Poll: On The Simpsons

[Frybird]

I say somewhere during/after season 10.

Season 10 had still good episodes, but it started to have really, REALLY weak ones that i found to be pretty rare before that (season 1 and 2 not included).

And then there was Season 11, wich was just god awful, with featured the "The Writers just don't care anymore" Saddlesore Galactica, the first mayor bad "retcon" in Form of the second "Simpsons in the Future" Episode (even though that wasn't nearly as bad as the later retcon with Marge and Homer suddenly being 20-somethings in the 90ies).
(And i totally agree how actual guest apperances started to be a sign of declining quality. They made sense for a while, but then they mostly started to become one-note apperances with characters saying something like "Woah, Name McFamousGuy, the famous What-the-person-does" beforehand...even the movie was plagued by it)

Although i think that no season was as bad as 11 and 12, The Simpsons never really recovered to me. And although i hear the series starts to improve recently (And i've seen "The Book Job", the first episode in a long time that i hadn't real complaints about and just enjoyed...i even enjoyed how they wrote the obligatory guest apperance of Neil Gaiman into it), i still think the Simpsons would be better off canceled.

Since they couldn't get the series to end after the movie, they should just do some kind of "All Star Season" and pretty much go and beg people like David X. Cohen, Josh Weinstein, Conan O' Brien and Brad Bird to do thier own send-offs (Not necessarily big or groundbreaking or gimmicky) to the show that, even though it ran for far to long, still counts as one of the best TV Shows of all time.

 

[Baron von Blitztank]

It died at the time when they started introducing guest appearences in every. fucking. episode. (which I think is before the movie)
After the movie, it just became a zombified cow

 

[Korolev]

I love every single Simpsons Episode until the end of the 8th Season (with the exception of the one involving Mr Burns going broke). During the 9th Season - that was when I started noticing terrible, awful episodes. However, there were enough good episodes to still retain my interest.

I trace it back to "The Trouble with Trillions", which is still one of my most hated episodes to date. After that, the series really started to go downhill. Season 10 had maybe one or two good episodes, and most of the episodes had one or two good jokes, but it was mostly awful. Then season 11 rolled around. I lost interest entirely. Up until Season 11, I can recall the plot and the jokes of almost every single Simpsons Episode. For all the episodes after that, I can't even tell you anything about them.

The series is played out. I can't even think about a single sensible plot that the show hasn't already used, except if Homer and Marge really do get divorced - and they've had several episodes in which they effectively separate (only to reunite at the end of course). I literally can't think of anything they haven't done that isn't ludicrously fantastical.

The characters don't (CAN'T) develop in any meaningful way. No important characters can ever get killed off. There are only TWO things they can do to rejuvenate or re-liven the show. They can let the characters finally age (I doubt they'll ever do this) or they can make the characters move location - not too far away because they'll want to reuse many of the old cast, but far away enough to put them in a new neighbourhood or maybe give Homer a new job or Bart and Lisa a new school. That's about the only thing I can think of which would even slightly increase my interest in watching the series again.

So to answer your question about where it really starts to go bad: Season 9. Season 9 is when the cracks start appearing. It goes downhill very quickly from there on.

 

[StorytellingIsAMust]

I've never stopped liking the Simpsons, personally.

 

[Hazy992]

It started to go downhill for me around the time of the new Millenium, which, correct me if I'm wrong, is around season 10

 

[lovest harding]

There are weak episodes and strong episodes from every season. It hasn't gone downhill for me.