9 HN users recommended this commentary3 months2017–2026score 4
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026
HN treats it as the definitive explanation of the Simpsons decline, recommended in every thread asking when the golden age ended.
Super Eyepatch Wolf analyzes why The Simpsons declined after its golden age, pointing to changes in the writers' room and a shift in the style and complexity of its comedy.
“For an actual exploration of what happened, I highly recommend this video.” (HN, 2017)
Nobody here seems to be mentioning the death of Phil Hartman[1] in 1998. The article, as well, staggeringly, doesn't mention his name. There's a video[2], 'The Fall of the Simpsons', which is one of my favourite videos on the internet. It explains and describes with utmost clarity the issues that led to the series 'demise', which, ultimately, boils down to 'bad writing'. However, in interviews, and comments from the showrunners and staff, it seems like Phil Hartman's death, who voiced the characters of Troy McCleur, and Lionel Hutz, as well as the voice of Lyle Lanley, from the fantastic classic episode 'Marge vs. the Monorail'. When Hartman died, they retired Troy's character. His absence alone is strongly felt when viewing the first several seasons against the others. His voice is certainly missed. Said Groening of Hartman: "[I] took [Hartman] for granted because he nailed the joke every time," and that his voice acting could produce "the maximum amount of humor" with any line he was given. I mean, this was 1998. Most folks consider season 8-9 to have some of the last 'great' episodes of the series, or at least the last 'great' seasons. There's absolutely no way this is a coincidence, and the affect of his death on the series has been verified by countless staff. I often think of Hartman's death as equivalent to Brian Epstein's death in '67. Similar to the Simpsons, there are a million reasons why the Beatles went to shit (even if their output for three years after that was
Clear explanation that the decline came down to bad writing
There is a video with great analysis on this. Ultimately argues that Simpsons was a great piece of counter culture, then it just won and became culture, losing its ability to skewer mainstream comedy. Along with an upheaval in the writer's room, it just went absurd all the time. That's a sometimes brilliant move, but dull when used in place of any substance. It also forgot how to stay true to its characters. Much more here: [this video]
Analysis of Simpsons going from counterculture to absurdity
There's a very interesting YouTube video that has a bit more of an explanation on why The Simpsons had a decline. I liked how they analyze the show and IMO it does a great job explaining why lots of people loved the show up until season 9-10. Personally I think I enjoyed up to season 12 or so, but definitely after 10 I noticed the shift in style/quality/whathaveyou. Could never put it into words why it felt like that, until I watched this. [0] [0] [this video]
Explains why Simpsons quality shifted after season 9-10
This reminds me of this video which attributes the decline of the Simpsons to the changes in writers and how the type of comedy itself changed. I still catch episodes when possible, the old ones definitely have a different depth than the current ones. The fall of the Simpsons: How it happened: [this video]
Attributes decline to writer changes and comedy style shift
Interesting it's possible, but there are explanations out there that aren't based on nostalgia but actually joke complexity among other things: [this video]
Explains decline through joke complexity rather than nostalgia
Skim read the article and I would suggest watching these videos on YouTube. The Fall of The Simpsons: How it Happened [this video] The Day The Simpsons Died [link]
I recommend watching _The Fall of The Simpsons: How it Happened_ [0]. It goes though how the comedy went from sharp an witty to laugh track quality. Personally, the only show that was also focused on sharp and witty was _Futurama_. That show was able to retain it better through out the years. Every series finally episode was a masterpiece. [0] [this video]
How Simpsons comedy went from sharp and witty to laugh track
I think nostalgia-based makes sense ... but I just decided to watch later Simpson episodes and their jokes just suck. I watched a few episodes and didn't laugh once. The video everyone is referencing in this thread has an example of the possible "pattern" that you reference: [this video]
>we often see with think-pieces that want to take on an air of authority. It's very simple to convince people right now with a reference to an article every other word, regardless of how reliable or even relevant each of the references actually is. The effect though is that the piece attains a state of legitimacy [case in point this Youtube Video that's been making the rounds.]( [this video] )
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