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When did the Simpsons go wrong for you?

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daninthemix

daninthemix

Member
Nov 2, 2017
5,024
I know everyone probably has their own take on this. For me, Season 13 was still peak Simpsons, with a huge amount of wit and funny stories. Seasons 14 was more of a mixed bag, with a lot of mediocre episodes. Season 15 was the first season where I didn't laugh once or enjoy a single episode. So for me the answer is: Season 15

I'd be curious to learn what changed around Seasons 14/15 in terms of key personnel or anything else that might explain the decline.
 
Serpens007

Serpens007

Well, Tosca isn't for everyone
Moderator
Oct 31, 2017
8,132
Chile
So in Latin America they swapped the voice actors somewhere around 12 to 15 seasons I think (can't remember the exact one), and I'd say that's the point where it went wrong for me. It kinda just coincides with the show's undeniable decline, so it's easier to know when an episode is airing and knowing if it's one of the good ones or not. I imagine I would've been able to watch a bit longer than those seasons if the original cast stayed, they really elevated the show in Latam Spanish, but a voice swap + a decline in quality, that just did it.
 
sir_crocodile

sir_crocodile

Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,508
Season Eight had Homer's Enemy, so there.

It would continue to have good eps for a few years though, S8 itself had "You Only Move Twice", which is a top 5 simpson ep.
 
danm999

danm999

Member
Oct 29, 2017
17,140
Sydney
There is a lot of material out there that when Oakley and Weinstein ran the show (Seasons 7-9) they expected it to be the end which is why they did so many wacky premise breaking episodes like Armin Tamzerian or 22 Short Films About Springfield.

That was the series organic end and we have been living in the zombie nightmare ever since.
 
werezompire

werezompire

Zeboyd Games
Verified
Oct 26, 2017
11,386
I feel 8 is when it starts to get inconsistent (even though there are some great season 8 episodes) and then there's a big drop with season 9.
 
Xun

Xun

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,321
London
Season 9 has some decent moments, but as mentioned the whole Armin Tanzarian thing was bullshit and definitely the beginning of the end for me.
 
Yesterzine

Yesterzine

Member
Jan 5, 2022
8,080
The exact point is officially "The city of new york vs homer simpson" when they decided the show no longer needed vague realism on human capability and started the path to chucking out everything else that grounds it.

It is no coincidence this is literally the episode before Armin Tamzarian.
 
DrFunk

DrFunk

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,898
Season 11 imo, and didn't really recover till season 25

Seasons 8-10 are still quality episodes. That being said, modern day Simpsons (season 33) are good y'all. If you haven't seen it in a bit, you should give a shot.
 
VorpalNonsense

VorpalNonsense

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,655
I went 1 through 300 (actually 302) and then I quit right there. That was during season 14. I'd already been dangling by a thread for a while, it'd been poor since season 10, maybe earlier.

Groening, Brooks and Simon were running the show for the first two seasons. Jean and Reiss ran 3 & 4. Mirkin ran seasons 5 and 6. Oakley and Weinstein ran seasons 7 and 8.
Mike Scully took over during season 9. Although season 9 still contained three episodes from Oakley & Weinstein originally planned for the previous season, plus four more episodes headed by Mirkin/Jean/Reiss.
Season 10 seems to be the first full Scully season and he continued as showrunner through season 12. Longtime Simpsons writer/producer David Cohen also left the show during season 10 to become head writer of Futurama.
Starting season 13, Al Jean was the lone showrunner for several seasons and then Matt Selman joined him during season 23.
 
Jarrod38

Jarrod38

Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,680
Nowhere but I know it's cool to hate on The Simpsons so Im going to assume everyone will pick something in seasons 8 or 9.
 
Sign My Guestbook!

Sign My Guestbook!

Member
May 26, 2018
24,026
Probably season nine. Show got up its own butt. I don't remember much after it. A couple of Halloween episodes that I caught here and there and a couple specials. The movie was… decent.
 
jokkir

jokkir

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,171
Been watching a lot of Simpsons lately and Season 9 is when you notice the dip in quality. Like some of the episodes in Season 9 are good but it isn't like the previous seasons where 10 goes pretty whacky
 
astro

astro

Member
Oct 25, 2017
56,984
Last year I made The Simpsoms my go to watch while cooking show, and I got all the way to around season 8-9 before it began to just feel like a lesser version of what it used to be.
 
Polaris

Polaris

Member
Oct 29, 2017
1,033
Twin Cities, Minnesota
For me it has to be season 9. Plenty of good episodes, but it really stopped hitting the highs it used to.

sir_crocodile said:
Season Eight had Homer's Enemy, so there.

It would continue to have good eps for a few years though, S8 itself had "You Only Move Twice", which is a top 5 simpson ep.
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Oddly enough Homer's Enemy is my favorite episode in the series. That one really is divisive, ain't it?
 
lunarworks

lunarworks

Member
Oct 25, 2017
22,179
Toronto
While this is hardly scientific, someone compiled the IMDB scores for all the episodes, and it's pretty clear.

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Mentalist

Mentalist

Member
Mar 14, 2019
18,039
I tapped out in 2008. Right around there was an episode where Bart was desperate for a cell phone.

As a 90s kid, that was when the show stopped being relatable to me.
 
jph139

jph139

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,385
Going by showrunners, Season 13 (and the Al Jean era) is probably my "cutoff" for the classic era. I was maybe 8 or 9 when that was premiering, so I don't really think I was watching new episodes before that, and was getting the first ~12 seasons or so as jumbled up syndication reruns. I'm not able to sort anything before that clearly in my memory.

As an adult, I can tell that the late 90s-00s is a little wackier, a little edgier, a little more mean-spirited... but, again, that stuff was part of the Simpsons before I was even cognizant of it, so it doesn't stick out to me much.

I continued to watch live up until the Lady Gaga episode, which was about 30 minutes so devoid of joy that I could never again make it part of my schedule.
 
Amalthea

Amalthea

Member
Dec 22, 2017
5,685
They had already jumped the shark but with Saddlesore Galactica they used the shark as a surfboard and jumped over a bluewhale who was doing saltos in the air.
 
The Albatross

The Albatross

Member
Oct 25, 2017
39,048
Tomacco episode. Me and my dad watched it and both looked at each other and were like "eh.... show seems to have lost something..." kinda way.
 
pikachief

pikachief

Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,527
I showed my wife the series for the first time a couple years ago. She was hooked until Armin Tanzarian. She literally refused to keep watching after that episode and just went back to season 3.

For me who watched it as it aired I think I finally gave up on the X Games episode with Tony Hawk, but I was struggling through for a couple seasons at that point.
 
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RockyBalboa_

Member
Apr 28, 2018
1,472
Would say season 9 was the trouble spot
Season 11 went off the rails. I've only seen a handful of new episodes since the "movie". Will gladly still watch classic simpsons over and over though.
 
Strings

Strings

Member
Oct 27, 2017
31,431
Season 13 is where I think it jumps off a cliff / is the first season with more bad episodes than good ones.
 
Uzzy

Uzzy

Gabe’s little helper
Member
Oct 25, 2017
27,235
Hull, UK
Behind the Laughter, the last episode of Season 11, was also the last episode aired on the BBC after they lost the rights to Channel 4 here in the UK. Don't think I've actively set out to watch an episode since.
 
BLEEN

BLEEN

Member
Oct 27, 2017
21,892
I've been skipping around watching everything up to the current season and honestly the quality dropoff is not as bad as everyone would lead you to believe.

It's still an extremely entertaining show.

The early-20 seasons are the worst of them all but it's still not terrible or unwatchable or anything like that.

1-13 are damn good, then 14-20 drop a bit, 21-25 or so are the lowest of the series in terms of quality imo, then 26-33 there's a definite upswing.

I watch these every other day and for the most part I'm happy with the show as a whole. They did a good job going with the times.

I really think, with how many seasons there are now, the entire scale of rating needs to be changed.
 
froginhotwater

froginhotwater

Member
Aug 14, 2020
874
The episode guest starring Lady Gaga. I used to be a huge fan of both her and the show, and I was so excited for the episode. Then when I watched it, it was kinda like... wait that wasn't funny or enjoyable at all?
 
Citizen Rizer

Citizen Rizer

Member
Oct 27, 2017
265
Some cracks started showing in 7 and 8, but I still consider them part of the Golden Age. Season 9 is the first full season not up to par with the others. Seasons 11 - whatever basically don't exist for me.
 
steviestar3

steviestar3

One Winged Slayer
Member
Jul 3, 2018
4,444
Season 8 was when the tone of the show drastically shifted, becoming a ton more outlandish. I don't really mind though because there were still a ton of great episodes.

Season 9 was when the actual quality of the show started to decline, and fast. You still get some decent individual gags and even episodes up to season 11 but past that there's nothing I would ever bother watching.
 
BLEEN

BLEEN

Member
Oct 27, 2017
21,892
froginhotwater said:
The episode guest starring Lady Gaga. I used to be a huge fan of both her and the show, and I was so excited for the episode. Then when I watched it, it was kinda like... wait that wasn't funny or enjoyable at all?
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Yep. This is a terrible terrible episode lol

In the early-20s. A lot of stinkers there.
 
Strings

Strings

Member
Oct 27, 2017
31,431
steviestar3 said:
Season 8 was when the tone of the show drastically shifted, becoming a ton more outlandish. I don't really mind though because there were still a ton of great episodes.

Season 9 was when the actual quality of the show started to decline, and fast. You still get some decent individual gags and even episodes up to season 11 but past that there's nothing I would ever bother watching.
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You have HOMR, Trilogy of Error, etc in 12.
 
Spasm

Spasm

Member
Nov 16, 2017
1,948
I remember the exact moment. At the end of an episode, Otto bursts into a courtroom and says something like, "Hey everybody, let's go surfing!". Up until then, Simpson's had not relied heavily on non-sequiturs, but this marked a turning point for me.

For the life of me, I cannot find which episode that is. If anyone knows, I'd appreciate a hint.
 
J-Spot

J-Spot

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,321
The show has been off its peak for a long while but for different reasons. I started to feel the quality was starting to slowly drop around seasons 8 and 9 although the show was still solid overall. I really wasn't a fan of seasons 10-12 at the time they aired when the show began to focus solely on Homer and made him more of an asshole with plots that would go off the rails by act 3. I've come to appreciate those seasons a lot more nowadays as they still have some great humor and the anything goes attitude the writers had at the time at least gives the show an energy that it began to lack once Al Jean took over in season 13. After that it just becomes very generic as Jean leans into the show being more of an institutional comfort show than what it once was. From there it's a steady decline in quality until you get to around season 21 where it bottoms out and just becomes incredibly boring with meandering plots devoid of any humor.

All that being said, I do appreciate the work Matt Selman has done on the handful of episodes where he was given show runner duties throughout the HD era. In seasons 32 and 33 he's been promoted to running the show for half the episodes and there's definitely an uptick in quality for his episodes while the lighter workload for Jean has somehow made his episodes even worse. I do recommend at least checking out some of the Selman episodes. He's still working with the same writing team so don't go in expecting something on par with the classics but there's a level of polish that's absent for a long time.

Spasm said:
For the life of me, I cannot find which episode that is. If anyone knows, I'd appreciate a hint.
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That would be The Great Money Caper from season 12.
 
Genesius

Genesius

Member
Nov 2, 2018
15,554
Anything past 9, really. The Armin episode felt more like a satire of shows that changed something up for no reason.

The fact that there are like twenty six more seasons or whatever seems just crazy.
 
Sanjuro

Sanjuro

Member
Oct 25, 2017
31,112
Massachusetts
I would say maybe around season 15 I stopped from weekly viewing. When the movie came out I returned to watching regularly and been doing that ever since
 
shenden

shenden

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,308
When it went on too long. I think my limit for whatever show is at top 5-6 seasons, then I'm out.
 
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