Whatever happened to the Simpsons?

[the Interceptor]

Whatever happened to the Simpsons?

I know I may be late for the party, but I'd like to evaluate this question in depth. As there are a lot of fans of „the Simpsons“ out there and in here, I'd like to do just that in conjunction with you guys. So here's the deal...

I love the Simpsons. I pretty much was a fan since the first airings on German TV in the beginnings of the '90s. Over the years, I have always been a very loyal, yet not fanatic follower of the show. Whenever I spotted the yellow characters on the screen, I stopped hopping channels and enjoyed half an hour of excellent comedy. Already in the mids of the '90s, the Simpsons became an important part of the German commercial broadcaster Pro7, and their relationship has been in flower up to today.
For the last years, the Pro7 schedule was made of reruns on weekdays, and newer episodes on weekends. And while I've been following the airings on weekdays quite closely even if I had seen an episode multiple times, I rarely ever watched the new episodes on the weekends. I didn't really notice this at first, but at some point, it occured to me that there is something strange about the newer episodes. I noticed that they were ... different. But I never really dug deeper...

So why now? Well, years have passed, and Pro7 has reached a point where the reruns on weekdays are the new episodes of before. And while I don't have the time to follow the daily airings of the show as closely anymore, it still has become blatantly obvious that something is terribly wrong here. Being a fan of the show for such a long time, it quickly became obvious what it is: the nature of the show has changed. Jokes have changed. Characters have changed. Storylines have changed. And even though I hate to, I must say it: the Simpsons are no fun anymore!

The thing is that I don't know why it is. And that's why you are reading these very lines. I did browse the net for more information, but despite finding loads in fansites with loads of info on the show, I hardly found anything about what went wrong. My take on the story is that it's a different set of guys that took responsibility for the show after series 12, and for some reason, they took it away from the original idea. Also, I found out that Matt Groening dropped out of the production crew at some point. Yet, I was not able to find out when that happened.

But is that really it? And why did they do it? Did they think the Simpsons had to move on after all those years? Were they unhappy on the way the show worked? And why did Matt Groening leave? I don't know...

Do you?

 

[buickgnx88]

I'm not sure as to the whole story behind the scenes, but I too have stopped enjoying the new episodes. They just...don't feel right.

Recently I've been watching all the episodes from seasons 3-9 online. Most of them are hilarious and have plenty of laughs all the way through, while at the same time having actual emotion (which is one thing the new seasons have been lacking). Also in the older seasons, Homer works only at the nuclear power plant, with an occasional job somewhere else. But in the newer seasons it seems that every episode with him, he's doing some different job that isn't at the power plant.

There's just so many things different between then and now that I don't like, one of which is how they try to have a guest star in almost every episode as themselves, and not a regular character as in the past seasons. They also have some sort of montage in every episode and just too much over-the-top comedy similar to that of Family Guy.

Overall though, I do agree that they have changed and I would much rather stick with watching the first 10-11 seasons.

 

[Touring Mars]

Some of the reviews I read on Amazon for Season 10 had something to say about how and when The Simpsons hit the skids... It seems that Season 11 is generally considered to be the beginning of the end. Certainly, anything newer than that seems 'different'... characters are shallower, storylines more contrived, heavier dependence on peripheral characters or guest stars etc. One reviewer said that he felt that the Simpsons became more "cartoon" after Season 10, and I personally feel that the principal characters were already becoming caricatures (even parodies) of themselves already by Season 9... I have added Season 10 to my wishlist, though, but I reckon it might be my last purchase in the series... I recently saw some of Season 14 (I think) and found them horribly unfunny, and similarly don't enjoy newer episodes when I get to see them at my parents' place...

The simple fact is, like any classic series, they just can't recapture the magic no matter what they do from now on - hence the golden days of The Simpsons will probably remain their high water mark for all eternity...

 

[the Interceptor]

I agree it's very hard to pinpoint the exact series when the show went downhill, since it has been a flowing process. Watching any episode from series 14 onwards is just terribly painful to be honest. All characters, and especially the Simpsons themselves, have turned evil. All their interactions have reduced to doing things and cracking jokes to their own advantages. I have a very hard time still recognizing them anymore, and that really hurts.

 

[PeterJB]

Seasons 5-10 were the golden days of The Simpsons.

The simple fact is that after 18 years or so, Matt Groening has finally started running out of ideas. He's covered nearly every possible scenario in all the Episodes that have been made, and the inspiration for good jokes has gone.

Nowadays most Episodes either involve Homer getting a new job or him nearly destroying his Marriage to Marge time-and-time again. And they try too hard with the jokes and it just stops them being funny.

Matt Groening should stop writing Episodes now instead of slowly destroying the little credibility he has left. Most Sitcoms don't last as long as this anyway.

 

[the Interceptor]

Honestly, I have doubts that that's the problem. I do agree that it's almost impossible to come up with fresh plots for so many years. But the plots alone are not the actual problem. The interactions between the Simpsons characters have changed, and they changed majorly.

Also, the types of jokes happening on the show have changed. All the time, I see people on the show doing things I wouldn't expect them to do in a Simpsons episode. It's all so odd that I have a hard time getting through the episodes.

To me, it feels like someone else took over the show and pushed it into the direction he or she thinks it should go. I just can't find out who and why.

 

[Touring Mars]

This is an interesting read...

 

[the Interceptor]

This is an interesting read...

... indeed. Although it is five years old, it gives an interesting insight of what's going on behind the scenes. 👍

What I still don't know is: is Groening even still involved in making the show?

 

[Touring Mars]

British TV has maintained a steady flow of Simpsons episodes, courtesy of Channel 4 in recent years. They have now got round to showing Season 11, and for the first time ever, I can honestly say I'd rather be watching the news. The current episode, "Eight Misbehavin'" ranks as one of the worst, if not the worst episodes I've ever seen. Unfunny rubbish

 

[Ibonibo]

i had the same thing (also watch about 80% of my simpsons on Pro7).
And i think it has 3 sides:

the first one is simple it's called oversaturation and nostaligia.
I stopped watching the S. during months and watched Family Guy, amer. dad, king of the hill, and so instead. And for the beginning it was fun, but they are to "finger in the eye" humor. So after months i returned to the S. and watched the new aired s. over the net (season 21), and there it was again. Subtle humor for adults and childs alike, a hillarious Homer,...
Don't forget, we watched it for more than a decade so it's normal it becomes boring-"er" after a time

The second is more complex and i think it's the point you pointing at:
They lost their sense of humor somewhere inbetween. Their are episode which are not as funny as they could be. But i think this is only a minority of episodes... maybe the humor was put in futurama . Season 21 had some really funny moments (Homer as helicopter = Black hawk down, i laught so hard at that one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qD3-fu-OazY, or this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9wdn0tQiPQ&feature=related)

the third one is evolution:
Since the 80's or 90's our socity has changed a lot. You have changed, 10 years of your evolution has put it's stamps on us (i was a child when watching the Simpsons, now i'm an adult, different referential)
The shows like Fam. Guy are messing with our brains, because often the humor is very direct and sometimes even "mean"(in german: krass) or insulting. And this could easily spoil the humor of the S. as it is a lot more subtle and need maybe some knowledge to understand (the political jokes in the simpsons are hillarious but not as easy to pick up as in Amer. Dad) whereas the jokes in Am. Dad even an illitterate can laugh.
gay theme: Simpsons : Homer thinks his Bart is gay and try to rectifie him. meanest joke (out of the head so i might be wrong) was the Zapp thing
Where as family guy: peter breaks up with Family and has a 10-way (sort of)
I call it "finger in the eye" humor.

As of now, i reenjoy the Simpsons, but maybe less than before.
And even if i "bashed" the Mc farlane (??right??) recreations of family typos, i like his series and laugh my ass also off. But i don't think it's humor appropriated for kids (pro7 shows it saturdays at noon)

best to the end: 58 hurts for Homer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDLvzLQdXW8&feature=related

 

[niky]

Saturation... and probably the fact that after several seasons of any show, there really isn't much left to say or do that hasn't been done already.

 

[Robin]

I'm pretty much reiterating what has been said here,

I loved the 90's Simpsons and I watched it religiously every night for years and years. But in the last 5 years or so the episodes got really poor and some were downright off putting and I would change channel, now I dont even watch the show.

The original had proper meaningful storylines and felt really long to watch each episode (a good thing), the recent ones make no sense going from one offbeat 'sketch' to another.

The movie was a good effort and I think if they condense all their ideas into just movies then they will have enough material to make it substancial, I think the 2nd one is already in the pipe line. They should just really quit making the series.

You have to know when to leave the party. I'm suprised the networks still fund it, I guess it still has a huge audience.

Robin.

 

[astrosdude91]

I think that the best years are seasons 3-11. After that, it's just not the same. But I'll admit, I still get a few laughs out of the newer seasons, but not near as many as those peak seasons. The source of the problem might be writer changes or producer changes. All and all though, in my opinion, it's still better than that mess you people call "Family Guy."

 

[DK]

I think that the 90's was the Simpsons' golden age. South Park is able to keep going because it only takes 6 days to make each episode, so it's able to draw inspiration from current events. That keeps it from being stale and getting the axe. The Simpsons nowadays over-rely on celebrity guests. It's only a matter of time before the viewers start switching off.

 

[Max Powers]

I think the Simpsons season 4 is probably the greatest season of any show ever IMO.

Anything from the beginning to around season 9 is just great, they slowly begin to decline from there until about 11. After that, the show just became unrecognizable to me.

I guess the show just lost its feeling to me. They will never make episodes with the emotion that they did in the better years. A great example is the episode "Mother Simpson" where Homer reunites with his mom for the first time. I know it's a cartoon, but the ending of that episode where his mother has to leave him, and Homer is sitting on the hood of his car all night looking up at the stars as the credits roll brings me to tears every time. It's actually a hilarious episode as well and is in no way sappy. The only time I want to be brought to tears when I watch the new episodes is when I see them beating my favorite show to death year in and year out.

Homer gets a new job every episode now it seems, or they give another stupid unnecessary back story to a character like Milhouse (I think I saw one where he's from Italy now????) or the simpsons take a wacky vacation to who knows where. Celeb guest appearances also never used to feature the actual celebrity playing themselves, but instead doing a voiceover for a real Springfieldian, whereas now they play themselves in almost every episode. They're out of ideas and the writers don't really care about the product they're putting out anymore. It will always sell because it's the Simpsons. I wish they would have changed the opening credits about 10 years ago as well, around season 12, so I could know whether or not to watch it. It would save me from seeing Bart move in with Tony Hawk or something again.



It could have gone down as one of the greatest shows ever if they just called it quits when they were ahead, but they have dragged it out so long that it has just become another cheap Family Guy clone with none of the charm of the old show.

I'll go back to watching Homer pranking the dean, Mr. Burns bringing in his ringers for the company softball team, or Homer going into space, and enjoy what could have gone down as the greatest show of all time.

 

[Northstar]

I think the main issue with the newer episodes is that they are trying to stay fresh and edgy and while this is good for a few laughs is doesn't make for good TV like the older episodes do. I have also noticed a growing amount of Family Guy style humor sneaking into newer episodes(there have even been a few Family Guy style cut scenes). The Simpsons have never been about mocking current events and making political statements which is why the old episodes are so timeless and the new ones aren't.

 

[niky]

I guess the show just lost its feeling to me. They will never make episodes with the emotion that they did in the better years. A great example is the episode "Mother Simpson" where Homer reunites with his mom for the first time. I know it's a cartoon, but the ending of that episode where his mother has to leave him, and Homer is sitting on the hood of his car all night looking up at the stars as the credits roll brings me to tears every time. It's actually a hilarious episode as well and is in no way sappy. The only time I want to be brought to tears when I watch the new episodes is when I see them beating my favorite show to death year in and year out.

It's not till I read this that it hit home why the old episodes are so good. There's a connection there... the Simpsons were people back then... not just a cartoon.

Hmmm... one of the highpoints of the Simpsons for me was "Selma's Choice" (Season 4). Funny episode... and the ending was really satisfying... both tender and hilariously funny at the same time.

It's that quality of storytelling that seems to be missing from new episodes. There's no emotional connection with the characters, anymore.

 

[astrosdude91]

There is hope for us all! It's called DVD's!

I have a few seasons on DVD. So I can relive all the good moments.

I'll add to the discussion some more. Does anyone like the first few seasons. I don't. They're almost painful to watch. The animation is crude and the writing and humor wasn't there yet.

 

[Joel]

There is hope for us all! It's called DVD's!

I have a few seasons on DVD. So I can relive all the good moments.

I'll add to the discussion some more. Does anyone like the first few seasons. I don't. They're almost painful to watch. The animation is crude and the writing and humor wasn't there yet.

I agree completely. I have seasons 1 and 2 on DVD, and they're not great. Towards the end of season 2 it starts to improve, but I think season 3-4 is the turning point to being the great show we all remember.

 

[Max Powers]

Season 1 had its charms, but it was incredibly rough around the edges. I actually liked season 2 a lot and felt that was where the show begin to come into its own. You've got the one where Homer gets a promotion and his own Secretary, Karl, after scamming his med insurance for a new head of hair. Dancin' Homer and the Capital City Goofball, Dr. Nick being his usual crooked self in the one where Mr. Burns hits Bart w/ his car. It's even got Uncle Herb and Homer's awesome car that brought Powell Motors down. Looking back, I thought season 2 was great.

I'd watch seasons 1 and 2 over anything post season 12 or so any day.

 

[astrosdude91]

It's even got Uncle Herb and Homer's awesome car that brought Powell Motors down.

Oh yeah, I love that episode. I even have a model of that car that I built myself (though I cheated and used tape for the stuff that wouldn't stay on):

 

[Northstar]

I used to have that model as well.

 

[TB]

Does yours have authentic rack and peanut steering?

And I agree with most of the comments above. Watching The Simpsons wasn't an option in the early 90's. You just did it. Then, like some, around season 10 I started to taper off. If I caught an episode, great, but I didn't go out of my way to do so. Now I don't think I've seen more than a handful of episodes in the last 6 years.

 

[the Interceptor]

Wow - only two years later and my thread is back!

Obviously, I meanwhile have had more insight into the matter and now can finally say what I find disturbing on the later seasons of the yellow bunch: everything has changed.

The stories have changed - in the past, there would be a clearly laid-out storyline, well-paced and easy to follow. Sometimes, they would sacrifice the first couple of minutes to use a completely different storyline to pave the way to the actual story. That however was so cleverly done that it was even more fun to watch.
Nowadays, the storyline merely is an aid to bring the family from one gag to the next one. I often find myself confused by what is going on, not understanding why certain things happen. And that's not because I'm stupid, but because the story often doesn't follow an understandable chain of events anymore. The concept of "a story" was sacrificed for "being a funny show", which -partly for this exact reason- it isn't anymore.

The characters have changed - let's talk about Homer. He's dumb and often does pretty stupid things - no news there. However ... in the past, he often had moments of clarity where he would come around and "repair" the things he broke before. Also, while doing weird stuff, he generally had a good soul.
Today, he's just become mean. He still does things in his own favor, but he abandoned every whiff of modesty. Granted, he never was very modest, but he noticed that there are limits to what one should do in the past. Now, he just does everything he wants if he gains an advantage through it. And this has been adapted to pretty much every character.

The humor has changed - in the past, the Simpsons were able to be very simple as well as very smart when it comes to humor. Slapstick gags were well balanced by clever self-references and little things you'd probably miss the first few runs of an episode.
Today, the humor of the show is mainly based on cheap gags about current happenings and doing each other harm. In that way, it has somewhat become like Family Guy. I do like Family Guy, but it's a totally different show. One can not adapt the Simpsons to that.

To sum it up, I can safely say that the Simpsons has changed to the worse on so many levels that I was actively driven away from it. On the surface it doesn't even seem that bad, but if you know the show really well and have absorbed the life in Springfield, all those changes sum up to a huge pile of you know what. Almost everything which once made this show great is gone, and what is left is something feeding itself on the show's former glory. I still enjoy the earlier seasons very much until today, and I can only hope -given that they will never return to earlier caliber- that the Simpsons will one day be able to rest in peace.