'The Simpsons' has jumped the shark

The other day I sat down and had a heart-to-heart with my kids. I wanted them to hear it from me, not some punk at school. The sad day had finally come -- The Simpsons has jumped the shark.

TV's longest-running sitcom celebrates its 350th episode tonight. Judging by too many shows this season, it is time to reach for the fork and cue the fat lady.

No. 350 features guest voice Ray Romano in a show called Don't Fear The Roofer. Famed scientist Stephen Hawking makes a return guest voice appearance.

Say it again: Return guest voice appearance. Despite a 20-man writing team this show is so repeating itself.

Two Sundays ago, an episode titled Future-Drama was so unfunny...It was yet another episode where we follow the Simpsons into the future. Milhouse, still carrying a torch for Lisa, is now pumped and buff. Marge and Homer have split due to Homer's harebrained idea to build an underwater house. Maggie, for no apparent reason, lives in Alaska.

What is this, 8 Simple Rules? The lame-o episode brought to mind Love Happy, Atoll K, Dance With Me Henry, A King In New York -- horrible films that brought the careers of The Marx Bros., Laurel & Hardy, Abbott & Costello and Charlie Chaplin to a screeching halt.

'Course, film critic James Agee's famous quote about the Marx Bros. -- "The worst thing they might ever make would be better worth seeing than anything else I can think of" -- could apply to The Simpsons. It just sucks when something great goes ordinary.

The Jump the Shark website is at ttp://www.jumptheshark.com/. I tried to count the "Jumped" votes in Excel but it did not copy well or easily.

First Show 1989
Last Show
Genre Comedy
Network FOX
Slot Day Sunday
Slot Time 8 pm
Jumped The Shark when... Votes
Never Jumped 1,592
Homer gets really, really stupid 151
Death (Maude Flanders) 138
1999 Season 81
1997 Season 72
Homer literally jumps the shark (Gump Roast) 55
Who Shot Mr. Burns? 50
Conan leaves the show 44
Death (Phil Hartman) 39
Day One 32
1995 Season 28
Homer is raped by a panda 27
1998 Season 25
They literally jump the shark in the 2002-03 season opening credits 23
They changed writers 20
Singing (Broadway production numbers) 20
Leprechaun Jockeys 18
Celebrity Guest Stars 17
The trip to Canada 15
Mike Scully executive produces 13
Focus on Homer instead of Bart 12
Principal Skinner exposed 10
Dana Gould shows up 10
Homer eats the chili 9
Cape Fear 7
Too preachy 7
It became too surreal 5
Lisa becomes a vegetarian 4
Celebrities play themselves 4
Special Guest Star (Mel Gibson) 3
3-D Homer 3
1996 Season 3
Terminating Voices 3
Aerosmith is on 3
President Bush moves to Springfield 3
Special Guest Star (Paul McCartney) 2
Singing (Michael Jackson) 2
Bad Writing 2
The fans are sheep 2
1999-2000 season finale 2
Recycling (Same jokes) 2
Maggie says "Dada" 2
The Lochness Monster 2
Sideshow Bob escapes from prison 2
The family trip to NYC 2
Stonecutter Episode 2
Singing (Do The Bartman) 2
Not enough Milhouse 2
Singing (a musical guest in every show) 2
Lisa calls it: 2-6-02 2
Homer as an inventor 2
Death (Bleeding Gums Murphy) 2
Homer gets a gun 2
Springfield gets a monorail 2
Homer climbs the mountain 1
Rodney Dangerfield as Mr. Burns' son 1
Ned and Homer hit Vegas 1
The Spinoff Showcase 1
Not That There's Anything Wrong With It (Smithers) 1
Lisa Kudrow and the grease 1
Special Guest Star (Poochie) 1
Krusty gets cancelled 1
Homer becomes a leader 1
Brad Bird leaves the show 1
Lisa is too much of a geek 1
We get the inside jokes 1
Barney leaves Homer's car in NYC 1
Homer is an astronaut 1
Apu calls Marge a bitch 1
They brought back the full-length intro 1
Bart gets an elephant 1
Futurama spin-off 1
They gave away the replica house near Las Vegas 1
The Old Man and the Lisa 1
The creators stop caring 1
They got a horse...again 1
It pulled a "Metallica" 1
Action endings 1
Anti-gun episode 1
Sam Simon leaves 1
Crossover with "The Critic" 1
Jumped Back (Behind the Music) 1
The Japan episode 1
Radical character changes 1
Special Guest Star (Britney Spears) 1
The 200th episode 1
The first Halloween special 1
It got popular 1
Principal Skinner's true self revealed 1
The Brother Faith episode 1
George Meyer leaves the writing team 1
Episodes about the future 1
Death (Snake) 1
Lisa's saxophone is crushed 1
Mr. Burns knows Homer by name 1
Maggie saves Homer from drowning 1
Special Guest Star (Kid Rock) 1
They slowed it down 1
6/23/00 1
Lisa empathizes with Homer being an idiot 1
Right Wing Politics 1
Lisa takes the bus to the museum 1
The Super Bowl episode 1
Matt gets on the soapbox 1
Roy leaves the show 1
It became a do-gooder show 1
Homerpalooza 1
Itchy and Scratchy and Poochy 1
Lisa and Bart in boot camp 1
1993 Season 1
I Do (Lisa and Hugh Grant) 1
Lisa goes to Washington 1
Frank Grimes 1
It was used as filler 1
Making fun of Apu's mother 1
More clever than funny 1
Season 13 - The Unlucky Season 1
The movie 1
Barney quits drinking 1
Same Character, Different Actor (Homer) 1
Halloween 2001 1
All characters get equal time 1
The She-males 1
Special Guest Star ('NSync) 1
Too many cop-out endings 1
A Very Special... (Behind the Laughter) 1
Mr. X 1
Cartoons bleeding 1

Other Thoughts:

* Still the best show on non-cable TV.
* ONCE EVERY CELEBRITY IN THE UNIVERSE MADE A GUEST APPEARANCE. NEVER!
* When the Simpsons became the longest running cartoon in history.
* Never jumped, never will. Even when Aerosmith played Moe's...it just got better.
* The Simpsons just keep getting better and better. It's one show I can never miss.
* Hafta agree with "Never Jumped - Never Will", altho' if that oft-threatened spinoff ("Apu Loves Indira" with special appearances with Homer as "Ganesh") that may foreshadow the Simpsons JTS!
* The Simpsons is by far one of the greatest shows of all time. It has creatively stereotyped characters, fantastic writers, and such a sick and funny sense of humor that it will never jump the shark. I think it will be on easily for another 10 years!
* It hasn't yet. The Simpsons still rule.
* I like the twisted jokes that nobody picks up. My sister told me about this one: Remember that episode when Bart is Krusty's assistant ? You see bart sitting in class and he gets a call from Krusty on his cel-phone. Krusty says, " Bart, I need you down over here at the conservatory quick with your prints on a candlestick. Everything's gonna be all right... " My sister said that refers to a Son of Sam murder involving a candlestick at Stanford. Isn't that just sick ?
* the only show on tv i watch
* the McCartney's veggie-entree commercial episode. the show had definitely redeemed itself this last season.
* The Stonecutter's episode was really funny, but ever since that one, the series has been slipping. Here and there funny ones are made, but most seem pretty forced
* About 1-2 years ago during a period when they showed Homer eating psychedelic chili and went wandering around a desert near Springfield. While they didn't do a complete jump they definitely left the platform only to do a mid-air turn around. They were so bad for a few episodes that they came back mocking themselves (Remember the episode when they tried to add Homer's voice to a dog on Itchy and Scratchy? It was right before that time). But they pulled through. I'm proud of 'em.
* today (5/28/98). phil hartman died...(sniffle)
* This show didn't. It has been on for over 8 years now, and has remained funny and enjoyable. The show has had deaths, births, catastrophes, and changes in cast, yet remains one of T.V.'s most interesting, funny, and most-watched shows.
* They plan on firing all but one of the people who do the voices. This should prove to be the end.
* The thing with the voice actors was settled months ago. No one's getting fired, no one's leaving. The only voice who won't be back is Phil Hartman (RIP), although there are episodes that feature him in the can.
* THE SIMPSONS is still the most consistently brilliant show on television.
* When Phil Hartman died.
* The Simpsons is the best cartoon ever! Why, it's even better than the Flintstones, and up until a year ago, I would have taken out a contract on anyone who dissed Fred and the gang! But thanks to my equally warped minded friend, I have discovered Springfield with all its crazy residents, especially Homer, who next to Lucille Ball is da bomb! However, Groening and Co. need to show less (or just get rid of altogether!) of C. Montgomery Burns and that annoying Ned Flanders. The Simpsons never have and never will jump the shark!
* never its simply the best und unjumpable
* This show has actually gotten better over the years. Since it is one of Fox's only hits, they can do whatever they want.
* Never jumped, but came awfully close a few seasons back with the "Who shot Mr. Burns" cliffhanger. One of the most consistently brilliant shows on TV.
* Primo, just when you think things are going oiff the rails, like when Homer when to university, everything bounces back with a cutting display of wit and charm. How do they keep thinking of things?
* Second Halloween episode (which I believe was the 3rd season). This is when they started to compromise the show, albeit slightly, and it has been in decline ever since. These days it is pure trash. The Simpsons have been in decline since they decided to use stupidity as a plot device (Homer). He was never an intelligent character, but in the first season or two, he was at least of average intelligence (this is a relative term) and some moral character. They turned him into a raving idiot just to allow for flexibility to create inane storylines.
* NEVER JUMPED, NEVER WILL....best episode when lisa saw mr. smithers' screensaver of a naked mr. burns singing.
* The Simpsons jumped the shark when they started doing Broadway-style big-production numbers in every episode.
* Just a comment on someone else's comment: I always thought the candlestick comment was a reference to the game "Clue." Was I clueless on this one?
* The writing has been below average for the last season. The worst was the Halloween episode where aliens pretend to be Clinton and Bush so that one of them will be voted to the Presidency. The only good line is when one citizen says "I'm going to vote third-party" and the alien replies, "Go ahead, throw away your vote!"
* I must comment on the candlestick/conservatory reference. It is obviously a reference to the game Clue. Stanford is in CA . . . wasn't Son of Sam in NY? No twisted humor there .
* It didn't. Not that the show doesn't have ups and downs; it just hasn't started an actual slide. It's just as often hilarious as it ever was.
* Absolutely have to agree with the big musical production number comment. I'm especially reminded of that idiotic "Planet of the Apes" thing they did. Just god awful and unfunny. The show has moved solidly now into self-parody and predictability. They still hit a home run now and then, but it's probably time to put it to bed.
* As a long time Simpsons worshipper, I felt the pain with the season opener where Homer becomes an inventor a la Edison. Did anyone else see this. Some shows are better than others, but this one was horrible. Not one good laugh. I couldn't eat for days. Anyone else agree?
* The show jumped when Conan O'Brien left the show for his own.
* This show never peaked, never will.
* This puppy never jumped. Oh, it would scare a lad now and then with a few clunkers but it always came back strong. It is tough to pick out just one best episode, but I'd have to go with the one where Homer got accused of sexual harassment. Ah, how can you top Homer at the candy convention stealing a super sour ball and the 'Gummi Venus de Milo', that drooling sound he made when he peeled the aforementioned Gummi Venus de Milo off the babysitter's butt, the lampooning of college political correctness, the media siege of 'the Simpson estate'. The show's not just good, it's golden!
* Never has and unless one or more of the principal voice actors leave or they get constantly lame scripts it never will. And I love the musical numbers. "I hate every chimp I see/From chim-pan-A to cim-pan-Z" is classic.
* This showed JTS when they changed writers and they quit making the show about how Homer would do stupid things like Clown College etc.
* Someone thought that they should get rid of Mr. Burns, and this saddens me as he's on the funniest characters on the program. They've gotten many of their best gags from his combination of malice, frailty, and refinement. An example; in the Film Festival episode, the first time we see Mr. Burns (in his office), he's introduced with the Imperial March from Star Wars playing. No reason, he hasn't done anything yet. It's just damn funny. And I add a ditto on when they started using Homer's less-than-average I.Q. as a way to steer plots into bizarre places. Lately the episodes just haven't had and real point or thread, but the Simpsons has always had ups and downs.
* The episode where George Bush moved to Springfield. The show was lame, unfunny, and the worst in Simpsons history. When a show has celebrities play themselves (eg. The Cosby Show w/ Lena Horne, The Brady Bunch w/ Davy Jones-Desi Arnaz Jr.-Joe Namath, Friends w/ Jean-Claude Van Damme) are just begging to JTS (even though George Bush's voice was portrayed by and uncharacteristically bad Harry Shearer). Also, Gerald Ford shows up at the end. Luckily, it has been better since that. This show has had its ups and downs, and when it seems they've jumped the shark, they often jump back as if it never happened. That's mostly because they don't have a story-line, just loosely connected one-show plots. The reason most shows fail is that they rely too much on continuing a story line, rather than having funny episodes stand on their own (i.e. Friends, Seinfeld). I mean, these are SIT-coms, people, not mini-series.
* I must disagree with the person who thought the "Inventor Homer" episode was so bad. Sure, it wasn't the funniest thing they've ever done but it was at LEAST average and when you're talking about "The Simpsons" average is very funny. What did you think of "Lard of the Dance" episode, the one with Lisa Kudrow? I thought it was wonderful and Lisa was perfect in it. She deserved the Emmy (for "Friends") and congrats to everybody at "The Simpsons" for the three Emmy's they won, including one for Hank Azaria.
* The Simpsons rule!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
* How could The Simpsons show jump? It doesn't even have an on running plot. And that Stonecutters episode ruled!
* Homer and co. never jumped. Even a bad Simpsons episode is still a lot better than most of the other stuff that's on t.v. nowadays.
* Has been slowly going downhill for the past 4-5 years. The person who thinks that the candlestick in the conservatory refers to some serial killer is wrong! Play the game CLUE sometime, Col. Mustard!
* when the saxophone player bleeding gums murphy died....that was a sad moment in tv history.
* The show has maintained a certain consistency. I was in fourth grade when the show first started, and have at some time watched nearly every episode. Even the bad episodes have funny parts. This is the best tv show ever. i don't know if it will ever JTS.
* Since the show's full half-hour inception in 1989, it has never jumped. Furthermore, I believe it never will.
* I have watched this show since the beginning and thoroughly enjoyed it up until the 1997 season. Before, if a mediocre episode slipped by, it was rare, and a completely unfunny one was unheard of. Now, it's the opposite: the very funny episodes are few and far between. The writing is more heavy-handed and often reminds me of an SNL sketch that doesn't know its idea has exhausted all of its comic possibilities, but continues anyway. I still can't say that this is a bad show--it's just not as good as it used to be. Hopefully, the writers will start using their old methods of letting the characters be funny instead of getting bizarre with the plots. The writers should look at Soap and Mork and Mindy to remind themselves of what can happen if you mess around with plots and characters too much. Why is Marge been so harsh this season?
* The Simpsons have always been quality and still are. Three Cheers for Matt Groening!
* The people dissing the Broadway singing episodes are missing the point - these are brilliant parodies which could only be written by someone who can see right through all the Broadway hype. This stage musical satire is on par with Spinal Tap's take on rock musicians.
* When Homer got the gun, they could've jumped but survived cause they're funny. Other shows (Good Times, All in the Family, Family Ties - I think) all introduced the gun issue - the pep pill issue is common too, both should be new species of shark
* Funniest show ever. Period. Reasons? Homer, Ralph Wiggum, Mr. Burns / Wayland Smithers, Ned Flanders, Troy McClure (RIP Phil Hartman), Rev. Lovejoy, Krusty, Milhouse, etc., etc,. Sure the show has had its' duds (e.g. ANY episode featuring Lisa), but on the whole, the greatest ever. The only show I will go out of my way for.
* My theory is that the decline of "The Simpsons" can be traced to the monorail episode from the fourth season. In the first three seasons, the Simpsons was a clever show. It was an animated version of real life, exaggerated yes, but still real. You could relate to the characters. Then the monorail episode came along, where a huckster (played by the late Phil Hartman) sells a shoddy monorail system to the town of Springfield. The episode was funny, yes, but it was a radical departure from the earlier episodes: the Simpsons became about as real as your average Saturday Morning cartoon. "South Park" isn't terribly realistic either, but it never pretended to be real. Also, in the first three seasons, there was a semblance of continuity. Outrageous breeches of continuity were limited to the Halloween episode. In more recent seasons, anything goes. The 5 most egregious episodes in terms of realism and continuity (not how funny they were) are:
1) The monorail episode.
2) The episode where Homer becomes an astronaut. Possibly the worst scene ever, in terms of realism was the scene at the end where the Space Shuttle crashed into the press building and no one was killed.
3)The episode that parodied "The Firm" and "James Bond" movies. This was an extremely funny episode, but also one of the least realistic. Why hasn't the fact that a terrorist now controls the Eastern seaboard of the United States, and that Homer owns the Denver Broncos been mentioned in subsequent episodes? Movie in-jokes are one of the cheapest forms of humour, and a sign of bad writing.
4) The Lord of the Flies episode, that doesn't even have a real ending.
5) The "Crimson Tide" episode where Homer became a submarine captain. Both of these hela-lame episodes sucked ass.
* THE SIMPSONS HAS EVER SUCKED!!!!!!!! Ok, I've always hated The Simpsons, I think it's the worst and most stupid show ever!!!!
* I love The Simpsons but I think the show finally Jumped the Shark tonight. It was so bad I changed the channel. Homer seemed to have a different voice. His acting was really flat. It just wasn't funny at all. They also seemed to be using slightly different colours, more pumped up, kinda MSG. If they don't get relevant and stop messing with the characters they should just quit!! Also I'm sick of the show being about Homer, what about BART.
* Is it true that you're a nobody unless you've guest starred on The Simpsons? In order to revive itself, the show has to get away from celebrity guests and cameos and all the wild far-fetched plots and work on stories based upon the regular, familiar characters. It could also do without the self-consciousness that's really annoying.
* Some poor episodes, but mostly sheer bliss. My Fave lines- Homer: Ooh, there's a "New" Mexico... also "Look at this country- You Are Gay!" (uruguay) Also Mr. Smither's accidentally arse-butting Mr. Burns (while breaking in to the Simpson house via a high wire) and then letting out a low moan. I howled!!!!!!!!!!!
* The episode when Homer climbed the mountain on power bars made of apple cores and chinese newspapers. It began a series of very boring episodes each striving to be kooky, offbeat and unpredictable. The kiss of death.
* I love the big musical numbers! "Two Dozen and One Greyhounds" is one of my fave episodes, especially for "See My Vest."
* "The Simpsons" is apparently immune to shark-jumping, but they did come close by having Lisa Kudrow guest star. I can't stand her or anybody else from Friends, and there should be laws against crap like Friends winning awards. I plan to get some computer video stuff and dub my voice in for that episode.
* Just a note on the candlestick and conservatory thing. That's a reference to the board game CLUE and not Son of Sam.
* The Simpsons has definitely been in slow decline as of late, but what for sure did it for me was the creepy 3-d animation from one of the halloween episodes-- seeing homer walk down the street freaked me out for a long time, some sort of bizarre reality shift that affected me mentally. Has anyone thought of the possibility that the candlestick is a reference to clue *and* the killing?
* When Rodney Dangerfield was Mr. Burns's illegitimate son. That episode was absolutely the worst one ever--nothing funny at all. The pitiful thing was that they didn't even bother trying to make Rodney Dangerfield play a character--he was just himself doing the same old stuff he has always done. However, the Simpsons definitely did not go completely down the drain. This season's episodes seem to be funnier than in recent years.
* The Simpsons has never jumped the shark. Even with Lisa Kudrow as a guest voice, it never jumped.
* The simpson's rule!!!
* "22 Short Stories About Springfield" is BRILLIANT - you must see it!!! The writing is always fresh and creative unlike South Park - any moron can write that crap!
* When Principal Skinner was revealed to be an impostor.
* The Simpsons will never be the same now that Phil Hartman is gone. What will Springfield do without Lionel Hutz, Troy McClure, and all the great characters Hartman brought to the show time and again. I second this with the statement that if any of these characters return without him behind them, it is a disgrace to the memory of the great comedian. Phil Hartman will be forever missed.
* This show has not, and I predict, will never jump! Best episode ever was the blind guy w/ the sack of bud found by Laddie. Show ends with Chief Wiggum singing Marley obviously getting high! Edgy stunts like that is what makes the show great and guarantees it will never jump. And that's the bottom line 'cause Truitt said so!
* This Show will never JTS!!!! HOMER RULES!!
* Recent episode where Ned and Homer go to Las Vegas. Really stretching it when they said Ned is 60 years old. Also, very unlikely that Ned would ever get drunk, get married, etc.
* Will continue to be the best on TV. The Pledge of Allegiance does not end with Hail Satan. The Pledge of Allegiance does not end with Hail Satan. The Pledge of Allegiance does not end with Hail Satan
* When the writers began having episodes that existed only to teach lessons: "Women can be cops, too!" "Guns are bad!" "Homosexuals are people too!" etc. The worst mistake they ever made was the "spinoff" episode. I can't believe it will ever get worse than that.
* This episode showed just how badly the creative teams were out of ideas. The next couple of episodes sucked ass. But they rebounded after that Carny episode. Now they are kicking ass again.
* Around the 4th (?) season, they turn Homer into a bumbling idiot. Once a show needs a stupid character (a la Kelly Bundy/Joey Russo) to be funny, it's on the way down. That said, the show still is funny sometimes. But it takes the cheap way out. It's easy to make comedy when you have a stupid character who doesn't' understand anything to laugh at.
* Since the thing about Smithers being gay worked, they decided to throw hints that _everybody_ was gay. In the last episode, they'll all come out, maybe. Nobody would boycott it, as there were hardly any Southern Baptists watching Fox anyway.
* There is no doubt in my mind that the Simpsons, which for ten years has been my favorite TV show, has jumped the shark. Throughout all of 9th season there were several lame episodes but the show always came back with an instant classic. It wasn't until the season's last episode, that awful one with Lisa Kudrow and the grease, that the series finally took the fatal plunge. Since then, almost all of the episodes (with the exception of the bodyguard episode, the Thomas Edison one, and a few others) have been pretty boring. (And what the heck ever happened to Itchy and Scratchy? Aside from the Halloween episode, I haven't seen them at all. Did they just sort of fade away, like Dr. Marvin Monroe and Bart's prank calls to Moe?) Still, as lame as the show has become, it's still hands-down the best show on TV.
* I'm surprise you even list The Simpsons among the JTS shows. It has been running 11 years and still growing strong. Sure there has been all-too-drastic changes, like the death of Bleeding Gums Murphy, but The Simpsons always came back better than ever.
* How many shows are complete rip offs of the Flinstone? This one is. I like this show..really, but I have to say that the show's introduction is a complete rip off of the orginal Flintstones introduction. You know the scene where Homer is getting off of work and drives and has a lot of crazy stuff happen to him? That is the same exact thing the Flinstones did! Well, minus the dinosaurs, etc. STILL this show is really funny, witty and will probably be in syndication heaven for rest of our lives.
* The Simpsons is the only reason to watch T.V. anymore. I have never seen an episode that absolutely stunk, and even the worst are still better then any of the crap that passes for comedy these days. The inside jokes are delightful (Son of Sam? Are you nuts? Anyone who's ever played Clue knows the truth.) The Simpsons will NEVER JTS! EVER! Best Line:Anything said by Ralph Wiggum, i.e. "That's where I saw the Leprechaun. He told me to burn things!" Also, Whelan Smithers/C.M. Burns chemistry is perfect!
* The Simpsons are one show that if it ever did JTS would make my Sundays verys gloomy. The inside jokes are priceless. Lately, Chief Wiggims lamenting over the cost of viagra was hilarious. As for being a "Flintstones" rip off. No Way!!! No even close. They even prove that nonsense by spoofing the Flintstones song on one episode. "Homer, Homer Simpson. The greatest guy in history. From the town of Springfield. He's about to hit a chestnut tree. Arrrgggg. Smash. Funny, Funny, Funny!!! If you don't get the genius of the Simpsons it is truly a shame. The gay steel mill episode doesn't get any better than that. :) "Everybody Dance Now"
* Still great after all these years!
* I personally think the Simpsons JTS right after the "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" episode. The ending was kind of lame, and too many subsequent plots focused on Homer and his harebrained schemes, including that god awful grease episode. Others which were meant to teach lessons, such as "Lisa the Vegetarian" and "Homer's Phobia" were pathetic. Even John Swartzwelder, arguably the best writer the show had, seemed to have lost a step by this season. 1995-1996 was the start of the slide, but from 1996 onwards, the wheels fell off the wagon, and the wagon then went over the cliff. Still, just about all the previous ones were pretty good, except for the sexual harassment one, which enraged me to no end.
* When the 95-96 season started, the scripts became lamer. Even John Swartzwelder, perhaps the best writer on the staff, was losing his magic touch. That season marked when the wheels fell off the wagon. From 1996-97 onwards, the wagon went over the cliff. The vegetarian episode was much too preachy, and the scripts became terrible. Before that, though, it was one of the greatest shows on TV.
* never, ever.
* FINALLY!! They start making Homer the center of the show. For a time they were doing shit like showing clip shows and other trash, but now with the SUV episode making fun of Stone Phillips' stories about losers who can't drive blaming their wrecks on SUVs and now the other one where Homer licks the original bill of rights. Classic stupid Homer. Don't do shows on Barney, do them on Homer.
* The Simpsons is the best show ever on television. I think Homer is the funniest character in television history. His greatest line of all time was when prohibition was enforced in Springfield and after the ban is lifted he said, "To beer: the cause of and solution to all of life's problems." Now that is poetry!!!
* People complain that the Simpsons no longer makes sense. The point is, cartoons can no longer survive with any sense of theme within an episode. The sitcom, as a genre, will die within 5 years, and for the simpsons to survive it must avoid falling into that realm. Thus, we see total chaos in episodes... shows that start on a ski mountain and end in hawaii, shows that start with homer bowling a perfect game, have homer jumping off a building, and eventually getting saved from drowning by maggie. It's not supposed to make sense. It's supposed to be ridiculous, with hilarious witticisms along the way. Ralph Wiggum is the funniest character in television: "Slow down Bart, my legs are having trouble being as long as yours!" "these tomatoes taste like gramma (chief wiggum: 'by god, they do taste like gramma!')"
* During the opening credits of the VERY FIRST EPISODE! It has NEVER been worth a damn!
* The decline of the greatest show on television is both sad and inevitable...The Simpsons JTS has been slow but the line was crossed in an episode in which Apu's mother visits from India to find out why Apu is not returning home for his arranged marriage. In a very Three's Company-esque turn, Marge is convinced to pretend to be Apu's wife - with predictably unfunny hijinx to follow. The worst part of this awful bastardization of all characters involved in this episode is when both Bart AND Lisa make fun of Apu's mother for the red dot on her forehead. Are we supposed to believe that the lovably geeky and intellectual Lisa wouldn't know about Hinduism? Its sickening to watch the show plunge into the depths of average sitcomdom as the new writers continue to one-dimensionalize the characters into the kind of stereotypes you find on every other show on tv. I had to stop watching in 1999. Btw, the person who commented on the call to Bart from Krusty about fingerprints on a candlestick is incorrect...Its obviously a reference to the board game Clue. The Simpsons in its heyday held a wealth of these oblique pop culture references, its what makes these early episodes so infinitely watchable.
* I've been reading the above comments over the course of several days. I know I've posted at least twice on this show. I have to say, I still find the Simpsons funny. I realize it's had its ups and downs, but overall it's still a funny show. I don't always like Homer's antics, but I think they still can find something to make you laugh despite that. For example, I recently watched one show where idiot Homer decides he wants to eat a box of Arm & Hammer that's been in the fridge since before they moved into the house. I thought that was a bit far-fetched and stupid. However, Lisa sighs, picks up the phone, presses a speed-dial number and says, "Hi Francis (name?), it's me. Just wanted to give you a heads-up." The implications of what she did speaks volumes, and I found that *very* funny. I also just watched the "Flaming Homer" episodes and I think that was one of the better ones. Very well done. Anyway, I want to say that everyone has opinions about the show;! none of them are wrong, and it would be idiotic on my part to knock anybody because their opinion differs from mine. Remember: Opinions are like a**holes; everyone has one and everyone thinks everyone else's stinks.
* I think that The Simpsons is the greatest show, and no matter what, every episode, new or old makes me laugh. Quick poll: I think the best simpsons beginning was the "raiders of the lost ark" parody with Homer and Bart. The best ending was where Homer falls down Springfield Gorge twice and the one where Homer learns that 10% of $120 million isn't $12,000, its really... CODE BLUE!!! I also love the first clip show, the april fools day one (an explosion caused by beer) and i think the Frank Grimes episode was just the single greatest regular epiusode of them all. Favorite springfield resident character is without a doubt, Prof. Frink. What do you others that still love the simpsons think? Oh, and of course I believe the simpsons has never jump the shark.
* The Simpsons may be sneaking a peek at the shark but they have not vaulted it. Even a weak Simpsons is funnier than most of the new comedies.
* I think it's important to remember the definition of "Jump the Shark" - the Simpsons have been going downhill ever since Phil Hartman died. His death resulted in the loss of Troy McClure and Lionel Hutz not to mention guest parts such as Lyle Langley. That being said, the Simpsons has a long way to go to being a bad show - it just will never be as good as it once was.
* During season 10 when Marge rounds up the rhinos with the Canyonero the show started to get stupid.
* It is hard to believe that this show could ever jump the shark and I hope it never will. I was reading the comments that were posted and I was seeing a lot of people complaining about how the show wasn't realistic anymore.. can I just say.. THE SHOW IS A *CARTOON*!!! What do you expect from an animated television show?! Also.. I saw people saying that the parodies on broadway show tunes were crap.. I can't believe that.. I have two separate Simpsons Albums (Songs in the Key of Springfield and The Yellow Album) and I think those are probably the funniest parts of the show!! (ie: See My Vest, In the Garden of Eden, and We're Checking In <- my personal favorite) I just want to say to the writers of the show; Keep up the good work!!
* I'd have to say that the Simpsons JTS when they felt the need to become Saturday Night Live and have a special guest star every week. Before...oh, say...the 1997 season, Simpsons did have celebrity voices, but they segued so well (Krusty Gets Kancelled) into the plot or were so subtle you didn't even recognize who it was. Then came the celebrity pandering. Mel Gibson played....yep, Mel Gibson. N'Sync played themselves, and let's not forget that God awful, vomit inducing, Kim Bassinger/Alec Baldwin/Ron Howard episode. AAAUUUGGHHHH!!! But I digress... now, every new episode of the Simpsons has to have a celebrity voice and the celebrity is supposed to be the draw of the episode. Not the plot, not the originality, and certainly not the characters anymore. It's a shame. I'm such a rabid Simpsons fan from seasons 1 thru 6, but anything after that is just unfunny, forced drek. The Simpsons now are like sick favorite old family members. You still love 'em....but you remember how they used to be and realize it's probably best if they just gave up the ghost.

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