Board 8 > 26 Year Later... Was Eight Rakes Too Many?

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Ngamer64
12/05/19 1:21:28 AM
#1:


Was Eight Rakes Too Many?


We've just reached the 26 year anniversary of Cape Feare, the greatest Simpsons episode of all time (in my personal rankings, at least)! Though overall the episode is regarded as a classic, it does contain one infamous scene that has remained controversial ever since day one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WZLJpMOxS4

26 years later... was eight rakes too many?

Even though it was only 1993, The Simpsons had already established a healthy fanbase on the early internet. Here's what the fans who watched it live had to say about the episode that evening:

Boy did that rake sequence suck! That is the developing 'problem' with The Simpsons. Too many jokes unrelated to plot development. No matter how funny these jokes are, they disrupt the flow of events that draw you into the show. And when they're not funny (like the rake incident), ouch!
~ Ray Charbonneau

I also thought the rake sequence went on waaaay too long. I thought this whole episode was a little too cartoonish, and not enough "Simpsonish". Impossible, silly things like all the props for singing HMS Pinafore (including the playbill), driving thru the cactus patch, everybody menacing Bart (e.g., Ned Flanders ala Freddy Krueger), etc., etc. I also thought it was unsubtle cartoon humor when Sideshow Bob was announcing who he wasn't going to kill, and when he got stomped on by the parade. I don't want "Bugs Bunny", I want the Simpsons.
~ Scott A. Mankey

This was a very good episode, and I liked the Cape Fear references, but what was that with the rakes? First off, where did the rakes come from, and secondly, why was it over a minute long?
~ Marc Y. Wasserman

Would have been B+ without some unrealistic scenes and the rake sequence.
~ Juha Terho

Not everyone was a hater, however.

I thought this was a damned funny episode, which was a relief, since I was disappointed by the season premiere. I watched Cape Feare twice, with two different groups of people, and the rake sequence had me and everybody else in hysterics both times. I have no idea why it was so funny, but it was. I thought they kept the HMS Pinafore thing fresh by making various gags with what Bart was doing.
~ Jacob Weinstein

Let's see what the people (of 2019) think!


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red13n
12/05/19 2:45:09 AM
#2:


All these people that hated on this scene should have been fired from their job.

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Paratroopa1
12/05/19 2:48:09 AM
#3:


I think my favorite part about this is that it's immediately clear what you're referencing from the topic title, even though the topic title makes no sense and doesn't explicitly mention the Simpsons in any way
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Tomba42
12/05/19 2:58:43 AM
#4:


Its true. I knew what he was talking about immediately.

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RPGlord95
12/05/19 5:49:47 AM
#5:


Great scene. Sadly led to Family Guy using the same style of joke constantly

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Tom Bombadil
12/05/19 8:00:53 AM
#6:


Paratroopa1 posted...
I think my favorite part about this is that it's immediately clear what you're referencing from the topic title, even though the topic title makes no sense and doesn't explicitly mention the Simpsons in any way


Unless you don't really follow the Simpsons!

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#7
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LeBronto
12/05/19 9:23:15 AM
#8:


Great scene
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LeonhartFour
12/05/19 9:25:36 AM
#9:


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Lopen
12/05/19 10:48:25 AM
#10:


RPGlord95 posted...
Great scene. Sadly led to Family Guy using the same style of joke constantly


Exactly

The rakes bit was great but Family Guy proves time and time again you can overdo this kinda thing

Feel like if I'd watch it again it'd be spoiled for me

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VintageGin
12/05/19 11:40:41 AM
#11:


Paratroopa1 posted...
I think my favorite part about this is that it's immediately clear what you're referencing from the topic title, even though the topic title makes no sense and doesn't explicitly mention the Simpsons in any way


Yeah, I immediately thought "Is this about Sideshow Bob?"

And yep, there it is

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MysticBrohan
12/05/19 12:59:23 PM
#12:


as a non-Simpsons fan yeah too many rakes

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turbopuns3
12/05/19 1:04:20 PM
#13:


MysticBrohan posted...
as a non-Simpsons fan yeah too many rakes


^

I typed up a reply in this topic a while ago and before I posted it, I looked it over and was like "this is way too long of a post for something I don't care about at all" and I just moved on without posting it

but this sums it up very well lol
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pjbasis
12/05/19 1:20:28 PM
#14:


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paulg235
12/05/19 1:30:41 PM
#15:


The rake sequence should've lasted for the rest of the episode and carried on through the ending credits. The rest of the episode after that could have been part 2. :P

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Zylothewolf
12/05/19 2:22:14 PM
#16:


RPGlord95 posted...
Great scene. Sadly led to Family Guy using the same style of joke constantly


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Ngamer64
12/05/19 3:40:31 PM
#17:


pjbasis posted...
Yeah its probably better in episode.
I do think the context helps the joke land. Bob has turned himself into Wile E. Coyote, coming up with extravagant "genius" revenge plans that keep blowing up in his face. He confronts Bart on the street only to be walked over by a marching band and five (or six?) elephants, he straps himself under the Simpsons car as a stowaway only for Home to hit every bump in the road and then drive through a cactus field for no reason. It's a very silly cartoonish escalation that keeps paying off throughout the episode and (IMO) landing harder every time.

But you can be the judge for yourself as soon as you start your free one week trial of ice cold and refreshing Disney Plus!


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LordoftheMorons
12/05/19 3:41:38 PM
#18:


LeonhartFour posted...
technically there's even a ninth rake offscreen...!
Wow, Ill never trust Ngamer again after this willful deception!

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pjbasis
12/05/19 3:52:10 PM
#19:


I actually really should finally the simpsons, at least the first few seasons.

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Ngamer64
12/05/19 4:01:49 PM
#20:


LordoftheMorons posted...
Wow, Ill never trust Ngamer again after this willful deception!
Yes the 9th rake is audio-only, then there's a 10th rake to the face when Bob climbs on to the house boat in the final segment, so there's some debate over where to conclude the rake-counting.


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#21
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htaeD
12/05/19 4:39:53 PM
#22:


Paratroopa1 posted...
I think my favorite part about this is that it's immediately clear what you're referencing from the topic title, even though the topic title makes no sense and doesn't explicitly mention the Simpsons in any way


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turbopuns3
12/05/19 5:05:45 PM
#23:


UltimaterializerX posted...
The video is 35 seconds long.

That is only "too long" if you have the attention span of a bug.

Not too long to pay attention to -- too long to be funny
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WarThaNemesis2
12/05/19 7:10:18 PM
#24:


Eight rakes would be too many if they were actually eight rakes.

Them being four rakes twice is a key part of what makes it work.

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Ngamer64
12/06/19 1:29:10 AM
#25:


pjbasis posted...
I actually really should finally watch the simpsons, at least the first few seasons.
Yeah, you definitely should!

WarThaNemesis2 posted...
Eight rakes would be too many if they were actually eight rakes.

Them being four rakes twice is a key part of what makes it work.
Hmm, good observation.


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GameBopAdv
12/06/19 2:23:10 AM
#26:


my take on this is I have no issues with the number of rakes for the joke but personally the fact that it is the exact same animation repeated, complete with zooming back in & out to do so, that comes off as a bit cheaply done to me. Had it stayed zoomed out when it zoomed out the first time, even if it looped which rakes he hit from there, I think it would be better.

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ZeroSignal620
12/06/19 5:38:51 AM
#27:


UltimaterializerX posted...
Imagine actually hating that scene.


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jcgamer107
12/06/19 8:20:40 AM
#28:


LeonhartFour posted...
technically there's even a ninth rake offscreen...!
8.5 rakes. They performed exhaustive tests to determine that this was the optimal number.

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Ngamer64
12/07/19 1:21:28 AM
#29:


GameBopAdv posted...
my take on this is I have no issues with the number of rakes for the joke but personally the fact that it is the exact same animation repeated, complete with zooming back in & out to do so, that comes off as a bit cheaply done to me. Had it stayed zoomed out when it zoomed out the first time, even if it looped which rakes he hit from there, I think it would be better.
I do see where you're coming from, but for me, reusing the same animation and sound effect makes it all the more goofy and cracks me up even harder.


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Ngamer64
12/08/19 12:03:53 PM
#30:


These results are close to conclusive, but we'll need 100 of them just to be sure.


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Ngamer64
12/11/19 2:46:15 PM
#31:


Ten More Rakes Needed


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tazzyboyishere
12/11/19 2:59:01 PM
#32:


First viewing of this and I thought it was funny at like, 4,. Should've cut to the audible rake after that.

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Ngamer64
12/13/19 3:31:21 PM
#33:


Next up: Star Wars Week! Here's the polls we ran last time, if you need a refresher.

https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Star_Wars_Week


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Ngamer64
12/15/19 11:43:32 AM
#34:


SW Week returns tomorrow, until then, more rakes!


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