Simpsons Mysteries - The Friend Count
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- čas přidán 5. 09. 2024
- How many of these random friends are there?
Music Selections:
0:17 “Intoxica” (Donkey Kong Country 3) by Radiowar
• OC ReMix #2549: Donkey...
2:17 "Dream Fighter" (Punch Out) by Scott Peeples
• OC ReMix #165: Punch-O...
3:35 "Rain Prayer" (Pokemon Red & Blue) by PROTO-DOME
• OC ReMix #2203: Pokémo...
5:46 “Funky's Tricks” (Donkey Kong Country 3) by Malcos
• 3-09 Funky's Tricks (F...
8:50 “Crystal Potion” (Mega Man 3) by posu yan
• OC ReMix #1460: Mega M...
10:45 “Ground Zero” (Final Fantasy IX) by halc
• OC ReMix #3209: Final ...
14:48 “Dialima tu Kafé” (Earthbound) by Diggi Dis & Zeratul
• OC ReMix #1716: EarthB...
This project ended up taking longer to research than expected, as I severely underestimated how many random kid characters have been created for the show. I probably still missed a bunch but did my best trying to be thorough. Incidentally, this project ended up inspiring the Lisa & Martin video, as I couldn't figure out whether or not to count him or not.
Ok thanks for the work
I think bart made more
Is your voice sped up in this? It sound slightly different
Almost 100k
@@beerad5205 I had been battling a cold. I think I did the read more quickly to push through it and not sound quite as stuffed up
I think a more accurate analysis is that Lisa's lonely because she's not making high quality friends. She's so desperate that she'll latch on to pretty much anyone that's remotely nice to her regardless of how crappy a person they are. Bart's friendships seem more genuine and organic. Lisa's always feel weird and forced. You're not going to get what you need from a friendship if it's that flimsy.
Lisa also seems kinda...picky? When it comes to friends?
Like, sometimes it feels like she has pretty high standards and expect nothing but the PERFECT friend.
@@matti.8465 Exactly this. She plays the: "no one understands me" card, but regularly fails to understand others, and can be downright intolerant at times. Lisa used to clash with people over genuine moral dilemmas, but as time's gone on it seems she just falls out with people over any trivial crap she likes
@@TRASHoftheTITANS Lisa is an extreme personality, and these type of people tend to have far fewer genuine friends than more normal/casual people.
@@matti.8465 That too I guess. XD
Bart made friends with one of his bullies, I don't see lisa ever doing that
Lisa: Makes friend in an episode
_The very next episode_
Lisa: I have no friends... :(
*repeats for 30 years*
The Simpsons is Purgatory - it's a show about Sisyphus and Tantalus.
@@MagusMarquillin *writes on a hand* Lisa = Sisyphus Bart = Tantalus
Am I getting it right?
@@rheubarbarum5423 I didn't think about it that much, but I guess that's right because Sisyphus tries so much harder.
Sort of like Chris from family guy when he gets a girlfriend
I think this quote really sums up how important Wendell really is to the series:
Bart: "I guess this is the end, Wendell."
Lewis: "He's Wendell. I'm Lewis."
Bart: "Whatever. Just tell Wendell I said bye"
Lewis = Black
Wendell = White
@@eduardazo Extremely white
@@TumpyNumpus maybe a little green... someone get him a bag!
Wendell and Lewis are some of the most recognizable kids
@@azraelle6232 yeah, I think he has actual jaundice
Because Lisa is portrayed as being friendless, the writers like to write her into scenarios where she makes a new friend often, leading to her having more overall friends across all episodes.
Because Bart is portrayed as already having friends, he is always usually just paired with the same friends, Milhouse, Nelson, Martin, etc., And they don't need to write in new characters for him.
I think it's that Lisa is more insecure. She has more friends and makes them more readily, but she feels lonely when none of them are immediately around her and gets more beat up about people not liking her. It takes more than that to make Bart lose spirit. We do see an episode where Bart is so ostracized even he turns on himself, so he definitely does feel the effects of being hated by everyone, but he seems less likely to care about having close confidants than public adulation.
@Moll pom amen
The Wonderful world of a series running three times longer than it had business doing and everything devolving
In a way that's pretty realistic.
I know a lot of social people who tend to create this "own group" around them. They're social outwards, but tend to have more steady group of friends they have around.
Whereas less social people do get to meet people depending on their interests as Lisa does, but tend to always stay a bit outlier on social groups, ending up having lot more different acquitances, but they don't have specific friends group they always hang out with.
@Moll pom It's kinda hard to call her a Mary Sue, since sometimes she can come off as a genuinely bad and unlikeable person.
14:11 "Color: Blue" thank god the hard working editors over at the Simpsons wiki cleared that up
sonic man
thank you mr sonic man
Wait, he's blue? I thought he was black and red.
I love how people are calling Cybershell "Mr. Sonic Man/ Sonic Man", cute. ♡
@@Capydapy cybershell is pretty cute tbh
This video reminded me that, for years now, I've been wondering about the girl with the glasses who sits behind Bart in school. I don't think she's ever had a speaking role, but her design is so specific and she shows up for the past 32 years worth of backgrounds, social gatherings and kid events. And the show is surprisingly good at keeping her continuity of being the person who's always sitting behind Bart in class. I wonder if there'd ever be a Simpsons Mysteries on her?
According to the wiki, shes just called "girl with glasses". Interesting that shes been around for ao long but doesn't even have an official name
Bump
Aren't there other kids with glasses? I know I saw a someone who looks really similar to her in that Buck McCoy episode from season 13
I noticed that a lot of bart girlfriend dumped him because of millhouse
I always thought the sunglasses kid was a dude. Probably the actual cool popular and cool kid in the class. Bart and Milhouse are more on the fringes.
Homer: "Oh, Lisa, we've talked about this. To get a friend, you have to stop constantly talking about climate change and animals that you have never seen."
Lisa: "Sorry, dad, I forgot."
Homer: "That's allright sweetie. Now, you run along and play in the mud."
They kept adding in these one-time celebrity-voiced characters when they could have fleshed out the kids they already have, I wanted to know more about Wendell, Lewis, Richard, Janey, Becky and Nina.
They honestly have a lot of side characters with potential. They recently had an episode where Sarah Wiggum had a major role and it makes me sad to think it'll probably never happen again.
I'm of the opinion these mostly hollow acquaintances make for a more relatable and realistic background for the characters. How many of the elementary school kids you knew growing up do you remember? Not everyone has a compelling backstory, at least not one you'd be willing to invest time in.
The truth is most of the people in your life are just background noise. Exceptional individuals (akin to celebrity voice actors) stand out.
Who are they?
Wendell and lewis are the most goated kids
@@Toastybees Ah yes, repeatedly and quickly making new friends with people who will always leave a few days after meeting them and never being able to see or talk to them again is much more realistic and relatable than trying to become friendlier with acquaintances. Because that makes much more sense.
Lisa has made more short term friends, but I think Bart has stronger relationships with his usual crew of Milhouse, Nelson, Martin, and Ralph.
“No, Sonic the Hedgehog is not Lisa’s friend! You Wiki Editors are out of control!” That’s an iconic quote for you now!
Sonic is everybody's friend....except Lisa's.
@@matti.8465 ...
@@matti.8465 is sonic gay for moleman
@@matti.8465 Anyone who was a younger sibling in the 90s has a natural disaffinity to Sonic the Hedgehog.
Now I want an episode where Lisa and Sonic become friends so the wiki can be right
I really love this kind of mystery analysis. I imagine Lisa is good at connecting with others initially but through the status quo she's just not able to keep up with them. It feels pretty realistic, like how it can be easy to make friends in college but you end up only keeping up with a few people. Meanwhile Bart has the luxury of a few close friends living nearby so new relationships might not be at the forefront of his mind
16:28 Bart draws people towards his big personality, whereas Lisa is more drawn to others. Well said.
Lisa is socialable the same way Bart is smart - in niche in stances which are meant to contrast against the status quo. Bart is gifted and has talents which don't shine in the regular day-to-day episodes but he can become very dedicated to certain niche hobbies, such as scotts or drumming or Esports or acting. I don't think this is book smarts vs street smarts, either. There is just something very situational about Bart's inteligence.
like me am etarde :))
Academic vs Expressive
I don't know what they were thinking saying Sonic is Lisa's friend. He's clearly Bart's. Sonic gives him friendly advice when he was very conflicted about what to do.
The one time you shouldn't follow what Sonic sez.
Take it take it take it !!
I knew I was gonna wince when we got to Barts romantic interests. The poor kid’s been tortured probably as badly as Moe
I think it'd be an interesting thing if the writers gave Lisa or Bart a permanent or semi permanent girl/boyfriend.
They're 10/8 no they shouldn't.
@@Lexilove2016 i think it would be interesting if bart and moe connect over their own bad experiences, but also yes your comment would be interesting.
@@Lexilove2016 They should make an episode were Terri falls for Bart, and Sherri pretends to be her sister because she doesn't want her dating him. In the end Sherri learns to accept that her twin sister just has different taste in boys and that's fine. While Terri goes on to be Bart's girlfriend after. Unlick Bart's previous girlfriends Terri already knows what he's like and isn't surprised by his behaviour. This could lead into lots of moments where the twins are not together and learn to grow apart. Maybe Terri is over the Simpsons house for dinner whilst Sherri is alone watching tv so she decides to invite friends over but only what she wants now that she doesn't need to ask Terri. Of course the majority of the time they'd be together. Occasionally seen apart such as when Bart is with Terri as an example.
"Maggie, you're her friend, go talk to her"
-Homer
mmm McNuggets!
Lmao, I can just imagine Maggie actually following those instructions and "talking" to her (like she pulls up a seat and goes through all the motions of having a serious one-on-one talk but without saying anything whatsoever 😂😂😂), maybe it's just me but I could totally see the show doing a gag like that with Maggie, since she's been shown to unexpectedly be able to perform complex tasks with like zero effort or even really being prompted to do such tasks, like the time she saved Homer and the family from Fat Tony and his gang with the gun she just had ...somehow
Perhaps the real friends were the Inanimate Carbon Rods we found along the way
I concur.
Wow, did you actually get to TOUCH the rod?!
I had two kids come into the store I work at to buy candy; one was wearing a t-shirt with Lisa in that episode where she tries to dress cool while on vacation. I talked to the girls about it and they said, "Um, we have never really watched The Simpsons, I just thought it looked cool." Funnily accurate to that episode but also sad.
Congrats on approaching the silver button man!
Thank you! 😀
When you see two of your favorite niche CZcamsrs communicate it makes the heart smile.
Perhaps a colab of why you wouldn't survive a specific treehouse of horror episode?
@@TheRealJims You're not QUITE there yet.
@@TheRealJims
Give him a heart coward.
Yee
Funny how one of the "Lisa is lonely" episodes is about nobody showing up to her birthday party, while this entire video proves there are dozens of people who would absolutely come to Lisa's party.
But they don't. Because they don't stay friends. Lots of shallow, fake friendships. At any given time, how many friends does she have? Not many.
Simpsons Mysteries: Was Skinner really a virgin in Grade School Confidential?
No, seriously. Skinner "admits" to being a virgin to put an end to the townwide scandal. But in the very next scene, he and Edna lie to Bart about breaking up and remark on how gullible he and the kids are. Is this suggesting that his admission in the previous scene is a lie too?
We also get that brief scene midway through the episode where we see a time lapse of the Charlie Brown candle melting while Skinner and Edna are busy on the kitchen floor...
I like the idea of Skinner having a moment of cleverness and anticipating that most ppl would accept it since they share Chalmers' stance that nobody would lie about being a 40something year old virgin. And I think it's a sweet moment that he's willing to take that kind of public humiliation if that's what it takes for him and Edna to stay together
Wow, the one crazy explanation that Chalmer's actually believed. Good job Seymore "Aurora Borealis" Skinner.
@@MagusMarquillin There was no trouble in town that night.
@@brianwill7980 I always assumed it WAS what the episode was supposed to be suggesting, but also revelling in its own ambiguity a bit since the plot works either way. which tbh I think is a nice way to suggest characters have lives off the screen - we don't know everything about them for sure
Why...would you think he was lying? The episode made it clear that he was saving face. Chalmers saying that no one would ever admit to being a virgin in their 40s is a joke: "Skinner's admission is so humilliating that he MUST be telling the truth"
It's a lie, I don't know how could anyone interpret that he was telling the truth.
Your editing is just so top tier. When you include random images associated with keywords you use, like burns comparing the ketchup when you use the word “comparison” is amazing. Makes me laugh every single time. The effort you put into these videos is sincerely appreciated, that’s why I watch them over and over
The way you talk about how Lisa's storylines repeatedly "crush the status quo", it reminds me of something Matt Groening would say about Lisa. How she's the one who has a chance to get away, escape Springfield. How, if she was allowed to grow up, there's hope for her.
They seriously should've started aging the characters slowly like 20 years ago, maybe season by season a couple years
I kind of agree Lisa's portrayed as having no friends but eventually it starts getting confusing if she gets a new friend every other big Spotlight episode maybe they should tackle the bigger reason on why Lisa seems to have no permanent friends I think that's the key
In Season 40, when they are really scraping the bottom of the barrel, they will have an introspective episode that Lisa is in love with the idea of having friends, as a means of approval, but doesn't actually want to have friends. She was to win their approval, but once that's happened, she bores of their company.
@@shorewall That would require the writers being willing to admit that Lisa is a fundamentally self-centred and elitist person that views everyone else as being not worthy of her, which they'll never do.
Reminds me of that "spelling contest" episode where Lisa admits that she might sabotage herself sometimes due to feeling like she doesn't deserve success.
Hence why there are so many episodes where Lisa is about to achieve something and doesn't. A cool way to explain the status quo.
I think the video explains it kind of well, the status quo of the show is a snapshot of a time in their lives. What makes Bart a popular elementary school kid eventually leads to him not really having a lot of friends or relationships. Lisa on the other hand is a point in her life where it's hard for someone like her to make friends because of who she is. But as they grow up, literally and figuratively, those dynamics will shift. Lots of people who were "popular" in their youth go on to be kind of lonely losers as adults. Lots of people who were lonely as kids go on to be popular well-liked adults.
Lisa has Friend Quantity, Bart has Friend Quality.
"Is Toby one of Bart's friends? Sure I guess"
Lmao 🤣 I love how he just stops giving af at the end.
Bart has a lot of friends because he's popular for being the school's troublemaker.
While despite being smart and open-minded, Lisa might have friends, either celeb voices or canon character friends, but she doesn't have a specific BFF just like Bart has Milhouse. Maybe because her interests are way different.
I would also claim that Bart is more popular than he has friends. He might not have many specific friends, but he has a higher social status.
Tbh, the way I always saw Bart and Milhouse was that Bart just likes Milhouse because he can boss him around and Milhouse likes Bart because he is the only one who will even talk to him.
@@UKeXtremeMediayeah they’re very real to actual elementary school friendships which…most of the time are pretty superficial. I hung with a girl who was mean to me just because she talked to me at recess. It’s a weird age. There’s a reason most people’s long-term friends are from high school or college
This video really shows that after the first half dozen seasons, Bart and Lisa should have been bumped up a few years. They're canonically 8 and 10. But even in present time shows they act more like young teens. It also makes the romantic episodes less weird.
Contemporary 8/10 year olds at like teens of the 80'/90's.
Yeah, you can tell that at some point the writers ran out of scenarios that would be realistic for characters their ages.
Nowadays it's hard not to see Bart and Lisa as 15 and 13 respectively.
Allowing the characters to age would make the show more refreshing, though making them age after 30 years of floating timelines would make things messy.
@@TuesdaysArt i think he meant that the new status quo would be them being teens, like for another 30 years they are 13-15
Yeah remember when they aged up south park (officially once but there's one arch where I think stan realizes he's growing up) it's worked fine. Show is so old butdoing it once was fine
I've always seen it as Bart makes friends with actual characters, and Lisa makes friends with dated references and strawmen.
:D
Same
Tell it like it is, bro!
I can't tell you how much I appreciate this channel! It has such a cozy vibe to it with the music and it completly changed how I saw the simpsons. Before finding this channel I didn't even realize that there are so many reoccuring characters, mysteries and just fun stuff to think about. So thank you very much. I love your videos!
This is a lovely comment, same way I feel about the channel. You can tell there is a lot of fun and care, I always love seeing what happens next, and the music rocks :)
this channel revived my interest in simpsons and reminded me why I originally liked it. its a good channel.
Does Richie Ritch count as Bart the Character's friend when we only know him as a friend of Bart the Actor who plays a fictionalized version of himself?
I mean, if all these characters from the future count, sure.
It's kinda odd to consider that episode to be canon. I mean, it kinda is, isn't it? That would imply the Simspsons kids are constantly on growth blocking hormones or something. Kinda terrifying, and maybe worth its own Simpsons Mysteries video.
I wouldn’t count Richie Rich. If you do that, I feel like that opens the door to a whole bunch of unnamed friends for Lisa. In that episode she says “I’d have to read the cake just to know who I was singing to,” implying that she was very popular outside the show.
I honestly find this depiction of friendship and social interaction to be surprisingly accurate for children. If you were to ask me right now as an adult to list off my friends, I could easily name my true friends, my fairweather friends, and my friends by proxy. But as a kid, still being in school and whatnot, I would have had trouble differentiating who were my friends and who were just other kids I knew and interacted with and spent time around. Maybe we didn't have much in common or feel close to each other but we shared fun times and sometimes that makes you consider someone a friend even if they aren't.
At his point Bart has had more love interests than James Bond.
Not even though. James Bond has like 2.2 love interests an appearance, and over a dozen appearances
I still waiting my episode about Lenny and Carl. But really like how you don't make the obvious themes and always impress us.
Poor Lenny, always snubbed.
I always hate when they try to make Bart a loser and somehow make it a point to have Milhouse as his only friend and also when they basically do a similar, more sympathetic "no one understands me" version for Lisa. And I know sometimes the story demands that Nelson is Bart's bully, and there are a lot of episodes that would only work on that premise. But overall, both Simpson kids have friends the writers keep forgetting about. I liked the initial version of Bart corrupting dorky, more innocent Milhouse to his level, somehow reluctantly. Not Milhouse and Bart are so pathetic they absolutely need each other. If anything, Milhouse is corrupting Bart into being a dork, and somehow regressing him to a younger child state. I like Bart hanging out with the bullies AND the likes of Martin, that's what made his popularity with the other kids so special. "The Summer of 3ft 4" only works because Bart fails at getting the beach teens by approaching them the same way he does with everybody back in Springfield. And Lisa does have a steady stable of other friends, and probably a lot of unseen kids that she communicates with. By all means, I get that the entire point is that the Simpsons are lovable losers, but they can still have friends and make the same point. Look at Homer. He's surrounded by friends and well wishers and he still manages to be a lovable loser, even when he reaches success in certain episodes.
Also, I feel there was a missed opportunity in not keeping Laura Powers around. Even as a background character, like her mother frequently was.
I think the difference is that Lisa doesn't care that much about popularity, she just wants friends.
Bart already has friends, so he's more obsessed with achieving a higher social status and being respected by people like the bullies.
Either way, the writers like to forget that they both have built in friendships from time to time. Sometimes, they even like to forget Bart is popular at all. With Lisa, the thing that bugs me is how any episode where she's seen trying to make friends always starts out with the same "I'm lonely because no one understands me" and always ends up with her forging these deep relationships of which never are mentioned ever again. Sure, as a kid sometimes you can meet someone on vacation or at camp or somewhere else that would require a long distance correspondence, you swear you'll be in touch, but you slowly forget about it. But for that to constantly happen to Lisa is just the writers doing that "continuity matters when it's convincing."
To be fair its not unsual for kids to cycle in and out of popularity at school
@@mightyfilm To be fair, it's possible to have "friends" without being part of the friend group. I had friends I ate lunch with back in high school, but I was kinda just there and I wasn't invited to out of school meetups.
I see what you mean, but that'd be giving the writers credit for inconsistency. It's the same sort of problem I have with the Simpson family's role in Springfield. There supposed to be nobodies, even though Homer has been into space and was the voice of Poochie and met every celebrity that ever went through the town. They should be the most popular family in town and some times they are and sometimes they're not. Continuity when it's convenient.
Part of it is that Lisas friends are rarely ever her age or at her school. He has no stable groups at Springfield but as soon as she is on her own time she thrives in places where people like her go.
Its possible to feel lonely despite having plenty of friend groups if the place you spend most of your days is friendless.
"Lisa is more active in pursuing her interests, while Bart is more content to hang out with whoever he runs into. Both are valid ways to meet new people..."
Me, who's only recently gotten over my deep-seated social anxiety but still doesn't have an innate understanding of how to make friends: "Wait, is THAT how it's done!?" *takes notes*
If you just live life and do your thing, you're bound to come across some people you have some chemistry with, both romantic and platonically speaking.
@@matti.8465 ...Are we making this a serious discussion now? Because you were just supposed to laugh at that and move along, but alright.
Well long story short, I've been doing that my whole life, hasn't really worked. Platonically I do have friends but they all chose me and don't exactly have the same interests as me, so now the question is how to make new ones. Romantically? Let's just say my therapist understands why that isn't happening.
Lisa's more popular but doesn't really know it because 1) she's not socially confident, and 2) she doesn't have many CLOSE friends. She's lonely. And Bart has closer friends and more social confidence.
I think that's a really clever thing. It's very true and excellent characterisation for the show. Thank you for drawing attention to this!
One of the most underrated channels. Always enjoy your simpsons mysteries
I've always wanted to see Lisa's beach friends return to spend a summer in Springfield
With regards to the wiki page and the friends that it mentions Lisa has a good portion of what's there is the lore from the show as well as from the comics. The Simpsons lore becomes EXTENSIVE with the comics. Langdon Alger for instance is a real student who actually appears in them. 245 issues of the Simpsons and 100 Bart Simpson ones. Worth a read if you ever have the time.
Yeah this definitely feels like one of those situations where someone who doesn’t have a lot of friends in school is better able to connect to people later in life, and vice versa, people who have a lot of friends in school will find themselves friendless when they grow up and others move on.
(Also, love that David cooper shout out! I hope to buy the zine when it’s it’s finalized)
My dude, how do you not have more subs? Like much much more, I'm talking at least half a mil if not 1m subs. You put so much time and research and effort into your vids, you deserve more acknowledgement.
Um excuse me, are we forgetting about all of Bart’s friends and well-wishers from Bart of Darkness? Bart wins by 300
For the next Simpsons Mysteries you should do Mr.Snrub, I never really understood why he wanted to give Burns the money..
it would be interesting to see if in a future episode to see how the Simpsons writers handle Maggie's friendship circle as well as her cousin Ling's for that matter
I like to think that Maggie and Stewie have a Will and Grace dynamic when they're older. I don't know why, but I think it'd be interesting to see them as roommates.
It's like how Seinfeld made a big deal out of George being unpopular with women despite having dozens of partners over the course of the show.
I like this episode when they went on vacation and Lisa actually got popular cuz she remade herself. And of course Bart ruined it and she grabbed Bart up in a collar and was like,I have jealous mean brother who ruined my life and she grabbed the honey bottle about to do something to him with it. But they were interrupted by their mom.
Jims has a good Extra Seconds about it
Only cause she copied Bart the whole time, and wasn't herself
@@JJLarge yep that's exactly what he said.
And then millhouse appears from behind the cereal box
That episode SUCKS!
I think what separates Lisa and Bart is that while Lisa just wants a friend, Bart just wants to reach a higher social status.
Bart is often looking to get the respect of people he deems cool, like the bullies. Lisa only wants a real connection.
One thing I've thought about recently is the relationship between Bart and Lisa themselves. Yes, they're siblings, but it's a love-hate relationship in my opinion. They piss each other off a lot, especially Bart annoying Lisa, but he seems to be the only one who has ever actually shown any genuine love or care towards Lisa as well as having her back. Even Janey, Lisa's "best friend", seems to often join others when it comes to being mean to Lisa or teasing her. While Bart is also mean to her sometimes, it's more just a natural sibling thing and he usually feels bad and tried to make up for it when he's really mean to her. When it comes to true friends who genuinely like you or care about you, I honestly think that, for Lisa, it could be Bart or maybe even Nelson. Heck even Milhouse cares about her more that Sherri, Terri, Janey, and Lisa's other supposed friends. Feel free to disagree though, I'm sure there are arguments to be made against mine.
Despite being introduced as a "Friend of the Week" character I think Allison should count as one of Lisa's "Regular" friends. At the very least Allison makes an appearance in Alex' Friend of the Week episode, and I think that appearance would make Allison graduate from the "Friend of the week" category.
Simpsons Histories “Comic Book Guy”
Interesting for two reasons
His status quo change
The mystery or non mystery of his name
This is the most insightful video you posted yet in my opinion. Bart and Lisa are paradoxes. Bart comes off as fearless, he does stunts, pranks, loves a big crowd but has so many insecurities. Lisa is the fearless one by putting herself out there, trying new things, and not settling for anything that isn't up to her standards
Wow, expected a fun video (and it still is!) but this went deeper than I expected. *Big Lenny thumbs up*
Honestly given how Daniel Ratcliffe is a big Simpsons fan I could see him as a recurring cast member
But he played a vampire. TOH aren't canon.
@@strawberrysoulforever8336 he played himself and diggs
@@mathieuleader8601 I didn't know that.
@@strawberrysoulforever8336 no problem
The difference is Bart has a core close knit Friend group usually consisting of Milhouse, Nelson, Martin, Ralph and the bully trio, when you have this core friend group you're not going to go looking for new friends if you make new friends it usually happens organically. Meanwhile because Lisa is portrayed as lonely, not having friends or people to relate to she's constantly seeking new relationships due to this however none of these stick for different reasons. Bart has more friends while Lisa has more Acquaintances
That thing you said at the end about the show taking a snapshot of their status quo and broadcasting it for 30 years explains a lot I feel. Lisa's only unpopular because she's trapped in a specific status quo where she's surrounded by people that don't relate to her. The show has shown time and time again that when she's allowed to strike out, go to new places, and meet new people, she makes friends easily. Lisa strikes me as being exactly the kind of smart, artsy kid, that is unpopular in grade school because they're not like the other 'normal' kids, but who makes a lot more friends once they go to college because in that environment it's a lot easier for them to find people they have stuff in common with and who understand then. It's telling that when Lisa goes to college in 'Mr. Lisa's Opus' she almost immediately bonds with her new roommate/potential girlfriend.
Lisa and Sonic the Hedgehog is a pairing I never thought I'd see.
Bart certainly has more lifelong friends, the ones that matter.
Very detailed and insightful analysis. Must have taken you weeks to go through all the painstaking research. About Martin-Lisa, I wouldn't include Martin as a friend at all, because they are frenemies at best. Friends are those who wish you the best and want you to succeed, but due to their rivalry, I doubt Martin would want Lisa to succeed.
I’d say counting Jeremy Jailbird as Barts friend makes a lot more sense than Martin and Lisa as Bart actively interacts with Jeremy in a positive way. Bart also already has a rapport with Snake from the episode Luca$
This show packs so much content it’s amazing you’re still finding new things to talk about
almost at that 100k!
This is something that gets brought up a lot in action shows. A character is said to be very strong or a good fighter but we never actually see it or they get beat up so often their status as a powerful combatant is brought into question.
Worf and Yamcha are good examples, one where the show does not acknowledge it is happening and one where it does.
... but I have noticed it is all over the place in the Simpsons too. Like in some episodes Homer comes across as a real scrapper you would never want to fight and as an absolute pansy in others.
Those wiki editors are a menace! lol
This is a really interesting video. I think this video does a great job explaining the dichotomy between the two both in-universe and out; In-universe, it makes sense that Bart prefers large crowds and admiration while Lisa prefers more personal connections. Lisa tends to connect to people while Bart wants to see a crowd of faceless fans cheer him on, but on the flip side this means Lisa connects to more people overall while Bart sticks to his personal friend group. But from the concept of this being a show, Lisa ends up with "more friends" than Bart because "Lisa is unpopular, but one person decides to reach out to her and that relationship is the episode" is a very common trope. That's why the numbers tend to shoot up on the single-episode characters; they're disposable and serve a purpose and then they leave. That's why the core of this video isn't "exactly how many friends does each sibling have and does it jive with what the show claims" and instead is "what do these trends tell us about the overall characters".
I got a mystery that might be interested to do, how does Homer keep his job at the power plant?
I'm not a Simpsons expert, but if I were to guess Mr. Burns can't find anyone willing to replace him.
Mr. Burns being a senile old man
Because Mr Burns can't remember him so he fires the wrong person
I feel like they've explained this before, but Homer's incompetence is actually beneficial to Mr. Burns. If the Nuclear Safety Inspector actually did his job, Mr. Burns would have gotten himself in trouble a long time ago.
This video reminded me that I once went through the wiki/reddit rabbit hole of checking out all the background kids from Springfield Elementary.
“I’m a level 5 vegan, I won’t eat anything that casts a shadow”.
I get excited everytime a real jims comes out . Did not expect lisa to have more friends than bart regardless whether or not you count the adults . The sad part for Lisa , as in the video , is that she doesn't get to keep all of these friends that she's made through out the years .
YOU'VE GOT YOUR SILVER PLAY BUTTON DUDE!!! CONGRATS
Thanks Samuel!
i had no idea Lisa's friends in "Summer of 4 FT. 2" actually had names
This is a paradox endemic to episodic storytelling in general: a character has a theme, for that theme to remain relevant it can't be resolved, so the character has to go through the same development repeatedly without ever actually developing.
This was a super cool analysis, I really enjoy these deep dives into niche topics that you hadn't really considered before. I understand that these videos take a while, but I really hope there are more of them in the future, this was super enjoyable and well done.
congratulations on 100k dude. you make really good videos and it’s thoroughly deserved
I have seen very little of the Simpsons but I can't stop watching these videos!!
I think that really hits the nail on the head - And I am talking about real life here. Both Bart and Lisa represent very real character tropes in people.
Bart, while being quite easy to get along with and is an attention hog, can be far more selective on when and where he makes new friends - he's happy just being him, and actually quite introverted normally and not as socially conscious as we are lead to believe. I mean, he is "best friends" with Millhouse, there is a reason for that - Milhouse lets him be himself and also mischievous at the same time. If you have ever lived in a small town or hang out with entertainers, you know people like this.
Lisa, on the other hand, seems to be in a constant state of depression or something similar, and somewhat of a permanent outsider (the literal polar opposite of Bart). Even though she is surrounded by people she regularly communicates and gets along with, she also equally shuns them and lords over them. She is convinced of her position in society, and constantly tries to change it - though she always ends in the same place (in her mind) no matter how much she changes. In part, it's also why she is a huge activist.
In other words, she is kind of a drama-queen - actually extremely extroverted and socially conscious, but constantly burns the bridges she builds with people despite the fact she builds strong emotional bonds with them. She is too extreme for most people at the end of the day.
I say this because I know people beat-for-beat who act this way, often causing a lot of chaos and always complaining about how no one loves them - whether it's true or not.
Congratulations on 100K!
Lisa bonds over hiper specific interests most of the time. Those kinds of relationships tend to not last once the Hobbie of the week is over. Bart just like to hang out and do stuff. Also, Lisa friends are always commentary or references on something? So they are one note characters, not memorable enough to re appear. Even Jenny, after all these years has no personality or even jokes and good dialogs.
Thanks TheRealJimz, I appreciate the content man. Keep on going man, cant wait until you get that silver, gold, and eventually platinum. I know you can!!
2:17 one of my favourite frames from the whole series. I don’t know, it’s just badass as fuck.
I think what is matter in the end, it's that Bart comes off as actually better case of having *established* long-lasting relationships, while Lisa, despite connecting intellectually and by shared values with many people, still eventually just has bunch of fair-weather friends and none to stick around through all ups and downs, and although majority of Bart's relationships fall into that "frenemy" category or either dysfunctional or unorthodoxal (including all his relationships with adults - where his enmity with Bob belongs, for instance?), these are in fact pretty strong and more deeply personal than anything Lisa has (maybe outside of, surprisingly, her on-again off-again, and beyond romance too, relationships with Nelson). And eventually two most trustful, close persons they both have are not Milhouse (as short scene in "Who Shot Mr Burns Pt. 1" indicates), not Janey or all number or boyfriends/girlfriends they have through the life, but each other. Even "Holidays of Future Passed" show that through their respectively wrecked love life they turn to each other for real moral support, which is reassuring and affirmative for their mutual bond, and also pretty grievous.
I was about to refer you to the Lenny comic until you referenced it! Great work as usual, I appreciate it.
These videos are seriously such a treat to watch, thanks for putting them out!
Love the 'Dream Fighter' OC remix from Punchout as the background music at 2:23!! Didnt' know you were a gaming music fan Jims! Keep up the great work!
As someone who has *made* many friends over the years, I can tell you it doesn't really mean anything when the majority of them end up ghosting you or avoiding you by giving the excuse(s), "Sorry I'm bad at replying to texts", "Sorry I've just been really busy", "Sorry I've just been going through some stuff" yet they're able to keep up communication with everyone else BUT you. I won't say the excuses are complete bullshit, but you're not being honest if you have to look through the roladex of excuses in your head in order to avoid someone instead of just coming right out and saying why. Or gaslighting your "friend" for not being "understanding", "accepting" of you ignoring them and calling *them* "selfish" for not supporting you. (Something I have dealt with a lot from partners and "friends" alike.) You know, that old chestnut. So while Lisa might "technically" have more friends, or rather know more people than Bart, I hesitate to call that a "win" since the majority of them don't bother staying in touch with her.
It should be noted that episodes where lisa makes groups of friends are often trying to contrast barts life back home or his lack of friends in a new place, basically lisa will always make more friends than bart because his always stick around, even in the future bart is in contact with most of his childhood friends
So...anyone remember the Itchy & Scratchy history video when Jims quipped "I look forward to their Parasite homage" in response to all the I&S cartoons that are "parodies" of recent movies?
Well, guess what movie the show's gonna "parody" in this year's Treehouse of Horror? If you know what I mean, then Jims has officially achieved Simpsons fanboy enlightenment
an important distinction is that Bart has multiple "ride or die" friends, especially in Millhouse. Lisa has nobody who will stick by her side no matter what.
Bart is a traditional school kid, with a couple of strong friendships and a loose circle of buddies. He doesn't care that Milhouse is a goofball, he just likes having him around.
Lisa seeks friends like an adult, she subconsciously always looks for the beneficial part in her connections and people that don't measure up to her standards get dropped.
So, I think Bart has more friends in the today, but Lisa will have way more useful connections in the future. Useful as in "helping her career", something Bart really doesn't care about. That won't make her happy, but I think that is a result of her ambitious personality which always seems to put her own happiness behind "the greater good". In that regard the kids are very consistent in their relationships. Bart cares about his now, Lisa about her future.
Dude, your videos are so fantastic! It's one thing to have the vast amount of research and poignant view points, but you also hit me right in the nostalgia with all of the OCRemix tracks that I listened to 10+ years ago! Keep up the amazing work Jim, you have a new fan!
I've just found your channel in the last few days (although used to frequent the NoHomers club a little bit around 10 years ago) and I have to say that all of your videos are a total treat.
Me (somone with no friends): "Ah, interesting."
Also, Bart has been established as being 10 years old multiple times, and Lisa only 8. Aside from the future=jump episodes, am I the only one creeped out by all the romance stories? I've been told I was a late bloomer (my first relationship at 19), but still -- aren't 8 and 10 VERY young for marriage and dating episodes??
Yes it is and most of Barr’s girlfriends/love interests are older than him
yup
A new mystery how manny different set of clothes do the Simpson's family have ?
Allison not being Lisa’s full time friend is confusing … but her rather wanting to fit in as explained in her wiki if makes sense
.7k left, this is it, hes gonna break it!!
Edit:9/3/2021
HE DID IT!!!! he made it!! God damn from 100 subs to 100k, im so proud. Nothing warms the heart more then to watch a channel you love grow in to superstardom
Proto Ralph: "I'm in danger! (of being updated)"
I really appreciate you JimJam. Your analysis of Lisa on this episode is a description of me. I dont even call my interactions with humans "relationships" more "adventures" because I never stick around long enough to call it that. I literally am so picky because my standards are high and I will not settle for less. Lisa can blame Matt Greoning but who can I blame? you got me looking inward and really analyzing myself. that says a lot coming from a CZcams video. hope all is well with you and your family. take care and be safe!
~ from Canada
YOOO Nice choice of music! Always like to hear some Punch-Out love