I have a new appreciation for the later seasons of The Simpsons

[ToxicAdam]

Since Fox has no idea what to do with their cable channels, they've been marathoning old Simpsons episodes 5 nights a week. So, I've probably seen more Simpsons in the past 3 weeks than I have in the past 20 years. Since I stopped watching around 1998-ish, that leaves a lot of episodes I've never seen.

So, now when I watch them, I don't sit there and mourn the death of a once great show and get angry. I just wait for the 2 or 3 times it will make me chuckle and appreciate it for doing that. There are still some real shitty episodes (like a Lady Gaga one I saw), but mostly they have been worth the time.

[Cheddahz]

The later seasons make appreciate the brilliance of the earlier seasons even more

I actually got to meet one of the writers that has been on the show since the beginning (Mike Reiss) and I asked him "How the hell do you guys still come up with episode ideas" and his reply was basically "We just come up with shit and make it work"

[Tasty]

I love you Lady Zha Zha!

[Great Rumbler]

I thought for sure this was going to about ToxicAdam watching Family Guy/American Dad/The Cleveland Show for the first time.

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

I thought for sure this was going to about ToxicAdam watching Family Guy/American Dad/The Cleveland Show for the first time.

I predict that The Cleveland Show will eventually become a cult classic.  Not now but maybe in another 10-15 years.  It's a pretty WTF show but I expect that people will start liking the show ironically and then unironically.

[Stoney Mason]

I suppose I can understand that attitude if you take it for what it is. It's still equal to what a lot of television represents.

The problem for me is that its very hard to not constantly compare it to the good stuff from the first 7 or 8 years and be disappointed and then slightly angry. I also think anything that goes on for that long just starts to grate on you after you've seen the same jokes and plotlines recycled dozens of time.

My brother still likes the show after all these years. I can watch it and occasionally there is what I would term a good episode (I mean like maybe 2 in a season if that).

I watched a healthy amount of the later stuff during the fx marathon they had and for me it felt the same as watching some USA marathon of something you kind of like but don't really think is all that good but for some reason you do it anyway. Think Monk for example.

[benjipwns]

The funniest part of The Cleveland Show is that it was supposed to go back to Family Guy's roots of mocking family sitcom stereotypes and in less than a season immediately went off track into Cleveland being an idiot doing crazy things.

Though I came to like episodes that had nothing to do with Rallo and the daughter or the wife. And how David Lynch was their bartender.

As for latter day Simpsons, "Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind" was pretty awesome. "A Totally Fun Thing That Bart Will Never Do Again" amused me as well.

[Stoney Mason]

I watched like the first two episodes of The Cleveland Show. It felt like Amos and Andy to me. So I stopped.

I have no idea if it got better or ever found itself. 

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

I watched like the first two episodes of The Cleveland Show. It felt like Amos and Andy to me. So I stopped.

I have no idea if it got better or ever found itself.

Not really.  It eventually turned into a Family Guy clone, presumably when Seth MacFarlane ran out of ideas for the show, which as benjipwns pointed out was maybe halfway through the first season.

American Dad is the best MacFarlane show, which unsurprisingly is the show where he has the least amount of input.

[benjipwns]

Seth actually wasn't too large of part for The Cleveland Show either, like American Dad he used his power within Fox to get spin-off shows for FG writers/cast. Early American Dad didn't really know what it wanted to do either.

The Cleveland Show wrote itself into a ton of holes from the start especially regarding many of the main characters. American Dad figured out how to write itself out of everything, mostly by ditching the whole Hayley vs. Stan LIEBURAL vs. CONSERVATIVE conflicts premise that dominated the show early on. And it found a way to work with the STEVE IS A DISAPPOINTING SON in more creative ways.

Also making Roger a disastrous alcoholic. And Francine an idiot.

[Stoney Mason]

Yeah, American Dad definitely became worthwhile. I don't think its currently in the greatest shape but it had a good number of years.

I think Roger is emblematic of that show. They had no idea what they were doing with him either but eventually found their way with him by just having no limits with him. And yeah the show changed from some weird post 9/11 piece of comedy to much better and varied comic material.

[Stoney Mason]

For whatever reason, I've gone back and watched a decent amount of simpsons episodes over the last few months.

I watched the first 2 seasons for example which I probably hadn't seen since they first aired. They are really good. I thought maybe they wouldn't hold up, but they are great. The show feels a lot more based on the life in hell feeling of the comic strip. The writing is really smart and the characters haven't become parodies of themselves yet. The show has a heart and center.

When you get to later seasons, the most noticeable aspect is that Homer has degraded all around. Early on he's a typical bumbling father you would see in any family sitcom and the humour is more grounded around that. As it goes on he becomes more distinguished mentally-challenged, more mean, more uncaring, and just a generally unlikable character. None of these observations are new, I know and its like who cares. The show has been on forever so its not like any of it matters. But just something I wanted to mention.

The plotlines for episodes also become so muddled that's it hard to understand what an episode is going for.

This is an episode I watched recently and for the life of me I can't understand what the point of it is.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There%27s_Something_About_Marrying

The town passes gay marriage as a law so they can make money off of it. Patty comes out as a lesbian and gets married. But the person is pretending to be a women and is a man.... Marge points this out at the wedding because of a prominent adam's apple and Patty turns him down after he apologizes for deceiving her and begs her to stay.

The episode is just kind of all over the place and odd. This happens a lot with later season episodes. 

[Himu]

My opinions are colored by old Simpsons. It's impossible for me to watch new Simpsons because it's like going from fine wine to moonshine. I just can't. Whenever I go back to season 1-10, even past the nostalgia, it's something that I still feel is relevant, often smart, and has something to say. I rarely get anything similar from the newer stuff. I mean, I just don't find it funny, but the problems go beyond that as I felt Simpsons was a show that presented its characters with nuance beyond the laughter. So it's not even a "the jokes are bad" position, but more of a "the writing is awful" position. You can argue that it's better or no worse than the other cartoons on air these days like Family Guy or whatever, and aside from Bob's Burgers, Archer seasons 1-3, and American Dad, I'll agree. But I don't think that necessarily makes Simpsons immune nor tolerable. As someone who grew up with The Critic, The Simspons, Dr Katz, and Duckman, I can't watch it. People can call it nostalgia all they want, but it isn't. Those shows had a specific type of humor and characterization that appealed to me. In my adult years I latch on to shows with similar sensibilities.

[Stoney Mason]

There are a few good worthwhile jokes in every episode in later seasons. Its just those episodes don't have the same rewatchability factor to them. When you watch the early seasons, like nearly every episode is great and really funny. But as the you go forward in seasons, the number of great episodes in a season drop every year. I would argue at around season 14 or 15, there are almost no truly great episodes or at most 1 or 2 a season. So you're no longer watching hoping for a great episode, you watch it in the same way you watch Family Guy. Looking for a few good gags. And that's a viable way to watch something. It's just the early seasons are better than that.

[Himu]

I absolutely miss The Critic.

[Positive Touch]

yeah I find the recent seasons can be funny, unlike seasons 11 to whatever, but it's all gags and one-liners. I know tv's moved away from the "moral of the story" plots that were standard decades ago, but I still need a show to be trying to say SOMETHING.

[Purrp Skirrp]

Since Wrath brought it up, South Park was so much better when it had its own storylines intermixed with pop culture references.

The satire and pop culture were always huge elements of the show, but it seems to have lost its focus on creating its own engaging narrative and just became a 30 min exposition of Matt & Trey's thoughts for the week.

Then again, haven't watched it in years really. Season 6 and the movie are some of my favorites and the overall themes will stay timeless and relevant (censorship/concerned parenting) compared to fad commentary.

I think the improvements in their animation technology allowed them to get mentally lazy and output shows too quickly (1 week turnarounds are kind of crazy, but worth it for that funny TV doc).

Even though I don't watch the show anymore, the game was funny and very self-aware, so I'm looking forward to the (non-RPG?) sequel.


Do you know when South Park started going downhill? I haven't watched the Simpsons much, but if I do I know not to venture past Season 9/10 I think?

Also, Futurama? Worth watching or will the science heavy jokes challenge assumptions of my own intelligence? It also switched channels so not sure if the quality took a hit.

[Madrun Badrun]

Futurama is amazing, even if you are dumb.  Its better if you are smart but that true of most things other than NASCAR.

[Purrp Skirrp]

One of my bud's got the whole boxset from his GF one year. I think I'm capable of getting the jokes, he was a poli sci major

[Stoney Mason]

As regards South Park, I'm not a fan of the early years. There was a sweet spot from the movie to around Season 11 that was just exceptional for me.

After that its still entertaining with the great episode mixed in here or there but not quite as great for me. I still think its more true to what its been in its current state than the simpsons currently is.

[Purrp Skirrp]

As regards South Park, I'm not a fan of the early years. There was a sweet spot from the movie to around Season 11 that was just exceptional for me.

After that its still entertaining with the great episode mixed in here or there but not quite as great for me. I still think its more true to what its been in its current state than the simpsons currently is.

The first couple seasons are rough, true. Didn't really like s1 or s2 much. After the movie it starts getting good though, like you said. Looked up s11 and that has the Imagionationland trilogy.

Bunch of friends were on shrooms when that came on and holy shit, they loved it. Thought it was especially aired for them or something, destined to air for their shroom trip.

Also, Matt and Trey going to the Oscars on acid is fucking crazy. I would not keep my composure in that kind of setting, but then again in the footage they look clearly fucked up (6 Days to Air).

[sarslip]

The Simpsons and The Critic have the same number of funny seasons

[Madrun Badrun]

Nah the simpsons has funny seasons. 

[Himu]

South Park went to crap about the time they killed off Chef.

[Madrun Badrun]

nah

[Stoney Mason]

For me its not necessarily that things have to remain at their high water mark. It's A.) if it can occasionally still deliver the goods in great episodes and B.) it doesn't completely betray what the show was about.

South Park isn't as good as it use to be for me, but it doesn't go out there generally and embarrass itself. And this is from someone who didn't really care for the last season at all. 

[Himu]

i still find south park worth watching for the most part, so when I talk about quality decrease in that show, I'm not talking about it the way I talk about the simpsons.