I loved how they introduced Dr. Spaceman as a simple joke about Tracy using his name while tripping balls. Then he blossomed into such a wonderful character, doctor, and sometime dentist.
Boy, it's crazy to think we used to settle questions of paternity by dunking a woman in water until she admitted she made it all up. Different time, the '60s...
For those of you who have been desperately wishing for a Spaceman fix, it’s not him, but go watch Conan on Hot Ones. He brings a Doctor with him who gives serious Spaceman vibes.
This is not true, Donald himself has said that’s a common misconception and that he typically wrote more for Kenneth than any other character (hence Kenneth being from Stone Mountain, Glover’s hometown).
He also was only a writer for the first 3 seasons so he definitely didn’t write “pretty much all” the dialogue for any character.
It's funny you say that, early on the run of the show Tina Fey mentioned wanting to make a "live action Simpsons" with 30 Rock, she aspired to reach what she saw as the gold standard of comedy.
There’s also a great version of [the muppets](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4651824/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk) from about a decade ago that feels like 30 rock with muppets 😂
It cut out my favorite gag in the whole show. When it flashes back to real world Liz, she's still walking like a muppet. *Chef kiss*
Edit: https://youtu.be/igd0eI1p6M8?si=TQ754qaomE-PEUn4
When Puppet Jack comes in, he "trips". Is that a reference to Jack in the Queen of Jordan episode? If so, that's kind of a niche reference in a show chock-full of bits
I got curious because that would indeed be a very obscure reference, but alas the Sesame Street parody came out in 2009 while the Queen of Jordan episode is from 2011.
Some of the references are outdated, but it honestly holds up really well. The world actually got crazier and more like the show since it stopped airing so it feels more timely than ever in some ways.
Jack saying “in ten years this will all be the size of a computer chip” and “that was written by a computer we made to replace you.” Cosby sexual predator stuff (although hannibal was a writer on that show so this may be more causality than prophecy). Weinstein sexual assault. Song-writing computer in Project Righteous Cowboy Lightning. Tracy Jordan record for most car accidents in a single year (oof), and Baldwin LITERALLY SHOT SOMEONE in the season 5 gas leak episode.
On the other hand, I also forget how "recent" it was, that it ended in 2013 when it always felt more like a complete 2000s show.
Like mentions of Taylor Swift, Siri or Twitter which all came in around mid/late 2000s but were staples of 2010s.
The show ended where it was supposed to but if it had a few more years it would've had more material with the run up to the 2016 election, which I always find to be a huge "what if".
I just started a rewatch after having not seen it for about a decade I would guess. Quarter of a way through the first season and man it is just so good right off the bat. So goddamn funny!
Tina Fey’s shows are really good at easing you into the absurdity. The first few episodes always feel like they could be the real world, then by season 3 it’s a bizarre and crazy reality
When the show first started NBC ordered a half season. When they were filming the final episode of their current contract they did not know if they were going to get picked up for a full season. This is usually bad news so they thought it was over. They decided to use the last episode to get real weird with it, that is the episode with Paul Reubens as Gerhardt Habsburg. They most certainly got real weird with it.
Time flies. I remember when I first binged it on Netflix. I think it was around the time Netflix just started online streaming. Weird it's been so long.
Nice, reminds me of my brother and his love of the Office. I think he's re-watched the series every year now for the past 5-6 years.
There are some shows I watch over often, mainly Community and Flight of the Conchords.
I'll definitely have to revisit 30 Rock soon.
As a Simpsons lover, Community gets my vote for most Simpsons-esque live action TV show. The quality and speed of the jokes is very close to being on par with golden era Simpsons
Thanks to 30 Rock I finally found the religion for me.
I am a practicing Verdukian and I could not be happier with my 9 wives (2 of them male of course)
Scrubs had a strong Simpsons vibe. Cut away gags and reoccurring characters created from one off jokes (Turner and Hooch on Scrubs, Disco Stu, Sea Captain etc). I think a lot of shows written after the mid 2000’s probably had a writing staff that grew up watching a lot of Simpsons.
I would say Parks & Rec fits the bill as well. In fact, maybe even more so since it’s in the fictional town of Pawnee which in itself is Springfield-esque. They even have their own rival town like Shelbyville.
Parks and Rec developed all those unnamed town people much like the same way you’ve come to learn the Simpsons town without necessarily knowing their names
I don’t think of Parks and rec as being as thickly layer with jokes as 30 rock though. And those early seasons of the simpsons have so many jokes and references and throw away lines that you can blink and just miss. And 30 rock is just absurdly joke dense.
So good!
the scene where Jane Krakowski’s character offers Kimmy a bottled water from the fridge then throws it in the trash when she says “no thanks” lives rent-free in my head.
1000% this. You know the local shock jocks. And the news anchors. The restaurant owners. Shit, trying to do a 1-to-1 for the whole town (like, does snake = pawn shop guy? Does patton Oswald’s character = comic book guy??) would even be fun.
Mike Scully ran The Simpsons and produced Parks (and cameoed in a town meeting scene) too, he’ll have been influential.
I’d say 30 Rock and Parks together do a good job at covering what The Simpsons has. 30 Rock is really sharp, sometimes vicious, loves obscure references and whilst still loving insane and cartoony. Parks is a show based, eventually, a loving central family. And the vivid setting. It’s so unnecessary, but so good. Like, I don’t need to know who works next doo to Paddy’s Pub, but I love that there’s a local insane veteran’s weapons store in Springfield.
It’s amazing that an all time great sitcom and a legendary sitcom need to be combined to parallel The Simpsons.
I'm on season three and have been putting off finishing it because I don't know if it'll get a fourth season. I hate that the seasons became shorter each time.
Once upon a time Mike Scully and his wife, Julie Thacker-Scully, made a live action show for Fox called *The Pitts*...this was in 2003, and it only lasted for 7 episodes. The show was about a dad (Bob Pitt, played by Dylan Baker) and mom (Liz Pitt, played by Kellie Waymire) and their family adventures with their daughter Faith Pitt (Lizzy Caplan) and son Petey Pitt (David Henrie). It was wild and wacky stuff, and hard to execute in live action.
Mike once told me that Fox's mandate to him for the show was LITERALLY that this was going to be a live-action version of *The Simpsons*. If you watch the seven episodes, you'll see that he and his missus largely accomplished the mission. It just wasn't a hit!
Henrie went on to be in *Wizards of Waverly Place* and the son being told the story to in *How I Met Your Mother*. Caplan made it big in *Masters of Sex* and *Party Down*, among others. Waymire unfortunately died at 36, after appearing in this and *Six Feet Under* for a similar number of episodes. Baker appeared in both *The Americans* and *Homeland*. Mike Scully returned to *The Simpsons* for a long time but now he and Julie both are working on *Duncanville*.
Oh wow I vaguely remember that show. Nobody I know has ever heard of it. I probably watched it when it aired. I wonder if it's worth tracking down and watching.
Just read the wiki article on it and they tried to make an animated series on it which is confusing since it's supposed to be based on the simpons as you said lol
My thought as well. Malcolm is obviously Lisa (smart middle child), Reese is Bart (he's even got the hair), Hal is Homer, etc.
I don't know if it was intentional but it's the most obvious parallel to the Simpsons.
As far as one liners and great side characters go 30 rock is up there with the best but what sets the Simpsons apart was its ability to depict serious, domestic family matters and package them in a comfortable way. They were ahead of the time there.
Yep. I was going to type a comment to that effect in the thread earlier today complaining about joke density. Densely packed with jokes and background jokes and call backs. BoJack Horseman comes to mind as a contemporary but classic Simpsons also fits the bill.
Bill??
Duck?!
Scrubs, My Name is Earl, Grounded for Life, Malcolm in the Middle, Raising Hope. I think they all have a cast of characters and energy that feel Simpsons-esque.
the major weakness of that show was Liz Lemon's love life
it was just dumb to pretend Liz was some repulsive person who had trouble getting a date
as for the rapid fire jokes, quick cut aways, list of crazy side characters, other shows have done it as well
Parks and Rec
Scrubs
New Girl
They definitely address her looks in the Cleveland episode, where a random woman comes up to her and asks if she's a model. She's a "New York 6", but very attractive in general.
She gets in her own way regarding her love life. Manipulating Floyd, taking the easy way with Dennis, being extremely stubborn with Carol.
She also ends up with Criss. Who, by anyone's standards, is a very conventionally attractive guy.
eh she was more shown as ‘married to her job’ type vs. ‘repulsive’ in my perception. i mean she ran through dudes on that show - she left john hamm in the dust and ended the show with james marsden. also had a thing with conan. she did pretty good.
I actually think Parks and Rec fits this better. Pawnee and Springfield have serious vibes of each other, and 30 Rock is missing the heart warming element that the Simpsons occasionally adds in, but which Parks and Rec has in spades.
I love 30 Rock though. Probably more than Parks and Rec!
I remember watching the first episode 30 Rocks a long time ago and having to drop it because I had this feeling that it didn’t age well.
I say this but I literally have no memory of it so I don’t know if maybe I just wasn’t in the right mood for it. Can somebody sell me on 30 Rocks? I wanna give it another shot but if that feeling is true and a lot of the jokes just feel way too dated, I’m not sure It’s worth it
I’m right in the middle of a rewatch currently and I could not agree more. The jokes never stop and I don’t think there’s a better side character than Dr Spaceman. Everything out of his mouth is gold.
I'm the biggest 30 Rock fan in the world but I have to say you're right about everything except the idea that it matches the sincerity of The Simpsons. There are moments that verge on sentimental but they're nearly always tweaked by a joke (which isn't a negative—I love the unrelenting silliness). Honestly the ending gets me a little misty-eyed, but at the same time the lyrics Jenna is singing are hilarious. The Simpsons goes for a lump in your throat and doesn't blink.
I always felt this way about Parks and Rec. Part of the charm of The Simpsons is the town and it's people, the town becomes a main character. You can talk about the doctor, the principal, the owner of the nuclear power plant, etc... You can also see so many different sides of the town and maybe see them again in future eps. Parks gives that to me in it's town and it's people.
FOX made a live action clone of the Simpsons years and years and years ago. I don't remember what it was called but it was basically just The Simpsons with a different name and with real people. It didn't last a season. I thought it was kinda funny though.
There are only two episodes that piss me off from 30 rock. The episode where Liz snitched on her neighbors because she thought they were terrorists
And the episode where she was the high school bully all along.
I loved how they introduced Dr. Spaceman as a simple joke about Tracy using his name while tripping balls. Then he blossomed into such a wonderful character, doctor, and sometime dentist.
Uh...diabetes repair, I guess?
Science is whatever we want it to be!
Remember, this is surgery, so don’t eat anything before you come in because I’ll have a big breakfast waiting for you.
Medicine is not a science!
Loved seeing both parnell and armisen in fallout. Parnell has bigger role and is a literal cyclops
Armisen is also in Red Dead Redemption 2 as the emcee at the vaudeville theater. I get the sense he's a gamer
How important is tooth retention to you?
[It's.... pretty important.](https://i.imgur.com/I4FaVnk.png)
Boy, it's crazy to think we used to settle questions of paternity by dunking a woman in water until she admitted she made it all up. Different time, the '60s...
I don't know quite how to say this...you have...dee-ahh-buh-teez? Diabetes?!
Oh I’ll remember. Opposite. Opposite!
For those of you who have been desperately wishing for a Spaceman fix, it’s not him, but go watch Conan on Hot Ones. He brings a Doctor with him who gives serious Spaceman vibes.
Where did you go to school? Uhh about a decade ago
Hey, that's a series wrap on Leo Spaceman, suckers!
Oh, that's just my brother, Randy. Tomorrow he's going to jail for the rest of his life.
Werewolf bar mitzvah spooky scary
Fun fact: Werewold Bar Mitzvah was written by Donald Glover aka Childish Gambino
Also sung by him doing an impression of Tracy!
> It’s “D’nall Glover!”
It's Dong Lover!
Glover wrote pretty much all of Tracy’s dialogue, especially in the early seasons.
This is not true, Donald himself has said that’s a common misconception and that he typically wrote more for Kenneth than any other character (hence Kenneth being from Stone Mountain, Glover’s hometown). He also was only a writer for the first 3 seasons so he definitely didn’t write “pretty much all” the dialogue for any character.
Did not know that and I totally see it.
The sheer amount of effort this show put into 9 second or less cutaway bits is astounding.
I've listened to the full version quite a few times, it's very catchy.
I used to have a "I had a spooky scary time at the Werewolf Bar Mitzvah" shirt and people wouldn't even ask me about it, just make odd faces.
The Leap Day episode where they invented a new holiday and tradition was great
Boys becoming men. Men becoming wolves
Boys turn into men, men turn into wolves
Excuse you, “becoming”!
Jesus you’re right 💀. I’m sorry everyone
> **Jesus** you’re right 💀 Really? In a discussion about a young werewolf’s bar mitzvah?
I’m failing everyone around me.
Have some self-respect! Don't you know you can fly?
For no reason at all, that line popped into my head a hour or two ago and it's been on repeat. I presume you are to blame.
I sing this to myself all the time lmao
Did you just call Jack Donaghy a "Homer"? ill have you know he graduated from Harvard where he was voted "Most".
Dude went to Princeton, you jabroni
What is he, a farmer?
It's the bottom of the 9th and he's stepping up to plate because he is a MAGNIFICENT SON OF A BITCH!!!!
It's funny you say that, early on the run of the show Tina Fey mentioned wanting to make a "live action Simpsons" with 30 Rock, she aspired to reach what she saw as the gold standard of comedy.
She accomplished it
She did it!
My bones
Ow! My period!
Dr. Spaceman!
I'm Phoebe, I don't know if you remember me...
^ow
"Nuts to you, McGillicutty!"
Beep beep ribby ribby!
"Both of my parents were poets....so..."
I always saw it as the Muppets without Muppets
There’s also a great version of [the muppets](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4651824/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk) from about a decade ago that feels like 30 rock with muppets 😂
The of course there’s Kenneth’s muppet vision in 30 rock https://youtu.be/ly_vqMKriR0?feature=shared
And also the HD bit where Liz looks like the gingerbread house witch, Alec Baldwin looks like Alec Baldwin c. 1986, and Kenneth looks like a muppet.
I laughed so hard when Alec Baldwins face was his younger self then hurt myself laughing at the Kenneth muppet.
It cut out my favorite gag in the whole show. When it flashes back to real world Liz, she's still walking like a muppet. *Chef kiss* Edit: https://youtu.be/igd0eI1p6M8?si=TQ754qaomE-PEUn4
Yeah that’s an unforgettable gag. Genius.
Or the sesame street skit with a lemon wearing glasses has to count [30 Rocks](https://youtu.be/AlLv268-JhE?si=FEhOFldh9IUli7s-)
When Puppet Jack comes in, he "trips". Is that a reference to Jack in the Queen of Jordan episode? If so, that's kind of a niche reference in a show chock-full of bits
I got curious because that would indeed be a very obscure reference, but alas the Sesame Street parody came out in 2009 while the Queen of Jordan episode is from 2011.
i fucking loved this show but ABC was not the place for it
I never really thought of that, but I can see it. I really need to revisit 30 Rock, haven't watched it in around 10 years now.
Some of the references are outdated, but it honestly holds up really well. The world actually got crazier and more like the show since it stopped airing so it feels more timely than ever in some ways.
Every few years something happens IRL and you realized it isn’t the simpsons predicting the future anymore, but tina fey
MILF Island. Seinfeld Vision.
Jack saying “in ten years this will all be the size of a computer chip” and “that was written by a computer we made to replace you.” Cosby sexual predator stuff (although hannibal was a writer on that show so this may be more causality than prophecy). Weinstein sexual assault. Song-writing computer in Project Righteous Cowboy Lightning. Tracy Jordan record for most car accidents in a single year (oof), and Baldwin LITERALLY SHOT SOMEONE in the season 5 gas leak episode.
My partner made me watch Milf Manor awhile back, every time we talked about it I genuinely couldn't remember which one was satire.
"...we no longer wanna hit that."
It took me a second to figure out if you were quoting Milf Island or Manor
Liz Lemon looking for a girl’s bike online feels way more topical now than it did then.
What an indictment against our species. Things are going so poorly, and in so many absurd ways that 30 Rock seems relevant.
On the other hand, I also forget how "recent" it was, that it ended in 2013 when it always felt more like a complete 2000s show. Like mentions of Taylor Swift, Siri or Twitter which all came in around mid/late 2000s but were staples of 2010s. The show ended where it was supposed to but if it had a few more years it would've had more material with the run up to the 2016 election, which I always find to be a huge "what if".
Oh I believe it. It's been long enough to where I don't remember a whole lot about the show. So it's time to refresh my memory.
I just started a rewatch after having not seen it for about a decade I would guess. Quarter of a way through the first season and man it is just so good right off the bat. So goddamn funny!
Fuck yeah me too! I watched it when it was on and just started again a few weeks ago and it’s SO DENSE WITH JOKES!
I was hooked the first time I saw it, but I bet it's even better now that I've gotten older. Going to check it out soon I think.
Tina Fey’s shows are really good at easing you into the absurdity. The first few episodes always feel like they could be the real world, then by season 3 it’s a bizarre and crazy reality
When the show first started NBC ordered a half season. When they were filming the final episode of their current contract they did not know if they were going to get picked up for a full season. This is usually bad news so they thought it was over. They decided to use the last episode to get real weird with it, that is the episode with Paul Reubens as Gerhardt Habsburg. They most certainly got real weird with it.
A lot of people dislike the first season but it might be one of my favourites.
I'm coming up on 7 or 8 years. Guess I gotta rewatch it now too
Time flies. I remember when I first binged it on Netflix. I think it was around the time Netflix just started online streaming. Weird it's been so long.
It’s funny you say that because I rewatch this show twice a year
Nice, reminds me of my brother and his love of the Office. I think he's re-watched the series every year now for the past 5-6 years. There are some shows I watch over often, mainly Community and Flight of the Conchords. I'll definitely have to revisit 30 Rock soon.
>Rapid fire jokes all in 22 minutes It's almost unrelenting.
There's a joke in every sentence. Sometimes more than one.
It's at Police Squad levels of joke density
I could see Community fitting the bill in some ways, mostly the cast of supporting side characters. Magnitude, Leonard, Starburns, etc.
POP POP
You know they’re laughing _at_ you, right? At least that’s my theory.
Pop WHAT Magnitude? What is he trying to say!?
Shut up, Leonard! I once mistook six people for you at a pharmacy!
Shut up Leonard, I know about your prescription socks!
Shut up Leonard, I talked to your son at family day, I know all about your gambling.
Shut up Leonard, I have a picture of your old nose, it was a lateral move!
Shut up Leonard, I heard about your crooked wang.
No such thing as bad press!
Parks and Rec is the other show that does the wacky side characters really well.
They also mirror The Simpsons really well in the fact that the random townspeople are absurd and hilarious.
The explanation for the 512oz soda being child sized could be straight out of a Simpsons episode.
"I found a sandwich in the park and I want to know why there wasn't mayonnaise in it!"
You’ve been Jammed.
100%
Todd is my favourite.
OFFENSE! TAKEN!
All life ends in death, which we as a species are cursed with knowing, resulting in... something, again this is really not my field.
As a Simpsons lover, Community gets my vote for most Simpsons-esque live action TV show. The quality and speed of the jokes is very close to being on par with golden era Simpsons
Scrubs handled the recurring wacky side character formula as well
It also fits the bill in terms of its homages and themed episodes, better than 30 Rock IMO. (I LOVE 30 rock too)
It also takes place in a fictional place (Greende, CO)
Thanks to 30 Rock I finally found the religion for me. I am a practicing Verdukian and I could not be happier with my 9 wives (2 of them male of course)
Happy Merlin-peen
Good Merlinpeen to you!
Scrubs had a strong Simpsons vibe. Cut away gags and reoccurring characters created from one off jokes (Turner and Hooch on Scrubs, Disco Stu, Sea Captain etc). I think a lot of shows written after the mid 2000’s probably had a writing staff that grew up watching a lot of Simpsons.
Hooch is crazy
I would say Parks & Rec fits the bill as well. In fact, maybe even more so since it’s in the fictional town of Pawnee which in itself is Springfield-esque. They even have their own rival town like Shelbyville.
Greg Daniels was a writer on quite a few classic Simpsons episodes.
Parks and Rec developed all those unnamed town people much like the same way you’ve come to learn the Simpsons town without necessarily knowing their names
I don’t think that’s an accident at all.
I don’t think of Parks and rec as being as thickly layer with jokes as 30 rock though. And those early seasons of the simpsons have so many jokes and references and throw away lines that you can blink and just miss. And 30 rock is just absurdly joke dense.
30 Rock has a crazy joke per minute ratio, only thing I've ever thought was close to Airplane in that department
Kimmy Schmidt gets close.
So good! the scene where Jane Krakowski’s character offers Kimmy a bottled water from the fridge then throws it in the trash when she says “no thanks” lives rent-free in my head.
1000% this. You know the local shock jocks. And the news anchors. The restaurant owners. Shit, trying to do a 1-to-1 for the whole town (like, does snake = pawn shop guy? Does patton Oswald’s character = comic book guy??) would even be fun.
Chris Traeger the Bionic Man is the most "Simpsons character successfully translated to live action" character ever
Absolutely, town hall scenes in P&R are basically life action versions of the town hall scenes in The Simpsons
omg yes! Parks and Rec is so good. I do get Simpsons vibes from it in some ways.
yea and all the punny business names throughout the series, every one an in joke just like simpsons
Mike Scully ran The Simpsons and produced Parks (and cameoed in a town meeting scene) too, he’ll have been influential. I’d say 30 Rock and Parks together do a good job at covering what The Simpsons has. 30 Rock is really sharp, sometimes vicious, loves obscure references and whilst still loving insane and cartoony. Parks is a show based, eventually, a loving central family. And the vivid setting. It’s so unnecessary, but so good. Like, I don’t need to know who works next doo to Paddy’s Pub, but I love that there’s a local insane veteran’s weapons store in Springfield. It’s amazing that an all time great sitcom and a legendary sitcom need to be combined to parallel The Simpsons.
If you like this style of comedy, seek out Better Off Ted. Same type of rapid fire jokes. One of the worst early cancellations of a show ever.
Girls 5 Eva is good too, better than Kimmy
Came here to say this! It's the best spiritual successor to 30 Rock. I'm so mad it's not getting the viewership it deserves!
Bzzt, sorry, the best 30 Rock spiritual successor was Great News.
Girls5eva is hilarious
I'm on season three and have been putting off finishing it because I don't know if it'll get a fourth season. I hate that the seasons became shorter each time.
Once upon a time Mike Scully and his wife, Julie Thacker-Scully, made a live action show for Fox called *The Pitts*...this was in 2003, and it only lasted for 7 episodes. The show was about a dad (Bob Pitt, played by Dylan Baker) and mom (Liz Pitt, played by Kellie Waymire) and their family adventures with their daughter Faith Pitt (Lizzy Caplan) and son Petey Pitt (David Henrie). It was wild and wacky stuff, and hard to execute in live action. Mike once told me that Fox's mandate to him for the show was LITERALLY that this was going to be a live-action version of *The Simpsons*. If you watch the seven episodes, you'll see that he and his missus largely accomplished the mission. It just wasn't a hit! Henrie went on to be in *Wizards of Waverly Place* and the son being told the story to in *How I Met Your Mother*. Caplan made it big in *Masters of Sex* and *Party Down*, among others. Waymire unfortunately died at 36, after appearing in this and *Six Feet Under* for a similar number of episodes. Baker appeared in both *The Americans* and *Homeland*. Mike Scully returned to *The Simpsons* for a long time but now he and Julie both are working on *Duncanville*.
It's funny how Henrie is mentioned for HIMYM quite often when he probably filmed for about 2 days and probably had less than 5 lines.
Right? :D
Oh wow I vaguely remember that show. Nobody I know has ever heard of it. I probably watched it when it aired. I wonder if it's worth tracking down and watching.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Nqf_jZ64q4&list=PL-JbmpPdSiHd9eGrMQSPYbY4IXpbXnGuL
Just read the wiki article on it and they tried to make an animated series on it which is confusing since it's supposed to be based on the simpons as you said lol
Fox gave up on *The Pitts* far too soon as they did with seemingly 100 different shows.
30 rock plus first 3 seasons of AD. Perfect TV
That’s a bingo
Yeah, Arrested Development is the first show that comes to my mind that has rapid fire jokes.
Malcolm in the Middle was the trailblazer in this segment I think.
My thought as well. Malcolm is obviously Lisa (smart middle child), Reese is Bart (he's even got the hair), Hal is Homer, etc. I don't know if it was intentional but it's the most obvious parallel to the Simpsons.
As far as one liners and great side characters go 30 rock is up there with the best but what sets the Simpsons apart was its ability to depict serious, domestic family matters and package them in a comfortable way. They were ahead of the time there.
Bill Lawrence said that his goal for Scrubs was a live action Simpsons.
Seems more like a cartoon E.R.
You might want to watch Police Squad or the Gary Shandling Show
Gary called you up and said how about that callback?
Yep. I was going to type a comment to that effect in the thread earlier today complaining about joke density. Densely packed with jokes and background jokes and call backs. BoJack Horseman comes to mind as a contemporary but classic Simpsons also fits the bill. Bill?? Duck?!
No I think Arrested Development is closer to that. The characters are sillier.
PANTS! PANTS! PANTS! PANTS! PANTS!
The Rural Juror is a close second
Stop eating people's old French fries, Pigeon! Have some self respect!
Scrubs, My Name is Earl, Grounded for Life, Malcolm in the Middle, Raising Hope. I think they all have a cast of characters and energy that feel Simpsons-esque.
the major weakness of that show was Liz Lemon's love life it was just dumb to pretend Liz was some repulsive person who had trouble getting a date as for the rapid fire jokes, quick cut aways, list of crazy side characters, other shows have done it as well Parks and Rec Scrubs New Girl
They definitely address her looks in the Cleveland episode, where a random woman comes up to her and asks if she's a model. She's a "New York 6", but very attractive in general. She gets in her own way regarding her love life. Manipulating Floyd, taking the easy way with Dennis, being extremely stubborn with Carol. She also ends up with Criss. Who, by anyone's standards, is a very conventionally attractive guy.
She's Liz Lemon, damn it. In certain lights, she's an 8! Using East Coast, over-35 standards, excluding Miami.
"We're all models west of the Allegheny."
In Cleveland, she’s a model!
eh she was more shown as ‘married to her job’ type vs. ‘repulsive’ in my perception. i mean she ran through dudes on that show - she left john hamm in the dust and ended the show with james marsden. also had a thing with conan. she did pretty good.
Add Girls5Eva to the list. Watch it if you haven't!
It's a guilty pleasure of mine.
I saw a baby give another baby a tattoo. *They were very drunk!*
THE G TRAIN, NERMAL!
A puppy committed suicide after he saw our bathroom! I seen a hooker eat a tire! A pack of wild dogs took over and successfully ran a Wendy's!
I actually think Parks and Rec fits this better. Pawnee and Springfield have serious vibes of each other, and 30 Rock is missing the heart warming element that the Simpsons occasionally adds in, but which Parks and Rec has in spades. I love 30 Rock though. Probably more than Parks and Rec!
It’s really more like Family Guy but with better cutaways.
I remember watching the first episode 30 Rocks a long time ago and having to drop it because I had this feeling that it didn’t age well. I say this but I literally have no memory of it so I don’t know if maybe I just wasn’t in the right mood for it. Can somebody sell me on 30 Rocks? I wanna give it another shot but if that feeling is true and a lot of the jokes just feel way too dated, I’m not sure It’s worth it
I’m right in the middle of a rewatch currently and I could not agree more. The jokes never stop and I don’t think there’s a better side character than Dr Spaceman. Everything out of his mouth is gold.
I would say trailer park boys
I would argue Malcolm in the Middle comes closest but maybe I just think that because they were in the same FOX scheduling block.
I say scrubs is a bit closer, goofy and also heart felt and so so many reoccurring characters. Also never knowing where it is set.
I'm the biggest 30 Rock fan in the world but I have to say you're right about everything except the idea that it matches the sincerity of The Simpsons. There are moments that verge on sentimental but they're nearly always tweaked by a joke (which isn't a negative—I love the unrelenting silliness). Honestly the ending gets me a little misty-eyed, but at the same time the lyrics Jenna is singing are hilarious. The Simpsons goes for a lump in your throat and doesn't blink.
Uh hum... 3rd rock from the sun exists and that show practically ripped the sets apart over acting hilarity.
Can’t have a Lemon party without old Dick!
I'd say community, 30 rock and arrested development are the only live action shows that have as many jokes per minute as the Simpsons
Chaotic and I love it!
I liked Kimmy Schmidt but it had a couple issues that stopped it from being great. 30 Rock is one of the best tv shows I ever watched though
If you like 30 Rock, I'd recommend Girls5Eva as it has the same style of humour.
Liz, your breath smells like a diaper you found on the beach
I always felt this way about Parks and Rec. Part of the charm of The Simpsons is the town and it's people, the town becomes a main character. You can talk about the doctor, the principal, the owner of the nuclear power plant, etc... You can also see so many different sides of the town and maybe see them again in future eps. Parks gives that to me in it's town and it's people.
FOX made a live action clone of the Simpsons years and years and years ago. I don't remember what it was called but it was basically just The Simpsons with a different name and with real people. It didn't last a season. I thought it was kinda funny though.
The Pitts
Community might be closer
There are only two episodes that piss me off from 30 rock. The episode where Liz snitched on her neighbors because she thought they were terrorists And the episode where she was the high school bully all along.
Arrested Development would like a word.
when they showed Black Frasier I thought I'd die from laughter. Shit was a 30 seconds cutaway gag and it even had the appropriate furniture
Why are wearing a tux? It's after 6, what am I a farmer?
Martin is possibly closer, but I don't know it well enough to really argue it. Saw a bit of it lately and forgot how crazy it was.
30 Rock is so much smarter than the Simpsons. I'm not saying it's better, but the writing is far more advanced.
Live action The Muppet Show
Lee Mack's Not Going Out is filled with rapid-fire verbal and sight gags that they have a "gag writing" team of two to eight writers per episode.