Preview / speculation about the upcoming episodes of The Simpsons.

After having seen that preview clip from 'Podcast News' with Marge and Lisa, I feel all the more sure and hopeful about the episode. I think it's gonna be at least a 4/5 (unless something goes wrong). Selman & X. Cohen will surely deliver an entertaining episode.

I hope they make a true crime story instead of using the same formula as Homer Is Where the Art Isn't, where they prioritized the jokes over the story.

I get what you mean and I would hope so too, though I still like that episode.
 
My early preview thoughts on Podcast News are now up over at Resetera.

Needless to say, I'm very optimistic... especially if the Brockman material delivers. His character has been very funny at the newsdesk and not so much away from the cameras. If this episode averages below a 3.5/5, I'll consider it a disappointment. It's the safest bet of this pre-Christmas hiatus string of episodes and has "best of the season" potential.
 
After having seen that preview clip from 'Podcast News' with Marge and Lisa, I feel all the more sure and hopeful about the episode. I think it's gonna be at least a 4/5 (unless something goes wrong). Selman & X. Cohen will surely deliver an entertaining episode.

I get what you mean and I would hope so too, though I still like that episode.

By the way, I also liked Homer Is Where the Art Isn't, and I found its resolution extremely clever and hilarious. But I think a true crime story can be truly engaging and I think this is a big opportunity for an episode like that.

It's the safest bet of this pre-Christmas hiatus string of episodes and has "best of the season" potential.
I wish this title goes to Sorry Not Sorry or Uncut Femmes because the development of background stories of recurring characters is the most exciting kind of storylines the show can deliver after thirty-two years on the air. I would be more frustrated if Sorry Not Sorry disappoints than if Podcast News fails.

Fortunately, there are six or seven episodes that are outlined to be the best episode of the season. I am quite confident that I, Carumbus will be outside of my TOP5 this season, and I've given a solid 5/5 to this one so, let's see if this season goes as well as it promises.
 
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By the way, I also liked Homer Is Where the Art Isn't, and I found its resolution extremely clever and hilarious. But I think a true crime story can be truly engaging and I think this is a big opportunity for an episode like that.

Agreed. The goofy and joke-heavy approach to 'Homer Is Where The Art Isn't' was the right way to go for that episode (much as it was a parody of old detective shows) but to make this one ('Podcast') a more serious one with a true mystery plot is certainly better than to repeat the silly and referential style of the other episode.
 
I wish this title goes to Sorry Not Sorry or Uncut Femmes because the development of background stories of recurring characters is the most exciting kind of storylines the show can deliver after thirty-two years on the air. I would be more frustrated if Sorry Not Sorry disappoints than if Podcast News fails.
I'm more excited for Sorry Not Sorry than Podcast News. I've been asking for a Miss Hoover backstory episode for years. But I still have to roll with Podcast News being the more likely of the two to be good given Selman showrunning and Cohen writing just based on their track record. Even with Oliver directing the former.
 
The whole ending credits for Podcast News might or might not be played throughout the black background, because that usually happens in any of the Selman showrun episodes
 
I'm more excited for Sorry Not Sorry than Podcast News. I've been asking for a Miss Hoover backstory episode for years. But I still have to roll with Podcast News being the more likely of the two to be good given Selman showrunning and Cohen writing just based on their track record. Even with Oliver directing the former.

'Sorry Not Sorry' feel like the more interesting episode to me as well (due to that Hoover backstory & Scovell of 'Blowfish' fame writing), but that's not to say 'Podcast News' isn't intriguing too that with Selman and X. Cohen holding the reins (which oughta amount to something good). There is probably a bigger chance the latter ('Podcast') will be better, but I will not discount the other one just yet. It will be an interesting two.
 
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If I have to choose between the most likely to be the best episode then it would be tough to choose:

Podcast News have a great combo with Matthew Faughnan (one of the best directors) directing it and a great writer (David X. Cohen) returning. Also, it's Selman run, so have big promise for it. The plot however, doesn't intrigue me as much as Sorry, Not Sorry.
Sorry, Not Sorry originally had me think it was a Bart episode, but it will be a great exploration of Miss Hoover, one of the most underdeveloped characters in the show, despite me not really being a big fan of it. Again, there's a returning writer, who's writing his first episode since Season 2 (one of them being One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Bluefish), and we have Rob Oliver as the director, which is good, but sadly, not all is rosy, as Al Jean showruns it.

They all have their good points, but to decide on what seems more promising, I'll wait until Podcast to decide. It's only fair, for 2 promising episodes to be the same quality at this early point.
 
Also, I feel like that the IABFxx production code should be used for Season 34 after the UABFxx production code from Season 33. Honestly though, the letter I looks nothing like a number 1 at all, because the letter I is a line that goes down between the two little lines as all of the letter I's are seen in the credits
 
Also, I feel like that the IABFxx production code should be used for Season 34 after the UABFxx production code from Season 33. Honestly though, the letter I looks nothing like a number 1 at all, because the letter I is a line that goes down between the two little lines as all of the letter I's are seen in the credits

IABF - just impsossible. No series still hasn't use I, because of its similary to "1" (the same with O and zero). It should be understood many years ago.

If you so care about prod. codes, in my oppinion, then there'll be either 2ABF or A[some another 3 letters to prevent association with FOX as somewhere stated]

UPD. Just noticed, that's my 100th reply in this thread:dance:
Or another twist for the reason of "out of letters" the show will be canceled after season 34 (season 35 holdovers):D (I'm kidding, of cource)
 
Next week today will be the day where the episode title will be revealed for QABF21, so I wouldn't bother asking Al Jean on Twitter about what the episode title name is for QABF21 today, so I decided that I might want to wait until next week today
 
Next week today will be the day where the episode title will be revealed for QABF21, so I wouldn't bother asking Al Jean on Twitter about what the episode title name is for QABF21 today, so I decided that I might want to wait until next week today

Al Jean reaction: "Thanks God!":lol:

If seriously, yes, they have traditional read on Thanksgiving - next Thursday
 
Unfortunately, I found out from Al Jean on Twitter that there won't be a table read next Thursday probably because of Thanksgiving in United States next week. So it turns out that the episode title for QABF21 might actually be revealed sometime later today or so
 
You and AJ misnderstood each other (as I understood:oops:|). He thought you asked about today + he doesn't love punctuation
- Sir, will there be a table read of the Simpsons for QABF21 next week?
- no[, comma] read [on] thanksgiving week
I repeat myself - Thanksgiving read is their tradition (even via Zoom). And, perhaps I'm right, cause mr. Jean just ignored you today:lol:



P.S I've just realised - it's so stupid. I meant, 95% of viewers even don't care about episode title and more about code, table read dates and so on… However, here we discussed, whether Jean wrote comma today, or not.:-/ Agree, Justin, that's really stupid. Of course, production information is important, but not to this extent. End the "every week topic" please;)
 
Three Dreams Denied:

This could be decent. Bart being a voice actor could be fun, so could the CBG stuff, but I have doubts about Lisa's boyfriend plot. Making him something of an antagonist could work, but knowing Jean, they probably won't play off of that dynamic very well.

Best case scenario: Lisa's boyfriend is a cleverly written and effective antagonist, making the plot work and him a memorable one off character, Barts plot is enjoyable, as is CBG's. Episode gets 5/5.

Worst Case scenario: Lisa's boyfriend is another bland love interest with no personality. Bart's plot is entirely aimless and Comic Book Guy's plot doesn't add any depth to his character and does absolutely nothing with its potential. Episode gets 1/5.

It'll probably end up being a 3 or 4, but both higher and lower are very possible.
 
T̶h̶e̶ ̶V̶o̶i̶c̶e̶ ̶A̶c̶t̶o̶r̶'̶s̶ ̶A̶p̶p̶r̶e̶n̶t̶i̶c̶e Three Dreams Denied
Three_Dreams_Denied_poster.jpg

1. Plots ("Bart, Lisa and Comic Book Guy visit "Comicalooza". It turns out that this was a lifelong dream of Comic Book Guy, but there he is humiliated.") - Some of that multy-plot episodes. Reg. CBG: He was at Comic-Con several times,.. but this time it's anoyher, it's "Comicalooza":D I liked the idea of "he is humiliated rather humitate others himself". Also, his backstory is promised. But I really afraid of that turn into mash-up of refferences and gags:-/ Anyway, I'm thrilled 3.5/5 (3 at worse)
"After attending the convention, Bart became a voice actor" - I loved that idea just read initial title. How many possibilities - self-refferences, another stuff-jokes (I liked every time I&SStudios or that "Angry Dad" Studios was shown), what else?.. Just to said - good plot idea 5/5
"Lisa is set on a new fall [in love] with her fellow-musician Blake, who impresses her" - Lisa and fellow-musician love... :lol: haw.. haw-haw... Haw-Haw Land. Just with hope this time we'll get something another 2/5
So, believe in best :gosh: 3.5/5
2. We've just had a winning combination for "multy-plot episode" - (freelancer woman writer + Steven Dean Moore) under Al Jean. That's rising all up,.. perhaps for new, btw, QABF production season it'll repeat
3. Promo images dissapointed me. Really? They concreted on Lisa plot more, than CBG backstory (very hyped early) and Bart the voice actor (where besides that promo video with Homer gargle to Bart with sause nothing showed the plot). I'd be even angry :mad:... if not that late poster with all. 3. dreams

SO plot(s) - plus; crew - plus; promotion - MINUS 3.5/5
 
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Oh, so I guess the table read for QABF21 would be next Thursday then, I almost didn't understand
 
And do you know something guys? There might be a repeat for Bobby It's Cold Outside on December 20th this year
 
This season feels like a roller coaster ride thus far. Undercover Burns was the only not-so-great not-so-bad episode. After that, it has been interspersed with three outstanding episodes and two monstrosities. I am expecting this one to calm the unstable run and settle itself somewhere in the middle. The story sounds quite promising, but it's a Jean-run episode after all and I got the feeling it's going to have some pacing problems as a considerable part of not gimmicky Jean's episodes nowadays. Three big plots seem like a lot. I don't even remember the last time we have had three important and remotely connected plots in one and none of them was rushed, overlooked, or a disappointment. However, we entered the production code where Al Jean received only ten episodes in a year, only sixteen years later than it should be, and I want to convince myself he will have a decent performance during the rest of season 32. That detail, plus the fact this is a script delivered by a freelance writer, makes this episode a big riddle that might go either way.

I am cautiously optimistic about Comic Book Guy's story. Even if I don't have the same hobbies as him, his stories are usually above-average, maybe because the writers know the situation where people like him live so, even if I don't feel related to him, his stories usually are enjoyable. The Comic-con is something that the writers must take advantage of. The plot of Bart treats another aspect of life the crew of The Simpsons should know enough to create a decent story, although we barely have information about this. The subplot of Lisa... Eh, it's another romantic interest, this time with a blue-eyed boy. It's so weird to watch a blue-eyed person in this show... This part is by far the least exciting here. The title of this episode makes me believe this is going to have a sad ending with all the characters frustrated. Unless they disguise a frustration as a happy ending as they often do, that seems different.

Preview note? 3/5 as always. I did it much better last year. I'm more excited for the next two weeks.
 
Just to clarify, Danielle Weisberg doesn't exactly rate as a "freelancer" in this traditional sense as she's an assistant to the show's producers. She's one of three receiving token writing credits this production run along with Nick Dahan (Bart's in Jail!) and Juliet Kaufman (Lisa's Belly).

I don't exactly bucket these mentally in terms of potential the same way I do other freelancer efforts like the ones we've seen already this season from David Cryan (Undercover Burns) and Julia Prescott (Treehouse of Horror XXXI). I'm expecting these scripts to be more crowd-sourced by the room without much in the way of creative vision or narrative structure compared with what we typically see from a freelance script.
 
And here we are, 6 episodes in, we have experianced our fair share of Highs (I, Carumbus), Lows (The 7 Beer Itch) and the averages (Undercover Burns). Now, we reach the point on where we get our annual Lisa Gets a Crush episode. It does look like that they are tring to hype us for that, even though I myself have low expectations for that plot. The plot layout does remind me of the great Season 12 episode 'Trilogy Of Error', but with what we've got so far, it's almost certain it will not be as good as that.

First up, Lisa starts a relationship with a new kid called Blake, who has strange blue eyes. When looking in the plot further, it seems like Blake is like Allison Taylor from 'Lisa's Rival', on how he seems to be a good sax player and seems smart as well. The only 2 differences are that he is male (whereas Allison is female) and that he may or may not be a robot. Anyways I'm not liking the sound of this plot, at best, I could give it a 3/5, but it will most likely end up as an 1/5.

Next up we have Bart following in the footsteps of his father (remember 'The Itchy and Scratchy and Poochie Show') as he becomes a voice actor. Out of the 3 dreams that we get for this episode, this serms to be the most promising of them. On the promo pictures, Bart's friends seem to be happy, but as title of the episode goes, it's surely all going to come cashing down for him, and it could happen in 4 ways:
1: The show is cancelled, putting Bart out of an job;
2: Bart starts to get less apreciated by the fans, leading him to quit;
3: Something happens to Bart (which is very unlikely), resulting in him no longer being able to do the voice;
4: His character gets killed off (a la 'I&S&P')
Also, there could be a scene where we can get the chance to see the Rumpus Room, as in Homer is made to watch Bart's voice acting in there, because someone else is watching the main TV, but chances of that is low, even though this might be out best chances to see it this year. For this, I await an 3.5/5, though I'm leaning more towards a 4/5.

And lastly, we go to what was originally pinned to be yhe main plot of the episode, before we knew about the Lisa and Bart plots, Comic Book Guy goes to an genetic Comic Convention in which he has never been before. When I first heard about it, I was like Eh on the plot. Now that more of it has been revealed, I'm just expecting it to be some filler which just exists. Not that it would be bad, but I'm not expecting it to be the best thing that I've seen all season. It may provide a few laughs, but other than that, I think that's all I really have to say for this part. I'm expecting anything between 2/5 and 3/5 for this.

And now, we hit another problem, because the showrunner for this is none other than Al Jean, who is starting to make episodes go nowhere for a long time, and it could easily happen to this episode as well.

Putting all matters into effect, I await a 2.5/5 for this episode, however for a full grade, I would mostly round it down to a 2/5.
The next 2 episodes look more interesting than this one, however I'm not expecting this one to be down there eith Museum and 7 Beer Itch for quality.
 
Just to clarify, Danielle Weisberg doesn't exactly rate as a "freelancer" in this traditional sense as she's an assistant to the show's producers. She's one of three receiving token writing credits this production run along with Nick Dahan (Bart's in Jail!) and Juliet Kaufman (Lisa's Belly).

I don't exactly bucket these mentally in terms of potential the same way I do other freelancer efforts like the ones we've seen already this season from David Cryan (Undercover Burns) and Julia Prescott (Treehouse of Horror XXXI). I'm expecting these scripts to be more crowd-sourced by the room without much in the way of creative vision or narrative structure compared with what we typically see from a freelance script.

Sorry for misunderstanding.
FYI, as freeancers I always mean those writes, who:
1) got writer credit only once (actual freelancers);
2) got < 3 credits thoughtout all show (i.e. Megan Amram);
3) have a long gap between episodes (i.e. David Cohen);
4) skip regularry more than 1 production cycles (like Michael Ferris, David Stern, so on)
 
'Three Dreams Denied' sounds like it could turn out to be a decent episode overall. To get another anthology episode (which it seems to be like) so soon after we've just recently had two ('Now Museum, Now You Don't' & 'Treehouse Of Horror XXXI feels a bit much, but at least two of the stories sound like they could be pretty promising (Comic Book Guy's comic convention story could be a neat one, but Bart becoming a voice actor definitely feels the most intriguing one to me and my main draw of the episode) and while the third story Lisa and her new crush) sounds bland and uninteresting it could be alright in the end. It doesn't sound like the most interesting episode this season, but nothing about it feels worrisome (and I like that a freelance writer is behind it). I'm guessing 3/5 for this one.
 
My early thoughts on Three Dreams Denied are up over at Resetera.

I think it's fair to say that I'm pretty pessimistic about this episode compared to the rest of you. There is clear enthusiasm for this episode from the production team but I'm not sure if that has anything to do with actual quality or simply that Jean only has 10 episodes to hype up this run. We've had three episode bumpers and a clip from tonight's ep released already and not a single thing has stood out as especially good. This was originally an episode about Bart voice acting and we haven't seen Bart do any voice acting... or even know what he's voice acting for.

The other two stories involve Comic Book Guy monologuing to himself like a loser while convention guests ignore him and Lisa apparently crushing on a robot... and, even if he's not a robot, Blake might as well be one if he's simply going to be yet another of these idealized, perfect in every way "cute boys" that Lisa invariably falls for before something goes wrong or she self-sabotages things. We've seen this countless times before from Colin and Luke and Brendan and Nick and Thelonious and that Bogart kid and that one Treehouse segment where Harry Potter voiced a vampire.

I'll consider this to be a pleasant surprise if it earns a higher score than 2/5 from me.
 
'Three Dreams Denied' sounds like it could turn out to be a decent episode overall. To get another anthology episode (which it seems to be like) so soon after we've just recently had two ('Now Museum, Now You Don't' & 'Treehouse Of Horror XXXI feels a bit much.
It's not an anthology episode. It's an episode with an A-plot, a B-plot, and a C-plot, like it was Grampy Can Ya Hear Me? back in season 29, for example. But it's not a trilogy or anthology, just for the record.
 
[MENTION=75686]Szyslak100[/MENTION], Oh, my mistake then. At a first glance (and not helped by that poster) it seemed like a trilogy-type episode to me, but I guess not. The fact that it is a normal episode with three separate plots going on also changes my thoughts on it a little (as the fact can either make or break the episode depending on the writing. It is easy a modern episode with too many plotlines (especially when not all of them sound too good) does not work out, but I still don't feel negative about it).
 
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