Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Why did the golden age of the Simpsons end?

nathancunn.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 147 posts

Re: Why did the golden age of the Simpsons end?

#71

Post by lostgame »

Jun8 wrote: post #63
bliblah wrote: post #61

Nothing lasts forever. Plain and simple. I really dislike TV/Anime that never ends, seems to be the modus operandi for pretty much every mainstream show despite how bad the quality gets after 2-3 seasons. Simpsons is a great showcase of the homogenization that every sitcom will go through given enough time. It starts out as a comedy with some wholesome family moments to bring it together but eventually every characte…

Exactly, and you have to know when to let go, a la Seinfeld. Adventure Time handled this very well, I think: told what they had to tell and ended after that. Another canonical good example exiting at the right time is Calvin and Hobbes.

Calvin and Hobbes also managed to avoid selling out. Bill Watterson was a genius for sure. Due to his actions, Calvin and Hobbes has retained it's wholesome charm, and as far as I can see, will for many years to come.

Re: Why did the golden age of the Simpsons end?

#72

Post by adzm »

cabaalis wrote: post #4

How much of this is not attributable to quality but instead to streaming options? I watched The Simpsons for most of my childhood, up until college when I was too busy working and studying--most of my TV time then went to Stargate SG-1 and other Sci-fi. Futurama and Family Guy were in the mix as well up until that time. However, I HAVE still watched Futurama and Family Guy in adulthood, because they were available to…

Is there even a way to (legally) stream all of the Simpsons? I have never been able to find a place that streams the older seasons. I'd even pay for something if it was a reasonable service. I remember being disappointed that Hulu had the Simpsons, but limited to only the newer ones we don't enjoy.

Re: Why did the golden age of the Simpsons end?

#73

Post by poisonarena »

jplayer01 wrote: post #13
duxup wrote: post #8

Whenever we talk about Simpsons decline it always occurs to me that even in decline... the Simpsons is still pretty good. Perhaps that says more about its high points than the "decline".

I think the decline is largely bullshit nostalgia. I still watch Simpsons and I still think it's great.

This is wrong based off the wealth of Simpsons Instagram Meme accounts there are.. I am talking thousands of memes... Zero of them based off content past season 9 .. Why is that?

Re: Why did the golden age of the Simpsons end?

#74

Post by m23khan »

Maybe it is just me but in older episodes of Simpsons, there was a lot more music for different situations and at times, classic or what I would term 'wholesome' music was played to highlight cathartic situations or trials/tribulations of human lives.

These are things that to me play a major part as a viewer. To me, a TV serial is not about 30 min episode, it is a mini-play or chapter in a play.

Think back to days of Tom and Jerry (the ones before mid-1960s) as well as the older Mickey Mouse & Co (up till 1970s) and you will see the recurring pattern -- music was just great and played a huge part in involving the user.

That and also, there is something about the super-sharp, ultra modern type of animation modern day Simpsons have. I understand it is high-tech and latest stuff, but it does take away from the art and appreciation of what the viewer experiences. If you don't believe me, watch an episode of 1940s/1950s Mickey Mouse or Tom & Jerry and compare with their modern day renditions.

Re: Why did the golden age of the Simpsons end?

#75

Post by iopq »

nathcun wrote: post #54
patorjk wrote: post #16

One possible problem with this - I listened to the Simpsons commentary tracks a long time ago and one comment the writers gave was that episodes were hashed out in the writers room, and everyone contributed jokes. Once an episode was hashed out, one or two people would then be assigned to put it together. This would mean an episode could be listed as written by a specific person, but the best jokes in that episode co…

You're right, I kind of acknowledge this limitation, and am aware I'm doing many of the writers a massive disservice. But, the data that only showed credited writers, and those credited must have done _something_ to be the ones with their names on it.

What if the later writers just got worse reviews because they were in the later seasons? In other words, something else caused the decline so the later writers got worse ratings.

Re: Why did the golden age of the Simpsons end?

#76

Post by utopcell »

bliblah wrote: post #61

Nothing lasts forever. Plain and simple. I really dislike TV/Anime that never ends, seems to be the modus operandi for pretty much every mainstream show despite how bad the quality gets after 2-3 seasons. Simpsons is a great showcase of the homogenization that every sitcom will go through given enough time. It starts out as a comedy with some wholesome family moments to bring it together but eventually every characte…

Star Trek TNG summed it up best on its last episode: ``[..] you had such potential, but then again, all good things must come to and end'' [1].

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-olnnGBJQV4

Re: Why did the golden age of the Simpsons end?

#79

Post by nathcun »

iopq wrote: post #75
nathcun wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're right, I kind of acknowledge this limitation, and am aware I'm doing many of the writers a massive disservice. But, the data that only showed credited writers, and those credited must have done _something_ to be the ones with their names on it.

What if the later writers just got worse reviews because they were in the later seasons? In other words, something else caused the decline so the later writers got worse ratings.

Your wording here suggests that the later episodes were simply rated lower because they were later. However, I think your point is that the later episodes got worse ratings for something beyond the writers. Certainly possible. Even if nothing else changed, it must be much more difficult to write a fresh, funny episode when 200+ episodes have already been done. There were also external factors which might have driven a change in the comedy of the show, the beginning of Family Guy, e.g.

Re: Why did the golden age of the Simpsons end?

#80

Post by afterburner »

bliblah wrote: post #61

Nothing lasts forever. Plain and simple. I really dislike TV/Anime that never ends, seems to be the modus operandi for pretty much every mainstream show despite how bad the quality gets after 2-3 seasons. Simpsons is a great showcase of the homogenization that every sitcom will go through given enough time. It starts out as a comedy with some wholesome family moments to bring it together but eventually every characte…

It's not just that it lost the family moments; the comedy writing got much, much worse. Comedy doesn't have to have tender moments, but it does have to be funny.
Post reply on HN