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John Swartzwelder, Sage of “The Simpsons”

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Re: John Swartzwelder, Sage of “The Simpsons”

#11

Post by gorpomon »

Even though more than the credited writer collaborates on a Simpsons script (as Swartzwelder says in this interview) it's fun to count how many jokes are packed into a John Swartzwelder episode of the Simpsons. I did it for several of his greats and I found it to be around every 10 seconds something comical was happening.

I've read a few of his books as well, and while I haven't counted the rate feels similar (of course, depending on how fast you read).

That pace of humor is both prodigious and after excessive analysis a tad tiring. But a Swartzwelder episode isn't a thing to dissect, it's a thing to behold. It's really some of the best comedy every produced, hyperbole be damned. Just take a minor key episode like "Whacking Day"-- it manages to hit this incredibly assured series of notes. It's both completely ridiculous (a town holiday to beat snakes) and at the same time a cutting satire about how people dogmatically stick to tradition. It's completely relevant today, even though many of the younger folks watching might not know who Barry White is. And that's kind of the secret sauce-- the longevity and levity are intimately tied in a way that other comedies (or even the Simpsons of today) can't quite match.

Re: John Swartzwelder, Sage of “The Simpsons”

#12

Post by leephillips »

patwolf wrote: post #6
kbr2000 wrote: post #2

Where's the interview? I see just two paragraphs introduction, and then a list of links to (unrelated) books and articles.

I was seeing that too. I switched to a different browser and it started showing the whole article. It was very confusing--I thought for a minute that the article just ended there as some sort of cruel joke about a person that doesn't give interviews.

Yes, the New Yorker paywall is confusing. There is no indication that you are not seeing the complete article. Their website in general is a layered failure of design.

Re: John Swartzwelder, Sage of “The Simpsons”

#13

Post by tootie »

There's so many jokes in vintage Simpsons episodes that I can't understand how they were even written. They can't have made sense on paper. The writing was amazing but so was the cast and the writers had to have so much faith that putting a stage direction Homer shrugs and grunts would be devastating at the right moment. It can't be understated how big an impact they had. Every show, even non-comedy, has borrowed inflections and phrases from 90s Simpsons.

Re: John Swartzwelder, Sage of “The Simpsons”

#14

Post by dfxm12 »

“The Simpsons” did something I didn’t think possible: it got viewers to look at writers’ credits on TV shows.

This made me think about what The Simpsons, or any show, really is. For a show with a relatively thin premise, it can really be anything the writing team wants it to be. Homer at the Bat might as well be from a different series from The Bonfire Of The Manatees. The cast is the same, so the different writing team is really felt.

Yes. Thanks to the deal [executive producer] Jim Brooks had, Fox executives couldn’t meddle in “The Simpsons” in any way, though we did get censor notes.

I guess Fox had to take some sort of risks when they were a nascent network (especially before they had the NFL). It was probably an exciting situation for the show runners to be in. I don't they could've gotten such a deal at a more established station.

Re: John Swartzwelder, Sage of “The Simpsons”

#15

Post by helipad »

tootie wrote: post #13

There's so many jokes in vintage Simpsons episodes that I can't understand how they were even written. They can't have made sense on paper. The writing was amazing but so was the cast and the writers had to have so much faith that putting a stage direction Homer shrugs and grunts would be devastating at the right moment. It can't be understated how big an impact they had. Every show, even non-comedy, has borrowed inf…

If anything the jokes of the vintage years have got better with age.

Not only because I understood the cultural references or occasional 'adult' jokes more, but also because of the layers to a joke.

Like many Pixar movies, the same gag can make you laugh in different ways as a kid, as a know-it-all young adult, and as a middle aged person.

Re: John Swartzwelder, Sage of “The Simpsons”

#16

Post by dfxm12 »

gorpomon wrote: post #11

Even though more than the credited writer collaborates on a Simpsons script (as Swartzwelder says in this interview) it's fun to count how many jokes are packed into a John Swartzwelder episode of the Simpsons. I did it for several of his greats and I found it to be around every 10 seconds something comical was happening. I've read a few of his books as well, and while I haven't counted the rate feels similar (of cou…

even though many of the younger folks watching might not know who Barry White is.

Many of the younger folks watching when the episode first aired in 1993 probably didn't know who Barry White was, either. His hits were from 20 years prior. Even if you didn't know who he was though, he works in the episode because his distinctive voice is written into the story & used as a plot point. He doesn't just make a cameo appearance that any random celebrity could have made.

Keep in mind, this is a show that made Rory Calhoun references in 1995!

Re: John Swartzwelder, Sage of “The Simpsons”

#17

Post by slickdork »

It's best to read this interview in Ron Swanson's voice.

It was often speculated that Swartzwelder was the inspiration for Swanson in Parks and Rec, but Michael Schur denied it. Though, Greg Daniels was the one who worked with Swartzelder while at The Simpsons, so I don't know if Schur's denial holds water considering it would have been Daniels' who intended it.

They do look and sound strikingly similar.

Re: John Swartzwelder, Sage of “The Simpsons”

#18

Post by wodenokoto »

dfxm12 wrote: post #14

“The Simpsons” did something I didn’t think possible: it got viewers to look at writers’ credits on TV shows. This made me think about what The Simpsons , or any show, really is. For a show with a relatively thin premise, it can really be anything the writing team wants it to be. Homer at the Bat might as well be from a different series from The Bonfire Of The Manatees . The cast is the same, so the different writing…

> it can really be anything the writing team wants it to be.

“Moaning Lisa” was an episode idea for the show Taxi.

If I remember my Simpsons DVD commentary correctly one of the Simpson’s writers was fresh off of Taxi and had this idea for an episode for a long time, that didn’t catch on for that show, so it was remolded and rewritten for the Simpsons.

Re: John Swartzwelder, Sage of “The Simpsons”

#19

Post by alexilliamson »

wodenokoto wrote: post #18
dfxm12 wrote: post #14

“The Simpsons” did something I didn’t think possible: it got viewers to look at writers’ credits on TV shows. This made me think about what The Simpsons , or any show, really is. For a show with a relatively thin premise, it can really be anything the writing team wants it to be. Homer at the Bat might as well be from a different series from The Bonfire Of The Manatees . The cast is the same, so the different writing…

> it can really be anything the writing team wants it to be. “Moaning Lisa” was an episode idea for the show Taxi. If I remember my Simpsons DVD commentary correctly one of the Simpson’s writers was fresh off of Taxi and had this idea for an episode for a long time, that didn’t catch on for that show, so it was remolded and rewritten for the Simpsons.

That was James L. Brooks! He was indeed coming off of Taxi.

Re: John Swartzwelder, Sage of “The Simpsons”

#20

Post by gorpomon »

dfxm12 wrote: post #16
gorpomon wrote: post #11

Even though more than the credited writer collaborates on a Simpsons script (as Swartzwelder says in this interview) it's fun to count how many jokes are packed into a John Swartzwelder episode of the Simpsons. I did it for several of his greats and I found it to be around every 10 seconds something comical was happening. I've read a few of his books as well, and while I haven't counted the rate feels similar (of cou…

even though many of the younger folks watching might not know who Barry White is. Many of the younger folks watching when the episode first aired in 1993 probably didn't know who Barry White was, either. His hits were from 20 years prior. Even if you didn't know who he was though, he works in the episode because his distinctive voice is written into the story & used as a plot point. He doesn't just make a cameo appea…

But everyone knows who Rory Calhoun is, he's always standing and walking!
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