What if classic Simpsons episodes were made today

A

ajay prasad

New member
I got to wondering, we usually critize new episodes of The Simpsons for not being as good as the classic episodes right?

I was wondering...if the episodes we consider classics were made today, and the ones considered crap were made back in the shows early days, do you think there would be a difference?
 
Depends. Average episodes which get maligned today would be appreciated in the classic era probably, and vice-versa, but if episodes like Marge vs. The Monorail and Lisa's Substitute were being made today while stuff like Large Marge and Bonfire of the Manatees was taking up space in seasons 2-8, then people would probably consider the show to just be getting better and better. Of course, I don't know how The Simpsons could even make it through 8 seasons if the early episodes were the same quality as the ones being made today.
 
I agree. Some episodes would have to have been changed dramatically to fit in with today. But I feel they'd still be better received. I don't think it so much a problem of the Simpsons being on TV as much as it is amn issue of how long they've been on Tv, and how many of the classic writers went on to other things, like Late night talk shows, as to why the newer episodes test so poorly with fans.
 
i consider seasons 1-9 classic, 10-12 crap, 13-15 great, 16 alright, 17-18 terrible. so if stuff like "bonfire of the manitees" was back in season 6 and ran by david mirkin, then yeah, he probably would have turned it around and made it hilarious. but jean-- he just has to go. if they put george meyer in the executive producer's chair, the show would definately improve. if classics like "mother simpson" were made today by jean, i can see tons of parts being screwed up.
 
Certain new episodes, if they were made 10 years ago, would feel more fresh because by definition they wouldn't be re-treading old ground. Still, there's an undeniable difference in the narrative style of old episodes and new episodes, so I think it would only be different up to a point. Actually, I might not be watching the show now if it had started with these episodes, so it would be different in the sense that I wouldn't be bothering to critique it.
 
No offense, but was that tidbit of information really necessary? I'm sure that everyone here already knows that the Simpsons started out on the Tracey Ullman Show by now, and pointing out that that the Simpsons characters looked different than they did 10 years ago is like pointing out that cotton candy has sugar in it.
 
I think the animation wouldn't be as great had episodes from Seasons 1-8 been done in the style from Seasons 10-18. Certain sequences like Homer's Chocolate Fantasy or Homer trying to kill his family wouldn't have the same impact had it been animated more to scale like the show is now.
 
Right and he did great work. He also had Mike Reiss helping him. He was also only on two seasons. I can't speak for anybody else but the reason I want him out as show-runner now is because he's simply been doing it too long. Six seasons is the longest run as a show-runner in the history of the show. It helped keep things fresh when they switched show-runners more often. If you notice, most of the old ones only did two seasons and there was a reason for that.

I point you to Mike Scully. His first two seasons were great. Seasons 9 and 10 are often included in the classic seasons. But almost all of us hate seasons 11 and 12. Quite frankly, he overstayed his welcome as show-runner. Things got stale, the writing went downhill.

Now look to seasons 13 and 14. While not classic seasons, they were a step up from what Scully was producing at the end of his run and it's not as bad as what we have today. However, by season 15 it was stale. It's been stale ever since. I didn't hate season 18 and this season is passable so far. But I really think it would be best if the show got a new perspective. Are we ever going to see classic episodes like the classic seasons again? No. There's just no way to do that anymore. The movie was an exception. The movie was, in my opinion, a lost episode from the classic seasons. As for the show? Not a chance. But the Simpsons still has life left in it to be an entertaining show. Maybe not the best show on television like it used to be but not abysmal like much of it is nowdays. What it needs is somebody to bring some new ideas to the table and somebody that will cut the crap. That's not Al Jean. Al Jean has been running the show too long to do that anymore. That's my problem with Al Jean.
 
Current episodes are steeped too much in cheap self parody to have worked back then. You'd have to majorly rewrite them to fill 22 minutes, since so much of the show now is mocking their own continuity and fanbase.
 
I really don't think it would've happened. Modern episodes would've been too edgy for that time. Remember, even Season 1, which is really tame by today's standards, caused quite an uproar. Furthermore, if they'd made all these inferior episodes first, I don't know if the show would've been popular enough to make it to the good ones.

Hellcat also raises an excellent point, that I was also thinking. All those self-referential jokes, not to mention a good number of the current plots, wouldn't have made sense then (I'm also thinking about modern pop culture references, and all those celebrity guest stars who were unheard of back then). They'd have to be re-written so extensively that it wouldn't really be the same anyway.
 
Having relooked at season 14, I take that back. I'm remembering why I used to say season 14 was the season the show died on. But 13 was still ok. I guess Jean overstayed his welcome in record time.
 
I wouldn't fit the first season, maybe not the second, as part of the 'classic' golden age IMO. The first season was filled with pedestrian plots cluttered by too many real world concern of the family always being on the edge of bankruptcy and always struggling to make ends meet. I find it more fun when Homer just offhandly remarks he's been fired (AGAIN) or something and they move on to the plot of the episode. Those early eps would really suck today.
 
IMO, I think the 2nd season is definitely apart of the "classic era". It's pretty underrated, I think. It has some really fantastic episodes, like "Lisa's Subsitute" and "Three Men and a Comic Book".
 
It's been so long since I saw those eps it's sometime difficult for me to remember which seasons they were from ^^; so you make good points.

Season 1 though I still hate seeing those old eps in rerun. Plus the animation is painful to watch ><

On a side note I wonder what kind of typo I made that caused the word 'fit' to end up censored oO
 
Yeah, season one is kind of poor...even though I did enjoy that episode where Bart went to France..."Crepes of Wrath", I think it was called.
 
I find season 1 underappreciated. Sure, the show was still finding its footing, but I think it has genuine charm. I can still go back and enjoy those episodes far more then I could anything in the last few years. The show's humbleness and desire to play it safe is nice after having to put up with "We'll say what we like and if you disagree, we'll just make jokes about you with a character who was originally intended for something else (Comic Book Guy)"
 
Personally I enjoy the first season, although I admit that it's not at the same level as the ones that followed. The only reason I even mentioned it though, is because I was trying to point out that even the tamest episodes in the show's history were considered shocking when they first came out-- if some of the modern-day racier episodes were created then, the show would've been even controversial, and I don't think anybody, even the makers of the Simpsons, were actually interested in being that edgy then (of course, it's not really that 'edgy' anyway).

EDIT:
Once again, I agree with you, Hellcat.
 
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