This show was pure genius for a long while--seven seasons--then it made a sharp turn and became absolute garbage. Oh sure, seasons eight and nine were still worth a chuckle or two--one thinks of episodes like "The Joy of Sect" (involving The Movematarians)--but by the end of the ninth season the show became embarrassingly bad, and rarely funny.
Someone once told me the single episode were the show definitely went wrong is the 8th season episode titled "Homer's Enemy," about Frank Grimes. Here Homer is not portrayed as a well meaning oaf but rather a complete and utter oaf who doesn't care about the consequences of his actions. The episode concludes with Homer snoring at Frank Grimes' funeral, and everyone laughing in response. It was an all together well put episode--brilliant by the standards of the current seasons--but it was clear that a mean spirited sensibility had taken over the show.
Then they simply started running out of ideas for plot and character. In seasons 1-7, and even some of 8 and 9--there was almost always a strong plot thread or character issue, something that was memorable about an episode beside the humor. I think this aspect of the show brilliantly served the comedy well: As the viewer was focusing on the story of the episode, nearly all the humor would be cleverly worked in. One had to pay attention to pick up on the majority of the jokes, because they either happened in the background or in well structured-context.
Running out of ideas for story and character thus had the effect of making the show not only less moving, but also less funny. Moreover, the show resorted to increasing gross and violent content as a way to compete with its loud derivatives--South Park, Family Guy, etc. Now there's a movie and it doesn't appear to be different from the current episodes.
Discuss! (please)
[ July 24, 2007, 01:02 AM: Message edited by: the_Somalian ]
Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :
I find this post to be tired and derivative, a pale shadow of the once-brilliant "The Simpsons suck now!" posts of yore.
Truly, the quality of such posts have deteriorated over the years.
Remember that post Tom made just two years ago? Yeah. That was fresh and funny, full of spice and vigor!
Methinks the wellspring of truly passionate Simpsons-jumped-the-shark posts has run dry. Posted by the_Somalian (Member # 6688) on :
quote:Originally posted by Puffy Treat: I find this post to be tired and derivative, a pale shadow of the once-brilliant "The Simpsons suck now!" posts of yore.
Truly, the quality of such posts have deteriorated over the years.
Remember that post Tom made just two years ago? Yeah. That was fresh and funny, full of spice and vigor!
Methinks the wellspring of truly passionate Simpsons-jumped-the-shark posts has run dry.
Posted by Reticulum (Member # 8776) on :
No, I agree with Somalian. It was well put together. The Simpsons really does suck now. The movie looks moronic, but I'll see it anyways.
[ July 24, 2007, 01:36 AM: Message edited by: Reticulum ]
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Moronic...or hysterical?
Posted by Reticulum (Member # 8776) on :
..Hysteronic?
Posted by MightyCow (Member # 9253) on :
Hysterically moronic!
Or maybe that's why my doctor described me as during my last session... things get fuzzy between prescriptions. Posted by Reticulum (Member # 8776) on :
Hey! You sort of copied me!
Posted by GaalDornick (Member # 8880) on :
Maybe I was imagining it, but I was pretty sure Puffy Treat's post was meant to be ironic, Reticulum.
Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :
Posted by Reticulum (Member # 8776) on :
I'm aware. I just thought that inside that irony, Puffy was actually disagreeing.
Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :
No, I agree. I haven't watched The Simpsons at all since 1999.
Posted by Reticulum (Member # 8776) on :
Oh, well then... how 'bout them yanks?
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
It bothers me to realize that I haven't watched The Simpsons regularly for as long as many of its current fans have been alive.
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
I've never watched the Simpsons regularly.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
I agree. The Simpson's totally starting going downhill around season 9. It's just that that Skinner episode was so stupid. The after a while it was one stupid episode after an another. Homer and Bart became more annoying, Lisa and Marge became whinier and the only good episodes I can think of in the last several years have been the one where one of the twins adopts a girl from China (Inaccurate, but a cool episode) and the gay marriage episode. Other than that, it's mostly random celebrities, musical montages and things that are really, really stupid.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
I hate the show as it stands currently, but there was plenty to laugh about all the way through season 11 IMO. But hey YMMV.
You Only Move Twice put me in stitches. That's the one where Homer is offered a job working for a, "Mr Scorpio," who is a mastermind villain, but he is so pleasant to all his employees. Bart gets put in "special ed" classes in order to "catch up" and Lisa loves nature but finds out her allergies don't, and Marge turns to alcohol because she has nothing to do all day in a house that manages itself. They end up deciding that they all miss home and go back home. Now that I Type it out it sounds kinda stupid, but then again, James Bond parodies always make me laugh.
[ July 24, 2007, 11:21 AM: Message edited by: BlackBlade ]
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
That was a funny episode. Especially when Mr. Scorpio was in the middle of a war and Homer didn't notice.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
"I think the Denver Broncos is a very nice gift." "Aw, Marge. You just don't understand football."
Posted by Strider (Member # 1807) on :
"You don't make friends with salad! You don't make friends with salad!"
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
"Hey Homer, can you kill someone on the way out?"
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
"What's wrong with this country? Can't somebody walk down the street without being offered a job!?"
"Cypress creek, where dreams come true, *your dreams may very from globex corporation it's subsidiaries and shareholders*"
Posted by Foust (Member # 3043) on :
I remember watching the 2nd part of "Who Shot Mr. Burns." That's when I first started to think something had changed. I didn't know what, but I knew there were storms on the horizon. That was the first episode of season 7.
In season 8, those storms were right over head. The two episodes that stand out in my mind are the ones in which Lisa had a crush on Nelson, and the Frank Grimes episode.
Then that episode about the spin-offs aired. Wiggum as a PI, etc. I sat watching that episode with my jaw hanging open. I switched it off, and I've watched maybe 10 episodes since then.
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
When Homer became stupid and stupid instead of stupid and well-meaning, and when they started doing things a non-animated family could not have done (Groening's mandate at the beginning).
Still better than any other sitcom out there, way better than Family Guy (too many bizarre elements for me) or South Park (love the show, but don't like bathroom humor so bye), and the movie looks good. But nearly every episode has a misstep these days.
Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :
When Homer became just a moron (and the focal point of every show).
When Marge became just a drudge.
When Bart became just a brat.
When Lisa became just a smartypants.
When Springfield went from being merely a quirky town to a town with no rhyme or reason...
Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
Fair weather fans, the lot of you. Sure the Simpson's had a better writing crew in the past, but that doesn't negate all the funny they have now. Per episode, the amount of time spent laughing out loud during the most recent season (or any other season) far outweighs the amount of laughing out loud during any other show on the major networks right now. It's a great show, I love it.
And the movie will be HIGH-larious. I'm thinking about waiting outside for hours and hours, even if there isn't a line, and dressing up in a costume. I never did that for any of the fantasy/scifi movies and I am WAY more excited about this one.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
How closely does the decline match up to Groenig's starting to focus on Futurama?
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
I love Futurama.
Bender is great (he says so himself.)
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
My brother in law, who was the smartest brother in law I ever had, said it was when the Critic guest starred on the Simpsons. Also, they started cutting politically incorrect scenes out of repeats like the "Mo as Drew Barrymore" scene and "We tape a bunch of cats together."
Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :
The Critic was an underrated show.
Posted by Juxtapose (Member # 8837) on :
Amen.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
True. Especially the part about chocolate roaches.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
The eighth season had Mr. Sparkle, so it still was very good.
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
You Only Move Twice is by far my favorite episode, and I think that was the 8th season too.
"I moved here from Canada, and they think I'm slow, eh?"
I don't watch the new episodes, sadly.
I personally believe the quality went severely down-hill when Family guy took off.
The crazy Plot A --> Plot B --> Plot C --> D thing works well in Family Guy, but it isn't what people watch the Simpsons for. The best Simpsons episodes all have one overall plotline, which involves some genuine emotion on at least one of the family members.
Zany crap followed by more zany crap, with no emotions in the entire episode (either from the family or from the viewer) make for forgettable episodes. Even if you chuckle once or twice, it still leaves you thinking that you wasted your time watching it.
Posted by otterk10 (Member # 10463) on :
I feel that Groeining realizes that The Simpson's days are numbered. He is just making a movie to raise the Simpson's popularity (and make some more $$$) before the series ends. Either way, The Simpson's only have a couple years left. It is not getting good ratings anymore.
IMO, South Park is following a similar progression to The Simpson's. Trey Parker and Matt Stone are running out of ideas. In the fast few seasons, almost every episode has been a parody of either a movie, tv show, or celebrity.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
quote: Then that episode about the spin-offs aired.
At least you can't accuse the writers of not realizing when they jumped the shark. When you throw in the Great Gazoo as evidence that you've run out of ideas, or actually break the fourth wall to observe "Worst Episode Ever," you do that only because, on some level, you MEAN IT. (I use "writers" here as if they're one big collective, but in reality there are obvious factions.)
(The saddest thing is that the episode in question may well have actually been the Worst Episode Ever at the time, but has since been subpassed.)
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
quote:Originally posted by otterk10: I feel that Groeining realizes that The Simpson's days are numbered. He is just making a movie to raise the Simpson's popularity (and make some more $$$) before the series ends. Either way, The Simpson's only have a couple years left. It is not getting good ratings anymore.
IMO, South Park is following a similar progression to The Simpson's. Trey Parker and Matt Stone are running out of ideas. In the fast few seasons, almost every episode has been a parody of either a movie, tv show, or celebrity.
This is somewhat true. I disliked the 10th season of SP except for a few episodes. But the 11th season started off pretty good.
Posted by Omega M. (Member # 7924) on :
I think The Simpsons started going downhill when the episodes started breaking into tenuously related segments, more or less bookended by commercial breaks. A lot of the episodes of this type feel as if they can go for any amount of time and then get resolved in the same hurried way without much loss. Two of the first ones of this type that stand out for me are the one that ends with Homer and Lisa opening up an Egyptian music box in a museum, and the one in which Homer has to give Grandpa one of his kidneys and ends up on a ship with people who look like they're from the 19th century who want to forget their pasts.
Episodes with this structure seem to have gotten a little better lately, but I may have just lowered my expectations. They're still funny, but they're more like comedy routines than comedic stories.
Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
I don't know why I keep reading this thread. It's making me irrationally angry.
Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
I think it was during the past couple seasons where of half the episodes plots involved Marge getting angry with Homer "for the last time", Marge moving out, and Homer trying to win her back.
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