What is wrong with The Simpsons in recent years? Why has it been going downhill for a long time? Is it just me or everyone else too who feels that way about The Simpsons?

There are a number of factors that contribute to the downfall of what was once the greatest show on earth. The loss of its creators

Although Matt Groening is credited as the creator, it was his collaboration with producer James L Brooks and Sam Simon that really brought the Simpsons to life. Each of these men brought something to the table that made the show what we remember it being. Matt Groening

Before the Simpsons, Groening wrote a comic stripe entitled “Life in Hell” which focused on a unlucky Rabbit living as the title suggested. Matt’s focus was on creating a show that rebelled against the medium of what was expected of Television at the time. During the 70s and 80s most sitcoms had this sweetness to them that made them safe for pretty much anyone to watch and never attacked anyone that was of greater authority than them. So when the Simpsons came around Groening instead chose to mock the virtues of the American Family. In simplest terms Groening brought rebellions stature to the Simpsons. To them everything was free to be mocked or brought up: Politics, Religion, Wealth, Bullying. Literally nothing was off limits. Sam Simon

Simon was a veteran writer of classic sitcoms like Cheers. He was the original writer for the show (having written the pilot “Some Enchanted Evening” with Matt) and eventually founded and lead the original writing team. His style was to ground the comedy of the show in its characters to make them more relatable than just make then a montage of cartoonish gags. James L. Brooks

Although Brooks (as exec producer) was never on the writing staff of the show, he is argued as being the one who brought heart and soul to the Simpsons. In the early years he would often push or suggest episodes that were very deep like the classic “Bart gets an F”, “Lisa’s Substitute” and “Maggie Makes Three” which are arguably some of the most mature and beautifully written episodes of the series. Rebellious Satire + Character Comedy + Heart & Soul = A well written and hilarious spin on the American lifestyle. By the mid ’90s each of these men had for one reason or another left the show. Simon left over creative differences but was still an influence for the writers. Brooks had a dispute over the infamous “A Star is Burns” episode and Groening decided to focus more of his energy on Futurama. Without them the show would start crumbling. Humor As Rick pointed out the older episodes had a wit to them. Much of the humour was grounded in its characters rather than focused on what was around them. Take this scene for instance:

It shows that although Homer doesn't like learning he’s willing to do it to keep his job to provide for his family so he hilariously makes a bargain with his brain. We have all been in a situation like this before so that makes it relevant and it adds that comedic touch that doesn't just make you laugh at Homer doing something funny or dumb, it lets you laugh at how you would more likely say the same thing. Now look at the modern gags. Most of them are a string of cartoonish gags that zip by so fast you either don't have the time to realize how funny they should be or are just so bored with being the exact same thing over and over again. The older episodes had a much stronger way of connecting their jokes to both the characters and their audience.

Characters Much like how the humour was relatable, so were the characters. In the old days the characters were as flawed as they were perfect, Homer, while being a slow-witted and at times selfish person, was still a loving father and husband who at the end of the day would always put the needs of friends and family over himself. For example he once wished Ned to fail at his Left hand venture but when he realizes how much this means to Ned and that Ned would lose his house he ultimately decides to help by getting a large turnout at the store.

And need I mention how he gave up his dream job at the bowling alley to provide for family when Maggie was coming.

Now he’s just an obnoxious idiot who spends too much time drinking, performing wacky shenanigans and he’s become the definition of an asshole who rarely helps others.

Lisa is another prime example of a character gone down hill. In the old days she was an intellectual voice of reason in the house. She was indeed intelligent but could also be preachy and obnoxious but at the end of the day realized she may have stepped over the line.

Now she’s just become just a preach. All she cares about is being right and doesn't care what other people think or say. She’s just a shallow know-it-all who wants to be the centre of attention.

The characters have become nothing more than caricatures of what they are. Flanders is a religious preach, Abe is a punching bag, both Wiggums are idiots - the list goes on. Animation I’m going to sound weird for saying this but, I think the animation now is too good. What I mean is that now the animation has become so bright and clean that it doesn't fit with the rebellious satire the show promises. It’s as if it has become the clean and safe show networks wanted it to be. The characters also move a lot more rigidly than they used to. It's as though their movements are limited to the capacity of the computer that’s animated them opposed to how an artist draws them.

Story This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, but newer Simpsons episodes don't pack as much a punch as older ones did. Back then we had stories like Burns reconnecting with his teddy, Sideshow Bob hunting Bart like a maniac and Bart and Homer trying to skateboard over a canyon.

But starting in season 8 things were changing. Episodes became less character driven and more situation driven. These include Homer becoming a boxer and working for a super villain. While most of season 8 is solid it showed that it was diving into the surreal making it less relatable. This degraded on through season 9 and ultimately 10 where I realized that this was the end of the show I loved so much. Guest Stars Perhaps my bigger peeve with the new era of Simpsons is that almost all episodes are centred on one thing: meeting a celebrity and having that serve as the plot. In the older seasons, guest stars were (usually) once every five episodes and when they did show up they didn't steal from the story, but served as either a quick gag or as minor players in a major plot.

Now it feels like rather than mock celebrities, they instead actively worship them. As a side note I feel like the death of Phil Hartman is the main reason celebs have taken over the show. After his passing in Season 10 the show brought in celebs much more frequently than they used to. I think this was their own way of “replacing him” or finding a way to repeat that humour. Problem was, his character, Troy McClure, was made to mock how people endlessly worship celebrities, so in a way they are now doing what they mocked.

So yeah, its not one thing that killed the Simpsons but a collection of smaller things that ultimately turned it into a shadow of what it was. However even if it remained consistent it just wouldn't have worked for the 2000s or this decade. So much of its culture, humour and especially its rebellious nature was rooted in the ’90s.

The show is out there for so long. Due to do that,it eventually lost its magic. They really need to let the show die and reboot it like Transformers did. İmagine what would Transformers like ıf they keep g1 show continue and never reboot it with Beast wars or Unicron trilogy.

They have just completely changed the format. They have modernized it too much and shifted the focus of of certain characters. Honestly the first five seasons were the best then it started to go downhill and has gotten even worse as the years have gone by.