It is quite a bit different now, and its pretty hit and miss the past several. Some have been really awful (I think its pretty bad right now), some have been better, but none have been as good as the first I forget how many years. Every so often there's a pretty good one.
I recall ~9 or 10 great years (first season was pretty bad, though). For me, I stopped following it regularly around the season of the lemon tree...maybe one or two seasons after that? hard to say, now.
That means I haven't really watched The Simpsons in...~12 years?
wow.
me fail english? that's unpossible!
what's wrong with embiggen?
I recall ~9 or 10 great years (first season was pretty bad, though). For me, I stopped following it regularly around the season of the lemon tree...maybe one or two seasons after that? hard to say, now.
That means I haven't really watched The Simpsons in...~12 years?
wow.
Season 1 was a bit rough because they were trying to extend the Ullman shorts into half an hour. There are still some very strong episodes though; Crepes of Wrath, Life on the Fast Lane, and Krusty Gets Busted.
A lot of people feel the show really hit its stride by Season 3, though Season 2 is grossly underrated IMO. Season 8 was the last consistently good season for me. 9 had some good episodes but you can see it starting to morph into what it is today.
The show now is completely different than what it was in the 90s. They seem to be consistently popular but people who watched the show in its heyday seem to agree that it was better back then. I'll go back and watch all the old episodes from time to time, and I agree. They're still good and relevant. Back before they had all the celebrity voices and went more stupid/slapstick with the humour. That appeals to a lot of people though.
LOL! Thanks for reminding me about that! I think I stopped watching 15 years ago.Yeah, I read the wikipedia page for this episode (linked above) and this was the last episode that Conan pitched.
From the episode in question:Ned: Oh, I guess it's time for me to duck again.
Homer: No! I want everyone to know that-- (yelling out window) --this is Ned Flanders, my friend!
Lenny: What'd he say?
Carl: I dunno. Something about being gay.
Season 1 was marketed as the Bart Simpson = crazy troublemaker bonanza. The show focused on his being a bad influence and, in the US at least, there was much chatter over Bart Simpson being the worst thing to happen to god-fearing Americans. None of it was truly funny. I mean, for a ~9? year-old, "Don't have a Cow, man!" seemed funny enough to base your show, but whatever....it was a horrible season. Oh, I forgot that sideshow Bob first appeared in season 1. That was a decent episode. It sold shit-loads of merch, though. Hence the phenomenon.
I recall that it was season 2 or 3, when the slot was moved to Thursday night opposite the slot of Cosby, the long-standing titan of sitcoms. Cosby was not happy with this, especially as he agreed that Bart Simpson was the antithesis of what he was doing with his show (which is very much true). Dad didn't want us watching anymore (mainly because Cosby was much preferred--we all enjoyed both, anyway), but Simpsons eventually won out because those were the years where the writers realized that the show should be about Homer.
I recall season 2 being good--I think the introduction of Uncle Herb midway through? The first truly good episode, that I recall. I believe season 3 opened with the return of Uncle Herb--also great, and was, of course, the season of the legendary baseball episode. I also recall it being the first Treehouse of Horror season? maybe that was season 2.
The real kicker for the golden age of the Simpsons, though?
Phil Hartman. The show lost its soul when he was tragically murdered.
I recall ~9 or 10 great years (first season was pretty bad, though). For me, I stopped following it regularly around the season of the lemon tree...maybe one or two seasons after that? hard to say, now.
That means I haven't really watched The Simpsons in...~12 years?
wow.