When did the Simpsons stop being good?

GerB40 wrote: »

Only Fool's and Horses doesn't count because it's the greatest sitcom of all time.

No shut up a second and stop typing while I type. Only Fools & Horses was good for the first few seasons but when they got into the Yuppie stuff and Rodney with Cassandra it took a huge nose dive in quality and the dead horse was kicked repeatedly for another decade.

I haven't watched every episode of The Simpsons but I used to enjoy it years ago. I would have to agree it's terrible now. I think the big difference is there used to be stories which covered the entire episode, and developed the wider themes that built a somewhat believable world. When I watch it now it's mostly one liner gags and poor writing, and there isn't much story to pull you in.

"Top of the line in utility sports, unexplained fires are a matter for the courts"

I think I would be correct in saying that the ratio of good to bad episode in the Simpsons catelougue is not beyond 1 good to 1 bad, the last 5 seasons seem like complete muck, its more than likely that you could be looking at a show with only 40% of its stuff classed as good

It fell off right around the time Matt Groening began to put his focus on Futurama, which has gone on to be absolutely brilliant in it's own right.

With me i will watch and i do love The Simpson's from season's 1-8 and with family guy 1-3

after those seasons they just stopped being funny,


i was talking to a bunch of college students 10 years younger than me, and they were insisting that they found seasons after season 8 "very funny" and "the best ever" they insisted some of the episodes that i knew from earlier seasons weren't funny at all, so we figured it is the episodes you grew up with that you will remember as being "the best" or "the funniest ever"

i almost started to believe them (and i was believing my sense of humour had just matured beyond cartoons now i am a grown up) and felt kind of sad about it, until recently one of the channels was showing the first two season's of Family guy again and once again i was literally laughing out loud at the gags, and the jokes,

The character's just had some kind of substance to them (e.g. stewie trying to kill Lois, or the man in the white coat episode) after season 3 i felt they lost the best part's of the character of Stewie (and Peter too, they made him creepy and pervy) they were endearing and then instead just made them into assholes. the exact same way The Simpsons lost the whole Lisa tries to be different from her family but ultimately ends up just like them, or Homer, instead of being a lovable goofball, ends up a character you'd like to hit in the head with a golf ball!

my daughter (5) now is watching the old seasons (1-8) of The Simpson's on dvd and she genuinely bursts out laughing at them, she turned around to us the other day and said "i didn't know The Simpson's was supposed to be funny" while she will watch the newer episodes (after we vet them because the old ones were much better at making the "adult" content go over their heads, where the new episodes have it more "in your face") she much prefers the older episodes so it really mustn't be an age thing.

Right after Neddy lost his sh/t at Homer and told him to "Stop it! Breath through your damn mouth!!"