[OC] The Downfall of The Simpsons



[OC] The Downfall of The Simpsons

Posted by thomasbarlow14

12 comments
  1. S4 E18 is the first Simpsons Clip Show, S6 E3 is another Simpsons Clip show and S9 E11 is All Singing All Dancing (clip show). I think people hate clip shows.

  2. Funny how it’s been shit for way longer than it’s been good at this point. The fate of all the long running animated shows.

    The same happened to family guy and bobs burgers.

    The only one I can think of that escaped is American Dad, which has leaned *so hard* into surreal anti-humor that it is an entirely different (amazing) show.

  3. Remarkable consistency during the golden years. Hard to think of another show that consistent over 8 full seasons.

    Crazy in a bad way to think it’s still going. Just why?

  4. I’m guessing that the 4.0 on the finale of season 23 is likely Lisa Goes Gaga.

  5. There’s an excellent Simpsons Mysteries episode about this

    [The “Golden Age” of Simpsons](https://youtu.be/FhwjY_8AvIs?si=J8kRZTNk5uRMjAbV)

    It plays Devil’s Advocate to the idea that Simpsons as a show regressed in the way that the common narrative suggests. There’s a lot of interesting ideas in there, most fascinating to me the idea that the Simpsons became ‘bad’ around the time that the audience started watching and evaluating the show as

    – adults instead of kids
    – a global audience of socially networked users instead of a local audience of friends and families
    – a weekly event instead of syndicated reruns

    And that, perhaps, modern Simpsons isn’t as bad, and classic Simpsons isn’t as good, as we experience them to be. The author ultimately underlines the idea that the show has devolved, but the way there is interesting and bears consideration. I don’t enjoy modern-day Simpsons, but it’s hard to imagine looking kindly on *any* show that I have childhood nostalgia for doing ‘modern’ episodes.

    There’s a fascinating part in the video where he reviews contemporary, early-internet reactions to what are now considered ‘golden age’ episodes, and they mimic today’s reactions to the Simpsons exactly.

  6. Interesting to see, and somewhat unexpected.

    I’ve just finished watching the entire series through, and personally while the show has absolutely gone downhill, the years from roughly season 10-20 were much worse than the years after season 25 or so. 

    We’re nowhere near back to the golden days of seasons 2-9ish, but I’d say they’ve found a new groove where the show has merit again. 

    I’m genuinely a bit surprised that the ratings don’t reflect that, but i suppose that’s just my two cents.

  7. I read that in the first seasons, the worst rated episodes were musicals or clip ones.

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