so when I was growing up my parents were
mostly busy as soon as we got home be it
cooking cleaning feeding the animals
this will give me just enough time to
watch an episode of my favorite show The
Simpsons my cousin and I will watch an
episode every day after school when it
came out how some people say they were
raised on television well the same is
true for me about the Simpsons well I
was slightly sheltered in certain areas
the Simpsons taught me about the outside
world it taught me about life love and
even I'd say taught me the importance of
family but by the time I got into my
teenage years the show just didn't have
the same impact over me as it once did
it didn't bother me too much as I was
interested in other things and other
shows took up my entertainment but now
those shows are going by the same
wayside and I'm just wondering what
happened how did my all-time favorite
show that I watched religiously as a kid
turns to something that I don't even
recognize aside from the characters and
voices I guess one of the first times I
noticed something different about the
Simpsons was when the 300th and 2nd
episode came out the promotional
material heavily teased the guest star
appearance by Tony Hawk a huge star at
the time the episode starts off with the
kids finding an old ad starring baby
Bart a premise that could have been its
own episode Bart then sues for
emancipation rights after finding out
Homer blew all his money away
Bart moves into a loft and a little
after the halfway mark finds out Tony
Hawk loose two floors up Homer talks
Tony into forfeiting a competition
against him even giving him a board that
will make him the perfect skater Homer
reconciles with his son and is hired in
a viagra commercial and the episode ends
I remember being disappointed that Tony
Hawk didn't appear in a lot of the
episode but after going back and
watching it there are several other
problems I noticed though the episode is
an enjoyable when the storyline is
centered around the situation and not
necessarily the characters overcoming
this situation by the end of the episode
it doesn't even seem like Bart still
living in the loft in the next episode
would be a big deal if they had made it
Murphy made it happen upon riding this
piece the most recent episode to be
released was season 29 episode 12 the
episode starts strangely enough with no
couch
in a bidding war over a piece of art
between Homer mr. burns and a character
we've never met before Homer is highly
upset at losing the piece of art before
it is stolen we are then treated to a
Matlock parody for the next 20 minutes
it plays out like a Murder She Wrote
episode with unnecessary exposition and
long drawn-out exterior shots
however the Simpsons characters
excluding Homer and to an extent Lisa
are out put in the background as far as
attention goes in this episode The
Simpsons are secondary characters while
everything else revolves around the new
character man a chick aside from most of
the jokes being men it is in a way
that's quite contradictory to one main
character it turns out Lisa was the one
to steal the painting which is weird
because in season two Lisa was so
distraught over her parents stealing
cable and a single grape of all things
instead of the story revolving around
the characters overcoming their
situations the stories now revolve
solely around the situation's themselves
the main difference I found between the
writing of the older and newer seasons
can be easily compared to the writing of
the old and new Ghostbusters and the
original Ghostbusters our main
characters stand out because they're
wacky zany sarcastic and comedic
personalities contrast so well against
the normal and stoic new york city in
the new Ghostbusters when every
character is written as a nice sarcastic
and comedic then our main characters
more so blend in with the background if
anything then stand out granted I know
it's a cartoon but it seems like the
older episodes tell a better story as a
result of still being in a somewhat
grounded reality now there's nothing to
keep the viewer invested in the conflict
when most of the episodes are resolved
through script convenience or deus ex
machina understandably the Simpsons is
an animated show but what sets it apart
from being a full-blown cartoon in the
sense of Bugs Bunny is a storytelling
and most of the earlier stories felt
like they could happen to you or your
uncle or your grandpa or even your aunt
so the humor never really had to rely on
the outlandish or over-the-top but was
added to further the comedic effect
you'll be hard-pressed now to find a
newer episode that doesn't feature
something overtly cartoony in the first
60 seconds let alone actually adds to
the story if anything the Simpson
more now mirrors the more cartoony and
anything-goes style of riding featured
in Family Guy the most telling sign that
the writing has drastically change can
be found in my favorite episode which is
the way we was from the second season
featuring the first time homer and Marge
met I don't know
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despite his stupidity and poor decisions
when trying to woo Marge by the end
she's able to see his sweet lovable and
extremely deeply caring nature
throughout the show we always see Marge
stand by her husband no matter what dumb
hairball scheme he gets himself into she
will voice her disapproval one be
visibly annoyed however it's obvious she
still loves and cares for her husband
immensely however that extreme devotion
throughout the series has now been
replaced with repressed resentment we
even see it manifest in several newer
episodes and in almost every future
episode that never-ending love and
undying patience of large is replaced by
different suitors even Lena Dunham hooks
up with Homer just for his hot drug
connect speaking of drugs the core
characteristics of all the characters
have changed some for throwaway gags for
example Marge becoming an addict to
Prozac because Donald Trump became
president taking four years worth of
education in a hundred days Lisa
questioning whether she could be friends
with a new girl simply because she's
Republican homers straight up breaking
Ned Flanders neck
Maggie talking and giving an extremely
long speech not to mention the homework
fascinating about Ned Flanders children
being hung by their necks Bart is really
the only character that has relatively
stayed the same
a character except for the one episode
where he almost lets homework be
murdered
he's also no longer an underachiever but
he's just average as far as intelligence
I'm not really a fan of that kind of
direction with fart because in the
earlier episodes part was always kind of
just as smart as Lisa he just didn't try
and now that is to say not all the
changes of the characters have been bad
one of the most intriguing that was once
left as a one-note stereotyped character
it was that of Nelson Muntz the writers
have actually helped craft Nelson from
just a bully to an actually deep
character who not only has a very tragic
backstory but also as one whose
intelligence and creativity sometimes
rivals that of Lisa and Martin in the
future episodes one of the most
fascinating concepts is Lisa
contemplating on whether she should have
stayed with Nelson rather than no house
not only that but longtime single woman
mrs. Krabappel actually ends up marrying
Ned Flanders who's forced to accept and
come to terms with
Edna's many many past intimate
relationships sadly when the voice
actress who played Edna passed away they
gave an extremely touching send-off as
Ned and Nelson reflect on how much she
meant to them and how they'll miss her
so to be honest there's still quite a
few episodes they're still really good
like the Homer and his dog Bongo episode
the Halloween of four and all the future
episodes and many others for a show
that's been on the air for nearly 30
seasons it's understandable for certain
aspects to change or feel different
while the differences in writing may run
some of the loyal fan base off like
Peter said I mean don't get me wrong I
used to love Duff when I was younger but
I haven't even had it in like 13 years
there are enough new and fresh elements
that will bring in more viewers be them
new or old maybe we should just change
the name from The Simpsons to
Springfield then everyone will be happy
we know it's not the same Simpsons but
it's still the characters we know and
grew to love
they're just slightly different while I
named this title the rise and fall of
the Simpsons I know I'm not necessarily
saying that the Simpsons is a bad show
per se it's very entertaining pretty
much all the episodes you can sit down
and enjoy and watch however it is
slightly different from where it was
nearly 30 years ago I think that's where
it just everyone has a hard time
accepting because something they've
grown up with and loved so much and so
dearly has in a lot of elements become
so different but that being said
something different doesn't always
necessarily mean that it's always going
to be bad
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