Aside from an episode here or there, I haven’t watched The Simpsons since about 1999/2000. By that time they were on the air for over ten years, and there are a lot of references from that time period (the most recent I recognized was in the Stupid Saxby Chamblissthread (Asterion: Stupid Saxby Chambliss. “Feels like wearing nothing at all, nothing at all, nothing at all”).
I’m pretty sure they’re still on the air … are episodes’ quotability ratio still as high as it was in the show’s first decade?
I haven’t heard any from recent episodes. The show is really old and tired. But you still get diehards who say, “It’s still better than most other stuff on television.”
Unfortunately, “this sucks less” doesn’t make for a compelling favorable argument.
The last new episode that aired was, I thought, pretty good. I could probably have picked out a few quotable lines if I’d been trying, but they wouldn’t be as recognizable as those from the show’s “golden years,” maybe because the quality and/or quantity isn’t as high nowadays, but also, a lot more people have had a chance to repeatedly view those older episodes.
I’m not sure how far back the most recent Simpsons quote to really enter popular culture was. I find myself using “This is offensive to Christians and prunes” from “'Tis the Fifteenth Season” (December 2003).
And there is never a shortage of people on the Internet who say “it’s sucked in the last ten years” or “it jumped the shark when it left Tracey Ullman.”
IMHO: some episodes are better, some worse. Some gems in recent seasons. I’d say the high point was season 8, but it’s not like every single episode past some point is crap, and a few very good episodes here and there is great. Plus, it’s not like it’s Two and a Half Men, where there is no Fonzie to jump the shark.
I do know that from a sample of college age kids, references go over their heads. It’s not like I worked one into every sentence, but even images didn’t help. Only one took me up on my offer to do an assignment based on watching a 22 minute episode.
And it seems to me that quotability is increased with reruns, and the older ones have had more time to stew. I don’t remember any quotable lines from season 1.
I was wondering this myself the other day - there’s lots of stuff like “Purple Monkey Dishwasher”, “Stupid Sexy Flanders”, “I tied an onion to my belt, as was the fashion at the time” etc that has entered popular culture, but I can’t remember the last time I heard someone throw out a Simpsons reference from one of the “new” (post-movie) series.
Well, I have to disagree. As a fan since the Tracy Ullman shorts the show is a mere shell of its first ten seasons or so. And as one one website put it, The Simpsons didn’t just jump the shark, it killed the shark, chopped it up, cooked it, ate it, shit it back out, and jumped the shit! Its complete lack of memorable & quotable lines in the past 10+ seasons is a perfect measure of its lackluster quality.
I still TiVo it every week, there’s a laugh every now & then but, and I can’t believe I’m actually going to say this, but MacFarland’s shows are a lot funnier. And I despised the first three seasons of Family Guy! (still do). *Bob’s Burgers *however (and Archer) still beats them all.
Internet quotability may not be a perfect system. There may be a vector missing that used to be at work when the quoted shows were new - some influential site or sites, or maybe even a certain demographic that’s gone on to other things. Sometimes I think meme-based one-liners themselves may be somewhat out of style.
There are still some pretty good eps in there. One recently about Homer’s childhood dog was quite nice. Well, until the end when they tacked on some completely unrelated segment on (the main story must’ve ran really short) that was just terribly unfunny political glurge.
I hadn’t watched The Simpsons in years, but last month I was on a couple long flights and a bunch of recent episodes were options on the in-flight entertainment. To my surprise they were pretty good. I was as surprised as anyone. They’ve definitely improved over their huge multi-year slump back in the early/mid 2000s. Frankly, a couple of those episodes could have slipped unnoticed back into one of the older, better seasons.
But no matter how good they are, these episodes will never be quoted as much. The show’s just not as popular as it used to be, and the rest of the TV landscape has vastly improved in the past two decades. Family Guy and South Park are funnier, with a type of humor that appeals more to a younger crowd. The Simpsons, in comparison, seems very sweet and gentle. It’ll never be quoted as often again.
This is reminding me of the first quotes and whatnot. Remember when “eat my shorts” and “aye carumba!” were plastered on t-shirts? What was that, season 1?
Funny thing is, there could be quotes or references floating around and I’d never know, would I? Just as when I bark at the Dudeling that in this house we obey the laws of thermodynamics, he is understandably clueless.
