quality of writing on The Simpsons

[aidanjm]

the quality of the scripts is appalling. (I am comparing to the golden days of the show, when every episode was classic). Is it possible that when the voice actors got greedy and demanded a huge pay raise, there was no money left over to pay for decent script writers? The show really lives or dies based on the intelligence and wit of the writing.

 

[Scouzer]

there are few shows that can rival the simpsons for all-round appeal IMO

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Look back at the undertones during the golden years of The Simpsons. It was actually fairly politically conservative. I think it was Dan Quayle or somebody who pointed to it as an example of family values. And the humor was subtle and sophisticated which is when we all fell in love with it. At some point the shows tone took a decidedly liberal political stance and the intelligence of the humor took a nosedive. I don't know. You be the judge.

 

[darkswordsman17]

I think its just difficult to write for them anymore. Factor in the millions of other shows now that make fun of stuff which used to be a lot rarer (and so the Simpson's seemed more fresh and smart back then). They're pretty hit or miss and some of the plots probably sound good in writing but turn out to be duds when fleshed out.

I still like the Simpsons and have found quite a few of the episodes of the last couple of seasons to be pretty entertaining. I'm looking forward to the movie and hopefully it'll actually be good, although I think its too little too late and the popular consensus is that the Simpsons should have been canned several seasons ago.

It probably doesn't help that Futurama is making a comeback (Comedy Central paid for a season or two to be made and I think there's still the 4 hour long movies) either.

I think the Simpsons should probably take a bit of a hiatus and maybe extend the time between seasons. I think that their limited syndication has helped them to be able to stay as long as they have (I think Family Guy being showed on Fox, AdultSwim, and now TBS hurt it quite a bit), but they need to just give people a bit of a break and maybe put more effort into it and make more fanfair out of it (turn it back into a real primetime show like it used to be).

 

[darkswordsman17]

Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor
Look back at the undertones during the golden years of The Simpsons. It was actually fairly politically conservative. I think it was Dan Quayle or somebody who pointed to it as an example of family values. And the humor was subtle and sophisticated which is when we all fell in love with it. At some point the shows tone took a decidedly liberal political stance and the intelligence of the humor took a nosedive. I don't know. You be the judge.

I think people are too bent on labeling things liberal and conservative these days. Also nostalgia tends to cloud people's judgement a good bit. There are plenty of old Simpsons episodes that weren't that good. I will admit there was a period their when they were just on, but let's face it there is absolutely no act in entertainment that can keep it going, and its amazing how long the Simpsons have managed to do so (I don't think its ever gotten so bad that it really just needs cancelling which can't be said of a lot of shows/actors/bands/etc).

 

[BillyBatson]

it has just changed too much. i am not one of those ppl who starts to dislike a band when they release a new albu, which differs from the old "classics" but it isn't the change tot he simpsons that has me not liking the new episodes, it is the poor writing, humor that i don't find funny, and the fact that it seems they are either trying too hard or not enough

 

[otispunkmeyer]

i think theyre alright

if i want some uber good comedy then ill always turn to the likes of monty python, black adder, the office (brit version) red dwarf, anything with ronnie barker, the vicar of dibbley etc

shows like the simpsons, futurama, family guy are all hilarious too just in otherways. i find futurama and family guy to have a lot of slapstick style humour covered with some genious WTF LOL moments.

simpsons has been around for a while now, and i think there is only so much you can do with a family of yellow people in a town called springfield. i mean futurama is by the same man, but the setting opens up new comedy doors.

i still prefer these types of cartoons to sitcoms or comedy series like friends. i find friends deeply unfunny...apart from the one with hugh laurie in it, which brings me to more comedic goodness..... a bit of fry and laurie.

 

[Bateluer]

Originally posted by: darkswordsman17


It probably doesn't help that Futurama is making a comeback (Comedy Central paid for a season or two to be made and I think there's still the 4 hour long movies) either.

I heard that Comedy Central did the buy the rights, but then nothing. They are going to produce a few seasons of Futurama then?

 

[pontifex]

lol, simpsons and quality writing in the same sentence

 

[eleison]

I agree simpsons is getting worse -- writting is getting worse.. yea, I also think its more liberal IMHO... However, southpark seems to get better year after year..

 

[Looney]

Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor
Look back at the undertones during the golden years of The Simpsons. It was actually fairly politically conservative. I think it was Dan Quayle or somebody who pointed to it as an example of family values. And the humor was subtle and sophisticated which is when we all fell in love with it. At some point the shows tone took a decidedly liberal political stance and the intelligence of the humor took a nosedive. I don't know. You be the judge.

LOL we must be remembering different times... because i remember The Simpsons as the show the conservatives use to get their panties in a bunch over.

Controversy was sparked, as Bart Simpson was portrayed as a rebel who caused trouble and got away with it. Parents' groups and conservative spokepeople felt that Bart provided a poor role model for children. George H. W. Bush railed, "We're going to keep trying to strengthen the American family. To make them more like the Waltons and less like the Simpsons."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_simpsons

 

[40Hands]

Originally posted by: Looney

Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor
Look back at the undertones during the golden years of The Simpsons. It was actually fairly politically conservative. I think it was Dan Quayle or somebody who pointed to it as an example of family values. And the humor was subtle and sophisticated which is when we all fell in love with it. At some point the shows tone took a decidedly liberal political stance and the intelligence of the humor took a nosedive. I don't know. You be the judge.

LOL we must be remembering different times... because i remember The Simpsons as the show the conservatives use to get their panties in a bunch over.

Controversy was sparked, as Bart Simpson was portrayed as a rebel who caused trouble and got away with it. Parents' groups and conservative spokepeople felt that Bart provided a poor role model for children. George H. W. Bush railed, "We're going to keep trying to strengthen the American family. To make them more like the Waltons and less like the Simpsons."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_simpsons

:thumbsup:

The Simpson's were good back in the mid 90s. I heard that Groening wanted to cancel the show but FOX had him roped into a contract to keep it going. I stopped watching it along time ago.


Don't mind HOP, he's just a sad little religious nut that's hell bent on blaming everything on those godless, family value hating, baby killing liberals.

 

[ViviTheMage]

they have there moments, but the golden days are over , or so it seems.

 

[Parrotheader]

It's difficult to maintain that high level of quality forever. I don't think it's THAT bad, but it's clearly tough to keep coming up with fresh ideas after all this time. In its prime though it was fantastic.

I would say the Family Guy (the current fave amongst many here) would be vulnerable to the same thing, but there's comparatively little story writing going on in Family Guy since most of the humor entails setting up segues to pop culture references. It would seem to be substantially easier to write for that show.

 

[NissanGurl]

Behind the Laughter - the episode that exposes the location of Springfield. A classic episode

Edit - I always thought Groening was the one that claimed there wouldn't be a movie until the series was ending. I kinda took the fact that the movie is being made and released as a sign that the Simpsons is pretty much over. Still like them...granted as many have said, it's not as good as it used to be, but I wouldn't really expect it to be.

 

[jman19]

Originally posted by: Parrotheader
It's difficult to maintain that high level of quality forever. I don't think it's THAT bad, but it's clearly tough to keep coming up with fresh ideas after all this time. In its prime though it was fantastic.

I would say the Family Guy (the current fave amongst many here) would be vulnerable to the same thing, but there's comparatively little story writing going on in Family Guy since most of the humor entails setting up segues to pop culture references. It would seem to be substantially easier to write for that show.

About 40-50% of all FG episodes are non-sequitor/random references type of humor. Not really a plot driven show

 

[TheRock2]

It doesn't seem like a point of dispute with too many people that the quality of The Simpsons has taken a sharp nosedive in recent years. Even among fans, there seems to be a great deal of people, not necessarily a majority but close to it, who believe that the show quite simply is not what it used to be. So I've been wondering for a while now, at which point did the series begin the decline into what it is now? And, to be really specific, what was the last episode to exemplify the kind of show the Simpsons used to be, versus its present form?

Me, I can't really pinpoint where it started to go wrong but theres a few things that made it bad for me:

1. Too wacky, no plot as a result. Simpsons episodes didn't always start off with a 7-8 minute segment that has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the show.

2. Lisa is too stuffy, pretentious, and annoying. In earlier episodes, she was still a kid, despite being smart. It'd be okay if she seemed very adult-like if not for her grating personality. See "Lisa the Skeptic" (Season 9) for examples of that. Don't get me wrong--Lisa is the main focus of my favorite episode (the one where she gets a crush on her substitute teacher), but in episodes where she was actually good, her maturity made the episode more heart-felt.

3. Too many pop culture and product references. Bart has a Playstation, the family is eating Poptarts, etc. Archie Comics started doing this around the time I stopped reading them when I was 12--the kids were constantly drinking "Poopsi Cola" and so on.

4. Relies too much on guest stars. It's okay when they put guest stars on for cameo appearances (Sara Gilbert doing the voice of his new neighbor that he had a crush on or Joe Namath showing up in "Bart Star" for half a minute to say, "I'm Joe Namath" and briefly mention vapor lock, but think of the episode where N*Sync showed up and they spent 5 minutes glorifying them just for being famous.

One of the more recent episodes that I think exemplifies a couple of the above things is the one where Marge writes a romance novel. Throughout the episode, there was some wacky subplot in which Homer lost his job 3 times and became an ambulance driver. It made no sense and did nothing to contribute to the main plot. Meanwhile, when Lisa found out about the novel, she started nagging Marge about how it seemed to be alluding to her parents' actual marriage.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: Parrotheader
It's difficult to maintain that high level of quality forever. I don't think it's THAT bad, but it's clearly tough to keep coming up with fresh ideas after all this time. In its prime though it was fantastic.

I don't think it is necessarily the quality as much as a change in the direction of the show. The older shows (seasons 2-6 were my favorite) seemed to have more heart. Later seasons seem to concentrate on how much of an asshole Homer can be and wacky situations that don't have much to do with the story.

 

[imported_Imp]

They've just run out of ideas, and have resorted to effing politics and ripping from the headlines.

Meanwhile, I am amazed King of the Hill is just as good as the originals (almost) after eleven seasons. Then I guess drama oriented is easier to write for than pointless, screwball humour. Even Family Guy's sucking, and I just started watching it.

 

[oCxTiTaN]

Originally posted by: jman19

Originally posted by: Parrotheader
It's difficult to maintain that high level of quality forever. I don't think it's THAT bad, but it's clearly tough to keep coming up with fresh ideas after all this time. In its prime though it was fantastic.

I would say the Family Guy (the current fave amongst many here) would be vulnerable to the same thing, but there's comparatively little story writing going on in Family Guy since most of the humor entails setting up segues to pop culture references. It would seem to be substantially easier to write for that show.

About 40-50% of all FG episodes are non-sequitor/random references type of humor. Not really a plot driven show

there's always some kind of plot to the show, the next week never really depends on the prior week...you could usually watch them out of order and never notice it unless a new character was introduced or something...I love FG and used to like the simpsons but i can't laugh at the simpsons anymore...

 

[jman19]

Originally posted by: oCxTiTaN

Originally posted by: jman19

Originally posted by: Parrotheader
It's difficult to maintain that high level of quality forever. I don't think it's THAT bad, but it's clearly tough to keep coming up with fresh ideas after all this time. In its prime though it was fantastic.

I would say the Family Guy (the current fave amongst many here) would be vulnerable to the same thing, but there's comparatively little story writing going on in Family Guy since most of the humor entails setting up segues to pop culture references. It would seem to be substantially easier to write for that show.

About 40-50% of all FG episodes are non-sequitor/random references type of humor. Not really a plot driven show

there's always some kind of plot to the show, the next week never really depends on the prior week...you could usually watch them out of order and never notice it unless a new character was introduced or something...I love FG and used to like the simpsons but i can't laugh at the simpsons anymore...

Well I didn't mean to imply that there is no plot, just that most of the humor is derived from random gags, and some reoccuring ones I guess (Qaugmire )

 

[Bateluer]

Originally posted by: Imp
They've just run out of ideas, and have resorted to effing politics and ripping from the headlines.

Meanwhile, I am amazed King of the Hill is just as good as the originals (almost) after eleven seasons. Then I guess drama oriented is easier to write for than pointless, screwball humour. Even Family Guy's sucking, and I just started watching it.

I like King of the Hill, but I caught up through all the currently released DVDs.

 

[MustISO]

There was an ad on TV today saying they were going to air un-aired episodes of the simpsons all this week at 7:00 EST. I have no idea what they were talking about.

 

[MrDingleDangle]

i think the turning point is around 2000...if i see something before that on TV there is an 80% chance that I will like the episode, if its after that then its probably about 90% chance I wont like it.

i think this season 2001-2002 is where it really started getting bad
http://www.snpp.com/episodeguide/season13.html

before that I can find at least a handful of episodes I would enjoy watching each year

although looking at the listings, i think it started to go down in season 11, and 13 was when started to be at its current level of not funny

 

[beemercer]

I used to love the simpsons, now I cant stand the new episodes .