Simpsons sucks again

Well Family Guy was only on for what... three seasons? The Simpsons has covered over a decade and a half. The Simpsons also touches on social issues (gay marriage, religion, immigration, etc) whereas Family Guy is pretty base humor.

But hey... that's just my two cents.

I thought that those were two of the funniest episodes in a long while. And there was that one with Bart & Lisa in high school which was very funny too.

I think the show is beginning an upswing.

Classic Simpsons is important. The last few seasons of The Simpsons have not been remotely important or relivant or essential to anything, let alone vaguely entertaining or funny. Yes, Family Guy would not exist without The Simpsons. I don't think you will find one person who can seriously deny that. However, Simpsons should have been canned a few years ago. All it is doing now is embarassing itself and everyone who doesn't want to admit how far downhill it's gone. I'm not going to speculate a precise reason for the sharp dip in quality, but new Simpsons is complete and utter shit. If it were not on the air right now, the world would change none. Family Guy's success does not hinge on whether or not The Simpsons further tarnishes it's once golden legacy week after week with new episodes. The longer The Simpsons is allowed to dig itself into such a horribly unfortunate hole of shittiness, I would argue that it will become, if anything, less important. Being on the air for another 5 or 10 years will mean nothing if eventually the unwatchable episodes outnumber the good ones. Had The Simpsons been canceled at or near it's peak like Family Guy, we'd still be celebrating it. Instead, it's quality is called into question. It was, without a doubt, an extremely important show for not just television, but comedy and pop culture in general, but it's moment is over. It is no longer relivant and the torch should be passed to something more capable. Does this mean Family Guy? I don't know, that's a subject for debate. Clearly though, Simpsons is garbage now, and I wish above all else that they would put it out of it's misery before it gets worse.

I haven't watched new episodes of the Simpsons since I came to college 4 years ago. I remember in high school thinking it was losing its steam, but I have very fond memories of being obsessed with it in Jr. High and HS.

[Edited on May 03, 2005 by Quenten]

I wish I could watch the Simpsons. I miss them. I miss TV. Ok I don't. But I do miss the Simpsons.

Family Guy was canceled at or near it's peak? After 2-3 years? Sucks to be a Family Guy fan...

plenty of series peak in about that much time.

however, my point was that family guy was canceled while it was still clearly only getting better. therefor, it left the impression with everyone that it could only imporove and be of high quality. the fans never had to suffer through a notable and sustained dip in quality such as the simpsons. had they, nobody would have given a shit that it was canceled, at least not nearly as much. if you don't believe me, just wait til the current batch of episodes eventually vastly dissapoints everyone and ends up being canceled again.

its been a long time since I saw that show. sometimes I miss TV, a little bit. but not really.

Way to fill me in on things I'd already said myself, smartass. I wasn't asking how it used to be relevant. I was talking, in particular, about the new episodes. The issue here had nothing to do with comparing 'the Simpsons' to any other show. And if you want to rag on a show I actually like a lot more than the Simpsons, rag on 'South Park,' 'Venture Brothers,' or 'Futurama.' 'the Simpsons' isn't as much an influential powerhouse anymore, as you'd like to believe. While the characters are iconic, they are so because, at one time, the show was funny and a lot of people watched it. I don't see anyone ripping off the new episodes. I definitely don't think that 'the Simpsons' was/is the best show of all time.

I wasn't really looking for a comparison, (I don't think that 'Family Guy' is socially relevant at all), but thanks or the rest of your comment. I could understand how 'the Simpsons' has been relevant in the past, but the more recent episodes have reeked of trying to be socially conscious, whereas the best episodes were entertaining first, but still got their point across. Compare the episode in season 16 ("There's Something About Marrying") where they tackled gay marriage to the episode in season 8 ("Homer's Phobia") with John Waters. One is infinitely funnier, and its message is better presented.

I have to say that I will love The Simpsons until the day I die. I don't mean I'll just love the "golden age" period of the show either, I mean it's entire run. As long as there are new episodes, reruns, and even continuing DVD releases, I'll love the show for the countless hours of laughs and general entertainment it has brought me over the past 16 years and will continue to bring me. For anyone who doesn't agree with me, well, here is a quote from Abe Simpson, "I used to be with IT. But then they changed what IT was. Now what I'm with isn't IT, and what's IT seems scary and wierd. It'll happen to YOU." In conclusion, Libya is a land of contrast. Thank you.

fentopol andnot_jason as well as others see my point. The show is a weak shell of itself. It is too concerned about
being "about tackling issues" to be entertaining, rather than being entertaining as it tackles issues...

Dated pop culture refferences are killing the simpsons as quickly as the shitty jokes are. It used to be that when they wanted to make fun of a celebrity, they'd invent a character to parody them. The resemblence would be unmistakable, yet the character would be strong enough on it's own so that it would stand up even if people didn't catch the refference. Now, if they want to make fun of a celebrity, they have that precise celebrity on the show, drawn to resemble themselves in a manner that makes them stick out like a sore thumb amongst the rest of the cast. True, they've always had celebrities on the show since the early seasons, but the extent to which they do it lately is much greater, and a lot less discriminating. They continually make jokes now that do not stand on their own and require knowledge of some outside refference. It is true, yes, that they have always done refferences as well, but refferencing a classic movie or other thing that's stood the test of time is a lot different than some flavor of the month current movie or some recent minor news event that nobody's gonna remember in another year. Another difference is that it used to be that these sort of jokes would be in the background, a lot more subtle, now they attempt to carry entire episodes on weak refferencial humor because they suck too much to write real jokes.

Aw, man... I miss that guy.

For my money, it's the most original, smart and innovative sitcom. I missed the second season finale.

I hope they're around for another few seasons.