# Why is the Simpsons still getting progressively worse? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 22, 2003, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-getting-progressively-worse/183597 "2003-06-22T17:52:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Madawc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@Madawc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Madawc)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-getting-progressively-worse/183597/21 "2003-06-23T07:01:01Z")
I agree with **Lobot** that Simpsons lost its soul. I also agree with **Greenphan** that it now is a series of jokes, just like Family Guy (which i detest). Some people like this sort of show, I, however, find it to be that the writers are trying too hard to get a laugh. A Family Guy example is the Kool-Aid man crashing through a wall. It _can_ be funny, but to me it is not. The Simpsons is slowly deteriorating, I still watch it hoping to see a gem. Simpsons is still better than most shows on right now, but again the quality is getting worse. I hope that they can bring some kind of life back into the show. Maybe having shows (like **KidCharlemagne** suggests) based upon other Springfielders would be fresh. There is lots of characters that can have a whole show dedicated to them. Flanderseses, Wiggums, Cletus the slack-jacked yokel, CM Burns, Smithers, VanHoutens, the local police department, a full PowerPlant episode. There are many ideas that can make the Simpsons great again. I just hope the writers clue in and find a way to make things funnier again. I will always be a Simpsons fan, even with the bad episodes. Madawc ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-getting-progressively-worse/183597/22 "2003-06-23T08:07:44Z")
The Simpsons has been a shadow of its former self for years now. Every once in awhile something funny will happen, but its hardly worth sitting through the whole episode. Fox is in a serious slump, and unfortunately The Simpsons is all they have left. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-getting-progressively-worse/183597/23 "2003-06-23T08:27:21Z")
No, you are all wrong. Simpson has the curse of meeting two criteria. 1. It has been damn good. 2. It has been around long enough to fade into memory as legendary. Simpsons has been around for so long that people only remember the best moments, and have long forgotten the pointless shit they have gone through over the years. It’s like Monty Python. Everybody remembers the skits they laughed their ass on over, and have seen in the best of, while forgetting the assinine crap they tried in the flying circus.They only remeber the parts of MP that kicked ass and believe that every thing MP ever did kicked ass. For the last 20 years I have heard that SNL was awesome 10 years ago because of skits X and Y, allowed buy the convienience of memory to forget the inane bullshit that SNL did 10 years ago. And of course star trek 4-6 was so much better than star trek 1-2. Even though the earlier ones had the exact same bad/pointless dialog and predictable plot, with much worse FX. Every body wants to fade into history as the things they want to remember, and critisize the newer without giving it a chance, just like ever parent refusing to try to understand their kids music. Simpons is still popular because it makes people laugh, and people enjoy it, because it is still funny. It might not be the same era as ‘your Simpsons’, but nobody cares about your bitching because it’s still a good, funny show. ---
**Author:** ![NoGoodNamesLeft](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8797f3/32.png) [@NoGoodNamesLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoGoodNamesLeft)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-getting-progressively-worse/183597/24 "2003-06-23T12:31:32Z")
The funny thing is…the writers know it. They reference it all the time…they have for years. Off the top of my head, the ‘True Hollywood Story’ episode where the v/o noted how “episodes became more and more non-sensical” as they cut to a clip of the “Who’s the real Principal Skinner” episode. Previous to that there have been numerous references to how “TV sucks”, or how they keep running clip shows because they are admittedly out of ideas. Fox keeps paying them, so they’ll keep cranking it out until the cash dries up. Simple as that. Speaking of Family Guy, btw… I saw an ep the other day with a similar reference, but I don’t get it. In a dance-number, Stewy mentions “Fox won’t let stop until we’re syndicated…(looks into camera, folds hands in a begging mime) please, please!” Did the creators want out? Anybody know what this was about? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-getting-progressively-worse/183597/25 "2003-06-23T13:59:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by shy guy \* > \*\*that it’s been kept on life support so long while Family Guy and Futurama barely got a chance to gain an audience. \*\* “The Family Guy” was on for three years, “Futurama” for four. Those are pretty good runs for a TV show; they had time to find their audiences. Compare that wth, say, “Police Squad!” which got six episodes and was cancelled. Even some classic series didn’t last much longer than Futurama. “WKRP in Cincinnati” was gone after four seasons, but it’s remembered as a great show and you can still crack people up by taking about the flying turkeys or Les Nessman. “Taxi” only lasted four seasons - again, another classic. “Welcome Back Kotter” was four seasons. ---
**Author:** ![gex\_gex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@gex\_gex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gex_gex)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-getting-progressively-worse/183597/26 "2003-06-23T14:09:16Z")
In one of the directors’ commentaries on the first season DVD, someone (maybe Matt Greoning) mentions that when they began the shows, they carefully developed the Simpsons universe, making rules about how the characters act and move. He mentions that Disney cartoons are very springy, WB’s are very elastic, with everything snapping back and forth, whereas the Simpsons’ universe was very stiff and uncartoonlike. I think this is what the show has lost, both in plot and animation, as in Homer being chased by Teletubbies for the former, and that ridiculous thing the characters have been doing of late, where they tug on their collar and make a nervous noise. It looks incredibly tacked on and cartoony, and seems more WB-y then Simpsons-y. Stuff like that. Not that I don’t watch it religiously. When someone you love is dying a slow death, you stay with them to the end. Then you go their funeral and conduct the post-mortem yourself. And this is where the analogy breaks down. ---
**Author:** ![initech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/439d5e/32.png) [@initech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/initech)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-getting-progressively-worse/183597/27 "2003-06-23T16:03:09Z")
I’ve been reading these discussions for ten years, and there is always one consistency: 1. The show sucks now 2. It used to be great. [snpp.com](http://snpp.com) used to have “reviews” from unqualified Comic Book Guys, written within seconds of a new episode’s first airing. They almost always hated the new episode, wishing Fox would just cancel the show and put it out of its misery. I tried to look up some of the old reviews, but they seem to be gone. Hmm.’ This show will always be cursed by its own legacy. Are the new shows as good as the best of the old ones? Of course not. But the show is still one of the very best TV has to offer. It’s still funny, too. You just have to be willing to laugh. ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-getting-progressively-worse/183597/28 "2003-06-23T16:18:28Z")
I’m not a ‘comic book guy’ and I have been watching the show for the best part of 10 years, I think I am entitled to at least notice a decline in the standards and quality of the episodes. For me I reckon the ‘middle’ seasons of the simpsons in its 12 year period are the best, but it the simpsons seems to be going in that age old cycle of ‘growth, expansion, saturation and eventual decline’ So even if you think the recent episodes are good regardless of what everyone else thinks, it tends to be the opinions of millions of viewers who will make the simpsons classified as ‘cancelled’ ---
**Author:** ![Alphagene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Alphagene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alphagene)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-getting-progressively-worse/183597/29 "2003-06-23T16:55:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ryan\_Liam \* > \*\*it tends to be the opinions of millions of viewers who will make the simpsons classified as ‘cancelled’ \*\* Only if they actually stop watching, which is what is amusing about these threads. If the show’s continued existence offends you because it consistently sucks, then why would you watch it week after week? A show’s not going to be cancelled if large numbers of people are watching it every week. You think Proctor & Gamble is going to stop paying Fox to show commercials during a show that millions of 18-35 year old males with disposable incomes watch every week, simply because a certain percentage of those viewers subsequently complain on the internet how bad the show has become? You have every right as a human being with free will to complain about the quality of the show. But it’s kind of silly to ask “Why hasn’t it been cancelled?” ---
**Author:** ![elf6c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c57346/32.png) [@elf6c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elf6c)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-getting-progressively-worse/183597/30 "2003-06-23T17:17:36Z")
No kidding **Alphagene**. I call it the plague of the Comic Book Guys. This cliche of a thread is restarted once a month like clockwork, with the same posters weighing in with the same basic posts over and over. Here is an idea: Don’t like it-- don’t watch. But the faux-world weary “they should just cancel it” schitck is the only thing which is really getting tired. Especially seeing most of them seem to be well up to date with each new episode. Although watching the show’s writers accurately lampoon them constantly must just drive them crazy: Examples: Comic Book Guy: Last night’s “Itchy & Scratchy” was, without a doubt, the worst episode ever. Rest assured that I was on the Internet within minutes, registering my disgust throughout the world. [Comic Book visits a dating service and grabs all the one-nighter presentation videotapes] Clerk: Are you going to call all those women? Comic Book Guy: No, the tapes will do just fine. and the ever popular: Comic Book Guy: Yes, I would like to return your quote-unquote _ultimate_ belt. Clerk: I see. Do you a receipt, quote-unquote sir? Comic Book Guy: No, I do not have a receipt. I won it as a door prize at a Star Trek convention, although I find their choice of prize highly illogical, as the average Trekker has no need of a medium-size belt. Clerk: Wow, a fat sarcastic Star Trek fan. You must be a devil with the ladies… gee, I hate to let you down, Casanova, but no receipt, no return. Bart: I’ll give you four bucks for it. Comic Book Guy: Very well. I must get back to my comic book store, where I dispense the insults rather than receive them. \*\*\* Is the ratio of gems to stinker higher now then in the past, maybe. Try canceling it with your remote. Yeesh. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![ElwoodCuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/edb3f5/32.png) [@ElwoodCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElwoodCuse)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-getting-progressively-worse/183597/31 "2003-06-23T21:15:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GMRyujin \* > \*\*I think The Simpsons came on before the patented Fox Scheduling Tango all the great shows they put on get put through. \*\* Not quite. They did switch it to Thursdays to go up against the Cosby Show. It of course failed and they got bumped back to Sundays, but at least we got Doctor Hibbert out of the deal. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-getting-progressively-worse/183597/32 "2003-06-23T22:34:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lobot \* > **Take an episode like “Selma’s Choice,” where Selma takes the kids to Duff Gardens…This character arc supports the whole episode, and it gives it some substance rather than just being a series of gags.** Just for illustration, some quotes from [CBG Usenet reviews](http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&threadm=1993Jan22.203521.16482%40udel.edu&rnum=3&prev=/groups%3Fhl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3Dutf-8%26q%3DSelma%27s%2BChoice%26sa%3DN%26tab%3Dwg) at the time of first airing: > [@](#): > > I thought the episode was just a grab bag of gags, it did make me laugh, but from a structural analysis it was worse than others I saw. > [@](#): > > I never said I didn’t _laugh_, or that it wasn’t a funny episode; I said that as an episode, a half hour story with plot, it was bad. ---
**Author:** ![Lobot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@Lobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobot)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-getting-progressively-worse/183597/33 "2003-06-24T01:12:41Z")
I am certainly _not_ one of those hyperbolic geeks who takes some kind of cynical pride in nitpicking something he loves to death. At its peak, I would lap-up every episode that came along. It’s not in retrospect that these episodes seem great to me, because I knew they were great even then. And just when I was starting to wonder if maybe I was just overanalysing things and skewing my own perception of later shows, along came Futurama, which proved to me that I wasn’t going crazy and that I _could_ still enjoy new Simpsons-style humour when it presented itself. There was the odd crap episode in the best seasons (such as the George Bush ep), but they were the exception. Lately I’m surprised when a new episode actually moves me like the old ones used to. Maybe it’s just a matter of taste, but you can’t deny that the show has altered its approach from when the classic episodes were made. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-getting-progressively-worse/183597/34 "2003-06-24T01:26:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by occ \* > \*\*The quality hasn’t gotten worse. People are just getting tired of the humor. \*\* I used to watch it every week, but I gave up on it around the mid-point of season 7. I figured that it was my own sense of humor that changed (I was 18 then) coupled with less time for/access to TV while I was in college. I stopped watching a lot of shows my Freshman year because we only had one TV in the building pre-cable that got decent reception, and what was watched was voted on; fortunately we got the long promised cable connections in the dorm rooms the following year. I never really went back to it, because the re-runs I’ve seen since of the seasons I missed aren’t nearly as funny as the ones I remember from childhood. It makes me wonder if the “people” who no longer find it as funny have also just out-grown it. Is it different for fans who were adults back when it began? I do, however, watch the tree house of horror episodes every year- I can’t pass up a halloween anything 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lobot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@Lobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobot)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-getting-progressively-worse/183597/35 "2003-06-24T01:33:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elfkin477 \* > **It makes me wonder if the “people” who no longer find it as funny have also just out-grown it.** Well, like I said, Futurama is very similar to the earlier seasons of The Simpsons, and it’s consistently knocked my socks off. In fact, it reminded me of what was missing from later Simpsons episodes. FWIW, I was 12 when I saw my first episode of The Simpsons, and in a few days I’ll be 25. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-getting-progressively-worse/183597/36 "2003-06-24T04:27:32Z")
I remember people complaining during the second or third season. I think the complaint back then was that Homer was getting too stupid. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-getting-progressively-worse/183597/37 "2003-06-24T04:34:01Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by **Ryan\_Liam** _ > I just can’t wait for the anticipated movie :rollseyes: Yeah! A movie would be awesome, I just know that they’ll get some… uhm. Guys with… Oh. You were being sarcastic. Now I don’t know what to believe. And, honestly, this season was, on the whole, better than last season. That’s not saying much, but they are at least rowing against the current as they freefall over the edge. ---
**Author:** ![MrSarcasticus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b487fb/32.png) [@MrSarcasticus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrSarcasticus)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-getting-progressively-worse/183597/38 "2003-06-24T04:51:01Z")
It started to go downhill about Season 8. It became a blinding black hole of godawful suck at Season 11. Since then, it’s gotten somewhat better, but the magic is gone. FAMILY GUY was getting very good when the Simpsons was completely sucking ass, and I jumped the boat. I have no regrets. ---
**Author:** ![Cynical\_Rants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d26b3c/32.png) [@Cynical\_Rants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cynical_Rants)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-getting-progressively-worse/183597/39 "2003-06-24T06:16:32Z")
From what I’ve heard (I may be wrong) Matt Groeing is just sick of it all. Futurama was his new project, and apparently he was quite happy with it, while still maintaining time to work on The Simpsons. When FOX cancelled Futurama Groeing became quite irritated and supposedly didn’t want to put forth any more effort into The Simpsons. Yes, this sounds a little extreme to me, however I’ve heard it brought up time and time again, so I thought I’d just throw it in. And by the way, I found Family Guy to be extremely hilarious, despite it’s ridiculous plotlines, jokes etc. I suppose that was just part of it all. Anyways, yeah, take what I said about Groeing for what it’s worth, I’m only going by what I heard. ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-getting-progressively-worse/183597/40 "2003-06-24T07:04:09Z")
What amazes me is the people who feel compelled to post in a thread titled “Why is the Simpsons still getting progressively worse?”, _just_ to tell us that we are delusional/stupid/bitter/hyper-critical for thinking the Simpsons isn’t as good as it used to be.:rolleyes: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-getting-progressively-worse/183597.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-simpsons-still-getting-progressively-worse/183597.md?page=3)