Are the Simpsons showing signs of wear?

[trekkie1701E]

Now ... I love THE SIMPSONS. Some of the things I look forward to most every weekday are the three airings on UPN . And I'm looking forward with "much" anticipation to their Father's Day marathon!

But lately, actually for a few years now, THE SIMPSONS have been slipping. Don't get me wrong -- I still love the show. And a very funny new episode does air every now & then. But, there aren't any more "consistantly" funny episodes. And none of the storylines seem nearly as consistant as in the past. Take the one where Ned dates a movie star. Now, I know the animators try their best & I commend them for it; but the fact is, this is a terrible episode! Same with the season finale: aside from a couple of funny jokes, it just wasn't good.

What do y'all think?

 

[Luke]

I think over the last few years the writing has defintely gone down. U know why ? Cos many of the writers and producers they took on years ago have exhausted their creativity as to what the Simpsons can/should do so the storylines aren't as good usually, but they obviously want to hang onto their jobs so their is little room for fresh writing talent.

I think if they were to get a lot of fresh younger up and coming writers in and had them work from scratch it could be very entertaining again. I don't think the viewers are that tired of the show.

 

[Boober_Gorg]

I KNEW someone agreed with me! Like SNL, The Simpsons is just begging for laughs these days. And hardcore fans don't care, because they want to see as many new seasons as they can. Thank goodness for South Park.

 

[Erine81981]

Love the simpsons but your right

I have the first two season on DVD and I think that all season are ok but the best ones are the first 3. I love the simpsons but yeah there kind of going down hill. I've heard they'll do movies of the simpsons when there tired of the show. So hoping they do good with the movies. There is one episode I saw about PBS. Its where Homer calls in to pay for the sign thing (Whatever) and so he ends up getting chaced by a couple of the Sesame Street and Teleatubs. It was pretty funny.

 

[CraigD]

I don't think The Simpsons has slipped at all really. I will agree that some of the plotlines are a little lamer at times than in the past, but I think the show is still consistently funny. I think it's more of the case that some people have tired of the show and just simply don't find it as funny or as fresh as it used to be.

You take away all the past episodes of the show and look at the current season as if it was the first, and it would still be funnier than most things on television today.

 

[King Prawn]

I love the Simpsons but the only problem i think they have about from the storylines which seem to be a bit lame at times is that they were based on reality, unless it was one of the annual Tree House of Horror episodes they always used to give the impression of the show being like a real human show but with cartoons, at the beginning you'd never catch Marge with super powers or Homer finding a magic lamp but latley the things they do, an example which comes to mind is Homer fighting with a guy using Motorcycles instead of swords. I loved that i could think that everything that happened in an episode could happen in real life but i can't think like that anymore.

The storylines aren't that bad it's just the way that they end.

eg. Homer and Marge are going to be exicuted, then it was all just a reality show

Homer & Bart accusing Willie of stealing their car, then it ends with a simple explanation that Marge & Lisa were teaching them a lesson

I think if they kept the storylines believable and not have Sesame Street characters chasing Homer through the street and didn't end the episode with a stupid explanation then it could easily return to the way it was.

 

[Buck-Beaver]

I think the interesting thing is that the Simpson is an old show (what are we in, Season 13 now?) that's done three hundred+ episodes and often the creative well is running dry. Do you know why I love the Simpsons? Because the writers know all this and make fun of it (Comic Book guy anyone?).

I agree that the writing isn't as on the mark as it used to be (and it's the writers that drive the show, not the animators) and I'm amazed to discover after all the years I don't mind missing the odd show, but for my money the Simpsons is still one of the best(if not the best) show on TV. I think it would be hard for anyone to keep turning out original material after all this time, but they keep going. The show seems to go in cycles, up for awhile and then down again. The quality is also still much more consistant than alot of shows (that's why everyone enjoys the reruns over and over again).

BTW, I'm curious to know what everyone South of the Border thought about the season finale? Everyone in Canada was amazed by it (it was a pretty powerful - and unpopular - message) and it got a bit of press up here.

Oh, and there was a great joke in the paper.....someone was listing off the "top ten" potential TV shows the Ontario Government could put on it's own cable channel. The list included:

#10 - The Simpsons (why not, it's on every other friggin' channel)

 

[Buck-Beaver]

Originally posted by King Prawn
The storylines aren't that bad it's just the way that they end.

Yeah, I think sometimes the writers don't have a real ending so they just talk on something rediculous and then make fun of the fact they are doing it. It's kind of a cop-out.

 

[trekkie1701E]

I don't think The Simpsons has slipped at all really. I will agree that some of the plotlines are a little lamer at times than in the past, but I think the show is still consistently funny. I think it's more of the case that some people have tired of the show and just simply don't find it as funny or as fresh as it used to be

I absolutely love the old re-runs. But these newer episodes ... when you compare them with the older ones, the quality of writing has gone waaaaaaaaaaay downhill (The recent episode in which Ned dates a movie star has to be the worst one since all of season 1 ). The majority of the episodes have a very "un-evenness" to them, and the jokes (75% of which aren't even funny) seem forced and wreak of desperation, rather than seeming natural and, as a result, funny.

Anyone who laughed at that Tickle Me Elmo thing is very easily amused.

Probably thinks that DOWN TO EARTH w/Chris Rock is funny, too LOL

 

[King Prawn]

Originally posted by Buck-Beaver
Yeah, I think sometimes the writers don't have a real ending so they just talk on something rediculous and then make fun of the fact they are doing it. It's kind of a cop-out.

yes i good example of this where the writers themselves make fun of the ending is the episode i was talking about before in which Homer & Bart start conning people and are then conned themselves, at the end of it all Marge & Lisa were simply playing a practical joke on them, Homer then asks how come the police, the judge and everybody there went along with it instead of carrying on with their jobs (well something like that) then Lisa says there's a very simple explanation and then Otto (I think) runs in saying surfs up or something and the next thing you know everybody's surfing.

Now the new episodes to still have plenty of laughs, today for example i was watching an episode where Himer was playing basket ball and breaks his Knee (The one where he then runs a day care center) then Dr. Hibbert gives him the bill and Homer trying to get out of it says "A BEAR!" everyone looks to the side, whilst Homer tries to run for it except he falls to the ground and breaks his knee again, anyway everybodie's looking at them and then a bear comes up and stands next to Dr. Hibbert. That for me was so funny and i think that that episode was one of the newer ones (Season 11 or 12).