The Fall of The Simpsons: How it Happened
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- Опубліковано 11 сер 2017
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Ortved, John (2009). The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History. Greystone Books
Levine, Ken (2011-08-05). "How we got our first Simpsons assignment". By Ken Levine. Retrieved 2011-08-13.
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‘90s homer was ignorant, 2010’s homer is just stupid. That one sentence sums up the writing of modern simpsons
Nah he was always idiotic, they just made him self aware
I would describe him as a rip-off peter griffin
@@plumcakey
If anything it's the other way around lol
@@disgruntledcommenter yes and no, the new homer simpson it's not homer simpson it's a discount peter griffing
And the 80s era was dope to yeah the 2020s is dead
90s Simpsons: *character goes through trauma or depression*
2010s Simpsons: *Marge makes a Facebook page (Christmas special)*
2020s Simpsons: wait, fuck
2030s: the fall of reality.
Any chance that's a money thing? Is Facebook paying to have their name mentioned, or is Facebook somehow associated with the Simpsons TV show somewhere in the web of pop IP ownership?
Ya no doubt
you forgot
homer gets fired
something about moe
future episodes
more facebook
iphone
The Simpsons is one of the only shows to make me nearly cry. The older homer of being poor and trying his hardest to bring a good life hit so hard for me because that's how my dad was in the beginning. The episode that made me nearly cry was the one with Bart and Lisa asking why there wasn't any pictures of Maggie up then showing the wall of her pictures at homers work with "DO FOR HER" up. That episode will always be my favorite.
Yeah, that shows why people loved it at the beginning: because despite all the wacky comedy, the plots and characters were relatable and down-to-earth and had soul to them that made you actually acre about them. Nowadays it's more and more the Family Guy style of humor where the characters are flat and lifeless and just serve als plot devices for the lame jokes.
@@torstenscholz6243 Wasn't the Simpsons always Whacky like the time Homer went it to space there was nothing grounded about that. Not every Classic season was season 2
@@debater452 no old simpsons had drama, romance and stuff that made characters feel relatable and alive.
@@flowrepins6663 modern simpsons also has these kinds of episodes and old simpsons had just as if not more whacly episodes then down to earth ones
@@debater452 gotta give old simpsons credit for.its creatitivy being one of the first if not fitst cartoon based on a family and a town with all stylish yellow characters design. that in 80s and 90s was very unique and inovative. but now ... not so much. the creator did futurama also but would expect he stopped being creative at old age, show should have stopped long time ago. mike judge still making beavis n buthead but he didnt do it non stop, when he does the show he does it properly.
Really interesting how the "Skinner looking out the window" joke works and escalates almost exactly like the street cleaner joke you broke down. (1. Funny description of overbearing mother (2. Oh hey, she's an omniscient being who lives in a creepy house overlooking the school (3. Skinner can hear her talking to him somehow (4. She's telling him to wear a sailor suit, and that is upsetting to him (5. Marge and Lisa are STILL in the room, and are incredibly uncomfortable
The domineering old woman living in a decaying house with her timid and stifled adult son is also a reference to the Alfred Hitchcock movie "Psycho", so the joke works on that level as well. This would have been much more obvious to the late 80s-early 90s audience, as it was a very common movie for media to reference at the time. Even if you hadn't seen the original, you were still pretty well primed to recognise the tropes. And now, seeing as I can do all that and am now horribly aware of how long its been since I last saw a "Psycho" reference in anything at all, I feel incredibly old.
That joke just makes me laugh every time. God I LOVE old simpsons.
Whenever my family is referring to a unhealthy mother-son relationship, I will just randomly say “Mother that sailor suit doesn’t fit anymore!” and my family gets it.
@@ruthjewell560 Yup, definitely a Psycho reference, the house also looks exactly like the house form Psycho as well.
I'm amazed they have never done a Tree House of Horror spoof of Psycho with Skinner yet.
The craziest part is that Homer doesn't even look that fat to me anymore.
The Uncharted Artist dad bod
Bc now his size is average lmao
I think they made him thinner?
@Richard’s Testicle Head Annoyingly sexy. like the aunt who does not understand that her best days are gone.
that only means one thing, you've gained even more weight.
Remember kids: doing something ironically is a gateway drug to doing it unironically.
Ender's Game has a good line one this:
"Spend enough time pretending to be a certain person and eventually you become that person."
@Nero Wynn Story of my life.
@@MrPopadopoulis Also would have accepted, "Wear the mask for long enough and the wearer will no longer remember that they're wearing it".
@Nero Wynn High five!
@@RockBarnRecords difference is thats a good thing
The scariest part of this is, 5 years later, they're still shambling out episodes. There is no soul left
Not really the most reasent Season was actually quite solid
@@debater452 That's quite good to hear. Because it tried watching the newer stuff on Disney+ and I couldn't ge through any of it.
@@SleepyHeather Yeah their doing more experimental episodes and swiching things up
@@debater452 Everytime I want to watvh the newer Episodes, I don't know where to start.
From what point do they start getting better?
Lol
The Simpsons went from mocking and satirizing pop-culture and celebrities, to flat out worshipping them, which is a sad transformation. If Lisa Goes Gaga was made in the 1990s, The Simpsons would be making fun of Lady Gaga and satirizing her during her guest appearance, and they wouldn't worship her like she is God.
Modern Simpsons is legitimately something that classic Simpsons would make fun of.
True
That one episode where they kiss elons ass was another garbage episode
Tru, i also think it's cuz even back towards the beginning with episodes like Homer At The Bat and Flaming Moe's and The Simpsons being new compared to many of the celebrities they recruited it was never like The Simpsons needed them.. they were having fun with it and bringing in people who had been celebrities for years whereas since the turn of the millennium they're more on some flavor of the week shit...I'll never forget seeing 50 Cent in the Simpsons i couldn't stop shaking my head and thinkin "this is why I don't watch the Simpsons anymore" well one of the many reasons actually.. Futurama also played a part for me cuz it was so much better than the Simpsons at the time and in some ways Futurama i actually love better than even prime Simpsons(which is season 1-9 for me though 10 was pretty good and 11&12 we're ok but after that it was over for me)..I'm curious if Futurama played any role in the quality of The Simpsons dipping since they pretty much overlap..I'm yapping but yeah i agree with u
I think my (then) 11 year old son said it best, 'the Simpsons used to be definitive, now it's derivative'...
@@andygarside2418 So true
This is a "Die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villian" situation
You glad Bojack Horseman, King of the Hill, Futurama, Regular Show etc. ended and knew when to stop and become legends than become shambling soulless zombified corpses like Simpsons, Spongebob and Family Guy?
@@Johnlindsey289 yes
They wanted to milk the franchise which is sad
@@Johnlindsey289 SpongeBob is still on
@@nemomukerji
i know, it's sad it's still on and so is Family Guy when they should had also ended long time ago
The Simpsons already did it actually, that's pretty damn funny.
In Episode 7 of Season 5, 'Bart's Inner Child' this same thing happens to Bart.
Lisa summarizes the situation for him thusly:
Bart: "Lis, everyone in town is acting like me. So why does it suck?"
Lisa: "It's simple, Bart: you've defined yourself as a rebel, and in the absence of a repressive milieu your societal nature's been co-opted."
It could have been if more people gave it a thumbsup.
addishat I urge you to repent in the name of Yahushua, Jesus Christ the use of foul language can cause others to fall away from the word of God Yahuah. Don't be in danger of hell fire find salvation and seek Elohim God and Yahushua Jesus Christ, and have eternal life in the Kingdom of Elohim God.
Colossians 3:8 - But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
Ephesians 4:29 - Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
Ephesians 5:4 - Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thank
I don't know if you are some sort of spambot or earnest.
But I don't really appreciate getting a whole bible spiel dumped on me out of nowhere.
Either have a conversation about it, if you really want to have the discussion, or respect peoples autonomy in their matters of faith.
Personally, I don't believe in the existence of God, having considered the matter carefully, or that using some words the honestly convey meaning is harmful unless such harm is implicit in the context of the relationship in question. (such as a white person using the n word in a conversation with a black person)
As such, I will continue to use the words I see fit to describe my thoughts and feelings.
I will continue to be kind and respectful to other people, because that is what I feel is morally right.
I will not repent or acknowledge a god I don't believe exists because someone dumps a copy pasted blurb on me, and the expectation that I would is, frankly, rather rude.
Super Eyepatch Wolf needs to make this the pinned comment
you wrote so much at a bot lol
The great thing about the early Simpsons, was that as a child I laughed at certain jokes but as I grew older I understood others. It really did appeal to everyone.
We always said how it was funny on many levels...
The "Guy Incognito" joke, where Homer is kicked out of a bar, then wears a disguise to get back into the bar, but then it turns out it was actually a doppelganger look-alike of Homer, but then it turns out the real Homer makes the incredible discovery of meeting his exact double, but then doesn't give a shit because a cute dog passes by - is the BEST example of the "escalating" multi-part joke that was a staple of classic Simpsons
No, I think the best example is when Waylon Smithers needs to find an incompetent replacement for him for Mr. Burns while he's on vacation but since he's jealous he searches the database for "incompetent" and gets 742 results, then he searches a bunch of "stupid" adjectives and synonyms and still gets 742 and finally says "Ah nuts to this, I'll just get Homer Simpson". That typified what you're describing.
The fact Bart Sells His Soul was used in British religious education to effectively explain the concept of a soul tells you how special this show used to be.
Lisa's words at the end of the episode are really beautiful. "But you know, Bart, some philosophers believe that nobody is born with a soul - that you have to earn one through suffering and thought and prayer, like you did last night."
Lol what? No it wasn't. We were taught with normal religion textbooks, not a bloody simpsons episode. What gave you the idea that we used the simpsons to teach religion in the UK? What has that episode actually got to do with, say, Hinduism, or Islam, or Buddhism, or any of the other religions we were taught about? Nothing at all, is the answer. The depiction of what a soul is in that episode doesn't teach anything about what any religion says about a soul.
What did you think, that we'd do our R.E. GSCE exams and be able to answer questions by referencing the simpsons? We learned about religions, in R.E. We didn't learn about cartoons.
@@duffman18 I did my religious education in the 60s in England and every section was based on an episode of the Simpsons!
In other words, given that the UK does not have a single-syllabus approach to RE - or any other subject - the fact that you were not taught in that way is no more evidence about what really happened than what the OP claims.
I legit remember watching the episode in high school XD
It's still used in British RE lessons.
They have a word for this: "Flanderization", named after the Simpsons character Ned Flanders who starts off as a genuine character and gradually becomes a parody of himself.
Yeah he used to be the "straight man" to Homer's "funny man" but now every character is just a joke. The first few seasons will always be the best in my opinion.
I know it's sad for someone becoming into an exaggerated version of themselves for no exact reason, but this term shouldn't be named after Ned because Ned changed for a reason. Ned was an average normal christian until his wife got shot by a t-shirt cannon and died. That traumatized him and turned him into an insane religious weirdo.
@@anothermediocreuser6422 I don't think he changed for his wife. There is a flashback episode around season 20 or so when is having his honeymoon with Maude or something and still he is portrayed so horribly. The current writers just don't get the characters...
Not only Ned's flanderization frustrates the hell out of me, but also Lisa's, Homer's and Skinner's.
@@caminanteesteparia2286 The canon of the simpsons is broken. As the video said, new simpsons and old simpsons are not the same. There is also another reason of why the canon broke. The time travelling toaster that brought Homer to the dino age might broke it because Homer does some things accidentally and after that, his family act different. The different canons of the show might occur that. But those canons are from the old show. The new show has a different canon/s because of the new staff. Also, it might make sense because maybe his "flashbacks" aren't actually his flashbacks and his memory is fucked up after the accident.
ned was not that religious early on..he was just a more wealthy positive nice guy with some faith and yet somehow he got turned into the overly religious guy
Mother Simpson ending was and still one of the most beautiful yet tear-jerking moments on the show, the whole episode was brilliant, shedding light on Homer's uprising and current character - back then - and how he had to lose her again "At least this time I'm awake for your goodbye"....one of the best, yet saddest lines ever.
And then show managed to destroy that moment profoundly in the penultimate episode of season 19, which is another testimony of Zombie Simpsons era.
You just mentioned the reason why I rage-quit the show that moment and wish it stopped after S9.
Flanderization is actually one of the worst proponents to what happened to the characters of the show.
Because so many characters were introduced, all of them needed to be distinct. This need for uniqueness is a mandatory thing as why have two characters that essentially do the same thing? Unfortunately it also meant that writers had to focus on a smaller and smaller pool of traits. in order to grant that uniqueness. This ultimately ends in the stripping of one or more character traits from a relatable character until they become a caricature.
The fact that a term so widely used is named after a character from this show just illustrates how impactful its decline is even further.
Such as Henry from Thomas and friends
Ooh, I never thought about that as a possible reason for Flanderization, very interesting! There must be other reasons why this happens though, as I've seen it happen is shows without a huge amount of characters.
The trouble is "Jerk-Ass" Homer is Peter Griffin. I don't think they were meant to be similar characters, but Homer ended up turning that way in later episodes.
Season 1 to 4 Peter or Current Peter?
Yeah and the Pathetic thing is, Family guy takes the Piss out of The Simpsons for not being Funny anymore while Copying it.
Seriously the "Jokes" and the delivery in Family Guy is *Identical* to The Simpsons. The 'characters' even talk in the EXACT same Unrealistic, Unfunny way.
@@cagefreeowl843 What even is "current Peter?" Honestly I loved Family Guy up to and including the 4th season (I even bought them all on DVD), but quickly started to loathe it after that, and I'm not sure I even bothered to watch all of season 5. I find it a little funny you particularly contrast the first 4 seasons for that reason. I guess I'm not the only one?
@@rars0n He got better in the latest seasons, he's not abusive (especially to Meg) but the show itself is meh compared to seasons 1-4 .
@@twoDie4 honestly this is generally a trend for all tv shows. it's really difficult to stay on the ball for that long. Few shows, beyond just animated ones, can boast that the series was excellent start to finish, and these are the greats of all time.
"Hello, I'm Troy McClure. You might remember me from such eras as "When The Simpsons Were Good".
True.
I read that in his voice lol.
Hey Troy, I heard you're into fish
Hey ted that meant a lot to you huh?
Believe it or not, Until sometime after I turned 11, I used to mishear Troy McLure's "You may remember me from such films as..." as "You may remember me from sex films as...", which to me made him sound like a porn star!
The street sweep joke is hilarious to me. Not just because it's some random public servant in the dead of night, but the fact that Bart doesn't even really react when his bike falls apart, or when the guy drives into the subway.
He’s as caught off guard by the awkwardness of the situation as we are.
Every Puertorican kid can remember tuning in at 4pm to channel 11 every week day to watch the Simpsons. Even in the Spanish Latin dub the early seasons were a masterpiece of comedy
Yow in Belgium too man! Good times :)
You ever hear the German dub? The episode where Homer finds his old robot (admittedly after the glory days): "Vater! Gib mir Beine! VATER!" ("Father! Give me legs! FATHER!") 😂
Acá en LA muchos le atribuyen el fracaso a la serie no sólo por lo que vimos en el vídeo sino también por el cambio de dobladores. Coincidencia tal vez.
Grandpa Abe Simpson summarized the downfall of the Simpson's the best:
"I used to be with 'it', but then they changed what 'it' was. Now what I'm with isn't 'it' anymore and what's 'it' seems weird and scary."
We used to tie an onion to our belt in those days....
....which was the style at the time.....
We all became grandpa Abe.
*"It'll happen to YOU."*
No way man! We're gonna do the show forever...forever...forever...forever.
I actually just started rewatching The Simpsons from episode 1. The other day I had my heart warmed by the end of that episode where after a running gag of both Bart and Lisa being unable or unwilling to say "Daddy" instead of "Homer", Maggie pulls out her pacifier and whispers her first word "Daddy". I saw this and thought "That right there is what current day Simpsons just isn't capable of."
I think they are, they just don't for some reason.
I have only watched 3 or 4 episodes since the downfall (boxing episode, methinks), so hardly an authoritative voice am I, but the Lisa future episode was a bit heartwarming while the Bart & Grampa one was very good indeed.
@@briantaylorcloe7725 NO THEY CAN'T.
@@superplaceholder6537 fine addition, gent
If they did that beautiful scene today they just add a Stupid Cringy joke to it. I miss the old Simpson that there was emotion and funny jokes.
I think for me the time I just fell off watching it was after the movie. Actually loved the movie and thought it was the last time Simpson’s was funny to me.
The new intro is a perfect representation of new Simpsons. So jammed pack with stuff in an effort to stay relevant.
Spot on assessment. I am GenX. I watched all the 80’s family sitcoms as a kid and I was there when the Simpsons appeared. It was like a breath of fresh air. Family sitcoms were mostly done real time - it was rare for episodes to span more than a few fictional days and multi-episode arcs were almost unheard of. Therefore all TV family’s problems arose, affects were felt, and were resolved within what felt like just 22 min. My generation knew this was wrong. We knew we were being lied to or at least were made to feel bad because our family had no capacity to work this way. The Simpsons called all this BS out into the open. It showed us that problems aren’t simple and we weren't bad because we couldn't easily resolve them. It showed that parents only deserve respect if they earn it, and that the mild dysfunction I was living with wasn’t weird. I wasn’t alone.
Also…it was crazy funny😊
Well said. I always got the creeps from the Cosby show even while it was worshipped, and The Simpsons was a welcome antidote to that smarmy phoniness that made every real family look like failures in comparison. It wasn't just the Cosby show, but that was perhaps the most worshipped example. It was gross. The Simpsons was a laxative that cleaned all that crap out of my system at long long last.
I think using the Cosby Show as an example is a bit unfair. There was a specific purpose for them appearing as an almost perfect family. African American families had previously been more like Good Times. (That is not to say the parents in Good Times were not great people. They were.). Cosby wanted to show America an example of an upper middle class black family with parents who were doctors and lawyers.
So in one respect Cosby was similar to many other late '80s shows, in another it was ground-breaking in the sense that it was a black successful black family. With that setup, then family couldn't stray too far from being a model family without sending the wrong message to a public that was still quick to judge African Americans.
And for those who wanted a bit more realism, there was Rosanne.
Your not gen X if you were born in the 80s
0:49 god I hate what they did with the animation. In the original shot Marges movement is so fluid and expressive. In the new shot Marge’s neck just snaps into place.
She's like a robot
@@charlieniven6558 honestly, everyone in the newer seasons moves like robots
Yeah that’s amazing. Nice catch
Came to the comments section looking for this exact take, thank you
Somewhere in the deep recesses of the internet there is an interview with the animator who did the new neck snap - he claims his first pass looked like the old version but the powers that be forced him to change it to what you see now.
My assumption is that they knew the regular episodes would have that level of quality going forward and they didn’t want the opening titles making the rest of the episode look bad.
80/90s Simpson's: deal with real issues that most television shows don't talk about (depression, existentialism, etc)
2020 simpsons: homer and bart make an internet video and that's the whole plot for the episode
2019 simpsons: Bart becomes a SJW
The political commentary has also gotten very on the nose and cringeworthy. I saw some snippets of an episode featuring Trump and "The Squad". Made me want to puke how completely unimaginative and predictable it was
marianne mccrank Too late Bart Simpson did fortnite dance moves
Well after 30 seasons or so you're bound to run out of things to cover. Even over 17 seasons family guy has changed. Look how much the character Stewie has evolved over time. He started out as a baby trying to kill his mother and bent on world domination, now he time travels and you never hear him talk about those things anymore..
Mrs. Buttersworth i have been waiting for someone to say that! Because ofc a show will change after 30 years and they have to keep up with the time. And they probably have a lot of new employers since the 90’s, u can’t expect a show to stay the same after 30 years. The voice Actors and animators have basically given their life to this show (then again Just my opinion)
There's a reason why some of the best comedy series ever made only ever ran for a few seasons before the makers decided to move onto fresher fields. You can only maintain excellence for a relatively short time. To continue on means having to constantly up the ante and be self-comparative to everything done before, with the question, 'is this good enough?', being ever presence. Having changes in staff responsible for the show kind of did away with a lot of that, as it became almost like an institution that was seen more as a production line of samey episodes stamped out in the same mould, but without the edginess and subtlety of the originals. It became a gravy train to ride on for a number of years, taking more out than giving into, until eventually it became a shell of its former self.
dude, love the opening. "the reason this is so strange is that it bears a striking resemblance to another animated tv series from the early 90s, one also called the simpsons." great roast, great way to start off
It’s kinda sad to see that the Simpsons has been bad longer than it’s been good
Ikr
Behind the Laughter was the last episode as far as i'm concerned
Johnlindsey289 Yeah, I noticed that all the episodes I roll my eyes at were from season 12 onward.
@@spenser9908
You agree this show should had ended with that episode?
@@Johnlindsey289 Yeah for me, that was the last good season.
''Do it for her'', It chills me today
Best moment in simspons history, I'll always remember the real Homer
Don't forget. You're here forever
Yes
I wanna was a really good day today today and I wanna wanna vomit day is the that a day
isn’t it bad
It's weird to see the animation decline in the way it did. As we gained sharper definition and better backgrounds, the characters lost almost all of the fun elasticity and bending they'd have during jokes.
Every single character has to be perfectly on model in every shot, never changing. Feels like I'm watching stiff cutouts more than cartoon characters. I guess that's partially applicable to a lot of modern cartoons nowadays though.
The principal and the pauper just shows a huge issue with the characters, they're interchangeable. That the image of Bart Homer Lisa Marge can change but as long as they say D'oh, Cowabunga, plays saxophone, or grumbles and says Homey then it's the same thing. And that's essentially what later seasons became.
The best explanation I've ever heard of why The Simpsons is still on TV was comparing it to an old family dog...
It's gone blind, wanders around aimlessly and pisses on the floor constantly, everyone knows putting it to sleep is for the best, but they can't bring themselves to do it as they've grown up with it and love it too much.
LARRY!!!!!!
The last time The Simpsons pissed on my floor, I was all like..Never again!
Haha well said ! ;)
Larry Bundy Jr Perfect
I used to run home from school to watch The Simpsons...Well, at least I got some exercise. *inserts laugh track at own joke*
What makes The Principle and the Pauper even worse is that the primary writer behind it's defense of the episode amounts to "If people don't like it, it's because people care too much about this fictional show," that... really isn't a good defense.
Honestly I consider the principle and the pauper non Canon
I like this episode but I think of it as the series finale
Ken keeler (the writer of The Principal and the Pauper) really was biting the hand that feeds that episode. I don't quite agree though with how you summarize his explanation for it. He was critiquing television viewers that were afraid of change and expected everything to be back to the norm after 30 minutes each episode. Futurama also took jabs at these types of tv viewers (episode 12 season 1, for example).
Yea fans of shows are bad and just get in the way 😂
Honestly I kinda agree with him about fans sometimes being too invested in fiction, but that is totally not the mindset that a writer should have for their own creation, like you’re just asking for the show to become mediocre by that point
Beautifully told and so well researched, wow! Thanks a million for this and the links to resources, shoutouts are brilliant. 🙌🔥
I know, I love the way he describes the changes in the show, he hit the nail right between the eyes.
I have a couple more examples on how I've seen the episodes being way worse after season 8 verses before it. I'm sure you have seen the season 11 "Guess who's coming to criticize dinner?" where Homer becomes a food critic and starts non-stop rudely criticizing and insulting every restaurant he eats at, and then the owners of those restaurants (Luigi, Capt. Macalister, etc.) plot to kill him. Now if the premise of Homer becoming a food critic happened somewhere within seasons 3 - 7, Homer would've definitely been less of jerkass, he'd still enjoy the food at the restaurants but while not knowing how to express himself about it while innocently making dumb but hilarious mistakes out of his control while through it all, throwing us real wit and satire. That is what those greater seasons knew how to do.
The way that season 11 episode handles things is totally absent of that wit and satire and instead gives us outlandish situations and behavior. There are no more clever layered jokes and instead there are just many unrealistic over-the-top sight gags. See, most seasons 2- 7 episodes took things and situations that occure in reality and exaggerated them or gave them a comical twist, but most seasons 9 and beyond episodes were just completely absent of reality (season 8 was an even mix).
Also, see the comment of mine on this page where I describe my thoughts on the not good season 15 episode "The Regina monologues"
I've watched more than 20 of the seasons of The Simpsons on Disney+ and probably the time I noticed a real decline in quality was how in the original seasons (1-9/1-10) they always found a way to wrap up each wacky adventure and find them back at home with everything back to normal, however in the later seasons, they ended episodes off in bizarre scenarios with no discernable way for things to go back to normal, for example, one episode ended with them on a fancy island after they got kidnapped and put there and it ended with them being gassed or something like that.
Remember the second Treehouse Of Horror? When Bart wishes to become rich and famous? And then everyone hated them because their face was everywhere and they were boring? Man...
Mr. Bublee holy shit
Dude the newest episode is trash
That episode might have predicted the Minions.
I’d buy Simpsons Go Calypso
yes i do
Ok so they fundamentally destroyed Lisa as a character. They dehumanized her. Oh dear lord.
Remember Lisa being a Fan of Lady Gaga.? A Satanistic sellout artist who also had a dress full of raw Meat? Yeah sure Lisa would Love her. Smh
People love to hate on Lisa because of what she’s like in the later seasons, but she was so good in the earlier ones and it sucks that people forget that. The show needed a voice of reason that called out how ignorant the rest were, how people don’t listen to the informed and do what they want to do and believe what they want to believe, which is an important part of the satirization of society at the time. The show made strong points about environmentalism, veganism, feminism, faith and religion through her. She was a strong and consistent character that didn’t care about what others thought of her, she only cared about speaking her truth.
This is a bit long, it’s just that I care because I looked up to Lisa so much as a kid and I believe much of my critical thought was influenced by the simpsons and especially her storylines.
@@katitax508 It's especially sad to see that even the at-first positive ideals that Lisa once stood for aged into militant, self-destructive ideologies...
@@katitax508 if you grew up with the Lisa of the last 5 years you wouldn't have had that same influence, that's the problem.
They dehumanized EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER.
Another great example of a well layered joke is in the George Bush episode. Hell the whole episode was a great joke, but one in particular I loved was after they move in Homer is looking him up to confirm he was president and says “Eh, his story checks out” then asks Margie if she wants him to be president, because he’d do it if she wanted him to. She then sweetly says “Homer, all I ask is that you leave the car full of gas and I’m happy” . Homer then nervously looks at the car sitting in the driveway with dramatic music playing implying the car is low/out of gas. Hahaha
I remember seeing someone somewhere mention that it would have been interesting if the characters actually changed. A rotating cast. Maybe have them age like people. Have some die, have others get together to have children who we follow. Have the original family eventually get replaced by their offspring and continue the show with new people in a new era. Have Abe die and homer take the role of old crazy grandpa. Have Lisa get a reality check as she realizes some things aren’t worth fighting for but striving to be a better mother than her own. Have Bart realize how much of a screw up he was as he watches his kid emulate much of his early actions.
Sure this would have drastically changed what kind of show it was and most certainly would have drastically shortened its life span (which might be a good thing depending on who you ask) but I feel like it would have been worth it to have a show that actually grew with the audience. Staying comedic but also addressing issues in the real world with characters that would feel more at home amidst those situations.
I love (some of) the show. But there was a point where I realized these characters don’t fit in the modern world. Episodes from years ago making jokes about apple and google and just… really made me realize this show was made for a 80s-90s audience. The characters are stereotypes of that era. The Dennis the menace archetype of Bart doesn’t really work anymore. The type of deadbeat father that homer is isn’t as present at least not In that form.
And no, the writings joking how none of them age doesn’t help this issue.
Would this idea have fixed any issues? I don’t know. Introducing new characters doesn’t mean the writing is better. I am thinking that such a gambit would have limited the amount of seasons and that possibly could have saved the show from stagnancy.
I agree completely. I was thinking how great it would be if Bart and Lisa were in their 30s like other millennials are now, instead of just morphing into the next generation
there was an episode with this scenario, not that great
@@sameemmuhamed5684 i think mainly because it was already too late and too much of a fall from grace. and since a lot of the original staff isnt there, it would just end up being shallow. i think this idea could have worked and be very interesting if they kept the original heart and comedy of the show and maintained it
@@k00_ma takes one to know one
I think the problem with every major media property needing to last forever for profits (Simpsons, Star Wars, etc) is that it misses a major facet of good storytelling.
Stories need an ending. All stories need a beginning, middle, and an end.
Wallowing in a mire of artificially-lengthened middle/muddle just absolutely kills a series. Nothing resolves. Things change for no apparent reason, not to lead the story to a conclusion, but to try to keep the gravy train going as long as possible.
The Principal and the Pauper could have been a lead-in to a conclusion that upends what we knew. Instead it became another dot on a line graph of "weird things to do to keep this stagnating idea going a little longer."
The insane amount of celebrity episodes is another symptom of this.
When the drawing style lost its crude, vital quality and became overly clean and sterile.
Agreed.
That’s what happened to family guy and it’s starting to happen with Rick and Morty just three seasons into it.
Once it went HD, it lost me. I did try though.
true that man! fox execs and tv producers take notice.
God I hate people and their nostalgia you think the Simpsons suck now and they were good before, I think the Simpsons are good now and will suck tomorrow, how about that ?!
90's Simpsons: A mix of satire, comedy, heart, and homages to cinema.
2020 Simpsons: WhAT iF MaRgE rAn a SaNdWiCh sHoP?!
the pretzel wagon episode was really good. classic era. but i don’t watch zombie simpsons. the writing is painful and the animation is so offensively flat and bland and unexpressive. i take one look at it and can’t bear to watch.
90’s Simpsons: wHat iF mAggIe sHoT mR buRns!?
2000s Simpsons: Actually good treehouse of horror specials that are scary and entertaining also Marge wanting to do something with her life instead of being homers butler what a terrible idea marge should just never do anything ever and be a useless character
@@peterthefourth6678 :o
@@peterthefourth6678 treehouse of horror specials from 2000+ are good but normal episodes are trash
2000s South Park: actually funny and entertaining stories involving the four boys and the wacky adventures they go on. other characters like the kids’ parents, friends, and one-timers like the kid from the toilet paper episode are also relevant. A good mix of satire of American/pop culture and character driven stories.
Mid-late 2010s South Park: haha politics haha current events. haha randy tegridy farms haha. laugh.
I'm surprised that Married With Children wasn't mentioned. I would have thought that was a big pioneer in transforming primetime television towards what the Simpsons had brought to the table. Married With Children came out in 1987, and was also completely turning what sitcoms were on it's head. Focusing on a much more down to earth family, who struggled with poverty, and relationships between each other were far from wholesome. I think that show deserves some credit as well. Both shows were amazing and truly pioneered changing sitcoms.
He's Irish, probably wasn't big over there, but you're absolutely right. Married With Children was the turning point.
As someone who lives in England, The Simpsons always airs at 6.00pm on Channel 4. My brother and I used to always watch it when we were younger. It started only airing on Monday, Wednesday & Friday - with two episodes back-to-back on Fridays (which was awesome). It then aired every day & continues to do so to this day. However, they recently started airing the newer seasons or "zombie Simpsons" seasons/episodes.
I now have a way of pre-determining whether or not I will watch the episode - when it starts, before the intro starts, if the episode changes to a 4:3 aspect ratio (black bars at the side, square image) I'll watch it.
Or, if the intro is in the old cartoon style before it transformed into the HD cleaner designs of the modern episodes. The aspect ratio is only used in the earlier peak Simpsons episodes, so I know if it'll be a good one. If it's the modern intro & doesn't change its aspect ratio - I will not watch it. Because I know it'll be a weaker or downright awful episode.
One thing that didn't get mentioned is Flanders. He became a symbol of the show's downfall for many places like TV Tropes. He started as a loveable fuddy-duddy Mr Rogers parody, who was kind and nice and really the one true symbol of goodness and hope in the show. Now look at him. He's basically the Westbro Baptist Church. Which reminds me of another big problem in the show - the satire used to be so on point and methodical. Now it's just the kind of cheap shots you get in Family guy.
Zoaz I still like Flanders, his character was used to make churches and Christians look like something they are not
I didn't buy into that programming.
Ask Me My Name you have to be a fool to believe Flanders is still a good characters and it says a lot about your judgement if you think Christians aren't honest
They actually named a TV Trope after him: Flanderization
The thing is Flanders wasn't 'the religious guy' at first. He was this... incredibly perfect guy that Homer envied immensely. And yeah he was Christian, but the Simpsons were also pretty religious in the early seasons. But ultimately the religious aspect grew on his character like a tumor, completely overriding his original personality.
Which reminds me of a broader problem in modern Simpsons. The characters aren't characters, they're punchlines. All personality was boiled away, and they exist solely to show up for the sake of one note jokes. Making a gay joke? Better find a way to shoehorn Smithers in. Doing a nerd joke? Comic Book Guy's time to shine. Need an old person to be old? Thank god we had Mister Burns on the line.
Family guy does that well.
I find it insane how there are now what? 32 seasons, yet only the first 7-9 are good.
There are literally over 20 seasons of bad/mediocre episodes of The Simpsons.
A slow and terrible death...
There are some gems in there not every episode is awful
@@ronanhavern1980 But honestly, whose going to dig in a mountain of dooky to find a quarter
The first 9 to 10 seasons are some of the best TV episodes ever written
I'd even say 10-12 are good. They aren't great, but there are still gems in those couple seasons.
When you commit character murder so hard that you invent terminology for it: flanderization.
Incredible. You didnt use the word "flanderize" once, a real word, made because of the Simpsons, *which basically explains why the Simpson's is the way it is now*
Example of an old Simpsons episode:
Marge protests against the extremely violent Itchy and Scratchy cartoon show because she believes it's a bad influence on children. Her protest changed everything: The chairman of the cartoon, Roger Meyers Jr., admitted defeat after recieving negative letters, and decided to make Itchy and Scratchy heartwarming and kid-friendly, no violence anymore. Every kid in Springfield didn't like the new Itchy and Scratchy and they eventually stopped watching it. The kids of Springfield started playing outside. Homer believes it's the golden age and he thanks Marge for it, though Marge didn't really expect things to change that much. Meanwhile in Italy, the curators of Michelangelo's David send it on a tour of the United States, with one of the stops being Springfield. Marge's friends urge her to protest the sculpture, insisting that the sculpture is offensive and unsuitable. However, Marge, an artist herself, argues that the sculpture is a masterpiece. Dr. Marvin Monroe capitalizes on this hypocrisy and asks Marge how she can believe it wrong to censor one form of art but not another, to which Marge is forced to admit that she can't. Marge decided to end her crusade against cartoon violence because she realizes that one person can make a difference, but most of the time they probably shouldn't. Every kid in Springfield returned home as Itchy and Scratchy immediately returns to its old form. The playgrounds and backyards are now empty. "Itchy & Scratchy & Marge" is seriously one of the best episodes ever.
Example of a new Simpsons episode:
Patty and Selma realized that their father died due to lung cancer. Mr. Bouvier's lung cancer was caused by chain-smoking. Patty and Selma decided to quit smoking. While Patty is trying her best to resist smoking, she realizes that Selma's been smoking all along after agreeing they shouldn't anymore. They had a fight and decided to part ways. Later, they forgive each other and started smoking again. That's it. That's really it. The other thing that happens in this episode is Maggie saving a possum, while leading a bunch of her animal friends i guess.
Tldr
The writing just got more bland as the series progressed. Like the writers are so stripped of ideas they’re just doing whatever they can to get episodes made by the deadline that Fox set because Fox doesn’t want there money maker to go away.
The one episode that really drove home for me how unfunny the modern Simpsons is was the following one.
New donuts are bought at work, but Homer doesn't get any. Frustrated he searches for the place where they were bought with help of Police Chief Wiggum. They find the guy, a hipster, who Homer thinks is super cool. This guy is looking for a place for him and his family to live and Springfield is really uncool so they move into the house next to the Simpsons. Homer tries his best to fit in with his new hipster friends. Marge and Bart don't really care for this new family, but Lisa and Homer are really taken by their way of life. This all culminates with the son (called T-Rex) having a birthday party. Homer hand paints a denim jacket with a T-Rex on it for the kid. After receiving the present, T-Rex chucks it aside and calls Homer a poser. Bart stands up for his dad and gets in a fight. Meanwhile Marge is being ostracized by the other mothers for formula feeding Maggie. The Simpsons are kicked out of the party. Springfield soon becomes infested by hipsters who eventually move away when Springfield becomes too mainstream.
I didn't laugh once during this episode. Not once. It wasn't funny. It didn't say anything intelligent. The only laugh it got was with the CREDITS scene of Mr Burns marketing "home style" energy. Honestly without that scene I don't think I would have realised how unfunny the episode is.
yes, this is it. new simpsons does not have bad jokes, it does not have any jokes. i stumbled upon one other day and throughout 15 minutes of watching, i did not remember a single mark where they tried to even make a joke.
@@lel9422 What used to make classic Simpsons jokes funny was that the jokes were serving the plot of the episode. In new episodes jokes are mostly detached from the story, and the way they incorporate them seems to be forced, to keep the attention of the spectators.
Classic Simpsons writers were true geniuses of humor
The simpsons basically became what they were trying to destory
You have become the very thing you swore to destroy
I feel there are so many quotes that fits this
@@errorbirdesther yea
90s Simpsons: A subversive spoof of mediocre American family sitcoms
Today's Simpsons: A mediocre American family sitcom
Yeah Gum left on The Street
I just watched episode 34-18. It's so bad I don't have words. I now hope they will let the show die, because it hurts to watch it. There's no life left. None.
It's like AI is writing the jokes now
I think it's worth noting that it wasn't actually The Simpsons which first broke the mold of a traditional, wholesome American family on tv. Two years prior, it was Married With Children. It also portrayed a poor, dysfunctional family, living on the fringes of American society, its working title was "Not The Cosby's". The show got big and put the then unknown Fox Network on the map, which is where The Simpsons got its start later.
Yep, exactly. You could also mention Roseanne, which i think debuted a few months before The Simpsons.
Al bundy kinda is the OG Homer Simpson….I never thought about that until I read this reply lmfao
How the principal and the pauper could have been:
Seymour is celebrating his 20th year as the school principal, only for his old army bud Tamzarian to notice Skinner’s name on the sign - and pop in to visit him.
They decide to catch up after the celebration, only for Tamzarian to realise that Skinner just isn’t like he used to be in Vietnam.
While in Vietnam, Skinner was brasher and more free-spirited. Not because he was some thug off the street, but because he was finally free from his mother’s authoritarian control; if only for a short time.
After returning from war and becoming a principal, Skinner treated his students and work in much the same manner as his mother treated him - as it was the only parenting/teaching he had experience with and was back in an overly controlling environment.
While Tamzarian is in town, they spend some time together and let loose for a bit. Skinner lightens up and reflects on his life.
This could also lead into an interaction between Skinner and Bart, with Bart realising that Skinner is harsh on him, but not out of malice.
At the end of the episode, Skinner and Tamzarian have a heart-to-heart and say their goodbyes before Tamzarian has to leave town.
Overall, I think this re-scripting of the episode has more opportunity for both comedy and heartfelt moments, while fleshing out Skinner a bit more without breaking his story or character.
👏👏👏
Props.
Now that’s a good alternate universe
or a sequel episode where it is revealed armin tamzarian and seymour skinner are half brothers.
👏👏👏
The joke *used to be* that they didn't know or care who the celebrity was.
"Aren't you one of the Little Rascals?"
Or, the celebrity didn't know or care about them.
"HELLO, ST. LOU-IIIIIIS!" "Uh, that's Springfield, Steve."
That sounds like a John Swartzwelder joke. Great but dated references to things no-one can remember. I mean, hobos riding the rails? lol
@@dabble778 The monorail ep was written primarily by Conan O'Brien. But point stands--Conan is *also* obsessed with dated references to things no one can remember.
Old Simpsons: "Aren't you....?", and then something really funny, clever happens with the celebrity cameo.
Today's Simpsons: "It's.....", and then a lame, joke-free cameo emerges.
yeah they could play anyone
Another one of the characters they’ve ruined is Bart Simpson. Back in the day he used to be the prankster, with his slingshot and bad attitude. Nowadays he does absolutely *nothing.*
The rewritten airport joke actually made me laugh out loud.
I just finished the first eight seasons for the first time and was really surprised by how well they hold up. Even if they no longer seem subversive to a modern audience, there’s so much wit and the comedy and characters are so well-constructed that those seasons really do still come across as some of the best television of all time.
Yeah, I recently re-watched season 1 and was surprised by how good it was. Mind you, I watched them as they aired, I loved the show, I watched all the repeats, and I bought season 1 on DVD. But I kind of got tired of it because I had watched it so much. Going back and watching it after a long hiatus, I'm reminded of how brilliant it was. Utterly classic jokes, from episode 1 on. Season 1 is also great because ALL of the episodes are really good. Unlike seasons 9 and 10, where the majority of them are bad.
Such great writing in the first 8 seasons. It's a shame that it has completely devolved into insufferable nonsense.
The Simpsons isn’t something I ever saw growing up but now I really wanna go and watch the earlier seasons
@@_.soymilk go 'head!
Mr. Jamster I started it and it’s been rly fun so far!
Now I don't even hear characters in the Simpsons say their catchphrases in every episode they appear in
25:30 This point on how Simpsons went from making fun of the concept of "celebrity" to worshipping it to a horrific degree is even something I identified as a kid. Even i thought it would be so much better if they made fun of the celebrities, rather than glorify them.
I hate celebrity guests appearing as themselves in general in any show. it always leads to the writing being sterile and completely unfunny to avoid offending the celebrity
It can be funny though if the celebrities are willing to make fun of themselves - just watch Extras, I'm F***ing Matt Damon or Web Therapy as excellent examples of how celebrities can mock themselves.
@@torstenscholz6243 The sad part was that there were a few celebrity guest appearances like that in classic Simpsons. From Adam "pure west" West in Mr. Plow to Leonard Nimoy's guest appearances in the episodes "Marge vs the monorail" and "The Simpsons Files". But at some point the show started to worship these appearances instead of having them take the piss out of themselves.
@@jordanread5829
I love the Homerpalooza episode, it acknowledges the guests while not making them the main focus of the episode or treating them overly so. And it also makes sense to have them there because it's established that the family's going to an alt rock concert.
"And remember, don't trust anyone over 30! And now, here's Peter Frampton!"
also half the time I dont even know who he is. At least as a kid
@@jordanread5829 Leonard Nimoy was a goddamn treasure in those episodes.
You have to respect the people who manage to produce high quality video essays and have the confidence to publish it to the public. Hell I can’t even write a review or essay.
Very good video. I loved The Simpsons growing up, but I noticed "the shift" exactly where you pointed it out, with the Skinner episode. It really jarred me, I remember. And while the show still had a couple of good episodes per season for a short while more, it was very hit and miss. The Treehouse of Horror episodes from the first several seasons I still watch to this day, and I love the 2008 movie, which got back to its roots and was the first time in a long time the characters felt so much more like themselves. But that's it. And like you said, maybe that's okay--nothing is meant to last.
The older seasons had beautiful, meaningful scenes that would be remembered forever in people hearts including:
- “You are Lisa Simpson.”
- “Do it for her.”
- Lisa’s first word.
- Lisa friends who signed her yearbook at the beach.
"Do it for her" is one of the strongest emotional moments of TV
Also the sence where homer sits on his car after his mother left
Yesssss all these scenes are my favorites, its so sad that tv will never have moments like these again
Lisa needs braces. Dental Plan.
Chaoskingz I personally always loved the 60s-esquse dream trip sequence Lisa went on when the dentist put her to sleep with gas.
I think the airport joke summed it up perfectly.
I agree
Honestly it's pretty impressive that the show kept a consistent quality for about a decade. Most series nowadays can barely hold it for even half of that.
Yes, you're right but it should have been cancelled a long time ago. I don't know what makes it be on air today. I pity the writers having to release bad episodes day by day.
@@agustinpastorino5988 i think it still has over a million yearly viewers. That's literally the only reason it's still going
@@alphalax7747 😵😵😵😵😵
This is the most informative and well put together breakdown of the Simpsons I've ever stumbled upon. Nicely done!
Its kind of telling that a game based on the Simpsons is called "Tapped Out".
Good point
I got bored of that game after a while. -.- it felt so soulless, just like the show nowadays.
@@tenmahakusho6390 Blame EA, fuckers had to install alot of microtransactions of a otherwise charming game
Poet Sense i guess you could say that they tapped out of creating quality works.
Poet Sense i love the game personally, and storylines and how many characters i can get, although it might be a little money grab, you can still get a lot done
The saddest part is that if The Simpsons ends right now, it won't end with dignity.
The only way the show can recover its dignity is by deleting the storylines from season 11 and onwards.
Slow death is often undignified. Things will turn to any means in panic to try to stay alive on the way down
It ended in 1998, don't worry.
@@EugeneOneguine man if that's the case I missed the whole damn thing 🤣🤣
Yeh, it's already too late for it to go out on top. The reaction to it ending will be "FINALLY!"
That was very informative and somewhat emotional, nicely done. And how cool of you to put in the Hotline Miami OST, fits perfectly
Man I'm currently 35 and one of my early memory when I was a kid are the Simpsons, Simpsons were giant in the '90s.
"You have become the very thing you swore to destroy!"
Where's that quote from? Batman?
@@thebloocat starwars
@@detectivemarkseven Where lol? I don't remember
You swore you’d never be them. You’re just like them now.
@@thebloocat it's in the same scene as the infamous "I have the High Ground!!"
The phrase Zombie Simpsons kind of freaks me out. The picture it puts in my head is the characters dying in 1999 and being preserved like a wax corpse.
You're freaking me out rn
I rewatch this video about once a year. You summarise the issues perfectly!
I remember when they were talking about ending the Simpsons around season 20. When it continued, I knew it was just for an unmatched series record.
Growing up as as nerdy girl in the 2000s, I genuinely had a love for Lisa because she was written as actually relatable to the demographic for the most part. After years of not watching, the Lady Gaga was the first Lisa episode I'd watched a d that all went down the river.
Funnily enough this is me too! I recently watched season 1-3 and man it's full of so much heart which I really miss.
She’s more aware of her surroundings, and it makes sense. She’s a smart kid who hasn’t been desensitized to the way the world is and is therefore more critical of it. Her character is well written, and just makes total sense.
She's not being written for your demographic anymore how is this not obvious? You're not a 8 year old in the 2010s
@@thadonmel5352 thats not the thing she said
@@j0JP Please explain then
I think a Spongebob video would be interesting since it practically follows in The Simpsons' tragic footsteps.
CutThroatNin3 Or a Family Guy,that show is a cringe fest now
Family Guy isn't as timeless as early Spongebob or Simp, even with it's best episodes.
It's just too dated.
There is a pretty good video by coolcat001100 called "Top 10 Biggest Problems With Modern SpongeBob". It goes pretty in depth about how Spongebob got to be so bad.
CutThroatNin3 family guy and spongebob both came out 1999 dumbass
He should do the Fall, Resurrection, and Fall of Family Guy, since 'The Fall of Spongebob' episode will basically be that everything after the first movie is atrocious because of Stephen Hillenburg's departure.
I began watching the Simpsons back when they originally aired and used to record all the episodes on VHS. I loved Sunday nights and couldn't wait to watch the newest episode. I feel like they peaked around season 5 or 6 and gradually began their slow decline. I continued watching them into the early 2000s, even though they were already a shell of their former selves, you could still find some decent episodes with the occasional funny gags, but they were becoming fewer and farther between. I don't remember when I completely stopped watching them, whether it was 2003, 2004 or 2006, I just know that I lost interest in them (due to being increasingly less funny and becoming a parody of themselves) and would watch them from time to time, until one day I stopped tuning in on Sunday nights forever. I still think the early Simpsons' episodes were gold and featured brilliant writing. I will watch an old episode on occasion if it's on TV and cherish those early seasons.
i can clearly see how much effort went into selecting which clips to use throughout this half hour masterclass of a video and i thank you for that
i love how the term "flanderization" means when a character's personality becomes an exaggerated version of a single one-sided trait came from the simpsons. good job.
Black Clover in a nutshell
@@Libtardo123 shut the fuck up
@@hydqjuliilq27 did I hurt some fan boy’s feelings? 😂
@@Libtardo123 No, honestly I feel bad for you. I’m aware that you got COVID, and a major symptom of COVID is losing your sense of taste, which must explain why you don’t have taste in anime.
@@hydqjuliilq27 what? I’m saying Black Clover is trash. I watch DBZ, One Piece, Dr. Stone, Attack on Titan, Parasyte, Death Note, My Hero Academia
Seasons 1 to 9 are great. 10 to 13 the quality dipped but it was still watchable. After 14 it's just terrible
Australia's Best Blood Sausage I’d say 1 - 2 was great, 3 - 7 was a masterpiece, 8 -9 was good, 10 - 12 was acceptable
After that it’s just plain mediocre garbage
Bill Patrick Jones that’s why you shouldn’t continue a show for 30 years
Bill Patrick Jones he probably had enough revenue to live a wealthy life entirely tho
South Park has entered the chat. Only reason South Park has continually gotten better imo? Trey and Matt are still in charge.
+Australia's Best Blood Sausage
They switched showrunners in 10-13 and then in 14. That’s why quality dipped.
My dad used to complain whenever Simpsons was on throughout my late teenage years. About how dumb it is, how silly it is, how senseless it is... but here's the thing: He used to religiously watch the show when I was a kid. And he doesn't even remember! He only associates The Simpsons with feeling annoyed and put off now... and that's the same guy who made a ritual of not missing a single episode a long time ago. That says a lot.
It’s official I’m buying seasons 1-8 on DVD and forgetting that anything else “Simpsons” exists
Even the animation is shit now. People will automatically say it's "better" because it's cleaner and done on computer but that's Exactly why it's Worse. It's Too clean. There are No varying shades in the colour. It looks like it was coloured with Microsoft Paint and the movements are Robotic. There's no Flow in the movements. There's no personality in the movements. They look like they're on a default setting.
I disagree, it just seems clean with bright colors to see. I still like the old ones more but visually, it seems more human to me instead of cartoonish.
@@erintexel9739 i agree with him to me its off putting and almost robotic
I agree I like the old animation. A cartoon is a cartoon it doesn’t need to be clean
It's why I prefer the animation style they used between season 10 and 20. The animation wasn't so clean as it is today, but was able to retain some old animation elements.
@@erintexel9739 you have an lps picture in 2021, I love you
That one with Lisa making "cool friends" at the beach is so incredibly bittersweet, specially for someone who was a nerd adolescent! It shows how Lisa although nagging and annoying sometimes doesn't mean to be any of that and how she is actually...kind of lonely! Of course that as the show moves on only the irritating aspect of Lisa remains and she becomes a really unlikable character...
One of my very favorite episodes.
No one likes a know it all self righteous annoying little twit
Summer of 4 ft 2! My favorite episode for exactly the reasons you described.
My problem with the Principal and Pauper was not that Skinner was a rebellious delinquent in the past as many older stern people, especially the silent generation and baby boomers during the 50s and 60s, was just like him when they were young.
What I hate about that episode was how poorly written and organized everything is as well as being very cruelly mean spirited it was towards the 'real' Skinner not in a good way at all.
There was so many signs from previous episodes heavily hinting that Seymour has always grew up with Agnes throughout his entire whole life (Such as "Mother, that sailor suit doesn't fit on me ANYMORE" unless that sailor suit got shrunk in the washing machine). I don't think Seymour had been that tortured and brainwashed by Agnes at an adult age to believe he's really her son since then he should not be aware that he's is indeed an imposter. If he was just pretending to be her son then he should be aware enough to not refer to her as his mother all times while she's not at present or even by himself. Seymour has always behaving as a very unstable man who had been abused by his mother the whole life since birth that lead him to be ridiculously strict than some man being held hostage at some random old woman's home since in his younger adulthood.
My favorite moment is
Lisa playing sax for Homer in a coma.
Just looking at the the intro comparisons - the modern animation is so bare bones and flat in comparison. The shot where Marge turns to look at Maggie in the shopping cart - the old animation has her move her whole body in a dip and turn, her hair following her movement in almost a loopdeloop, it has energy. Then the modern animation literally just rotates her head. No life, no energy, just a stiff tiny turn. That's really sad when they could easily do so much better.
The old animation was primitive and far from perfect, but it had a naive amateur charm to it. The new animation looks way too clean and sterile in comparison. Even the animators just don't care anymore and just go through the motions.
That's intentional, like how movies are all CGI and have the colors washed out and the screen shaking.
Hilarious
They actually couldn’t have made it better, in fact it’s a miracle the animation for the opening is as good as it is. FOX didn’t give them enough money or time when they were updating the intro 😂
I mean, I don't think the intro has anything to do with the writing though. It's literally the same, even if the individual frames are different. This new style of animation still takes a lot of work, organization and effort. If the Simpsons evolved to maintain its spirit but adapt for the changing times, then it would've been great regardless of the change in animation style.
To the writers/producers of the Simpsons: Stop, stop it's already dead😭😭
Homer as Krusty immitator beating the Hamburger thief?
(My opinion)
Seasons 1-3: the good start era
Seasons 4-7: peak Simpsons era
Seasons 8-10: the silver era
Seasons 11-12: last breath era
Seasons 13 -now: lifeless era
My encyclopedic knowledge of the Simpsons pretty much ends before season 20. Some episodes I’ve seen from the mid-late 00’s were actually still kinda funny and had the same twinkle as earlier seasons. The shows I’ve seen in the past decade have rarely illicited a grin. It all comes down to the writers who went from Boomers to Gen X to Millenials. I’m sad to say I think we Millenials ruined The Simpsons on the writing side.
Alright look back at seasons 13-16 are decent
The changes to Skinner and Flanders was the prelude that showed what will happen to everybody else in the series.
Seinfeld ended before it went down hill and now it is a cult classic. Imagine if the Simpsons did that. It would be untouchable for criticism
+Retro Michael It's incredible that The Simpsons didn't do the same thing. When Jerry Seinfeld said his show was ending he was everywhere, being asked why, and he explained the importance of timing the show's end before things got stale.
Maybe the problem is that 19:23 after the three co-creators left, The Simpsons didn't have anyone as integral as Jerry who could pull the plug.
Yes, the Beatles knew when to leave on a high note, Abbey road. The rolling Stones, on the other hand, have a similar chart to the Simpsons downward spiral of their overall body of work. Money and fame often blind people to the fact that they're flogging a dead horse.
I loved Seinfeld too, but they would be cancelled before Simpsons would've been. Jerry is balder than George now, so the balance of power would be even lol
That's not true my mom said that she hates the Simpsons because she doesn't like rude people and it's too stupid. I absolutely love it though.
fox would never let it happen it pays their bills. When majority of the original cast goes is when it truly will die, cause then they'll get desperate and make a synthetic simpsons. I always said to keep it fresh they should focus on other characters as if they were the main character, like a season of when homer was a child, or when marges dad was around etc.
Just hearing the words "you are Lisa Simpson" nearly overwhelmed me with a feeling of nostalgia and so many other emotions. I teared up, and I was just home alone doing the dishes. If that doesn't tell you the impact the original Simpsons, I don't know what does.
With the "Lisa's Substitute" episode, THE SIMPSONS reached greatness.
God and that episode was 1991 wasn’t it? Dustin Hoffman was amazing in that episode . One of the best celebrity cameos
Having binge-watched all episodes up to season 9/10 recently, I honestly burst out laughing and guffawed out loud at many of the golden era episodes. And that was whilst alone; I rarely even crack a smile watching something that, even though I find it funny, doesn't draw a proper belly laugh from me like classic Simpsons did. My best friend from school n I used to have the perfect Simpsons references or quotes for most things. And hearing/seeing them again upon rewatching just rekindled that wonderful spark of nostalgia. They should've quit whilst ahead. But that's (mostly American) series for you. In the UK, shows tend to end after a couple or more series cos the writers realise that they've done everything possible by that point and figure that they'd just be repeating ideas or not be as 'sharp' or 'fresh' as they used to be. Integrity over profits, in most cases. But shows like Fawlty Towers, The Office, Bottom, Spaced, Saxondale, Black Books, the IT Crowd, Blackadder, Mr Bean, Father Ted, etc only ran for two or three series. IT Crowd ended after five series and that's the longest running one I've mentioned. And these consisted of roughly six half-hour episodes per series. America has SEASONS; twenty-four odd episodes each. And to have 32 SEASONS? The quality is BOUND to suffer. Again, one side wants to squeeze every last possible cent out of a show, quality be damned. Whereas the other realises when a show has run its course, it decides to "go out on a high note" and not sully its legacy with endlessly underwhelming and shrinking returns.
this comment perfectly encapsulates what the Simpsons used to be
the fact that i instantly remembered the episode despite not having seen it for years says a lot about the show's emotional impact, and younger me never thought about how powerful it could be sometimes
The fact that Lisa is no meeting Billie Eilish just shows how much its fallen.
The first 10 years were pretty much gold. After year 10, the original writers were gone and the new writers jumped on the Peter Griffin train which was a novelty at best for about 2 years.
Family guy, especially the first 3 seasons, is actually funnier than the Simpsons. Let’s not call the 20 year old show a novelty.
0:47 The old animated style seems a lot more fluid in comparison to the modern style, at least to me. And I really like the old style for that. It was more expressive.
because it's hand animated and drawn with love, and care. the new episodes are all done by human robots and without any affection or heart for the show
Just look at the way Marge turns her head! In the old one it was very animated, her hair flew and her facial expressions showed that she was worried about Maggie. In the new one it's just a robotic turn with nothing changing
The old style has a lot of embellishments, they would exaggerate features in certain scenes, whereas the new animation style is all computer animated and completely sterile. It may look better on a technical level, but it is less interesting to watch.
Also, if you watch the opening comparison in this video, you'll notice that the newer animation doesn't bother to recreate certain frames of animations, like when Maggie is being scanned and tossed into the cart. Honestly, it feels really lazy to me. Considering that they can more easily do it via computers than when they were hand-drawing that stuff, it's pretty disappointing when you really think about it.
There's a lot of animation principles (twelve, in fact, you can google it for some cool examples/breakdowns) that really sing in the classical style that the digital version doesn't bother with, and in doing so feels flat and hollow.
@@hollandscottthomas It's interesting, because even the relatively crude 3D animation in the last segment of Treehouse of Horror VI (season 7 episode 6), where Homer goes into the third dimension, seems to have more of that kind of fluidity and character than modern Simpsons animation has.
Another example of multiple jokes in a few seconds: Homer is jumping across the Springfield cliff with the skateboard, he fails and falls hurting himself badly but hilariously, an ambulance picks him up hitting his head multiple times, that's already funny, but wait, the ambulance crashes into a tree, Homer falls again. Pure magic.
It’s also an emotional scene at the same time. Homer willingly did it, just so Bart wouldn’t do it... very modern Simpsons would not be able to pull that off. There’s a few exceptions but 99% of it just can’t. Pretty much all golden age episodes was funny, and had its emotional pay offs.
@@doggydude98 True, there was always a message in the humor, not empty jokes like the recent episodes.
Yes! That's another great example! Pure magic indeed.
I still remember seeing that scene for the first time as a kid. My best friend and I were in tears laughing for about half an hour. The visual gags were like rapid fire and it absolutely KILLED us!
My wife and I just started watching the series for the first time from the beginning thanks to Disney plus and that scene made us laugh for minutes after the episode ended. Completely agreed
This is one of the best videos on the internet. Been attempting to go through them all and do all the modern series I missed out on too. I’m at season 8 atm and I have to say this is spot on with my opinions, even if conceptually 8 are still classic. They really did capture lightning in a bottle and the consistency and height between season 2 to 8 is why it’s still here
A brilliant and well-measured look at how The Simpsons turned from legitimately one of the greatest TV series' of all time to a bang-average show lost in a swamp of interchangeable sitcoms.
Its bizarre The Simpsons has lasted so far out of the 90's. It was artistically designed to be a reflection/parody of that era and a lot of it is no longer relevant. Its like a lone dinosaur wandering the streets of new york.
it was fine until 2011 range..then i feel it lost its impact...and could of ended...i still enjoy seasons 11-21 personally...
Even then when you revisit those episodes they are still funny as hell the newer ones…
Most of the characters are parodies that no longer make sense.
Truly money's the greatest necromancer known to us.
I am of the opinion the writing was better when the animation was worse. they put more love and care into good stories back then.
I remembered when the simpsons could genuinely bring tears to your eyes.
Damn... It's been so long i completely forgot it could do that.... Used to watch this with my parents brother and sister around dinner time
Every character became just a schtick
Like other commentors said, saddest thing is it's been bad longer than it's been good
I agree. Look at the Valentines episode with Lisa and Ralph, funny, moving and memorable, or Mr Burns runs for governor, a brilliant satire.... Now.... it is flat and cheap
Ah those great days. Ill always remember being doubled up in laughter, tears streaming down my face as sideshow Bob kept stepping on rake, after rake, after rake.......
What happened was very simple. All the best writers went to Futurama and The Simpsons nosedived into mediocrity.
True. Groening left in favor of Futurama, other important contributors left for personal or creative differences, and the ones that replaced them were obviously not as good. South Park on the other hand is still good because Trey and Matt are still in control over everything and still write large parts of the plots themselves.
It's funny, I always tell people the Simpsons started getting very hit and miss around season 8, still some great ones mixed in, but that is where a long time fan of the show could see the decline, and by season 10 it started to become unwatchable. It was cool to see that feeling corroborated in such a thorough and detailed way that this did....well done!!
You are probably right but for me it started a bit later maybe season 10 or 11, that very 1st episode they featured Mel Gibson. Bart suddenly burped for no good reason. It came out of nowhere and felt out of place. That's where they finally became a trash sitcom
Although there are some bad episodes before season 11 (and some goof after it) "Behind the Laughter" is a great classic series finale.