The Fall of The Simpsons: How it Happened
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN treats it as the definitive explanation of the Simpsons decline, recommended in every thread asking when the golden age ended.
What it is
Super Eyepatch Wolf analyzes why The Simpsons declined after its golden age, pointing to changes in the writers' room and a shift in the style and complexity of its comedy.
Recommended by 9 HN commenters across 3 different months, 2017 to 2026.
What Hacker News said
Strong rec dmitriid · 2017-10 · on “When did the golden age of The Simpsons end?”
For an actual exploration of what happened, I highly recommend this video. The Fall of The Simpsons: How it Happened [this video]
Strong rec brudgers · 2017-10 · on “When did the golden age of The Simpsons end?”
My favorite take on "The Decline and Fall of the Simpsons Empire": The Fall of the Simpsons [this video]
Strong rec lostgame · 2018-10 · on “Why did the golden age of the Simpsons end?”
Nobody here seems to be mentioning the death of Phil Hartman[1] in 1998. The article, as well, staggeringly, doesn't mention his name. There's a video[2], 'The Fall of the Simpsons', which is one of my favourite videos on the internet. It explains and describes with utmost clarity the issues that led to the series 'demise', which, ultimately, boils down to 'bad writing'. However, in interviews, and comments from the showrunners and staff, it seems like Phil Hartman's death, who voiced the characters of Troy McCleur, and Lionel Hutz, as well as the voice of Lyle Lanley, from the fantastic classic episode 'Marge vs. the Monorail'. When Hartman died, they retired Troy's character. His absence a
Recommends brownbat · 2017-10 · on “When did the golden age of The Simpsons end?”
There is a video with great analysis on this. Ultimately argues that Simpsons was a great piece of counter culture, then it just won and became culture, losing its ability to skewer mainstream comedy. Along with an upheaval in the writer's room, it just went absurd all the time. That's a sometimes brilliant move, but dull when used in place of any substance. It also forgot how to stay true to its characters. Much more here: [this video]
Recommends saganus · 2018-10 · on “Why did the golden age of the Simpsons end?”
There's a very interesting YouTube video that has a bit more of an explanation on why The Simpsons had a decline. I liked how they analyze the show and IMO it does a great job explaining why lots of people loved the show up until season 9-10. Personally I think I enjoyed up to season 12 or so, but definitely after 10 I noticed the shift in style/quality/whathaveyou. Could never put it into words why it felt like that, until I watched this. [0] [0] [this video]
Recommends j45 · 2018-10 · on “Why did the golden age of the Simpsons end?”
This reminds me of this video which attributes the decline of the Simpsons to the changes in writers and how the type of comedy itself changed. I still catch episodes when possible, the old ones definitely have a different depth than the current ones. The fall of the Simpsons: How it happened: [this video]
Recommends nervousvarun · 2018-10 · on “Why did the golden age of the Simpsons end?”
Interesting it's possible, but there are explanations out there that aren't based on nostalgia but actually joke complexity among other things: [this video]
Recommends richardboegli · 2018-10 · on “Why did the golden age of the Simpsons end?”
Skim read the article and I would suggest watching these videos on YouTube. The Fall of The Simpsons: How it Happened [this video] The Day The Simpsons Died [LINK]