I mean its not like they haven’t noticed the really really bad quality, I watched a new episode tonigh and it didn’t even make sense, its like three different stories merged int one, its totally pointless!!
What are the writers smoking during the writing of the scripts?
I know there is loads of threads about the bad quality, but I just need to add to that because it really really is…
The series just needs to be cancelled. It jumped the shark a long time ago. Each new story reaches for new ridiculous heights and they rely way too much on celebrity voices. It used to be the only thing on TV I cared about watching. Now I’m thinking of throwing out my TV.
It just that tonight confirmed my worse fears, no storylines, no plot, just shock value its really tiring and that 300th episode made me sigh…
it is a loss though, can’t they call it quits and focus on something else?
Oh, man, I actually turned off the Simpsons a couple weeks ago, haven’t watched it since. The writing in the first five minutes was so awful that I just couldn’t stand to watch anymore. It was painfully unfunny.
Its like a really really bad trainwreck being watched slowly
I don’t think there’s any way to actually make it better. What could they possibly do that they haven’t done already? I have a feeling that they wouldn’t really want it to be any better than it is now - it’s still doing pretty well while sucking unbelievably.
It’s really annoying that it’s been kept on life support so long while Family Guy and Futurama barely got a chance to gain an audience.
I just can’t wait for the anticipated movie :rollseyes:
I think The Simpsons came on before the patented Fox Scheduling Tango all the great shows they put on get put through.
I think one of the problems is that the original edict was for the shows to always center in some form around the core family of the Simpsons. I think they’ve stuck to that a bit too long though I thought it was a great idea to keep a cohesive feel in the beginning. Their are so many characters that deserve a dedicated show. Cletus for one. You’ve got just about every stereotype in American culture to work with, I don’t think anyone would mind a deviation from their original formular for comedy’s sake.
Didn’t they try that with the critic, I know, not exactly American culture but its something like that…
I’d rather have them concertrate on Futurama, but the show got cancelled so nuts to that.
I suppose there’s no point in saying this, since when people want to be depressed about something they always find a way to do it, but you’re wrong.
The thing to do is bring up an old thread, not make up another one to say the same stuff in.
Isn’t “The Simpsons” still FOX’s biggest draw? If that’s the case, that’s probably why they won’t let it go. It’s been (at least) one of FOX’s biggest draws since the 1990-1991 season.
The quality hasn’t gotten worse. People are just getting tired of the humor. If I may, (and I may, having seen every single episode), the first season was by far the least funny. Most of the “classic episodes” were around the middle range of the series run. However, I’ve seen plenty of episodes lately that made me laugh loudly and frequently.
One thing that turns many off on some of the more recent seasons is that there have been a large number of meta-references (the show referencing itself), and a large number of intentionally ludicrous plots. Personally, I like both of these concepts alot, and find it adds to the humor. I understand, though, that these aren’t everyone’s cup of tea – some people hate this. I’d reckon that this is mainly what causes people to say the series has gone downhill.
Amen. I dont’ think that the Simpsons are lacking in quality as much as they’ve just changed the direction of the show. The show has become more surreal, relying more on jokes than story or character. Not everyone is going to appreciate that; that’s why there are some who deride The Family Guy for its crappy characters and plotless episodes. The Family Guy and the current incarnation of the Simpsons are nothign more than platforms for jokes.
As occ said, it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea.
–greenphan
They’ve had to come up with material for, what, 305 or 6 epsiodes? The fact that they come up with anything at all is impressive to me.
For me, I don’t find the newer episodes quite as funny as they were for the middle 6 or 7 seasons - but they’re still well worth watching.
I think the humor/QUALITY has gotten a lot worse. To be honest, I’m not at ALL tired of the ‘old humor’. I watch Simpson reruns more religiously than new television shows. I NEVER get tired of a classic Simpsons… So, yeah, I think the quality gotten worse. It’s almost like fans of the show are trying to project the blame onto the people that don’t like the show anymore by saying it’s still high quality TV, and that we are just getting tired of it.
I think it had to do with new writers, and tired old writers.
I think it sucks now. It’s suck more than Friends… that’s how much I hate it. Haven’t watched it in a while, so perhaps it’s gotten better, I just got sick of waiting.
I don’t understand the passion with which people claim to hate the current Simpsons episodes. I’ve been a huge fan of the show for ages, and yes, it’s not as good now as it was in its prime. But it’s still good. It’s still very good, in fact – I’d say that the funniest recent episodes are very close to as funny as the funniest older episodes. I will concede, however, that there are a higher percentage of episodes I just don’t care for.
I’ll stack the best several episodes from Season 13 (including such gems as Little Girl in the Big Ten, Tales from the Public Domain, and I Am Furious Yellow) against any from the “classic” seasons, 2 through 5 or so, and they’ll come out looking quite solid.
The first season was very simple and slow. It seemed edgy at the time, but looking back on it, it lacked the real wit that came later.
After that, the show really began to grow into itself. At its best, the show was quick and witty with an exaggerated take on family life and the world outside. However – and this is crucial – each episode had a real human story underneath, and that’s what drove the gags. The main characters had real feelings and real motivations. It added warmth and poignancy to the series and kept it grounded.
Take an episode like “Selma’s Choice,” where Selma takes the kids to Duff Gardens. Some of the stuff in this episode is absolutely hilarious: the Seven Duffs, Homer’s sandwich, Lisa’s acid trip, etc. Along side all that, though, is a genuine character arc for Selma: she realises she may one day be alone without children, she discovers how hard it is to raise children, and finally she takes on the care of Jubjub as a satisfactory compromise. This character arc supports the whole episode, and it gives it some substance rather than just being a series of gags.
That’s what’s missing now. The characters rarely grow or learn anything through the course of an episode. If anything, they do things very out-of-character in order to get another gag in.
In short, the show has lost its soul.
Another thing I just remembered is that occasionally things get just a bit too outlandish in later seasons. Evil muppets and Tellytubbies chasing Homer is appropriate for a Treehouse of Horror, but such a situation does not belong in the regular Simpsons universe.
Going OT:
Would it be terribly unmanly of me to admit that Selma crooning, “You make me feel like a natural wooooman” to Jubjub made me tear up?
Thought so. 