What's the worst couch gag?

Would you watch a special where they show nothing but couch gags?


  • Total voters
    17

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Lumbering Dinosaur
Joined
Jul 21, 2022
Messages
152
For me it'd have to be the one where the couches become sentient and run amuck. Not a bad concep but it was poorly executed... kinda bland and overlong.
 
I know I gonna get hate for this but the couch gag from Clown in the Dumps. Interesting from an objective standpoint? Yes. Depressing as fuck when you're just trying to watch some funny cartoons? Also yes.
 
I remember reading that the south korean animators didnt really like the Banksy couch gag because it gave a poor idea about their working conditions since they're actually fine. Now, that could always be not true, but it does kind of sour the whole thing a tiny bit if its a commentary on reality that isnt actually real. Could be argued that its more of a general thing that's true in other cases rather than one directed at the Simpsons, but its so Simpsons focused I dont know if that tracks.

The Clown in the Dumps one also feels like a commentary on the show itself, or at least a possible future for the show or just characters in media in general, but that one was fantastic, even if at this point, saying the show has lost all it's heart for brand recognition would be an outdated assesment (at least to some). My only wish is that the Clown in the Dumps couch gag was attatched to a better episode.
 
I know I gonna get hate for this but the couch gag from Clown in the Dumps. Interesting from an objective standpoint? Yes. Depressing as fuck when you're just trying to watch some funny cartoons? Also yes.
that couch gag was the source of my childhood trauma


also i rly didn't care for the banksy one or the rick and morty one. I dislike the ones that go on for too long unless it offers some creative visuals
 
the one where maggie gets squished and ends up on marges lap is the worst one for me, Its not bad but they used it too many times imo
 
I hate the circus performer couch gag where everyone can cans. Feels like it goes on too long and it's overused.
 
I'd say any of those couch gags that are not only too lengthy (eating up running time from the episode) but also have an actual plot enough to be a separate short film. See for instance the 'Rick And Morty' crossover couch gag: That one really didn't need to be as hefty and blatant as it was (it should just have been a brief one, not even leaving the living room).

That's essentially the showrunner being too much in love with the couch gag concept itself.
 
I always find it amusing how most everyone is still so up in arms & raging about the Ke$ha couch gag while I never really minded it and still find it overhated, lol. Sure, it's really silly, bizarre & played on fad song, but I enjoyed the animation work and the energetic style (and it being so intentionally goofy and stupid just gave it a bit of charm IMO). It being a little lengthy is probably my only grievance with it.

It feels like the one reason it is so hated is due to it's Modern 'The Simpsons' being modern and trendy and that's apparently always terrible, no exceptions (not even when it's done in a tongue in cheek, playful manner). I think there's been many much, much worse instances, but since this is a couch gag spearheading an episode it keeps on being brought up ad nauseam.
 
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I feel like guest couch gags always end up being long because The Simpsons couch gag is seen as a prestegious thing and people getting the chance to put their characters in The Simpsons is something they dont want to pass up, so especially the ones that are done by other showrunners end up being really long, like the Rick and Morty one or the Robot Chicken ones.
 
suppose 'sfair enough, honestly thought people around here would be dark and cynical about anything new and trendy. Seeing the common opinion, I suppose I'm a bit more free to admit that I'm generally just kinda meh on the tik tok gag
 
I like the Ke$ha one too.

I think my least favourite one off the top of my head would maybe be the version of the zooming slowly out into space but Homer says like "Weird..." or "Coooool...." instead of "Wow." It's super nitpicky but it doesn't work the same way if it's the newer versions of that couch gag.

I'm not a big fan of the Rick and Morty one either.
 
First John K couch gag probably counts for me. I like expressive animation but it only works if there's anything resembling normal to contrast it with. That and it's John K.

I'm probably in the super-minory that find the Ke$ha one kinda cute actually.
Outside of him being a horrible person, John K's art looks terrible animated. I remember this one Weird Al music video he did, it looked like shit to watch.
 
I like the Ke$ha one too.

I think my least favourite one off the top of my head would maybe be the version of the zooming slowly out into space but Homer says like "Weird..." or "Coooool...." instead of "Wow." It's super nitpicky but it doesn't work the same way if it's the newer versions of that couch gag.

I'm not a big fan of the Rick and Morty one either.
Now i really like that rick and morty couch gag bc its rally funny coming from rick and morty fan
 
I love Bill Plympton and his work, but I'm honestly getting a bit tired of his "once-a-couple-of-years" couch gags. Not only because they're long but also because they become more and more nonsensical as couch gags. Like, the most recent one he made, it's artistically incredible, but I just don't get it. They're far from the worst couch gags (if we still can call them that), but that's my two cents on them.

The R&M one starts off fine and has a decent pay-off but it goes on for faaaar too long, it's like making the viewer an hostage forced to watch two minutes of R&M while he came to watch a Simpsons episode. Cameos are cameos because they don't last for a couple of minutes.
 
For me, the most disgusting splash screen is when the characters traveled in Homer's body, and that splash screen where Maggie is stuck in Homer's ass.
 
I remember they would ALWAYS reuse the same couch gag where there's two Simpsons families looking at each other in syndicated episodes. I got sick of that one.

Hell, just check the Simpsons wiki. It even mentions that they used this couch gag in place of the original for dozens of classic era episodes shown in syndication
 
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