# The Simpsons have sucked for the last ten years and here's why! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 13, 2007, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-have-sucked-for-the-last-ten-years-and-heres-why/411620 "2007-07-13T08:01:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-have-sucked-for-the-last-ten-years-and-heres-why/411620/141 "2007-07-17T21:49:24Z")
[QUOTE=Ghanima] I’m sure eventually we’ll pick it up again, but season 8 has been sitting on our shelf still in its wrapper for the last 6 months or so. [/QUOTE] See, this I don’t understand at all. Season 8 had… The Halloween special where Kang and Kodos impersonate Clinton and Dole The Hank Scorpio episode (one of the all-time 10 best episodes) Homer as a boxer Bart at the burlesque house (in the top 20) Ned going crazy after the hurricane The X-Files episode The Nuclear Plant mountain retreat episode Itchy and Scratchy and Poochie The John Waters episode Sideshow Bob and his brother (in the top 20) The Beer Baron (roughly in the top 30) Mr. Sparkle Frank Grimes (hmmm, maybe top 15) The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase Bart and Lisa at military school That’s 15 excellent episodes (out of 25) and a few classics. Season 8 is definite golden years territory to me. It’s also the season with Homer’s spiritual journey after eating the pepper. I don’t particularly care for it, but a lot of people like it. > **[The Simpsons season 8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Simpsons_(season_8))** > > The eighth season of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons aired on Fox between October 27, 1996, and May 18, 1997. It began with "Treehouse of Horror VII". The showrunners for the eighth production season were Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein, while the season was produced by Gracie Films and 20th Century Fox Television. The broadcast season contained two episodes with 3F-series production codes, indicating that were hold-over episodes from the seventh production season, and two episodes wi... ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-have-sucked-for-the-last-ten-years-and-heres-why/411620/142 "2007-07-17T22:17:54Z")
[QUOTE=Justin\_Bailey] Psst… “family jewels” was a joke for those nine year olds. That’s what kids used to call them on the playground because everybody understood what it meant and it wasn’t a “swear word,” so you could say it at school (or on primetime TV). [/QUOTE] Jesus Christ, I know what “family jewels” means. Granpa’s list of words he doesn’t want to hear on TV ends with “family jewels,” which is the second time the words are spoken that episode. It’s a joke for nine-year-olds, but it’s still a meta joke. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-have-sucked-for-the-last-ten-years-and-heres-why/411620/143 "2007-07-17T22:46:24Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] Jesus Christ, I know what “family jewels” means. Granpa’s list of words he doesn’t want to hear on TV ends with “family jewels,” which is the second time the words are spoken that episode. It’s a joke for nine-year-olds, but it’s still a meta joke. [/QUOTE] How is that in any fucking way a meta-joke? Oh my god! He’s listing a bunch of words he doesn’t want to hear on TV… on a TV show! Give me a fucking break. I’m a bigger Simpsons fanatic than anyone I know, but the constant barrage of people that want to make it “important” is extremely tiring after a while. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-have-sucked-for-the-last-ten-years-and-heres-why/411620/144 "2007-07-17T23:10:50Z")
[QUOTE=Justin\_Bailey] How is that in any fucking way a meta-joke? Oh my god! He’s listing a bunch of words he doesn’t want to hear on TV… on a TV show! [/quote] On a TV show that earlier in the same episode featured a character casually using a term which Abe feels shouldn’t be on TV. You really _need_ a fucking break if you can’t make this connection. And, no, it’s not important, but it is pretty funny. As I recall, it’s the third-time-punchline of Abe’s cranky letters in the episode, the first two being to the “sickos” at _Modern Bride Magazine_ and a note to the President complaining that there were too many states; “please eliminate three.” ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-have-sucked-for-the-last-ten-years-and-heres-why/411620/145 "2007-07-17T23:41:30Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] On a TV show that earlier in the same episode featured a character casually using a term which Abe feels shouldn’t be on TV. You really _need_ a fucking break if you can’t make this connection. [/QUOTE] I make the connection, I just don’t think a joke about “the family jewels” is the best example to show off the smartness of The Simpsons. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2007, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-have-sucked-for-the-last-ten-years-and-heres-why/411620/146 "2007-07-18T02:09:07Z")
Well, I said it was funny, not clever. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2007, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-have-sucked-for-the-last-ten-years-and-heres-why/411620/147 "2007-07-18T04:50:39Z")
By the way, Groening will be on Jon Stewart, Wednesday July 18. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Cid_Viscoso)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2007, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-have-sucked-for-the-last-ten-years-and-heres-why/411620/148 "2007-07-18T16:06:55Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] Well, I said it was funny, not clever. [/QUOTE] It’s both if we’re talking about [these](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_jewels_%28Central_Intelligence_Agency%29) family jewels. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2007, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-have-sucked-for-the-last-ten-years-and-heres-why/411620/149 "2007-07-18T16:14:22Z")
[QUOTE=Justin\_Bailey] I make the connection, I just don’t think a joke about “the family jewels” is the best example to show off the smartness of The Simpsons. [/QUOTE] Just make an effort to stay on topic, okay? I didn’t say it was a brilliant joke; it isn’t. I was responding to your whole “the show was for kids” thing by mentioning this joke because I don’t think that nine-year-olds really go for meta-humor. The joke’s going to get a laugh from them anyway because they said “family jewels” again. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2007, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-have-sucked-for-the-last-ten-years-and-heres-why/411620/150 "2007-07-18T17:14:24Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] Just make an effort to stay on topic, okay? I didn’t say it was a brilliant joke; it isn’t. I was responding to your whole “the show was for kids” thing by mentioning this joke because I don’t think that nine-year-olds really go for meta-humor. The joke’s going to get a laugh from them anyway because they said “family jewels” again. [/QUOTE] And all I’m saying is that you’re average nine year old is smart enough to pick up on “they said ‘family jewels’ before and now Grandpa is complaining about hearing the phrase ‘family jewels’ on TV.” While “The Simpsons was for kids” may have been poor wording on my part, can we at least agree that the show was designed primarily to appeal to kids as well as adults? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2007, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-have-sucked-for-the-last-ten-years-and-heres-why/411620/151 "2007-07-18T17:23:19Z")
[QUOTE=Justin\_Bailey] And all I’m saying is that you’re average nine year old is smart enough to pick up on “they said ‘family jewels’ before and now Grandpa is complaining about hearing the phrase ‘family jewels’ on TV.” [/quote] Yeah, I’m not giving nine-year-olds enough credit there. Disney movies and other kiddie fare have those kinds of jokes, even if they don’t center around “family jewels.” > [@](#): > > While “The Simpsons was for kids” may have been poor wording on my part, can we at least agree that the show was designed primarily to appeal to kids as well as adults? Sure. Now, let’s all go out for frosty chocolate milkshakes. Alternately, let us our new arrangement with the adding of chocolate to milk. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2007, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-have-sucked-for-the-last-ten-years-and-heres-why/411620/152 "2007-07-18T17:34:03Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] Sure. Now, let’s all go out for frosty chocolate milkshakes. Alternately, let us our new arrangement with the adding of chocolate to milk. [/QUOTE] The Simpsons are going to Delaware! ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2007, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-have-sucked-for-the-last-ten-years-and-heres-why/411620/153 "2007-07-18T17:38:25Z")
Pssht. You guys with your funny “Simpson” quotes. All I can say is, I grew up watching the “The Simpsons” as a child (a nine year old child, even), and it didn’t affect me one iota. Now, let’s forget our troubles with a big bowl of strawberry ice cream! ---
**Author:** ![spazurek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b2d939/32.png) [@spazurek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spazurek)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2007, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-have-sucked-for-the-last-ten-years-and-heres-why/411620/154 "2007-07-18T17:57:59Z")
[QUOTE=Justin\_Bailey] While “The Simpsons was for kids” may have been poor wording on my part, can we at least agree that the show was designed primarily to appeal to kids as well as adults? [/QUOTE] No more so than any other program on TV, and it was definitely less kid-oriented than most sitcoms. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2007, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-have-sucked-for-the-last-ten-years-and-heres-why/411620/155 "2007-07-18T18:05:56Z")
[QUOTE=spazurek] No more so than any other program on TV, and it was definitely less kid-oriented than most sitcoms. [/QUOTE] Just when I think I’m out, they pull me back in. That’s bullshit for all the reasons I’ve cited above. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2007, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-have-sucked-for-the-last-ten-years-and-heres-why/411620/156 "2007-07-18T18:08:24Z")
[QUOTE=Zoggie] Pssht. You guys with your funny “Simpson” quotes. All I can say is, I grew up watching the “The Simpsons” as a child (a nine year old child, even), and it didn’t affect me one iota. [/QUOTE] Yeah, that’s how my parents raised me, and _I_ turned out TV. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2007, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-have-sucked-for-the-last-ten-years-and-heres-why/411620/157 "2007-07-18T18:13:40Z")
[QUOTE=Justin\_Bailey] Just when I think I’m out, they pull me back in. That’s bullshit for all the reasons I’ve cited above. [/QUOTE] I would say The Simpsons was _clearly_ created for adults, with enough low-level humor for the kids to keep watching. After all, it’s a cartoon and people are going to assume a cartoon automatically means “for kids,” so they do keep it framed in that assumption. For me, the old Warner Brothers cartoons have that feel they’re made _for kids_ with enough over-the-head humor thrown in to keep it interesting for the adults. I think The Simpsons is the other way around, and it always has been. To answer a previous question, I’m 32 and was 11 when I first saw the Simpsons on the Tracy Ullman Show (one of my favorite Fox shows, even at that age). ---
**Author:** ![lowbrass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dc4da7/32.png) [@lowbrass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lowbrass)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2007, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-have-sucked-for-the-last-ten-years-and-heres-why/411620/158 "2007-07-18T18:34:30Z")
[QUOTE=pulykamell] I would say The Simpsons was _clearly_ created for adults, with enough low-level humor for the kids to keep watching. After all, it’s a cartoon and people are going to assume a cartoon automatically means “for kids,” so they do keep it framed in that assumption. For me, the old Warner Brothers cartoons have that feel they’re made _for kids_ with enough over-the-head humor thrown in to keep it interesting for the adults. I think The Simpsons is the other way around, and it always has been. To answer a previous question, I’m 32 and was 11 when I first saw the Simpsons on the Tracy Ullman Show (one of my favorite Fox shows, even at that age). [/QUOTE] Those old Warner Bros. cartoons (the good ones with Bugs Bunny et al, not the crappy “cutesy” ones) are loaded with subtle cultural references from the time. The humor is often _very_ adult. The humor on the Simpsons was much more sophisticated than many of its contemporary sitcoms, like Home Improvement, Full House, The Cosby Show, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Saved by the Bell, and Family Matters. Those were all “family” oriented with very broad humor. You can’t judge a book by its cover. Just because it’s animated doesn’t necessarily mean it’s for kids, and just because it has live actors doesn’t mean it’s for adults. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2007, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-have-sucked-for-the-last-ten-years-and-heres-why/411620/159 "2007-07-18T18:41:41Z")
[QUOTE=lowbrass] Those old Warner Bros. cartoons (the good ones with Bugs Bunny et al, not the crappy “cutesy” ones) are loaded with subtle cultural references from the time. The humor is often _very_ adult. The humor on the Simpsons was much more sophisticated than many of its contemporary sitcoms, like Home Improvement, Full House, The Cosby Show, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Saved by the Bell, and Family Matters. Those were all “family” oriented with very broad humor. You can’t judge a book by its cover. Just because it’s animated doesn’t necessarily mean it’s for kids, and just because it has live actors doesn’t mean it’s for adults. [/QUOTE] Absolutely. Everyone of those shows was much more kid-oriented than the Simpsons. God, they ran Simpsons back-to-back with _Married With Children_ when it started, IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![spazurek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b2d939/32.png) [@spazurek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spazurek)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2007, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-have-sucked-for-the-last-ten-years-and-heres-why/411620/160 "2007-07-18T18:48:00Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] And, no, it [the Simpsons]'s not important, but it is pretty funny." [/QUOTE] It _is_ important – as important as any great work of art can be, and that’s pretty damn important. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-have-sucked-for-the-last-ten-years-and-heres-why/411620.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-have-sucked-for-the-last-ten-years-and-heres-why/411620.md?page=9)