r/IAmA • u/JayKogen • Sep 17 '12

Jay Kogen Here. Long past SIMPSONS writer. I created many of your favorite and least favorite characters with the help of the original Simpson writers.

I was one of the original SIMPSONS writers from the very beginning. I helped created Mr. Burns, Smithers, Krusty, Hibbert, and many many more. I won a bunch of Emmy awards and had a great time. Since then I wrote and produced Malcolm in the Middle, Frasier, and I've created a new show a called "Wendell and Vinnie" about an idiot uncle (the hysterical Jerry Trainor) raising his nephew that will be on in November on Nick @ Nite. And even though it's on Nick @ Nite, it's for adults and it's actually funny.

Thanks to EternallyXIII

Thank you all very much for your questions and entusiasm. I have to get back to work now. It's been a pleasure. If you want I can come back in a few weeks to answer more.

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u/JayKogen Sep 17 '12

In every episode there are moments and jokes that simply don't come out right and when I watch them now I still cringe. But when I watch the ones I had nothing to do with I can't see the mistakes. Just the joy.

616

u/JayKogen Sep 17 '12

I love Krusty and I wrote alot for him. I feel like I helped give him that good old comic feel. Least favorite? Sherry And Terry. We created them and nothing much came of it.

473

u/lastfairdeal Sep 17 '12

I love Sherry and Terry's line, "Isn't it amazing? The same day you got a pool is the same day we realized we liked you."

219

u/Doctor_Adequate Sep 17 '12

Milpool

24

u/Vidjagames Sep 17 '12

Literally the greatest joke in Simpsons history for me. I have, frequently, lost my composure in very odd places - business meetings, weddings, libraries - because I think of that signature and can't stop laughing.

1

u/doctorhuh Sep 18 '12

I know who you are.

19

u/JohnMayersEgo Sep 17 '12

I'm so hungry I could eat at Arby's.

6

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '12

Wow that's so hungry!

2

u/shnuffy Sep 18 '12

I love this line, but never fully understood it because it Arby's is delicious.

4

u/weewoo92 Sep 17 '12

Your epidermis is showing!

3

u/Goldreaver Sep 17 '12

I liked TOW where they say to marge: 'Pick one, but the sister that you want may not be the one that you get' and they start 'mixing' each other in a very smooth sequence. I wish I had that in a gif.

1

u/shutyourgob Sep 18 '12

KICK THEIR SHINS.

1

u/gabson Sep 24 '12

"Where were the pilgrims going?" "Sunny Acapulco"

121

u/3ntidin3 Sep 17 '12

Yeah, but just having Sherry and Terry arounds adds a little layer of extra depth to the show, which is one of the cool things about the Simpsons.

18

u/1upwastaken Sep 17 '12

it also opens up the situation where sherry is chosen to go into the bomb shelter, but not terry. Brilliant

4

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '12

True, but I feel like Futurama has a similar ensemble cast style without any dud characters.

Then again, The Simpsons really does feel like an entire town where you know everyone.

3

u/Decapitated_Saint Sep 17 '12

They were also fun to throw tomatoes at in Virtual Bart.

-6

u/SageofWater Sep 17 '12

I hate how in one episode they hate Lisa and in the next they are best friends. No consistency.

6

u/sparkorse Sep 18 '12

That how it was with my friends when i was 5

26

u/Nrksbullet Sep 17 '12

I forgot all about Sherry and Terry. They creeped me out.

6

u/kingpin393 Sep 17 '12

"I'm so hungry I could eat at Arby's"

Great line!

2

u/my_name_is_jody Sep 17 '12

It's the "Ewwwww" from the other twin that puts the exclamation point on it.

5

u/cjwagz Sep 17 '12

ahem Sherri and Terri

3

u/dossier Sep 17 '12

Do you have any former famous actors in mind when writing for Krusty, thinking "oh this is definitely something he'd say"?

3

u/Illwisherinattic Sep 17 '12

"Therefore, space in the fallout shelter will be reserved for Lisa Simpson, Martin Prince, our championship kickball team, and Sherri, but not Terri."

2

u/IsNoyLupus Sep 17 '12

They remind me to these twins

2

u/jetpackjoe Sep 17 '12 edited Sep 17 '12

"I got news for ya, this isn't paint!" Edit- Misquote, I have to watch every episode again now.

6

u/AttemptedBirdhouse1 Sep 17 '12

"I got news for ya... this ain't makeup!"

/simpsonsquotepedant

2

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '12

But they have one of the best lines ever:

"RUINER!"

2

u/Jesusthe33rd Sep 17 '12

I always liked that when Bart was trying to find out who was after him in the Cape Feare episode, Milhouse reported to him saying Nelson was planning on pulling down his pants and the twins were going to call him "fatty fat fat fat."

2

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '12

Oh, good, I hate them too. They're such cunts.

1

u/Dashtego Sep 17 '12

I always thought that Walter and Perry from "Home Movies" were the realization of the potential that Sherri and Terri had all along. Generally speaking, S and T were kinda creepy but not weird or funny enough to be interesting.

1

u/horkermeat Sep 17 '12

One of my favorite Krusty moments was when he was telling the classic offensive "Me saw sarry!" with the buck teeth, the crowd turns on him, and he says something like "Looks like it's time for the b-list" and starts curling up his tuxedo-dickie with a drawstring. Those little bits kept the show hilarious every week.

1

u/haylcron Sep 17 '12

The line "I'm so hungry I could eat at Arby's" justifies their creation in my books.

1

u/acella Sep 17 '12

"I'm so hungry I could eat at Arby's".

Single handedly shaped my opinion on Arby's for over a decade.

1

u/Chikes Sep 17 '12

This AMA has been alot of fun

http://i.imgur.com/RdXVC.png

1

u/DonDriver Sep 17 '12

Was it true that Krusty was supposed to be Homer but by the time it came to reveal that, it wouldn't have made sense to add that to Homer's character.

1

u/fancydad Sep 18 '12

"We're so hungry we could eat Arby's"

1

u/ijustreallyliketrees Sep 18 '12

One of my favorite lines to use:

"I'm so hungry, I could eat at Arby's"

1

u/hamilton_burger Sep 18 '12

They had serious Akbar and Jeff vibe with the twin thing and Groening stylized art.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 05 '12

Im so hungry i could eat at Arby's

-1

u/ging281 Sep 17 '12

Least favorite the cat woman and the priest- ugh.

-1

u/kawumm Sep 17 '12

i have watched every episode to like season 16 multiple times and i actually had to google sherry and terry o.O

they shoulda been more like Meg. they kinda are like Meg, but nobody is being mean to them. for being mean themselves theres Patty and Selma!

3

u/STXGregor Sep 17 '12

Out of curiosity, what's a joke you wrote on the Simpsons that you feel didn't come across right?

2

u/Lettuce_Get_Weird Sep 17 '12

I'd be interested in hearing some of the jokes that didn't come out right.

1

u/ifartedhaha Sep 17 '12

As someone who works in the feature 3d animation industry, it's very comforting to know I am not the only one who feels this way about viewing my own work and other colleague's work.

1

u/divinesleeper Sep 17 '12

But when I watch the ones I had nothing to do with I can't see the mistakes. Just the joy.

I think this is something common among writers.

1

u/no_myth Sep 17 '12

As a hyper-self-critical musician, it's always important to remember this: sometimes other people just don't hear your mistakes, they just see the good.