything changed.

But I remember "LOG", "Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy", "you fat bloated idjit!", lots of spitting and picking, and R&S just strikes me as stupid. Fun stupid, but not adult. The only actual adult thing I remember was the "I'm the pitcher, you're the catcher!" scene and I don't remember that until the adult revivals. Or maybe that's when it was called to my attention and I realized what it meant.

Moe tries to kill himself? I don't remember that character trait being there back when i was watching.

If I remember correctly Pinky and the Brain started as a segment on Animaniacs. It was then spun off and debuted in prime time. I think they ran episodes in the afternoon with Animaniacs, Tiny Toons, and the like but as best as I recall it was a prime time debut and first run. I recall that being a story at the time as there were so few prime time cartoons that weren't inherrently adult ones. Flintstones and Top Cat were the only ones I remember being mentioned. It didn't move to the kid slots until ratings forced it off prime time.

Wiki says:

Pinky and the Brain originally appeared as a segment on Animaniacs, another show produced by Steven Spielberg and shown on first Fox and then the WB. On September 1, 1995, Pinky and the Brain were spun off into their own half-hour series, each consisting of one or more segments, including some of the segments from Animaniacs. Initially, the show was scheduled in a prime-time slot, and as a result, tended to have more jokes and humor aimed to adults rather than children. However, due to poor ratings, it was later moved to Saturday mornings as part of the Kids WB programming block.

I just always think of it in that prime time slot because I remember getting pumped to watch the big debut.

P&TB and Animaniacs were LOADED with political and historical humor and references to classic films, TV, and music. I think it was Animaniacs that had one of my favorite skits come high school when they turned the Allied Powers into superheroes that fought the Axis of Evil. Clearly you needed a fair amount of education to get what the hell was going on with that segment. Not to mention the They Might Be Giants Istanbul/Constantinople song which I think I loved before I had any clue what it was going on about. So I don't think that stuff should DQ Simpsons.

Maybe adult themes unsuitable for kids should. That works for South Park and Family Guy for me. But Simpsons has never struck me as terribly overtly adult. I'd never worry that a kid was watching Simpsons. I watched it when I was a kid and I think the adult references that are there are enough over the head of kids not to be harmful.

Then again, now that I think about it I see no reason why Futurama shouldn't be in. It wasn't terribly adult and wasn't too heavy on the themes. It was just in prime time and aimed at the same audience as Simpsons, King of the Hill, etc.

[The Canadian Content]

luckylopez said:

Moe tries to kill himself? I don't remember that character trait being there back when i was watching.

I can think of three examples off the top of my head (hanging, jumping off a building, and sticking his head in an oven). It's a recurring theme with the character.

luckylopez said:

I see no reason why Futurama shouldn't be in. It wasn't terribly adult

One of the main character's catchphrases is "Bite my shiny metal ass." The show is full of sexual innuendo. Zap Branigan (*shudder*). Not really appropriate for the kids.

I realize I'm going back on my own arguments here, but I now agree that Simpsons and Futurama shouldn't be in.

[Lucky]

Eh, I stopped watching with any regularity a decade ago so I'm sure I missed a lot. Maybe it went more adult in that time as well.



Eh... "shiny metal ass" doesn't strike me as too bad and the sexual innuendo never struck me as terribly strong. But I can buy it. Ok. I still probably wouldn't object to letting kids watch it. But it wasn't aimed at kids, so it probably doesn't stay true to the idea of the showdown.

[Deleted]

Lucky, to clarify, my inner TMBG wonk is forcing me to point out that Istanbul and Particle man were played on Tiny Toons, not Animaniacs.

[OpTard]

i can't believe this arguement is still going. it all just seems so obvious to me. regardless of time slot or subtle (or not so subtle) content. it's just.... obvious.

simpsons, futurama, family guy, south park. these aren't kids shows. animaniacs, ren and stimpy (with the exception of the "adult party cartoon" edition), flintstones, pinky and the brain, justice league (not mentioned here, but a good example that simply a prime time slot doesn't make something not a kids show), all kids shows.

as i said, it's not any specific content or time slot thing, it's just an obvious thing to me.

[Deleted]

Thank you, Mr. Smarty Pants.

[Lucky]

gatorbait said:

Lucky, to clarify, my inner TMBG wonk is forcing me to point out that Istanbul and Particle man were played on Tiny Toons, not Animaniacs.

Really? I could have swore I picture Wacko, Yacko, and Dot singing it. Not Buster or any of them. Huh.

Or wait, were Animaniacs a spinoff of Tiny Toons? I seem to recall Buster finding them up in that tower and freaking out. Maybe I'm making that up, though.

EDIT: Ok, I just watched the Tiny Toons video on Youtube. That's not what I remember at ALL. I'm now 100% convinced that there's a 2nd clip from Animaniacs with those guys singing the sing and doing a very wacky bunch of stuff to it. Not a story like was on TT.

But Youtube doesn't seem to agree with me.

[Loki]

I read an interview with Steven Spielberg a loooong time ago about Animaniacs. The show was a family show purposely written on two levels: one for the kids and one for the older kids (teenagers / young adults / adults) who were also watching. So there were classical references and some political humor (the political humor really wasn't that heavy. Compare and contrast to the Simpsons: Animaniacs would comment on Bill Clinton playing a saxophone, Simpsons - I think - referenced Monica), but those were for the adults. At the same time it could be watched as nothing more complicated than slapstick comedy. His screen tests for the episodes were simple - if his then about seven year old daughter and he both enjoyed the episodes they were a success. Otherwise they'd be redone.

Really, Animaniacs was pretty unique. That was one that undeniably appealed all the way across the board.

[OpTard]

animaniacs also has a tit joke in it's pilot episode.

[Deleted]

What's so offensive about tits?

[Loki]

TaleSpin crashes and burns.