Hold On A Minute, The Simpsons Are HOW OLD?
I noticed something the other day. I am in my mid 20s. By most standards, I am an adult. Maybe less so in some ways, but overall, I AM an adult. I have watched The Simpsons since I was in second grade. That was in 1992. 17 years ago, I started watching this show, and it’s still on! This is a show that a lot of us have grown up with, and formed strong attachments to. The show is in it’s 20th season as we speak.
I think this is why some of the younger people I have met don’t understand why so many of us think that the show isn’t worth watching anymore. It has absolutely none of the charm that it had in the early 90’s. Yet, they don’t realize this because they weren’t around back then, and didn’t witness the effect that The Simpsons had on the World.
Let’s think about it though. The world has changed a lot since the Simpsons first became popular. After all, George Bush senior was still the President back then! In actuality, The Simpsons has been on the air during 4 different presidencies. Like I said, the world has changed a lot. As I started to write this, the 432nd episode had just aired.
432 Episodes. That’s a Lot!
And after 432 episodes, the originality of Bart Simpson is no longer there, due to so many other characters borrowing from him since 1990. Only people who were around can appreciate the controversy that Bart Simpson stirred up when people would wear shirts that featured him. As a matter of fact, it’s been something like 15 years since the show changed directions and started focusing on Homer Simpson instead of Bart. That was something of a breath of fresh air back in the day!
There’s no denying that the show itself has changed drastically in the last 19 years. People have argued that the humanity that was present in its early days is gone. What was once considered to be a sitcom “more realistic than a lot of live action shows” has become a…cartoon. And this is the root of the problem. The people who feel differently about The Simpsons tend to fall across two different demographics: Sitcom fans, and cartoon fans. For someone who enjoys the likes of Futurama, Family Guy, South Park, and Adult Swim’s lineup, they’re more likely to say that The Simpsons is as good as ever. However, for those who tend to enjoy their sitcoms in the same way that Homer Simpson does, they recognize that when The Simpsons was moved from the weekday lineup, surrounded by live action shows, to Sunday night, surrounded by animated shows, something changed.
It’s All About The Benjamins!
It’s hard for me to take a definitive stance on this. For one thing, The Simpsons isn’t a work of passion. Just like Troy McClure said in the episode, “The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular”, “Who knows what adventures they’ll have between now and the time the show becomes unprofitable?”
Just Take It For What It Is
The show has never presented itself as a serious work of fiction, rather than a series of funny drawings meant to make people laugh and make money. It is for this reason that I can’t condone cancelling the show as long as people are still watching it. If it was any other show, I’d probably be in favor of trying to end it gracefully, and start a new project. However, it’s not a normal show, it’s The Simpsons!
But my readers probably want MY biased opinion on this, and here it is. I strongly enjoyed The Simpsons Movie in 2007, as I felt that it was about as close to the charm of the original glory days as could be achieved. The show is lightyears away from the days of season 4 and 5, and it is NOT as good. However, those seasons were pure gold, and to expect it to live up to those days is just foolish. When you approach the show and take it for what it is… a silly cartoon, it is one of the best cartoons on the air at this time.
On last Sunday’s episode, “No Loan Again, Naturally”, I actually felt like I was in a timewarp watching an episode in 1997, before I started to dislike the show. The Simpsons are actually funny again. The quality of the animation is much better, and the cinematography is different, but the writers are on top of their game, and let me just say that I am enjoying the new opening!
So is it time for The Simpsons to End? No.
Being 32 yrs old, I have watched The Simpsons since the skits on “The Tracy Ullman” show. I am one of those people that has worn the “Don’t have a cow man” T-shirts, remembers the butterfinger commericals, and remembered when the show switched the focus from Bart to Homer. The show is like SNL- it has its down periods but overall it is still very funny. The movie was great and I do not think the show has lost much of its appeal- somehow it is still as funny as any sitcom out there, and I welcome another 20 years! Somehow being in HD is cool too.
Jay’s most recent blog post..Inner Noodle’s Guide to Dream Analysis-Step 4
Trey.. Yes, the Simpsons are VERY old by television standards. Is it time for them to end? I agree, No, let them keep making shows. I remember when they first came to television. We raced home after Trick-or-Treat to watch them (god bless their tree-houses of horror). I absolutely LOVE their new HD opening. Its like a breath of fresh air for their series (the movie… not so much). I admit, they had some bad seasons and even worse individual episodes. But, over-all they are one of my favorite shows.
Trey, great commentary on the Simpsons. I remember watching the very first episode (I think I was about 9) and watched the show pretty religiously in the early years. But I haven’t paid much attention in at least 7 or 8 years now. I catch it every now and again – but just don’t seem to enjoy it as much as I used to. All in all, it’s probably one of my (all-time) favorite TV shows and it’s staying power is quite incredible. I may not watch it much anymore, but I think it still has some life in it
Amanda Linehan’s most recent blog post..Become Yourself
I missed out on the whole Simpsons thing and I think I really did miss out a lot. I saw the recent film and loved it but I sense that it’s very much placed in time and space, so to watch the early episodes would for sure not be the same as watching at the time (if that makes sense?).
I don’t have any opinion on whether they’ve reached the end of their life, and that seems a difficult question generally in life.
Do we keep on going until we have nothing left, accepting the later years will be of lower quality and people have had enough? Or do we retire gracefully when we’re on a high and leave people wishing they could have more?
I don’t think there’s a right answer to that.
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Amen to ending it. I won’t let me grandson watch it. I don’t think it should have ever been prime time tv. But hey I’m old fashioned! My granduaghter is five years younger than you.
On with the new and improved and out with the old.
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@ Jay
Thanks for the comment. You’re in a very similar boat to me. I’m just barely old enough to remember when Bart Simpson first came on the scene, but you probably remember it very well. I don’t have HD though, so I don’t know what I’m missing.
@ FupDuckTV
I’ve only seen a couple of episodes that I would classify as horrible. (The one where Homer gets his thumb cut off is one of them) They have definitely had low points though. Thanks for commenting!
@ Amanda
A lot of people are in your position. They used to watch it, and just don’t feel the urge to tune in anymore, even though they don’t really hate it. That’s how I’ve been lately, but after watching a few recent shows, I actually want to start watching again. Thanks!
@ Ian
The Simpsons has very little in continuity, so you can pretty much watch the episodes in any order and not miss out on anything. I recommend that you pick up a copy of Season 5, as it is in my opinion, the very best of the entire series. Thanks for coming by!
@ Tess
My mother (and mother in law) have a very similar outlook as you. The older generations think that The Simpsons are practically televised filth, and I just don’t get that. It’s not a show for young children, and they never pretended to be, however it’s not any worse than the other live action shows that air in similar timeslots. Quite frankly, Looney Tunes rivals The Simpsons for violent content, and a lot of live action sitcoms outdoes The Simpsons in sexual content and imitable behavior. I respect your opinion, but in my experience, 9 out of 10 adults who balked at The Simpsons never really paid any attention to it and didn’t understand it. Thanks for commenting!
Trey, I have enjoyed the simpsons quite a bit for almost a decade but I watch it not as often now since I don’t watch tv much anymore and any shows I only watch online.
I have noticed that there are still good episodes but some are boring to me at least.
It is interesting to see it has been on for so long, and i do think it will still be going but may be dying out slowly.
There is a ton of shows out there that pop out always and die out soon after, and I think people are accustomed to searching for something new and refreshing.
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@ tom
I can’t quite get into watching tv shows online yet… I don’t think the technology is quite there for my liking, except for services such as itunes and Unbox.
I always knew that The Simpsons would die a slow and painful death, whenever it would, but regardless of whether it’s started to die or not, it’s still worth watching in my opinion. Hopefully the next 2 seasons that are under contract will be as good or better!
I agree, it is still worth watching and you can pick up a few things that make you wonder in terms of dumbing down people.
I noticed this a few times.
In terms of online tv shows, I been doing that for a while, I mean even cbc has it with like family guy and other shows they host.
So its fairly easy to find online.
Its funny though because I have not used Itunes or anything like it.
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