I think this is one thing people can agree is worse now. The consensus is that the show was best from seasons 1-8, before declining in 9-10, and going off the rails with Homer causing Maude's death in 11.

That being said, what do you think is the last "classic-quality" episode? I'd say it's Lisa Gets an "A" (the one with Pinchy the lobster).

Homer's Triple Bypass

The monorail episode was too unrealistic for my tastes.

I agree Lisa Gets an 'A' is the last episode that's anywhere near as solid as the show's classic episodes.  That being said, the show had already definitively exited its golden era earlier that November with When You Dish Upon a Star and D'oh-in in the Wind, both disastrous, Jerkass Homer-centric episodes with lowbrow humor and a lack of serious social critique.  I know that a lot of people consider The Principal and the Pauper the death knell of classic Simpsons, and with good reason, considering it was the series' jumping the shark moment, but it still took about a year, spanning the episodes of season 9 (when Mike Scully became the new showrunner) and first few of season 10 (all from the season 9 production line), before the show had completely fallen off.  By season 10, The Simpsons was already a dumbed-down, commercially driven cartoon that was more about the outright stupidity of Homer and his various escapades than the absurdities of American life.

Probably the early 2000s seasons were the last good seasons of The Simpsons, in my opinion.

Pardon the bump, but does anyone else think seasons 1-2 of the Simpsons are quite underrated?

Like, maybe they're not as great as the golden age (s3-8), but they've got a Charlie Brown-like charm that the show would never have again.

Pardon the bump, but does anyone else think seasons 1-2 of the Simpsons are quite underrated?

Like, maybe they're not as great as the golden age (s3-8), but they've got a Charlie Brown-like charm that the show would never have again.


They aren't underrated. Pretty much anybody likes the first two seasons, along with seasons 3-11.

But most people I've talked to say "skip the first two seasons, go to s3", which I just don't understand.

As I mentioned before, those seasons have a Peanuts-like charm of heartwarming, satire, and bleakness which hasn't been seen in many animated TV shows.

They aren't underrated. Pretty much anybody likes the first two seasons, along with seasons 3-11.


Season 1 is kind of dull, but Season 2 is much better, even though it still wasn't quite the height of the show.

Season 1 is kind of dull, but Season 2 is much better, even though it still wasn't quite the height of the show.


Yeah, Season 1 was choppy animation-wise.

You can catch all the Simpsons reruns on FXX you want to. Back in Summer 2014 there was a Simpsons marathon on FXX that replayed all of the episodes, and I enjoyed most of the ones from 1990-2007, with 1990-1998 being the most entertaining ones and 1999-2007 being 2nd tier. I didn't care for the 2008-present ones though.

Pardon the bump, but does anyone else think seasons 1-2 of the Simpsons are quite underrated?

Like, maybe they're not as great as the golden age (s3-8), but they've got a Charlie Brown-like charm that the show would never have again.


You mean 1988 and 1989?

You mean 1988 and 1989?

1989-1991

Yeah, Season 1 was choppy animation-wise.


The writing was also pretty sluggish and lacking in real humor.

I watched The Simpsons all the way until 2004.

A lot of people would say season 1 is "slow" or "boring", but for me, there's so much Peanuts-esque charm, feels, childhood innocence, etc. radiating from the episodes. Especially the Bart ones (Bart the Genius, bart the general, etc.).

You will never see scenes as intimate or loving as this in animation ever again:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJp7DLV8i4k

I stopped watching it about 2005, although I still watched the reruns. I feel the movie came out way too late in the game. They should have released it in 1991 instead of 2007. It would have done a LOT better back then, especially following the summer of 1990 when some other classic cartoons were made into movies, such as The Jetsons, Duck Tales, and TMNT.

I stopped watching it about 2005, although I still watched the reruns. I feel the movie came out way too late in the game. They should have released it in 1991 instead of 2007. It would have done a LOT better back then, especially following the summer of 1990 when some other classic cartoons were made into movies, such as The Jetsons, Duck Tales, and TMNT.


I don't watch it as much as I used to but i do catch the reruns sometimes.

I agree Lisa Gets an 'A' is the last episode that's anywhere near as solid as the show's classic episodes.  That being said, the show had already definitively exited its golden era earlier that November with When You Dish Upon a Star and D'oh-in in the Wind, both disastrous, Jerkass Homer-centric episodes with lowbrow humor and a lack of serious social critique.  I know that a lot of people consider The Principal and the Pauper the death knell of classic Simpsons, and with good reason, considering it was the series' jumping the shark moment, but it still took about a year, spanning the episodes of season 9 (when Mike Scully became the new showrunner) and first few of season 10 (all from the season 9 production line), before the show had completely fallen off.  By season 10, The Simpsons was already a dumbed-down, commercially driven cartoon that was more about the outright stupidity of Homer and his various escapades than the absurdities of American life.

S10 is okay in my opinion.

There are a couple of sh*tty episodes, but we also get 'The Wizard of evergreen terrace', Mark Hamill's excellent voice appearance in 'Mayored to the Mob', 'Bart The Mother' (with the final Phil Hartman appearance), and the wonder of Max Powers and Chesty LeRoux in 'Homer To The Max'.

S11 was the true ending in my opinion. Barney getting sober, Maude dying, no more Phil Hartman...it just feels like a different show by that point.

S10 is okay in my opinion.

There are a couple of sh*tty episodes, but we also get 'The Wizard of evergreen terrace', Mark Hamill's excellent voice appearance in 'Mayored to the Mob', 'Bart The Mother' (with the final Phil Hartman appearance), and the wonder of Max Powers and Chesty LeRoux in 'Homer To The Max'.

S11 was the true ending in my opinion. Barney getting sober, Maude dying, no more Phil Hartman...it just feels like a different show by that point.


I really don't know why I watched the current episodes of The Simpsons, even though I liked the 90s episodes better.

I only remember watching the Simpsons the first year they came out and thought it was awesome.  I felt at their second year like they weren't funny any more and never really watched it again.

S10 is okay in my opinion.

There are a couple of sh*tty episodes, but we also get 'The Wizard of evergreen terrace', Mark Hamill's excellent voice appearance in 'Mayored to the Mob', 'Bart The Mother' (with the final Phil Hartman appearance), and the wonder of Max Powers and Chesty LeRoux in 'Homer To The Max'.

S11 was the true ending in my opinion. Barney getting sober, Maude dying, no more Phil Hartman...it just feels like a different show by that point.


Season 11 has some solid moments, too. Treehouse of Horror X is all-around entertaining, especially for the second short, and both Grift of the Magi and Behind the Laughter are satisfying episodes, even though they're both far from the standards of the single-digit seasons.

As for Season 10, I agree that Mark Hamill's guest appearance in Majored to the Mob is really well-done, but for the most part, the episodes from that school year were cartoonish nonsense that appealed far more to kids than adults.

Yeah. You're not wrong about s10, but I must admit to having a bit of misplaced nostalgia for it.

As a kid, those episodes were the ones that were syndicated most often.

Yeah. You're not wrong about s10, but I must admit to having a bit of misplaced nostalgia for it.

As a kid, those episodes were the ones that were syndicated most often.


I usually didn't care about watching them on Fox. I watched most of the Simpsons episodes from a website that streamed them all the way to the current season at the time. I usually watched Seasons 1-10, since I thought they were the most interesting. I forgot the name for the website, but it sadly got removed around the early 2010s. I didn't really care about watching it again on either FXX or Kisscartoon, because it doesn't really make me feel that nostalgic towards The Simpsons. That, and a lot of people just seem to bum down my thoughts about the show.

Lov'em the Simpsons

Seasons 1-9 are the Golden Age of the series with bits of season 10, even though that season certainly wasn't as strong story and character-wise as previous seasons.

Seasons 11-16 were overly wacky seasons with a few terrible episodes here and there, but overall the episodes still were quite funny and entertaining enough despite a lot of nonsense happening in the eps.

Seasons 17+ don't have much going on worth watching. I watched a few season 29 episodes few days ago and gosh are they dull 8-P.

Can you believe a series that started its airing in 1989 is still airing today?

A lot of people would say season 1 is "slow" or "boring", but for me, there's so much Peanuts-esque charm, feels, childhood innocence, etc. radiating from the episodes. Especially the Bart ones (Bart the Genius, bart the general, etc.).

You will never see scenes as intimate or loving as this in animation ever again:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJp7DLV8i4k
I absolutely love season 1, it's such a wonky and experimental season with a lot of quite dark and mature themes. Its slowness contributes to the early charm. Kinda disappointed it's so short of a season, the producers trying to figure out which direction the series should go is so interesting to me, and something already lost by season 2 I feel  ;D.

I absolutely love season 1, it's such a wonky and experimental season with a lot of quite dark and mature themes. Its slowness contributes to the early charm. Kinda disappointed it's so short of a season, the producers trying to figure out which direction the series should go is so interesting to me, and something already lost by season 2 I feel  ;D.
I have always enjoy the Michael Jackson episode.

I have always enjoy the Michael Jackson episode.
Nice, but that's season 3 ;)

Nice, but that's season 3 ;)
That was the time I was watching "The Simpsons", and looked forward to the next episode, now it has no interest for me.

Lov'em the Simpsons

Seasons 1-9 are the Golden Age of the series with bits of season 10, even though that season certainly wasn't as strong story and character-wise as previous seasons.

Seasons 11-16 were overly wacky seasons with a few terrible episodes here and there, but overall the episodes still were quite funny and entertaining enough despite a lot of nonsense happening in the eps.

Seasons 17+ don't have much going on worth watching. I watched a few season 29 episodes few days ago and gosh are they dull 8-P.

Can you believe a series that started its airing in 1989 is still airing today?

can't believe next year will make it 30 years? :o