Why, how and When did the Simpsons Jump the Shark???

For some reason the Jockey Elves didn't bug me much, it was wacky and silly but like many earlier episodes it was a case of a wacky plot handled in a funny manner (or at least So Bad, It's Good). My problem with a lot of later episodes is that the wackiness feels kind of forced in and doesn't mesh properly with the show, like the characters are actors blandly reading from a script.

The Simpsons did have wacky episodes very early on, just they were usually handled better, eg. most of the Sideshow Bob episodes.

edited 7th Nov '11 5:44:10 AM by Psi001

I have a season 6 candidate. "Homer Badman" . That was the earliest memory I have of an episode that was more annoying than funny.

Lol the Tomaco episode was great.

Also Apu getting octuplets was fun.

Truth is I have been very tolerant when it comes to the Simpsons but yea. Dignity vs Homer was a terible terrible episode.

Also when the simpsons travel to China is a very very bad episode. But I still dont get it... how did the show change??? Like now Hommer in a normal episode will jump up and down a highways as if he where Jackie Chan and... I dont know...

Even that one is gold when compared to the new ones (do I also found it annoying some scenese where great such as the "interview" scene")

edited 7th Nov '11 11:05:24 AM by Baff

Do I think the point where the Simpsons began declining in quality was the episode in which Skinner turned out to be a fake.

My vote for when the show died was when they gave comic book guy a name, but it was downhill long before that.

Interestingly enough, the Monorail episode was when supernatural things started being pushed into the series if I recall. They even told Conan O'Brien not to put them in, I think. But it was a good episode.

I know this is an old discussion, but this was the second result when I searched for "Jumping The Shark"

For me, the Jumping The Shark moment was "Behind the Laughter" in season 11. The episode itself was good, but it also practically said that the show could turn to crap and people would keep watching it. This was followed by season 12, and we all know the kinds of turns it took there.

No. of seasons 23

Thank you and good night.

This.

Personally, I think that people tend to overreact about the so-called panda rape. Ditto the Skinner thing.

Season 23 was actually more hit than miss. Unfortunately, that season also contained my vote for worst episode ever, "Lisa Goes Gaga".

edited 15th Sep '12 10:07:03 AM by redhed311

By the time the panda rape came (I think I phrased that wrong...) the show already had jumped the shark.

So? It just means it has become long running crap.

Wait, has the Simpsons stopped airing? You can't decide where a shark has been jumped until the series is done with right?

I think it can be done, but you can say the series jumped back if it gets better again later on.

Besides, we all know that waiting for it to end is useless, since the series will outlive us all.

edited 15th Sep '12 12:44:32 PM by NapoleonDeCheese

The first episode I remember absolutely disliking was “Two Bad Neighbors.” I thought it was rife with lazy writing and little more than a cheap pretext for Hank Azaria to drag his George Bush impression off of the mothballs. That was season 7, after most of the original writing staff left.

That was Season 11 (“Saddlesore Galactica”). Seasons 10-12 were the show’s nadir for me and this episode was the absolute pits, complete with the writers lampshading their own lameness with Comic Book Guy constantly saying “Worst Episode Ever,” as if calling attention to the writers’ laziness somehow excused the churning out of inferior product.

The show has rebounded somewhat since then, from being more or less consistently poor to being more or less consistently mediocre. They’ve certainly never been as consistently amazing as those first four or five years but then, I wouldn’t expect them to be.

edited 15th Sep '12 12:44:49 PM by Bananaquit

Seasons 10 -12 also had brilliant gems like the MENSA episode,Krusty's daughter,Maude dies,the hell's Satan's motorcycle gang,the Y2K THOH [the death of Homer and Bart from sun exposure is still the creepiest thing churned out],the A Day in the Limelight episode for Comic Book Guy,that Curfew episode,the best satire of Japanese game shows. The Thomas Edison episode,or that very character-driven episode where Lisa gets cold feet after cheating,or perhaps that episode where Homer becomes a bodyguard

And your honestly gonna tell me that those are possibly worse than what everything after them has become? Let's see

Bad Glee crossover,Lisa exiles Bart into the backyard because of stupid prank,Bart gets away with strangling Homer,a bad Prince and the Pauper rip-off,the outdated iPod/ muslims aren't evil episode,that episode where the whole town nearly drives Bart to suicide because he messed up at Baseball. Or maybe that episode where Lisa gets the town nearly killed off by Bulls via emotionally blackmailing poor poor Abe. The 1895 reality show episode. Or perhaps that episode where The Simpsons get kicked out of America because Bart teased a donkey. That episode where Homer hires a crooked detective to help him out because Lisa decided to be an ingrate. That episode where Homer and Marge are tormented to hell for the murder of an old lady,...but it was just a reality show set-up.

What do all these episode have in common,they were aired after the 10-12 seasons,and were wackier,duller,not self-aware at all,and anvilicious at points.

12 was crazy,but at least they were self-aware,and really it didn't go downhill until that Alligator episode.

That episode bothered me too. But I think the JTS moment for me was the episode where Mrs. Flanders died. That was a total Cerebus Mode moment. Am I alone in thinking this?

And now he's remarried. To Krabappel.

Actually I think they balanced it enough with actual humor and uplifting moments that the depth didn't give too much Mood Whiplash compared to some sitcom deaths. My only big problem with it was that they made the death entirely Homer's fault. Seriously, the guy was already a moronic jerk, having him get someone killed in his ignorance helped none.

I'm not sure whether the self aware humor helped or worsened the dynamic. I just think the characters became shells of themselves when they started doing the whole constantly talking to the screen in faked enthusiasm schtick (shows like Family Guy worked because they started that way, for The Simpsons it just comes off as forced).

edited 15th Sep '12 8:08:16 PM by Psi001

Simpsons was just never my thing, personally. I don't know if it's Hype Backlash or what.

I think the decline started in Season 9. It was still a great season, some damn fine writing and great episodes, but little hairline cracks were juuuust forming. Season 10, despite some wonderful moments was when it took a nosedive I think. Yes the Mensa one was great, but certain ones like the kidney one just sucked. And at the time I was completely aghast at Season 11, thinking "But how can the writers think this is good?" The boy band one was my official "Ok, this sucks" moment.

I will defend Principal and the Pauper though. I was never seriously put off by it's premise, and even plot aside it has some goddamn funny jokes and good writing. "When I grow up, I want to be a principal, or a caterpillar!" and Homer's brain going "Keep looking shocked and move slowly towards the cake" still make me giggle.

edited 15th Sep '12 11:12:24 PM by Landstander

As much as I hate that episode, that indeed was a great joke. But I've always been a sucker for Homer's brain gags.

I love that episode and all of the screams of "Ruined FOREVER!" after it aired baffle me (then again, people who abandon a show they love after ONE episode they have a problem with baffle me as well). For one, the rest of Season 9 got a generally good reception and let's face it, the Skinner thing didn't exactly affect the show that much.

For me, the first ten sesons were golden age. Season 11 was when things first felt off.

EDIT: They lost the Emmy to some penguin show on Nickelodeon. I thought for sure that they had it in the bag this year, because the episode that was submitted, "Holidays of Future Passed" not only had the perfect amount of humor and heartwarming moments that the voters love, it was also easily the most well-received episode by this Unpleasable Fanbase in a long time (anyone who hasn't seen it should really check it out, it really is a great episode).

edited 16th Sep '12 10:43:23 AM by redhed311

Well, you are a Seth Mc Farlane fan. It's easy to see why you would love it. The episode is rather Mc Farlane-esque in feeling.

No comments on the Unpleasable Fanbase comment.

edited 16th Sep '12 11:18:07 AM by NapoleonDeCheese

Season 10 was not the nosedive season,it was just as on par as most of the Golden Age seasons,even ahead of the 5th and 6th seasons. Sure it had it's crazy ones such as the hippie episode,the Alec Baldwin episode,the trucker episode, Ned Flanders is a phoegy episode,and that ilk

But even Season 6 had premises like that,no one calls that a terrible season,and for good reason,..it wasn't

11 still had a few good moments (Maude's death,the food critic,the Hell's Satan's,Sober Barney,Behind the Laughter just for starters) but that was the beginning of the slide,12 was the first one that seemed tired,but the first episode that said "We suck" was in Season 13 concerning an endangered caterpillar,an old lady "killed" off,and Homer and Marge set up for a reality show concerning it.

edited 16th Sep '12 11:59:42 AM by terlwyth

Ah, Screamerpillar? "I don't hear any sleep screams!"

I think the episode with 50 Cent was when I first noticed that the show had gotten really bad.