The Simpsons can still produce quality episodes!

[Jolly Bengali]

OK, while I agree with everyone else that The Simpsons is nowhere near as great as it used to be (very few shows are), I very much enjoy watching the new episodes. They're hit-or-miss. Yes, some are unfunny and leave me staring blankly at the TV, but many are intelligent, hilarious, satirical, subtle, character-driven, and charming. I really think some of you are so cynical and biased against the new episodes, and are so convinced that this is a washed-up show written by hacks, that you're not looking hard enough at the qualities of some of these recent episodes. I was wondering what you guys think of these excellent episodes from seasons 13-15? (I'm not including seasons 10-12, since those seasons didn't have good episodes)

Half-Decent Proposal - Artie Ziff returns and offers Marge a million dollars to spend the night with her.
Excellent episode, with great use of parody, pop-cultural references, and likable emphatic characters. This successfully fleshes out Artie Ziff as one of the most memorable one-time characters, arrogant, pitifully awkward, yet rather sympathetic. The 3rd act trip to the oilfields is a bit strange though.

I Am Furious Yellow - Bart creates the webtoon Angry Dad
Hilarious lampoon of comics, webtoons, and Stan Lee, with tongue firmly in cheek. Also, a decent Bart/Homer storyline.

Little Girl in the Big Ten - Lisa poses as a college student.
Simply great. A down-to-earth satirical look at the college experience, particularly the Robert Pinksy reading scene, in classic Simpsons style. You can really relate to Lisa in those scenes.

Scuse Me While I Miss the Sky - Lisa petitions to end light pollution.
A classy episode, with an intriguing plot, backed by strong characters and social commentary. Eric Idle is excellent as the Michael-Moor-esque documentarian.

Moe Baby Blues - Moe develops a special bond with Maggie.
If you don't feel for Moe in this episode, you don't have a soul.

Tis the Fifteenth Season - For Christmas, Homer resolves to end his selfish ways, and ends up competing with Flanders.
A barrage of fast-paced sharp, Christmas parodies, and an ending in classic cynical Simpsons spirit.

Milhouse Doesn't Live Here Anymore - Bart and Lisa bond after Milhouse leaves for Capitol City.
This is what made The Simpsons great: simple, sweet, down-to-earth plot backed with subtle, witty dialogue and characters you can root for.

Really, to claim that The Simpsons is running on autopilot, that the writers don't care, and that the show is trash now, is just ludicrous. These episodes have meaning, they have wit, depth, and intelligence to them. If you can't find the new episodes funny, then fine, but that doesn't mean the show is in the gutter these days.

Anyway, I was wondering what you guys thought about these episodes.

[Fone Bone]

I can't beleive you left out "The Wandering Juvie". That was the best Simpsons in years.

Marge: Would you like to jion us for dinner, Warden?
Warden: I told you I have plans!

The scenes between Bart and Gina were touching. A perfect episode all the way through. (Gotta love Cletus' Premonition wood carvings!)

[ElBarto]

I really like the simpsons and I'm furrious yellow is my favorite episode ever!

[SirLemming]

I agree in general, although I'd include a few more from season 14 and the current season. And from season 13 I only really liked "Half-Decent Proposal," "Little Girl in the Big Ten," and "The Sweetest Apu."

The re-run of "Diatribe of a Mad Housewife" this past Sunday was most welcome.

[Nick]

Call it a guilty pleasure, but I actually enjoyed a few season 10-12 episodes like...

"The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace": This has to be the funniest 'Homer gets a wacky new job' episode. It was a bit stupid at times, but overall, it was funny.

"Lisa Gets An A(++++)": Wow, this beats the crap out of "Make Room For Lisa", definately. A very funny episode.

"Mom And Pop Art": Being someone who is interested in art, I paticually enjoyed Homer's halucination, as well as other things.

"Treehouse Of Horror IX": "The Terror Of Tiny Toon" was hilarious and the other segments were not so bad either.

"Bart The Mother: The ending was wacky, but the begining had a lot of charm to it.

"Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder": There are some nonsensical jokes, but the rest of the episode was very funny.

"The Mansion Family": This is very wacky, but the characters were in character and it had alot of funny gags.

"Days Of Wine And D'ohes": The subplot was good, and the main plot wasn't so bad either, but I wanted Barney to go back to drinking at the end.

"Last Tap Dance In Springfield": The funniest episode in season 11, and probably the least wacky.

"Behind The Laughter": A clever, funny and interesting episode. Not 'too' wacky either.

"Lisa The Tree Hugger": A bit odd, but has a lot of funny parts.

"Skinner's Sense Of Snow": Very funny and harkens back to "The PTA Disbands".

"Worst Episode Ever": This episode was suprisingly very good.

"HOMR": The Gravey and Jobriath gag was hilarious and so were some over moments in this episode.

"Triology Of Error": One of my favourites, absolutely hilarious.

I also agree with you with the episodes you listed, except "Half Decent Proposal".

[ElBarto]

I think one of the more clever episodes is
22 short tales about Springfeild-The episode focuses around a 22 different people in springfeild each charactor has a one minute story (charactors such as...Bumblebeee man, Mllhouse's dad, herman, and 19 others.)

[SirLemming]

I think one of the more clever episodes is
22 short tales about Springfeild-The episode focuses around a 22 different people in springfeild each charactor has a one minute story (charactors such as...Bumblebeee man, Mllhouse's dad, herman, and 19 others.)That was... a long time ago...

[Classic Speedy]

Moe Baby Blues - Moe develops a special bond with Maggie.
If you don't feel for Moe in this episode, you don't have a soul. It was an emotional episode, but very few parts made me laugh. And I don't like how the writers made Moe suicidal in later seasons; he's better as just surly and roud. The episode that preceeded it on premiere night, Bart of War, atleast was funny (O canada!).

Scuse Me While I Miss the Sky - Lisa petitions to end light pollution.
A classy episode, with an intriguing plot, backed by strong characters and social commentary. Eric Idle is excellent as the Michael-Moor-esque documentarian. My favorite episode of Season 14, next to Special Edna.

"Treehouse Of Horror IX": "The Terror Of Tiny Toon" was hilarious and the other segments were not so bad either.
Treehouse of Horror 9 was excellent, but THOH 10 & 11 were abysmal. Killer dolphins? Xena? Run over Flanders? Badly-timed Y2K dark humor? They were the worst Halloween episodes ever, and luckily Treehouse of Horror 12 (with the Dream House and Harry Potter parodies) turned things around, if only slightly. Haven't seen #14, though.
"Lisa Gets An A(++++)": Wow, this beats the crap out of "Make Room For Lisa", definately. A very funny episode. One of Anivision's last episodes for The Simpsons :(, and a great ending act. "OK everyone, here comes the REAL comptroller!" Plus, being a Crash Bandicoot fan, I loved the Dash Dingo parody. :D

The re-run of "Diatribe of a Mad Housewife" this past Sunday was most welcome. Yeah, it was MILES better than the dreck that was Margical History Tour.

[Sublime420]

What was that episode that was sort of ripped off of "go", with the different stories? Also the argentina one is a classic, full of witty humor and flying nuns.

Yah, but the simpsons has reeeeeaaaaalllllyy become a shoot or miss. Some are just plain crap.

[Jolly Bengali]

I agree in general, although I'd include a few more from season 14 and the current season. And from season 13 I only really liked "Half-Decent Proposal," "Little Girl in the Big Ten," and "The Sweetest Apu."

I thought season 13 was OK, but sort of lame when it came to humor, and had horrible plots. However, I liked season 13 a bit more than seasons 10-12, simply because the heart of the show had come back (mostly good characterizations, and at least some attempts at smart satire). But I can see why people hate season 13; seasons 14-15 were a more honest attempt at returning to the roots.


Call it a guilty pleasure, but I actually enjoyed a few season 10-12 episodes like...Seasons 10-12 had some watchable episodes. I agree with most of your choices, except The Mansion Family (one of the worst episodes ever, so pointless and artoony), and Hello Gutter Hello Fadder (little more than an excuse to pack in pointless celebrities and Homer's wacky antics).

[Fone Bone]

What was that episode that was sort of ripped off of "go", with the different stories? Also the argentina one is a classic, full of witty humor and flying nuns.

Yah, but the simpsons has reeeeeaaaaalllllyy become a shoot or miss. Some are just plain crap.
You're thinking of "Trilogy of Error".

[JTurner954]

I liked all of those episodes Jolly posted except for "Milhouse Doesn't Live Here Anymore" which, to me, felt like fan fiction (read: cheap) and didn't feel like a Simpsons episode (I'd call it the worst episode of the season thus far.) Correct me if I'm wrong, but the two writers on that episodes were new so maybe that's why I felt this way.

Since Season 1, I felt that The Simpsons has been hit or miss. When it's miss, it's usually for the same reason: The episode started out very funny and goes downhill when a main story is introduced. I use to enjoy posting my comments on the episode talkbacks, but I stopped once they turned into "tell us why you hate The Simpsons" threads. The show has obviously changed, and I think people are having a tough time adjusting to those changes. Sucks to be them; they are missing out on terrific episodes.

I haven't seen "Go", but I do know that "Run, Lola, Run" was an influence in one Simpsons episode. Is that the episode Sublime was referring to?

[SirLemming]

I liked all of those episodes Jolly posted except for "Milhouse Doesn't Live Here Anymore" which, to me, felt like fan fiction (read: cheap) and didn't feel like a Simpsons episode (I'd call it the worst episode of the season thus far.) Correct me if I'm wrong, but the two writers on that episodes were new so maybe that's why I felt this way.You're absolutely completely right about that. It definitely didn't feel right, and "fan fiction" describes the feeling perfectly.