
The Simpsons actor Harry Shearer to leave the show - orin_hanner
http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-32733873
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wodenokoto
It's worth noting that Sheare has spearheaded negotiations and threatened to
leave before. A few years ago the cast agreed to lower their pay from $400k
per episode to $300k.

He is also one of the only cast on an ongoing tv show I've ever heard of
criticizing his own show publicly.

I don't blame him if he is tired of working on the show. It can't just be
Internet pundits who are tired of the falling Simpsons quality.

More on Wikipedia
[http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Shearer#The_Simpsons](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Shearer#The_Simpsons)

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commentnull
The Simpsons and HN have a lot in common - both still feasting on previous
glories, both past their sale by date, both not even realising how tragic they
have now become.

~~~
zaccus
yet here you are

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klenwell
If you like some of Harry Shearer's more notable character roles (Derek
Smalls, bassist of Spinal Tap, probably foremost among them), or the sharper
edge of the Simpsons, I highly recommend his radio show/podcast Le Show. It's
been going on for years now and offers some of the sharpest topical satire out
there.

In the biting-the-hand-that-feeds-you manner that seems to drive his public
Simpsons comments (and well, from what I've read of him, his career
generally), public radio is one of his favorite targets.

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snowwrestler
For folks who haven't watch The Simpsons in a while, the recent episode about
piracy is worth watching [1]--I found it to be quite funny and clever.

[1] But how? :-)

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toxican
The answer [1] is Hulu or re-runs on Fox ;) Which actually leads me to wonder
why The Simpsons hasn't been toss around to any channel that will take it like
Family Guy, American Dad, Cleveland Show, etc. did? I know FX has re-runs now,
but man it would be neat to see some Simpsons on Adult Swim.

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rhino369
It's a big IP for Fox and they want to keep inside the family.

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unwiredben
I wonder what the latency on this is... given that "The Simpsons" is an
animated show with a long lead time, when's the last episode that will air
with Harry Shearer's voice? The end of the 2015-2016 season?

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ohitsdom
How does The Simpsons have a long lead time, yet have episode content be so
topical?

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unwiredben
See the notes at
[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AnimationLeadTime](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AnimationLeadTime),
there's a whole section on the Simpsons there. They use editing and rush
animation to add in some topical items, but the majority of the content has to
be voice-recorded months before the finished episodes are on TV.

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ebbv
Ugh, recasting his roles is the absolute death knell of the show for me.
Recent episodes have been good for one or two good laughs per episode, which
was enough for me to keep watching. Even though some have been absolutely
abysmal.

But having someone else voice so many of the characters? It's just not gonna
work. So sad.

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dave_sullivan
Ah, but what if you could use machine learning to make the recording of the
new actor sound exactly like the old one? They probably could. But yes, short
of that, they have a problem on their hands...

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lstamour
Like Futurama acting bots?

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drzaiusapelord
I hope the rest join him. Its a sad show now, with the occasional funny
episode that reminds you of how all the episodes were. If all the voice talent
left tomorrow they'd have to fold. Heaven forbid, giving it a planned send-off
with dignity instead of milking and producing a less quality product year
after year until all of its goodwill is gone.

Television, you just don't know when to quit.

Or do something risky like move the show up 20 years to the future they
sometimes show where Bart is a divorced dad with two boys and Lisa is married
to Milhouse. There's some amusing territory there, especially the Futurama-
esque absurdism like when Homer bought the first hover car, which predictably
was full of bugs, loud, and just a terrible vehicle.

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brandon272
I've seen every episode multiple times and I always find it intriguing when
people complain about declining quality and get up in arms about it. One of
the hallmarks of the show and the storylines has always been its irreverence
and it's lack of desire to be taken seriously. The fact that it continues to
go on with silly episodes is only part of that funny, irreverent quality, in
my view.

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sown
I wonder if it's a negotiation tactic.

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ffn
The dude is 71 years old according to the article, it could be a negotiation
tactic, but more likely it's just retirement.

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_tb
the Simpsons died years ago

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Red_Tarsius
I've watched every single episode of the Simpsons. I thought the newer
episodes were decent. However, the current season is a complete disaster
_story-wise_. I don't know if they changed the lead writers, but there's a
discernible quality gap.

 _" Let's Go Fly a Coot"_ is the worst episode ever. I'm shocked they thought
it was ok to air such mess.

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astrodust
Ever since they lost Conan it's been suffering.

