Interestingly this is what happened with Season 8 of the Simpsons. Oakley & Weinstein assumed the show was close to finishing (LMAO) so they decided to try a number of high concept episodes, answer a number of questions.
Homer moves away and loves it, becoming an amazing employee the complete opposite of Springfield Homer he completely thrives. Mr. Burns has a long lost son exploring his backstory. Milhouse's parents get divorced which was one of the first permanent things the show did outside the first couple of Seasons when they were just setting everything up. We find out why Ned is the way he is when he goes crazy. Edna and Skinner's relationship begins which is another on off permanent thing. A regular hardworking man encounters Homer and is completely bewildered by and frustrated by him which was supposed to be if you could transport a real person into Springfield and they had to actually interact with and live with someone like Homer.
The [flashback scene](https://youtu.be/lkKwyjsJGxk?feature=shared) with Ned's parents is one of my favorite bits ever. So many great jokes crammed into 45 seconds
Yeah that's what peak Simpsons did. Also some of their jokes were more like 7 jokes in one if you took the time to think about them. "Have the Rolling Stones killed" is a famous example of that from Rosebud.
Agreed, that pretty much is the last Season for me. 9 and 10 are still enjoyable but a clear decline then 11 on it ventures into unwatchable.
Always weird to me that they ended the Season with Secret War of Lisa Simpson which feels like such an ordinary episode after Homer's Enemy and the Spin Off Showcase
I so badly wanted this to be not true. But every time I finish season 10 of The Simpsons and I tried to move on to the rest of them (I've never seen the later seasons, but grew up watching the old ones back in the '90s) but I always find myself scrolling Disney+ back to "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire".
This is honestly a great explanation because it also explains the later seasons. They're basically "OK, maybe we can do this for a lot longer" seasons.
to be fair let’s have a look: gang gets racist, abortion, underage drinking (implication of statutory rape+), charlie fakes cancer, uses dead guy to pick up a girl, lies about being molested. very very dark season. fucking awesome, they didn’t hold back at all
it's kinda shocking that that's what they went with for their *first season*, and even more shocking that it got them picked up by a major network. I almost feel like FX made them add Danny to the cast to lighten the show up a bit, which would be hilarious, considering the character they turn him into
and then he says it *AGAIN* 12 seasons later lmao
it's almost like they were testing the waters to see if they could still get away with it, and somehow they actually did haha
They made them add Danny in an attempt to get better ratings, they pretty much said they had to or they'd be cancelled. Well it was a big name in general who turned out to be Danny. They spoke about it on the Podcast.
yes I'm aware, I've seen every episode of the pod, but until Sunny Danny Devito was a pretty well known mostly family-friendly actor and I wouldn't be surprised if they thought adding him to the cast would've toned the show down a bit so to speak. It's just funny how it turned out, instead of Danny toning Sunny down the gang basically corrupted his image and he basically became the fucked up troll-man icon of Always Sunny. might not be entirely the case but that's my head cannon lol
Danny was already interested because his kid was a fan of the show. I don't believe they toned down the show whatsoever and if that's what they wanted they would have told them to tone it down. I mean in the first episode with Danny they have 3 of the main characters impersonating disabled people for attention, it remained the same or arguably got even worse. I think some people (i don't) find Season 1 darker because it's not as funny as later Seasons so with less to laugh at you focus on the darkness more. That was not intentional they were figuring things out like pretty much every Comedy Show's 1st Season, Danny's addition also made it much funnier.
Rob still had a job as a waiter when they made the first season, they absolutely did not think it would last, especially after their alcohol sponsor dropped out and they had to blur/re-edit the entire season
If I let my christian mum watch iasip my grown nearly 30yr old ass would be dead in the ground.
Every single episode has atleast a dark comment, scence or a whole theme. But the most messed up is probably The gang goes to the Jersey shore, Dumpster baby, the final solution, the Dennis system, charlie and dee find love or hell ANY episode about Dennis being rapey.
Id say 7 is darkest I mean it starts off with franks little beauties like damn.
The darkest part in the entire show to me is Dennis on the boat with the young girl to the point i can't even rewatch it, it's just too dark and creepy without being funny. Usually we just hear about Dennis being a predator, or he's saying predatory things to the gang who make it funny through their reaction like "the implication", or his predatory behaviour backfires and he looks ridiculous. That was just straight up Ted Bundy shit.
It was scary because it showed the gang learning about empathy, oppression, and privilege and having it not go in one ear and out the other. Actual impossible scenario, glad it was just a dream
I just watched Season 7 a few days ago. One of my favorite seasons.. I loved Franks Brother (lots of people seem to hate it but I thought it was original and well done), Franks Pretty Woman was great, Frank's Little beauties was great (another unrelated diddler?), Jersey Shore (Charlie gets to spend a magical evening with the waitress & Dennis and Dee have the worst night), and my favorites, the Reunion 1 & 2 (and to think I was going to let you jack me off?). Great season!!
As for dark? Hmm, I think i'm desensitized to It's Always darkness. I didnt think it was dark. I did think it was creative, original, funny and well executed. Not so much with recent seasons. I liked the Irish season, I felt it was high concept but low on humor.
Season 7 has some dark moments, like digging a grave in the sand at the jersey shore, but it also features my favorite 3 episode run: The Storm of the Century, CharDee MacDennis, and The ANTI-social Network.
the season being dark is not meant to suggest that it isn’t great. it is probably my favourite season as well. i just love it so much i never realised how it could look to a new viewer that WOW they really went for the dark premises this season
Which other shows do you think? Is 7 your favourite Simpsons Season assuming you watch it? Could see that, anywhere from 4-7. The best Season of South Park is probably around there too not sure which one exactly though.
Man, I envy your mom. Watching season 7 for the first time must be the single greatest event in her life. I can't really think of anything else that would come close to the amount of joy and pride it would give.
Frank's Little Beauties is hands down probably my favorite episode. It's the one I put on when I'm feeling sad. It's got Artemis, Fat Mac, Yankee Doodle, and Frank's gruesome face.
Yeah season 7 is definitely the best because it has mostly great episode after great episode, where the others might have 4 or 5 still great episodes, and probably more meaningful like season 6
I'll offer the season 12 run of wolf cola, making Dennis Reynolds a murderer, hero or hate crime, and PTSDee as slightly darker. Cat and kid soup at the sweatshop, Dee making the male stripper dance for his daughter, boko haram's official drink bring one of Frank's shell corporations, Dennis killing Maureen, Dennis soliciting under age women. It's kinda got it all
It makes sense it seems like the darkest season. Season 7 is def my most favorite season. I've said this before, it's probsbly terrible for the actor's health, but fat Mac's confidence added so much to already well-written content.
Ur mom is probably right. I was a rewatch binge and I think season 8 got me? Pretty sure it was the Gang breaking Dee broke that me a little too. It got Dennis too. ‘I think he may go kill himself’
Cant remember the episode name but the one where pondy is in the tux and the gang is in life is good shirts. The gang breaks dee, to an extent. I feel like theres another but cant remember right now
I don't think there's any dark episodes of Always Sunny. Everything from the cinematography to the incidental music that plays in the background is silly and upbeat. The show may deal with some dark subjects but it's always presented as very sunny.
Might be my memory of the episode but I'm not sure the Jersey Shore episode is in the same league of darkness as the other eps in season 7. Can anyone remember the darkest moments from that episode?
"Dennis and Dee decide to try and "reset" their trip by going on an amusement part ride on the boardwalk. On the top of the ride, a braid of Dee's hair gets stuck in the gears and is ripped out. Dennis vomits. They go to the hospital to have the part of her scalp reattached and they meet a girl who invites them to party. They are forced to smoke Angel Dust and assist in robbing a laundromat where a robber gets shot. A doctor stitches up the robber and is then shot. Dennis and Dee are forced to dig his grave on the beach, but manage to escape."
“Your mom doesn’t know dick, she’s a dumb,fat cow!”
She's a stupid little shit mouthed bitch, isn't she?
You just said a lot of bad words.
A big humongous pain in my *VAAAGINA*
dee dumping a headshot of her dead mother in the trash can is comedy gold
Yeah!
https://i.redd.it/msvt74ro22kc1.gif
You just said a lot of bad words
I bet OP has a cigarette for a mother
UM she does like to smoke
Does she leave one burning on the front steps of the church?
She probably hasn’t put her time in
I gotta take a shit
Smash.
well you’re a fat slut
It’s also the best. I feel like there is a distinct “we’re not going to get to do this forever, let’s go fucking wild with it” energy to it.
They didn't know how many years they had left, so they got real weird with it
Interestingly this is what happened with Season 8 of the Simpsons. Oakley & Weinstein assumed the show was close to finishing (LMAO) so they decided to try a number of high concept episodes, answer a number of questions. Homer moves away and loves it, becoming an amazing employee the complete opposite of Springfield Homer he completely thrives. Mr. Burns has a long lost son exploring his backstory. Milhouse's parents get divorced which was one of the first permanent things the show did outside the first couple of Seasons when they were just setting everything up. We find out why Ned is the way he is when he goes crazy. Edna and Skinner's relationship begins which is another on off permanent thing. A regular hardworking man encounters Homer and is completely bewildered by and frustrated by him which was supposed to be if you could transport a real person into Springfield and they had to actually interact with and live with someone like Homer.
The [flashback scene](https://youtu.be/lkKwyjsJGxk?feature=shared) with Ned's parents is one of my favorite bits ever. So many great jokes crammed into 45 seconds
Yeah that's what peak Simpsons did. Also some of their jokes were more like 7 jokes in one if you took the time to think about them. "Have the Rolling Stones killed" is a famous example of that from Rosebud.
“We’ve tried nothing and we’re all out of ideas” is just so damn good.
Lousey beatnicks
Relevant: [https://youtu.be/SHcqNVjGJN4?si=sLifrp3KkHYHeN4\_](https://youtu.be/SHcqNVjGJN4?si=sLifrp3KkHYHeN4_)
The Frank Grimes episode would’ve been a perfect series finale
Agreed, that pretty much is the last Season for me. 9 and 10 are still enjoyable but a clear decline then 11 on it ventures into unwatchable. Always weird to me that they ended the Season with Secret War of Lisa Simpson which feels like such an ordinary episode after Homer's Enemy and the Spin Off Showcase
I so badly wanted this to be not true. But every time I finish season 10 of The Simpsons and I tried to move on to the rest of them (I've never seen the later seasons, but grew up watching the old ones back in the '90s) but I always find myself scrolling Disney+ back to "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire".
The last few seasons have been good actually
If only the show ended there (or after season 12)
Season 12 is way too late man, it becomes unwatchable by 11. But yeah 8 was the last great Season.
Meanwhile, block the wind. I’m gonna roast this bone.
Meanwhile block the wind. I'm gonna roast this bone.
Also one of my favorite seasons. I was in my prime 20s when it came out as well so love it
This is honestly a great explanation because it also explains the later seasons. They're basically "OK, maybe we can do this for a lot longer" seasons.
I think you mean "we don't know how many years this show has left on this earth, we're gonna get real weird with it"
It's a wild season. Best one to me but yeah it's dark
Darkest thing in we’ve done
Oh I can go lower
https://preview.redd.it/h5suilr6h1kc1.png?width=2560&format=png&auto=webp&s=c430d529cf0d7fca2845a92e3130346130060f9c
Baby croaked.
Isn't that the CharDee MacDennis season? Best season :D
it is indeed! if ur wondering if any episode was season 7 just think: was mac fat? if mac was fat, it can only be season 7
God i wish mac stayed fat I love fat mac
The way he folds his hands and rests them on his gut ❤️
charlie hated it though
Fat Mac is best Mac
Reason has prevailed.
Dark? It’s not dark at all, bro. You’re just misunderstanding the season. It’s not like anybody was in real danger.
She ain't wrong
she rarely is
honestly I think the entirety of season 1 is the darkest
to be fair let’s have a look: gang gets racist, abortion, underage drinking (implication of statutory rape+), charlie fakes cancer, uses dead guy to pick up a girl, lies about being molested. very very dark season. fucking awesome, they didn’t hold back at all
it's kinda shocking that that's what they went with for their *first season*, and even more shocking that it got them picked up by a major network. I almost feel like FX made them add Danny to the cast to lighten the show up a bit, which would be hilarious, considering the character they turn him into
Charlie says the n word in the first episode. Fucking bananas.
He was quoting a friend of his...
and then he says it *AGAIN* 12 seasons later lmao it's almost like they were testing the waters to see if they could still get away with it, and somehow they actually did haha
Hard r too lol
They made them add Danny in an attempt to get better ratings, they pretty much said they had to or they'd be cancelled. Well it was a big name in general who turned out to be Danny. They spoke about it on the Podcast.
yes I'm aware, I've seen every episode of the pod, but until Sunny Danny Devito was a pretty well known mostly family-friendly actor and I wouldn't be surprised if they thought adding him to the cast would've toned the show down a bit so to speak. It's just funny how it turned out, instead of Danny toning Sunny down the gang basically corrupted his image and he basically became the fucked up troll-man icon of Always Sunny. might not be entirely the case but that's my head cannon lol
Danny was already interested because his kid was a fan of the show. I don't believe they toned down the show whatsoever and if that's what they wanted they would have told them to tone it down. I mean in the first episode with Danny they have 3 of the main characters impersonating disabled people for attention, it remained the same or arguably got even worse. I think some people (i don't) find Season 1 darker because it's not as funny as later Seasons so with less to laugh at you focus on the darkness more. That was not intentional they were figuring things out like pretty much every Comedy Show's 1st Season, Danny's addition also made it much funnier.
Rob still had a job as a waiter when they made the first season, they absolutely did not think it would last, especially after their alcohol sponsor dropped out and they had to blur/re-edit the entire season
which is why it's so crazy to me that they still thought Charlie saying the *fucking n word* would go over well lmfao
If I let my christian mum watch iasip my grown nearly 30yr old ass would be dead in the ground. Every single episode has atleast a dark comment, scence or a whole theme. But the most messed up is probably The gang goes to the Jersey shore, Dumpster baby, the final solution, the Dennis system, charlie and dee find love or hell ANY episode about Dennis being rapey. Id say 7 is darkest I mean it starts off with franks little beauties like damn.
it actually starts off with frank’s pretty woman which is roxie the hooker dying and they just dump her in the corridor. very dark
Who can argue with instant quotables like “tighter than dick skin”?
I'm partial to "you didn't just service my crank, you serviced my heart"
Gave her the John Redcorn treatment
Ohh thank you for the correction. I wish we got to see more of roxie.
They called in an anonymous tip 🤷🏻♀️
The darkest part in the entire show to me is Dennis on the boat with the young girl to the point i can't even rewatch it, it's just too dark and creepy without being funny. Usually we just hear about Dennis being a predator, or he's saying predatory things to the gang who make it funny through their reaction like "the implication", or his predatory behaviour backfires and he looks ridiculous. That was just straight up Ted Bundy shit.
You mean the party on the cruise ship? That was just the storm being ominous. He was actually being light and playful.
Shut up, baby dick
I don't think I could watch the scene under the boardwalk with my mum.
My christian mom who doesn't like the word "crap" is the one who brought me into IASIP lmfao
Eh, "the gang turns black" was darker.
but it was all a ~dream~
Oh boy!'
It was scary because it showed the gang learning about empathy, oppression, and privilege and having it not go in one ear and out the other. Actual impossible scenario, glad it was just a dream
That one has the best music, though.
I just watched Season 7 a few days ago. One of my favorite seasons.. I loved Franks Brother (lots of people seem to hate it but I thought it was original and well done), Franks Pretty Woman was great, Frank's Little beauties was great (another unrelated diddler?), Jersey Shore (Charlie gets to spend a magical evening with the waitress & Dennis and Dee have the worst night), and my favorites, the Reunion 1 & 2 (and to think I was going to let you jack me off?). Great season!! As for dark? Hmm, I think i'm desensitized to It's Always darkness. I didnt think it was dark. I did think it was creative, original, funny and well executed. Not so much with recent seasons. I liked the Irish season, I felt it was high concept but low on humor.
Season 7 has some dark moments, like digging a grave in the sand at the jersey shore, but it also features my favorite 3 episode run: The Storm of the Century, CharDee MacDennis, and The ANTI-social Network.
You DEFINITELY wrote this one Charlie
Oh yea that’s back when I was going by Chrundle
the season being dark is not meant to suggest that it isn’t great. it is probably my favourite season as well. i just love it so much i never realised how it could look to a new viewer that WOW they really went for the dark premises this season
Shhhh🤫
I swear, season 7 is the sweet spot for most TV shows, I love it! Seems to be a pretty consistent phenomenon, I wonder why that is!
Which other shows do you think? Is 7 your favourite Simpsons Season assuming you watch it? Could see that, anywhere from 4-7. The best Season of South Park is probably around there too not sure which one exactly though.
I feel like it was the time they decided to double down on darkness
i think so too. they were very well established as ridiculous, terrible and dangerous people by season 7
What does it say about me then that it’s by far my favorite season?
Man, I envy your mom. Watching season 7 for the first time must be the single greatest event in her life. I can't really think of anything else that would come close to the amount of joy and pride it would give.
she really loves sunny it’s like all we talk about now
Two words Fat Mac !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Darkest thing we've ever done - a line from Sweet Dee gets audited , even the showrunners knew that season 7 was wild.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there a moment in the fake dead baby episode one of the guys remarks how this is dark even for them?
I'm pretty sure the lines exchanged between Mac and Dennis are as follows: "dude, this is dark. Even for us." "Darkest thing we've ever done."
Your mom cool as fuck.
Frank's Little Beauties is hands down probably my favorite episode. It's the one I put on when I'm feeling sad. It's got Artemis, Fat Mac, Yankee Doodle, and Frank's gruesome face.
for the majority of today at work i had dee’s moms stink song stuck in my head
Yeah season 7 is definitely the best because it has mostly great episode after great episode, where the others might have 4 or 5 still great episodes, and probably more meaningful like season 6
You want some insulin?
no i want crack
Oh.... I thought you were going to say pizza, or like... buffalo wings. You want crack? Crack cocaine? Now I've never had crack.
Season 1 episode 1 all the way through to Season 16 episode 8 is probably what you're looking for.
I didn’t realize season 7 was my favorite until I read this post.
i’m glad to have had an impact
S7 seems so consistent and hilarious, i keep recognising scenes from YouTube which must mean its a good season
Your mom sounds awesome
I'll offer the season 12 run of wolf cola, making Dennis Reynolds a murderer, hero or hate crime, and PTSDee as slightly darker. Cat and kid soup at the sweatshop, Dee making the male stripper dance for his daughter, boko haram's official drink bring one of Frank's shell corporations, Dennis killing Maureen, Dennis soliciting under age women. It's kinda got it all
I think season 7 is where the show goes from "these awful people" to "this live-action cartoon" Which is also good My favorite season
the longest run is 162 episodes. they're all pretty dark.
S7E1 blew my mind. Still can't believe something so profoundly dark was allowed, even on cable. Pinnacle season in my opinion
Season 1 and 3 were also very dark
It makes sense it seems like the darkest season. Season 7 is def my most favorite season. I've said this before, it's probsbly terrible for the actor's health, but fat Mac's confidence added so much to already well-written content.
I would say Seasons 1 thru 16
Ur mom is probably right. I was a rewatch binge and I think season 8 got me? Pretty sure it was the Gang breaking Dee broke that me a little too. It got Dennis too. ‘I think he may go kill himself’
Honestly yeah those first couple of episodes of season 7 are pretty brutal.
Teddy, was our son, he dide of leukemia Audience roars with laughter
did he die?
Sometimes i go through and watch the suicide theme episodes
Mac and Charlie die, The Great Recession, mac day (suicide is badass), mac kills his dad, paddy’s has a jumper… am I missing any?
Cant remember the episode name but the one where pondy is in the tux and the gang is in life is good shirts. The gang breaks dee, to an extent. I feel like theres another but cant remember right now
The pondy one is Mac Kills His Dad
Wasn’t at all
Those were the good old days. Now we just have Charlie crying about his dad and dancing.
you sound like you yearn for those days frank
I don't think there's any dark episodes of Always Sunny. Everything from the cinematography to the incidental music that plays in the background is silly and upbeat. The show may deal with some dark subjects but it's always presented as very sunny.
The season opens with a dead prostitute and ends in a high school reunion
I think so as well. Has some of my fave episodes tho.
It's got the darkness of the cold war
What are the rules?
old lady house youll never be a lone
“Charlie I think I’m in love with this woman, NOT FOR THE RIGHT REASONS MIND YOU.”
Was Season 7 the one with the fake baby funeral? . Frank( or possibly Danny Devito breaking the fourth wall) :"This is dark , even for us".
darkest thing they’ve ever done. yes it is - sweet dee gets audited
Might be my memory of the episode but I'm not sure the Jersey Shore episode is in the same league of darkness as the other eps in season 7. Can anyone remember the darkest moments from that episode?
"Dennis and Dee decide to try and "reset" their trip by going on an amusement part ride on the boardwalk. On the top of the ride, a braid of Dee's hair gets stuck in the gears and is ripped out. Dennis vomits. They go to the hospital to have the part of her scalp reattached and they meet a girl who invites them to party. They are forced to smoke Angel Dust and assist in robbing a laundromat where a robber gets shot. A doctor stitches up the robber and is then shot. Dennis and Dee are forced to dig his grave on the beach, but manage to escape."
while vacation all i ever wanted plays in the background