Simpsons producer: “All other animated shows ever are crap!”
Was David Mirkin really serious when he dissed everything else that has ever been animated?
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Executive Producer of The Simpsons David Mirkin says that with the greatest of respect “all other animated shows ever are crap!”
Ever? Sheesh, don’t tell that to The Flinstones, Scooby Doo or Rocky and Bullwinkle.
Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies were classics too, but made for cinema. And where does this leave The Gary Coleman Show? Ok cancel, that…
In an interview with Digital Spy in the UK, Mirkin also hinted at wanting an end to the show. But was he particularly serious?
Groening said that he doesn’t see an ending in sight for the show. Do you agree?
“I pray for an end! I would like to meet another human being who doesn’t work on the show! And maybe say ‘hi’ to a girl. It’s all up to the fans – as long as they’re telling us that they’re happy, they like it and they want more, our feeling is that we will endeavour to give them new stuff. It’s a challenge after 500 episodes to keep it fresh and keep it new, and we spend an enormous amount of time trying to do just that. I think the secret is that The Simpsons does all different kinds of stuff. One week it’s romantic comedy, then it’s science fiction, then it’s an action adventure, and then it’s a kids’ story with Bart – there are so many different genres, plus 60 different speaking roles and guest voices on top of that.”
Do you think there’s a similar animated show that could rival the long run that The Simpsons has had?
“I say this with the greatest respect, but all other animated shows ever are crap! I have to say, some shows we don’t appreciate too much, but there are some that are brilliant. South Park has a very long run and it’s still brilliantly funny and inventive. I see that running for a long time, but I’m very sure that it could never come anywhere near us – I’m pretty comfortable in that!”
What about Futurama?
“It would be hard for it to catch up with us because of how much it costs, but Futurama is a show that can’t get killed! it’s a show that keeps coming back from the dead and no matter how many letters I write, it keeps coming back!”
You can check out more at: Digital Spy
26 Responses
Peanuts is among the best animated stuff for sure. I love all things peanuts and would rate them right up with the simpsons,scooby doo etc if not higher.
What about Peanuts Cartoons?They ran those for some fifty years
In terms of funny, Family Guy eclipsed The Simpsons quite some time ago.
The comment is tongue in cheek, he goes on to praise South Park.
@David S.
1) How can it be amazingly consistent most of the time, or is that like being a little bit pregnant.
2) Yes the simpsons used to be quite funny (In the past) with their subtle humour, and i doubt that only a few got the golden shower reference, i got it and found it quite humerous (as did kents coworkers when he said it and he had no idea what was so funny). I will never forget the “Rock Me Dr Zaius” (rock me amadeus), ” ‘Can i play the piano anymore’ ‘well of course you can’ ‘But i couldnt before’ (plays the piano)” or “I hate every ape i see from chimpan-a to chimpan-z no you’ll never make a monkey out of me …” et al from the Planet of the apes musical episode.
3) Do you have another source where he says he was joking, are you a life long friend who knows him well.
Even if he was joking, you just don’t say that (especially in a print article where things can be misconstrued).
In fact if he was joking that would explain why the simpsons isn’t half as funny as it used to be.
Simpsons 4 EVA!!!
Go back to watching Inspector Rex all you naysayers!!
The laugh track on The Flintstones & Scooby Doo is bizarre. The Simpsons may as well chug along while it’s still profitable. It has come this far so it should pip what ever is the longest running show (Gunsmoke?). Fox will probably never get another chance in a very long time to attempt to get bragging rights to “Longest Show Ever”.
For those convinced The Simpsons isn’t as good as it used to be I can only say what about the Steve Mobs & Mapple episode from the last series? I nearly cracked a rib I laughed so hard.
The Simpsons is amazingly consistent still, not always but most of the time, and it’s seen off far better competition than the very dull Family Guy (American Dad was funny but ran out of steam a while back alas). Remember the (at the time much talked about but now almost forgotten) Ren & Stimpy? Almost all other post-Simpsons animated shows depend on trying to shock the audience with bad language and blatant “adult situations” lacking any finesse, none of them have been able to match The Simpsons subtly – e.g. the “golden showers” remark few noticed in one episode.
The only real animated competition The Simpsons has is South Park and Futurama.
P.S. Anyone who can’t see that Mirkin was joking in that interview is too stupid to watch TV. Even a cooking show.
May be crap now but 90’s Simpsons is still arguably the best half hour show ever made animated or non animated.
simpsons has been crap since the late 90’s and gradually become worse. stopped watching 3-4 years ago
Don’t ever knock the Flintstones it’s a classic !!!
I’m positive he was joking. If you listen to the commentary tracks on any of the simpson’s dvds the respect and affection Mirkin and all the writers have for other shows is apparent.
The trouble with interviews like these is they can read a lot more serious than if you saw him being interviewed.
I find family guy and american dad funnier and more entertaining than the simpsons have been in a while, so perhaps David Mirkin should not be throwing any stones.
I choose to believe his comments were tongue-in-cheek.
But it could maybe have been true had the show finished in 1995.
@VMan agreed – he will have been referencing Seth McFarlane for sure.
And yeh, The Simpsons isn’t at it’s hilarious peak, but for a show, and animated show at that, to have been going for two decades it’s doing OK in my book…
well considering he went on to say some actually are good, even calling south park brilliant i think its fair to say it was a bit of a joke! although he was definately hinting at some shows…perhaps the last 5 or so seasons of his own show?
David Mirkin is crazy.
totally agree paull.. I love the older eps of the simpsons.. but these new ones are simply tedious to watch.. They’re not humorous in the slightest, and the storylines are utter crap! It would not last 3 eps as a new series.. they need to get a new team of writers or make some big changes to bring it back up to scratch
South Park and The Simpsons are the only two great animated shows.
WB don’t count as they were made for cinema, as pointed out in the article, but the other shows mentioned were not that good.
For anyone who has heard David Merkin before would know that the quote was kind of tongue in cheek.
Most definitely a shot at Family Guy and the equally retarded American Dad.
Season 20 of the simpsons lacked any effort at all, the only thing I liked was the new intro, apart from that the stories had little to no substance, the jokes: where were they? Honestly, this show needs to end, or replace its team of writers because it’s just shocking and wouldn’t last a second if it were a new show on tv.
I like how this guy considers the amount of seasons a show has as an indication of its quality.
The Simpsons should have ended like 9 years ago. It’s a totally irrelevant celebration of mediocrity now.
Um,I’m sure he was being funny being a Simpsons producer. But if he wasn’t then yeah Flintstones,Jetsons,Scooby Doo (original series),WB..the list of great animated shows goes on & on. Having said that The Simpsons are clearly the pinacle and it’s contemporaries like Family Guy are indeed crap. Futurama is very close though to equaling The Simpsons though in quality not longevity.
I think he was just in the spur of the moment….and he was clearly referring to Family Guy, nothing else, even with the choice of words.
Someone should tell this overpaid idiot producer (how many are there each episode? Count them. There’s usually over a dozen) that the Simpsons has been badly-written, stale garbage for at least the past 10 years.
Obviously isn’t watching the product he works on, the new episodes in the current series are terribly unfunny and little thought is put into them.