The OtherArena

[Bob Morris]

http://observationdeck.io9.com/the-way-they-was-six-totally-different-shows-the-simps-1677711647/+barryap

Good read. Explains why I found the first three "eras" to be fun, the fourth era where I lost interest, and quit watching after that, aside from the movie.

[corrado]

I'll discuss the eras from seasons 1-8:

1. A Lacerating Punk Satire (1989-1990)

Season 1 is definitely the most basic of the first 8 seasons. Mostly 1 to 2 straightforward plots. A mix of humor and emotions The animation was very wonky at times. Probably the least recommendable of the first 8 seasons.

2. A Traditional Humanist Sitcom (1990-1993)

I would agree with the years of this era. Season 2 is the most well-written. A mix of humor and emotional moments in each episode. With, like the article said, "Lisa's Subsitute" being the peak of those well-written episodes. I do think Season 3 marked a slow shift to the next era. More jokes, quick scenes, dream sequences, cutaways etc.

3. An Absurdist Thrill Ride (1993-1997)

Actually I would say Seasons 7-8 (1995-1997) were a little more grounded. There were new showrunners of those seasons (Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein) who wanted to bring the Simpsons back to its family-centered/emotional roots a little more than previous years. There were some outside the box episodes as well from those two seasons, with more of a meta feel. After Oakley and Weinstein left, the show was never the same.


One of the main reasons for the show ending up the way it was, was the death of Phil Hartman, who voiced two popular characters in Lionel Hutz, and Troy McClure. You could always count on two those to steal the show.

Hopefully this summer, the cable home of "The Simpsons" does the "every simpsons Ever" marathon that it had last year. That deserves to be shown annually from now on.