Simpsons Season Six- June 14th (1 Viewer)

[TravisR]

I think that Season Nine (and maybe even Ten) are the last ones worth buying. After that, the only thing that will make me buy them is my own sick compulsion to be a completist

I will say though that some people still love the show to this day.

 

[Ocean Phoenix]

I suggest stopping after Season 8, that's when I'm stopping, and I'm a huge Simpsons fan. I love Seasons 2-7. I think those are the best ones. From Season 4, every single episode is good to great (in my opinion). Season 8 has some great episodes too, but also some mediocre ones. It's the beginning of the end as far as I'm concerned. Every season up to the present seems to have at least a few decent episodes, but I think the show stopped being consistently funny/sweet/excellent after season 7. The "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" storyline (season 6 season finale and season 7 season opener) is what I consider the peak of The Simpsons series.

 

[Jaime_Weinman]

Yeah, season 8 is a pretty good place to stop. In season 9, Mike Scully took over as showrunner for four years, and those seasons (when the show got into insanely stupid plots like jockeys who turn out to be evil subterranean trolls) are generally thought to be the show's worst. It's gotten better since Al Jean, one of the show's original writers, became showrunner, but not, in my opinion, what it was at its best. So if you buy up to season 8 you will have the best of the show.

 

[Wezzo]

Ron,

Assuming you're a "casual fan", I'd suggest you make season nine the last set you buy. It's the last season where there are more than a couple of greats, and IMO it's worth it just for "Lost Our Lisa", "King Of The Hill" and "Lisa's Sax". Beyond that, unless you're a completist or *huge* fan (like me ) I wouldn't bother, as although seasons 13+ have been a marked improvement, they have only very rarely reached the great comic heights of seasons 2 - 9.

 

[PaulP]

Huh? Never!

 

[Phil_L]

Count me in for all the seasons, for however long the show runs. There may have been some stinkers along the way, but this is still my favorite show and I love popping in the DVDs.

 

[WillG]

That episode has grown on me over time

"And what if I refuse to lose?"
"We'll eat your brain!"
"MY HORSE MUST LOOOOOOSSSSEEEEEEE!"

 

[David Williams]

I put my vote in for stopping after S10. S9 had some incredibly funny episodes like The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson, Lisa's Sax, Easy Bake Coven from Treehouse of Horror VIII, The Cartridge Family, The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons and Natural Born Kissers and unfortunately what I consider the worst episode of The Simpsons, The Prinicpal and the Pauper. S10 had fewer funny episdoes, but those that are are some of the series funniest, imho. They include: When You Dish Upon a Star, Doh-in' in the Wind, Viva Ned Flanders, I'm With Cupid, Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo, They Saved Lisa's Brain and my favorite of the season, Marge Simpson in 'Screaming Yellow Honkers'.

Canyoner-o-o-o!

 

[Ocean Phoenix]

Ron, I'm curious about something...as a person who didn't watch these episodes when they originally airred and who is discovering the old episodes for the first time (I assume), which episodes and/or seasons are you enjoying most?

 

[James L White]

season 199

season 200 the last season ever sucks, homer dies of advanced old age.

 

[PaulP]

So they named Maggie's grandson Homer too? How unoriginal.

 

[Bryan Ri]

Ron,

I'd buy up to season 10, and then stop after that. If you're still curious at that point, I'd consider renting before going all in on seasons 11-267.

 

[RichardLoomis]

While it is true that the show is no longer *AS* funny as it once was, I think it would be unfair to say there was a point where it stopped being funny.

Humour is subjective, but compared to half the US sitcoms that are on TV right now (Everybody Loves Raymond being an obvious example), The Simpsons can still stand tall above them. Granted, it may not be as "edgy" any more, but there are other shows such as South Park, or the whole HBO station to fill that role. The Simpsons is still quality entertainment, but the glory days do seem to be over. I'm glad in a way they have decided to end it after 20 seasons, because at some point you have to stop.

I personally noticed a change from the Season 9 opener 'The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson', which was the first episode I thought to be "sub par" . After that, the show has never sat right for me. Still, I can enjoy the old episodes, and if our Channel 10 showed them on a regular basis, it would still be one of the few "mainstream" shows that I'd watch.

I, for one, welcome the later seasons on DVD, simply because our local channel refuses to play them in any order or on a regular basis in a regular timeslot. Plus they are usually edited to squeeze in a few more ads. (This is one time I don't want to see them as they originally aired - cut for ads, graphics on screen and squished closing credits).

 

[Sam Favate]

Ron, I'd dispute the notion that the Simpsons ever "got really bad." Some seasons were more consistent than others, but every season has some true jems. I'm looking forward to every season on DVD -- not for completion's sake, as I have said in another thread, but because the show is still well-written and funny as hell.

 

[Amy Mormino]

It is interesting that Richard thought that the episode with Homer in New York was subpar, as that was one of my favorites that season.

I'd agree that Season Ten was the last season with consistently really good episodes, but after that there are still a scattered number that I enjoy enough to consider buying the DVD set. And sometimes I have to watch a Simpsons episode two times or more before I really enjoy it. I find that The Simpsons and Futurama are perhaps the most re-watchable TV DVDs that I own.

 

[Chris Bardon]

Great news about season 6! I don't think I ever saw that "Most Wanted" piece, but I'm still convinced that Tito Puente really did it, and managed to find a patsy to take the fall...

As for Ron's question, I don't really think that the show ever stopped being funny. Just look at last night's episode ("Are you sure that mom wanted us to enter a European Baloon race") for a great example of why the show is still going strong.

Bring on Season 6!

 

[Jonathan_Clarke]

Last night's was pretty funny, if that helps.

Seasons 4-8 are the absolute peak but Season 9 is strong. The last few years have been hit or miss but there are always a couple of great jokes if not episodes.

The Mike Scully years are weak, containing episodes I will actually turn off such as 'Saddlesore Galactica'. I always got the impression Scully just did not care that much. I remember an article where he basically said that the show is bound to put some clunkers out now and then. That's not a quote I can see coming out of Al Jean. Scully was gone not long after that quote.

I wish Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein stayed on longer. Their episodes were the best IMO. Too bad they left to start 'Mission Hill' which was just kinda blah (you can see that on Adult Swim now and then).

 

[TravisR]

Part of the problem is that ANY show that has been on as long as The Simpsons can't help but decline after so long. They've done everything that can be done. Now the show just seems to recycle (or slightly change) plots or jokes from old episodes.

Despite my negative view on the show's current status, I will say that it's one of the best series in the history of television. That's due entirely to how good the show used to be

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

I can't see myself not owning them all, even though I think that after season 9 it became a lot more hit or miss than in previous seasons.

 

[Jaime_Weinman]

And it was actually produced for season 8 (that and the infamous "Skinner is an impostor" episode were the last episodes that Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein produced).

There's always some overlap between seasons, so even though season 9 was the first Mike Scully season, it has some of the realism of the Oakley/Weinstein years (one reason I like their episodes is because they were the last executive producers to have the Simpsons do realistic things that real families do, eg going to an outlet store to buy a TV).

Also note that I'm not saying that there aren't good episodes after season 8. But someone who's not a die-hard, completist fan of the show might want to stop at a certain point. It's like me: my Buffy the Vampire Slayer collection stops at season 3, not that I don't think there are good episodes in seasons 4 and 5 (or even 6 and 7), just that, as a non-diehard fan of the show, I think most of what I enjoy about the show is embodied in the high school years, so those are the seasons I want to watch more than once.