Have "The Simpsons" lost their charm completely?

I do find most modern Simpsons episodes to be absolute trash, yes. Many episodes fail completely at everything essential that could bring enjoyment, such as plot, characterization and humor. I honestly think modern Simpsons are among the worst shows on television. Are there individual moments, or even the occasional individual episode that I enjoy? Yes. But those rare nuggets of decency doesn't even come close to make up for all the garbage that they're surrounded by.

I will admit this though; I wish that I could enjoy modern Simpsons. I wish that I could go "Meh, it's not as good as it used to, but I enjoy it fine" and be entertained by new episodes of my once favorite show. But most of the time, I can't. Most of the time, new episodes leave me feeling bored, disapointed and frustrated. I would have been able to get over the fact that The Simpsons went from amazing to decent. But I can't get over the fact that it went to shit. I'm sorry, but that's just how I feel. I've got nothing against people who still enjoy the show though. In fact, I'm rather jealous of them. But I can never be one of them.

Again, I am very sure if I was being rude to you. This year has been rough for every one of us.

I sympathise with you, despite not agreeing on everything you said. It might seem strange for someone that still somewhat enjoys the averageness of the show, but I really do understand your pain. It's really sad to feel that way for your once favourite TV program. No one should be forced to live with this sense of hatred towards his favourite show.

I believe that no one actually really really likes the show anymore, but rather watches it to see if it will ever return to the glory days. It will probably never really return to the original format, it just can't. There will be some last hopes, but nothing really that will bring the show back.

I am sorry if I pressured you at that moment. It's not my style! I don't feel like that, but I do understand. At the very least, you are not trying to force your views on anyone, you write what you feel.

I hope one day you find enjoyment on the current show. If you don't, then it's your opinion.
 
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Again, I am very sure if I was being rude to you. This year has been rough for every one of us.

I sympathise with you, despite not agreeing on everything you said. It might seem strange for someone that still somewhat enjoys the averageness of the show, but I really do understand your pain. It's really sad to feel that way for your once favourite TV program. No one should be forced to live with this sense of hatred towards his favourite show.

I believe that no one actually really really likes the show anymore, but rather watches it to see if it will ever return to the glory days. It will probably never really return to the original format, it just can't. There will be some last hopes, but nothing really that will bring the show back.

I am sorry if I pressured you at that moment. It's not my style! I don't feel like that, but I do understand. At the very least, you are not trying to force your views on anyone, you write what you feel.

I hope when day you find enjoyment on the current show. If you don't, then it's your opinion.

"but rather watches it to see if it will ever return to the glory days"

Have to disagree. I have no expectations for the show to ever be consistently as good as it once was, I just take it for what it is and enjoy the good episodes, and insult the bad ones. It's still very enjoyable for lots of people. Even though a lot of people here hate it, I'm sure your average Joe still enjoys it as much as ever. Most people just watch TV for the fun of it.
 
"but rather watches it to see if it will ever return to the glory days"

Have to disagree. I have no expectations for the show to ever be consistently as good as it once was, I just take it for what it is and enjoy the good episodes, and insult the bad ones. It's still very enjoyable for lots of people. Even though a lot of people here hate it, I'm sure your average Joe still enjoys it as much as ever. Most people just watch TV for the fun of it.

Well, there is the minority, including myself that actually enjoy the show's current status. I just don't enjoy it as much as I did in the first 15 seasons. I like watching something when I am bored and don't have something to do at that time, I turn on my computer and search for an episode to watch. It's not my ideal perception of the show always, but it is still something that I quite enjoy.

I don't hate modern Simpsons. In fact, I think that it is better than most TV programs nowadays. But I do miss the old, glory days, when the show produced great, relatable episodes that could touch my heart and make me feel for the characters.
 
I do enjoy the show as it is and still consider it good, I just have no hope for it being what it once was, and I don't see why anybody would.
 
Well, there is the minority, including myself that actually enjoy the show's current status. I just don't enjoy it as much as I did in the first 15 seasons. I like watching something when I am bored and don't have something to do at that time, I turn on my computer and search for an episode to watch. It's not my ideal perception of the show always, but it is still something that I quite enjoy.

I don't hate modern Simpsons. In fact, I think that it is better than most TV programs nowadays. But I do miss the old, glory days, when the show produced great, relatable episodes that could touch my heart and make me feel for the characters.

Season 31 was a good season, but still wouldn't had a chance against Seasons 1-10, 13, 15 and 19. I still watch old Simpsons, but Modern Simpsons can be good. It just needs to be put back in a place that's good for the show.

Like you, I don't hate Modern Simpsons, just most modern Seasons.
 
Again, I am very sure if I was being rude to you. This year has been rough for every one of us.

I sympathise with you, despite not agreeing on everything you said. It might seem strange for someone that still somewhat enjoys the averageness of the show, but I really do understand your pain. It's really sad to feel that way for your once favourite TV program. No one should be forced to live with this sense of hatred towards his favourite show.

I believe that no one actually really really likes the show anymore, but rather watches it to see if it will ever return to the glory days. It will probably never really return to the original format, it just can't. There will be some last hopes, but nothing really that will bring the show back.

I am sorry if I pressured you at that moment. It's not my style! I don't feel like that, but I do understand. At the very least, you are not trying to force your views on anyone, you write what you feel.

I hope one day you find enjoyment on the current show. If you don't, then it's your opinion.

Hey, dont worry, you weren't being disrespectful or anything. And this forum has a lot of disrespectful people, let me tell you, but you ain't one of them.:)

And I realize that for someone who enjoys the current show, my extremely negative comments regarding it can probably be tiresome. But, alas, it ain't no fun to state ones opinion unless its ones honest opinion.
 
Season 31 was a good season, but still wouldn't had a chance against Seasons 1-10, 13, 15 and 19. I still watch old Simpsons, but Modern Simpsons can be good. It just needs to be put back in a place that's good for the show.

Like you, I don't hate Modern Simpsons, just most modern Seasons.

It clearly doesn't stand a chance to be compared to the "golden" and "classic" years of the show. It is just that this season did better than season 30 in terms of ratings and episode wise. Modern seasons have their moments, but they need to be handled well enough for people to enjoy.
 
Hey, dont worry, you weren't being disrespectful or anything. And this forum has a lot of disrespectful people, let me tell you, but you ain't one of them.:)

And I realize that for someone who enjoys the current show, my extremely negative comments regarding it can probably be tiresome. But, alas, it ain't no fun to state ones opinion unless its ones honest opinion.

I appreciate you telling me this!

You are not really being tiring, there are certainly more tiring users here than you. It is generally the negativity of this forum that is really tough unpleasant to see. There are still some people that try to lighten up this forum, but most of them are gone by now.
 
It clearly doesn't stand a chance to be compared to the "golden" and "classic" years of the show. It is just that this season did better than season 30 in terms of ratings and episode wise. Modern seasons have their moments, but they need to be handled well enough for people to enjoy.

I'm fairly sure it had lower viewership ratings. season 30 drew 3.10 million viewers on average where season 31 drew 2.58 million.
 
No it hasn't. I still think the show is as good as it ever was. The animation is much better than ever. there were always wacky or silly episodes in the classic era, and episodes like Holidays of Future Passed are better than almost anything from the first ten or so seasons
 
No it hasn't. I still think the show is as good as it ever was. The animation is much better than ever. there were always wacky or silly episodes in the classic era, and episodes like Holidays of Future Passed are better than almost anything from the first ten or so seasons

The animation isn't better, it just looks better because it's HD. HOFP is a good episode and arguably could be considered on par with some stuff from the golden age, but I wouldn't say better. Even if it was the show isn't nearly as consistently good as it was in the classic era.
 
No it hasn't. I still think the show is as good as it ever was. And episodes like Holidays of Future Passed are better than almost anything from the first ten or so seasons

Sure. I agree with you on the classic era always having wacky episodes and the Animation being much clearer but the rest I disagree strongly about. Especially the last sentence.
 
The only 2 post Classic episodes that can do well in a season are Trilogy Of Error or to a lesser extent, Barthood. None would be the best in their seasons, though.
 
I totally agree with everything that you said.

The show really feels very different than the show that it was in the 90's. It is very depressing to think about it at times, but I do understand that a show can't always be the best and funniest, even if it had stayed with the same writers, producers and showrunners. It was just a product of it's time and it probably would have benefited greatly if it had ended earlier on. It is a real shame to see people that aren't big fans of the show, watching the shell of it's former self and thinking that this is the real Simpsons.

Unfortunately, the only thing the show is anymore is just a cash cow that FOX refuses to give up, due to the profits and views it gets. I believe the only way for the show to end or get cancelled is for the viewers to stop caring for it and stop watching. Then, there won't be any money for them to get and will be forced to stop this sharade of shows that they made.

I feel like the show is going to last as long as the people working on it want to do it. It doesn't have anywhere near the audience it used to, but it's a legacy show at this point. People will tune in just because it's The Simpsons.

I think most people know that the show's best years were in the 1990s, as those are the episodes that get referenced, quoted, memed, and used for YouTube shitposting. No matter how longThe Simpsons lasts, the classic era will always be the most well-known and impactful.
 
I feel like giving up every other episode... well that's a lie.. it lasts for weeks at a time but then out of nowhere there's something that I Really get into, namely, Gone Boy, Thanksgiving of Horror, Girl's in the band, Bart the bad guy.
boi hrms
teatv
 
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I feel like the show is going to last as long as the people working on it want to do it. It doesn't have anywhere near the audience it used to, but it's a legacy show at this point. People will tune in just because it's The Simpsons.

I think most people know that the show's best years were in the 1990s, as those are the episodes that get referenced, quoted, memed, and used for YouTube shitposting. No matter how longThe Simpsons lasts, the classic era will always be the most well-known and impactful.

At this point, I feel like the show itself is immortal,which is not a good feeling to me. There will still be people who would want new episodes and people that would gladly continue the show, even without the original cast of voice actors and actresses.

I made a comment on this thread about me wanting a Spin-off, even if some of the voice actors and actresses have to be replaced. I still stand by my words, but not for the original show. I would be really saddened if one or more of of the original cast died before the original show ends. I am pretty sure, however that not only are we not getting a spin-off anytime soon, but the original cast will probably be replaced whether we like it or not, just so the show can continue on being mediocre.

At least, I still believe that no matter what people will look fondly at the "golden" and "classic" years of the show and even the days when the show was just good, before season 20.
 
No it hasn't. I still think the show is as good as it ever was. The animation is much better than ever. there were always wacky or silly episodes in the classic era, and episodes like Holidays of Future Passed are better than almost anything from the first ten or so seasons

I can see by you username that you are a fan and apologist of the HD era of the show. Good for you, but I cannot agree with almost anything on your post.

1. The animation does look better, I agree. However, I personally prefer the older, smoother one.

2. There weren't always wacky episodes in the classic era, you are wrong here. The first 4 seasons don't contain any wacky or silly episodes and season 5 has only "Deep Space Homer", which kind of began the trend.

3. As for "Holidays Of Future Passed", it is a great episode. It contains so many classic era references, that's what makes it so good, funny memorable. But it doesn't stand a chance to be compared to episodes from the first 10 seasons.
 
The only 2 post Classic episodes that can do well in a season are Trilogy Of Error or to a lesser extent, Barthood. None would be the best in their seasons, though.

I don't think so. What about "Holidays Of Future Passed", "Halloween Of Horror", "Thanksgiving Of Horror", "Behind The Laughter", "Gone Boy", "Livin' La Vida Pura etc.? There are so many post-classic era episodes that can do well in a season and those episodes I mentioned didn't disappoint.
 
I don't think so. What about "Holidays Of Future Passed", "Halloween Of Horror", "Thanksgiving Of Horror", "Behind The Laughter", "Gone Boy", "Livin' La Vida Pura etc.? There are so many post-classic era episodes that can do well in a season and those episodes I mentioned didn't disappoint.

Holidays Of Future Passed: I just don't think it would fit in.
Halloween Of Horror: If that was in... lets say the 2nd or the 9th or the 10th it would, but not in any other season.
Thanksgiving Of Horror: It would be too ahead of it's time.
Behind The Laughter: Season 11 needs it the most, and if that wouldn't had aired, Season 11 would just fail.
Gone Boy: 5th or 7th season: I think we can squeeze it in there, otherwise, I don't think it would work.
Livin' La Pura Viva: It would've needed to be renamed, as the song didn't exist until 1999, after the golden age. Also, it wouldn't had fit in anyway.
 
I can't think of any HD simpsons eps that would fit in a classic season. HOFP maybe, but even that would stand out as odd. The storytelling and style in general has changed too much.
 
I can't think of any HD simpsons eps that would fit in a classic season. HOFP maybe, but even that would stand out as odd. The storytelling and style in general has changed too much.

There are some whose plot could fit in the classic era if they were re written in the style of first seasons.
But in their present form I can't think of any that could fit.

Trilogy of Error could have fit in something like season 8 I believe.
And a few episodes in seasons 10-12 would have fit in season 9.

But after that the show changed too much.
 
Holidays Of Future Past is close to a decade old now anyway. It’s hardly representative of the show in the present day. It’s as old now as season 3 was when season 11 went out.
 
I do agree that the show has a feel of Seth MacFarlane nowadays, but it's not like the show wasn't trying to find that feel. Remember when the show was facing the first of it's decline? Family Guy that was the brand new show at that time took over and made the bigger numbers. For a while, the show was competing with what it had, but then they started using a little of their formula to become the best animated show.



I am not a regular American Dad! watcher and haven't seen all the episodes, but I never found Stan to be the most sympathetic character on the show. He is a huge moron that doesn't care about his family anymore and could easily be compared to Peter Griffin. Every family member on the Smith family is a literal clone of the Griffin family members. I will demonstrate:

Peter Griffin - Stan Smith: They both can be huge jerks to their families, are pretty moronic, have almost no compassion left for any being in their universe and generally like to play the victim.

Lois Griffin - Francine Smith: They are both housewives, good fighters and like to play "dirty" at times.

Klaus - Meg Griffin: They are obviously both the poorly-treated characters, they don't get any respect from the other family members, they don't get enough character development and need to be accompanied by another character because of it (Meg + Brian, Peter or Chris/ Klaus + Steve, Stan, Francine or Roger) and don't have a lot of things to do anymore than being the living, walking joke of the show.

Steve Smith - Chris Griffin: They are both weird, isolated characters that don't have a lot of friends, are social outcasts and deliver some pretty bad jokes (Not really Steve, but Chris does most of the time nowadays. I mean what is the purpose of his character anymore? At least Meg is the punching bag!).

Roger Smith + Stewie Griffin: Both of them are secret geniuses, the LGBTQ+ characters of the show (I am not really sure about Roger anymore, but I think they concluded that Stewie is LGBTQ+ in one of Seth MacFarlane's interviews) and are both very dangerous for the public.

Hayley Smith + Brian Griffin: Both are atheists, liberals, ate very opinionated and are generally considered slackers (Not so much Brian, but Hayley is).

Everyone is a direct copy of the older character, as a result of laziness on the writers' part. I don't see much of a difference between the characters from Family Guy and American Dad!

So, I don't see how Stan is more sympathetic than Peter. They are the same person, so shouldn't Peter be viewed as sympathetic too? He is always in the wrong too so why not?

If I had to pick the most sympathetic character nowadays, it would probably be Francine. She is always trying her best to be a good mother, acknowledges her mistakes, tries to learn from and in the end, she receives her own punishment. I did compare her to Lois Griffin, but they are not so alike. At least Francine doesn't exclude or blame her own daughter for her unhappiness nor does she not show love and care to her children.



I don't understand you point of view. There are so many animated shows that do the exact same thing. If anything, Family Guy and American Dad! are the show s that are more plot oriented, even more than The Cleveland Show.



This is not the only character trait of Marge. Why is everyone always complaining about Marge? What is so bad about Marge? Like all the characters, she has changed. If anything, I find Marge to be one of the most sympathetic characters of the show nowadays.

Yes, she does play the victim sometimes when it's not her moment, but this is often due to the poor writing choices. There are some moments where they acknowledge it and some others that don't, that's my biggest problem with "Steal This Episode". It characterises Marge so poorly that I do wonder why people think it is such a good episode!



It is the same, old TV trope in almost all TV series. The men are dumb, oblivious and self-centered while the women are smart, beautiful and don't do anything wrong. I don't take it as a big issue that they don't acknowledge Lisa's or Marge's flaws, I have come accept it. It does bug me at times, but it's not my biggest issue with the show's characters.

My biggest issue with Lisa is that the writers don't seem to want to give her a moment where she realises that not everyone will love, appreciate and agree with you. I know that she is only 8 and that this might seem pretty deep for her, but I think it is important for her character progression to accept it. Not everyone will like you in your life, that's why we have to be strong to defend ourselves in this cruel world.



Yes, the writers do seem to like writing Bart as the "bad boy" of almost every situation he is in, especially when Lisa is involved. I do think it's unfair, but there are times where he really deserves what he gets.



Homer was always meant to be the every man of the show. He could either be the hero of the episode or the Bad Guy of it. The difference is that the show knew when Homer was either of these things and didn't just put him in a situation and labeled him as "Hero" or "Villain" of the story. There are times where it is understandable and I can buy it ("I Am Dancing As Fat As I Can", "Heartbreak Hotel" etc.) and some other that I don't.

American Dad used to have a personality of its' own and was the smart Family Guy. So sad that it is now just a copy of it. I also prefer Francine over Lois because there is some good she has Lois just lost.
 
American Dad used to have a personality of its' own and was the smart Family Guy. So sad that it is now just a copy of it. I also prefer Francine over Lois because there is some good she has Lois just lost.

Agreed! American Dad! was a pretty good show, but we can't deny all the characters were a direct copy of the Family Guy ones.

The reason why I prefer Francine, for the most part, is because the writers never really flanderised her character. She always remains the same person. A good mother, mostly a great wife and an overall funny and sympathetic character.

Lois, on the other hand, has changed so much and the writers don't even bother to stick to her current characterisation...One of my problems with "Better Off Meg" is that they try to make Lois and Brian the sympathetic characters, while making the rest of the family act like complete jerks with no remorse. However, Lois and Brian are not the voice of reason or that sympathetic anymore, so the episode seems like an exception of the rule "Everyone Hates Meg". They could have made the family show remorse and guilt for the death of Meg and in the end promise to treat her better in the future. But, the writers don't have the courage to leave this "joke" at all and the episode actively destroyed it's whole point at the end of act 3. How can I sympathise with Lois, when 99% of the time she is sleeping with Meg's boyfriends, abuses her on a physical and emotional level and tries to persuade everyone that she is the only one that really cares about the family anymore, when ,in reality, she hates her life and makes the lives of everyone else around her miserable too? I wouldn't call Lois mother of the year!
 
At least Meg has friends unlike Chris. These writers are coward it's time to drop that stupid rule "Everyone Hates Meg" for good. Showing remorse would have made this episode worked.
 
At least Meg has friends unlike Chris. These writers are coward it's time to drop that stupid rule "Everyone Hates Meg" for good. Showing remorse would have made this episode worked.

The only good thing that the writers did correctly is giving Meg friends. I was a little surprised to see a good thing happening to Meg at that time. The very least I can say is that Meg is not so hated and has a lot more going on for her than her younger brother. The writers just need to get rid of that awful rule and give Meg her own, brand new character arc. Who knows? Maybe this will be helpful to the show?

As for Chris, I really am having a hard time to like him as a character. He was a sympathetic character in the first 4 seasons, but now he is... just...there. The writers weren't sure what to do with him after they explored the social outcast story of the character and started exploring the weird side of his personality. He was no longer just a teenage boy, but also...a... strange kid that is always followed by an equally weird old man. There is no point in using the character in... anything. He doesn't have a purpose anymore. I would be glad if the writers changed his current, usual storylines completely or if they just... stopped using him for a while and focused on Meg more. There is so much potential in her character that I just don't see into Chris' anymore.
 
They could just write him out for a season or 2.

Also, why are we talking about AD and FG in a Simpsons General Discussion Thread? At this rate, this thread could be renamed ''Have Animated TV Shows (Like The Simpsons) Lost Their Charm Completely?" and moved into the Animated Discussion.
 
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