I'm only talking about Seasons 1-5. I haven't seen any of the episodes in other seasons, and I've only seen some of the episodes in 1-5.
The Simpsons is a great show. The writing is great, the characters are likable, the voice acting is amazing, and the plots are clever. Let me explain each of those one by one.
Writing: The jokes are clever. For example, take Bart's catchphrase, "I'm Bart Simpson. Who the hell are you?" Take the Running Gag of Homer strangling his son Bart, which is hilarious. Take Ned Flanders, the ultra-nice, ultra-nice, ultra-Christian neighbour of the Simpsons family. He's hilarious just by being all of those characteristics that I just mentioned.
The characters are likable: Bart isn't exactly an ideal role model for kids, but he's not a Jerkass: he's a Jerk with a Heart of Gold. He loves his sister Lisa deep down. Lisa is so intelligent. An average adult couldn't come up with most of the things she says. Homer is a Jerk with a Heart of Gold like his son Bart. He's not a great role model, but deep down, he loves his family. Marge often points out why Homer's behaviour is bad, and rightfully puts him in his place. Maggie, the baby, only communicates through sucking noises, but that's what defines her character.
The voice acting: Go on the internet (which you are presumably already on, given that you're reading this on TV Tropes) and search for "homer simpson", and find a video of Homer Simpson talking. Could you talk like that? Not likely.
The plots are clever: Take the episode "Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish", for example. In that episode, a 3-eyed fish is discovered in a river that's near the power plant, and Mr. Burns (the owner of the power plant) doesn't want the plant to be shut down (since it's being investigated), so he decides to run for governor. That is a great plot.
A Great Show
I'm only talking about Seasons 1-5. I haven't seen any of the episodes in other seasons, and I've only seen some of the episodes in 1-5.
The Simpsons is a great show. The writing is great, the characters are likable, the voice acting is amazing, and the plots are clever. Let me explain each of those one by one.
Writing: The jokes are clever. For example, take Bart's catchphrase, "I'm Bart Simpson. Who the hell are you?" Take the Running Gag of Homer strangling his son Bart, which is hilarious. Take Ned Flanders, the ultra-nice, ultra-nice, ultra-Christian neighbour of the Simpsons family. He's hilarious just by being all of those characteristics that I just mentioned.
The characters are likable: Bart isn't exactly an ideal role model for kids, but he's not a Jerkass: he's a Jerk with a Heart of Gold. He loves his sister Lisa deep down. Lisa is so intelligent. An average adult couldn't come up with most of the things she says. Homer is a Jerk with a Heart of Gold like his son Bart. He's not a great role model, but deep down, he loves his family. Marge often points out why Homer's behaviour is bad, and rightfully puts him in his place. Maggie, the baby, only communicates through sucking noises, but that's what defines her character.
The voice acting: Go on the internet (which you are presumably already on, given that you're reading this on TV Tropes) and search for "homer simpson", and find a video of Homer Simpson talking. Could you talk like that? Not likely.
The plots are clever: Take the episode "Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish", for example. In that episode, a 3-eyed fish is discovered in a river that's near the power plant, and Mr. Burns (the owner of the power plant) doesn't want the plant to be shut down (since it's being investigated), so he decides to run for governor. That is a great plot.
Overall, 5 out of 5 stars.