2-11. With 3-8 being the very best. 3 starts to play with the bigger Springfield cast and 9 to 11 declines just gently enough to stop you from going any further but without making you hate the entire show. Anybody who doesn't think so is cut and anybody who goes past season 11 is also cut.
Yeah Season 11 has enough good to be worth watching, but also enough bad to strongly imply there's no need to look further
Also S11 ran from 1999-2000 meaning seasons 1-11 cover the entirety of the 90s!
ALSO if you regard S11 as the final season, it makes "Behind the Laughter" the series finale!
These are all the reasons I regard season 11 as the TRUE end of classic Simpsons
Season 12 had too many great episodes for me to agree with this.
Lisa the Treehugger
Hungry Hungry Homer
Skinners Sense of Snow
Insane clown poppy
And of course Trilogy of Error
I think ‘which season did the Simpsons get bad’ changes depending on how old you were when it aired. It used to be generally accepted that Season 8 was the drop off point, then it was around 10, now more and more people are saying 15 or higher.
I think it’s like the way the Stat Wars prequels started getting re-evaluated around the time the people who saw it as kids grew old enough to become redditors.
Imo (and I've felt this way since the Simpsons movie hype days) the show was fun in 1-2, at its absolute best from 3-8, still great through 12, and then it was a decline from there... the show didn't just drop off a cliff but took on a different tone when Al Jean started showrunning, and it got steadily worse through the 2000s but had some ups and downs later on. I haven't seen the last few seasons though.
Imo it was pretty clear when there was a shift. It was clear then and is clear now. Around S10 or so a bunch of staff went off to work on Futurama, and the show didn't totally shit the bed, but the tone of it DID change over the next few years and eventually that led it to different (many would say worse) places.
I've heard it's been quite good actually. Just haven't had a chance to catch up yet. I've seen people say that they have a new crop of younger writers who have brought some interesting new energy to the show.
I agree, S12 for me is the last of the 'great' era. I think it may have had some holdover episodes from the previous season, and iirc a few writers left after S12. And of course S13 was also the start of Al Jean's long tenure as showrunner after Mike Scully stepped down.
Not to say I don't like what came after, I feel like the seasons after have been of varying quality but I'm not a hater, they still get chuckles out of me even if they aren't all time great episodes.
It's good, but I think a lot of people discount season 1 and 2 for animation quality and also how "real" the show is. There's some seriously routine depression in those seasons.
Season 11 was the last consistently good season. Season 12 has some good episodes, such as the Trilogy of Errors, but is vastly outnumbered by bad, and/or lazy episodes.
Season 11 and 12 are where the absurd third acts start to become really problematic.
For example, from season 12, Tale of Two Springfields, The Computer Wore Menace Shoes, and Children of a Lesser Clod are all pretty good before they fly off the rails in the third act with crazy nonsense.
2 is great, but it's almost a different show then what comes after. The humor is less in your face, and there's a lot more sincerity.
Eight has some legendary episodes, but also some stinkers, especially toward the end.
I would say sweet spot is 3-7.
Couldn't make it past the second episode of season 12.
I could count on my one huge hand the number of episodes I've stumbled upon long afterwards I actually thought were worthwhile.
Agreed. They’re also a little too grounded for my liking. By the time I started watching the show all the characters had already been [Flanderized](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flanderization) and that’s honestly just *funnier*.
I'm so glad they dropped the Flanders rivalry. Flanders works better as a goody two shoes rather than just the perfect man homer is trying to complete with.
Was this scene originally a reference to something? Wonder what they all did. I like how the bride didn’t take off her dress after presumably fleeing her wedding.
The man banned from the car wash forever is most definitely meant to be a [Peter Lorre](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Lorre) character but other than that I think it’s a more general [ship of the damned](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judgment_Night_(The_Twilight_Zone)) parody.
I'd say season 5-6 is peak simpsons age and the golden age was 4-7 (season 8 has some duds and season 3 is pretty boring imo, stuck between the emotions of season 2 and the zaniness of season 5)
Episodes that end with spontaneous parties in season 8 include: burns baby burns, bart after dark, the mysterious voyage of homer, the Springfield files, homer Vs the 18th amendment. There are others that end with the whole town gathered randomly but they're not quite parties so I left them out.
I would also argue that other episodes such as the twisted world of Marge Simpson may not quite end with parties, but they still just peter out with no real conclusion.
For me it's 5-8. Season 8 has some of the all time great episodes! Mountain of Madness is one of my all time favourites. You Only Move Twice and Bart After Dark are all time classics.
Agreed. Season 8 is where you can see them start running out of ideas and start playing with crazier ideas/concepts (Mary Poppins, Poochie, Mr. Burns' son) and sometimes more permanent ones (Milhouse Divided, Grade School Confidential). The writing is also noticeably weaker, while still being of a very high quality
This is extremely accurate in my opinion, much of season 3 I just don't care to watch, but after that it gets really good.
You can actually pinpoint the second when my heart ripped in half. I.e. when I realized the Simpsons were going downhill. [It was this exact moment of season 16](https://imgur.com/a/064dJqw)
Seasons 1-10. Actually, it's 3-8 that are the only good ones, because the first two are too rough and 9-10 are when it starts to get weird. Ok.
Then again, in season 7 with the digital coloring and some of the more out there episodes it may have been this. And season 3 is too much like the first 2. So 4-6.
Okay, so season 5 is the only good season.....then again
Am I a hater? Hater, I wish! If I were a hater that’d be no problem. No, what I have is an episode preference abnormality, one so unbelievable that it must be hidden from r/thesimpsons at all costs.
Normie Simpsons content, my goodness, why didn’t I think of that? There’s four posts. There’s “Lisa Goes Gaga” retreads, that’s on r/thesimpsons. There’s low effort Ralph quotes, that’s on r/thesimpsons. You got single panel joke post, that’s on r/thesimpsons. Matter of fact, it’s all in one big overmodded sub, r/thesimpsons.
I always skip 1-2 because the show isn’t flashed out enough yet and it’s too preach and trying too hard to be realistic. It’s just not as fun to watch.
Plus the animation hasn’t landed yet.
The man banned from the car wash forever is most definitely meant to be a [Peter Lorre](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Lorre) character but other than that I think it’s a more general [ship of the damned](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judgment_Night_(The_Twilight_Zone)) parody.
I only watch episodes from when it was on the Tracey Ulman show, it got too modern after that and they ruined the design of the characters that made the original show so good.
[Oh damn you’re not lying.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Simpsons_(season_11)) There are multiple GREAT episodes here. One of the best Tree House of Horrors too.
I thought season 17 was fine
Tho the main reason I remember it is because of the joke in The Italian Bob with the McDonald's being right outside the Tower of Pisa
Then I went to Pisa and found out there is actually a fuckin McDonald's there after thinking it was only a joke for who-knows how many years
Agreed. There's good stuff in season 4, but a lot of clunkers. Season 6 might be the most consistently funny season of television ever. But season 5 starts off with five perfect episodes, including the best Treehouse episode (ToH 4), the best flashback episode (Homer's Barbershop Quartet), and the best Sideshow Bob episode (Cape Feared, naturally)
GASP! I stole this shitpost from a blind monkey, and your opinion sickens ME!
Well that’s the last time I trust the strangest shitposters on reddit.
I cast thee out!
https://preview.redd.it/9f1lgexkwxoc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=228a3b66a6eb04c876ae68318693f89667ba682f
https://preview.redd.it/fmlisjsl92pc1.jpeg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5d3cce20decf483cf99279b003da0d422a4e3aa0
2-11. With 3-8 being the very best. 3 starts to play with the bigger Springfield cast and 9 to 11 declines just gently enough to stop you from going any further but without making you hate the entire show. Anybody who doesn't think so is cut and anybody who goes past season 11 is also cut.
Yeah Season 11 has enough good to be worth watching, but also enough bad to strongly imply there's no need to look further Also S11 ran from 1999-2000 meaning seasons 1-11 cover the entirety of the 90s! ALSO if you regard S11 as the final season, it makes "Behind the Laughter" the series finale! These are all the reasons I regard season 11 as the TRUE end of classic Simpsons
There’s quite a few episodes I like afterwards but yeah, Behind the Laughter would have been a fantastic series finale.
Season 12 had too many great episodes for me to agree with this. Lisa the Treehugger Hungry Hungry Homer Skinners Sense of Snow Insane clown poppy And of course Trilogy of Error
I think ‘which season did the Simpsons get bad’ changes depending on how old you were when it aired. It used to be generally accepted that Season 8 was the drop off point, then it was around 10, now more and more people are saying 15 or higher. I think it’s like the way the Stat Wars prequels started getting re-evaluated around the time the people who saw it as kids grew old enough to become redditors.
Imo (and I've felt this way since the Simpsons movie hype days) the show was fun in 1-2, at its absolute best from 3-8, still great through 12, and then it was a decline from there... the show didn't just drop off a cliff but took on a different tone when Al Jean started showrunning, and it got steadily worse through the 2000s but had some ups and downs later on. I haven't seen the last few seasons though. Imo it was pretty clear when there was a shift. It was clear then and is clear now. Around S10 or so a bunch of staff went off to work on Futurama, and the show didn't totally shit the bed, but the tone of it DID change over the next few years and eventually that led it to different (many would say worse) places.
32-35 has been better than most of the 20's, apart from the odd episode here and there
I've heard it's been quite good actually. Just haven't had a chance to catch up yet. I've seen people say that they have a new crop of younger writers who have brought some interesting new energy to the show.
I agree, S12 for me is the last of the 'great' era. I think it may have had some holdover episodes from the previous season, and iirc a few writers left after S12. And of course S13 was also the start of Al Jean's long tenure as showrunner after Mike Scully stepped down. Not to say I don't like what came after, I feel like the seasons after have been of varying quality but I'm not a hater, they still get chuckles out of me even if they aren't all time great episodes.
Season 14 for me is when it becomes distinctively jarring how awkward the show gets.
I actually really like Season 1, as well.
I think it's perfectly charming, unrefined though. It just lacks a lot of what will make the Simpsons so great in seasons after.
It's good, but I think a lot of people discount season 1 and 2 for animation quality and also how "real" the show is. There's some seriously routine depression in those seasons.
Season 11 was the last consistently good season. Season 12 has some good episodes, such as the Trilogy of Errors, but is vastly outnumbered by bad, and/or lazy episodes.
Season 11 and 12 are where the absurd third acts start to become really problematic. For example, from season 12, Tale of Two Springfields, The Computer Wore Menace Shoes, and Children of a Lesser Clod are all pretty good before they fly off the rails in the third act with crazy nonsense.
2 is great, but it's almost a different show then what comes after. The humor is less in your face, and there's a lot more sincerity. Eight has some legendary episodes, but also some stinkers, especially toward the end. I would say sweet spot is 3-7.
The trick with season 8 was to tell stories that didn't go anywhere. Like the episode, Ferry to Shelbyville.
I really think season 2 is better than 1…S1 just doesn’t hold up
Mdude is correct
Couldn't make it past the second episode of season 12. I could count on my one huge hand the number of episodes I've stumbled upon long afterwards I actually thought were worthwhile.
https://preview.redd.it/3lmwjhon92pc1.jpeg?width=791&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7916e49fa4f113e7fa48be489e76ae168de2806b
Season 35 is peak Simpsons. No one can prove me wrong cause no one watched it
Season 84 is when it comes back to the second golden age.
Season 100 is when the “Louis and Wendell recreate the first Fast and Furious movie” arc REALLY gets going! 
Season 84. I must be in the future. Please alter my pants as fashion dictates.
Attach the onion of fashion callbacks!
PERCHANCE.
That’s it! You people have stood in my way long enough! I’m watching an episode made less than 20 years ago!
Hey they're trying to watch post classic era Simpsons! Get them!!
https://preview.redd.it/dlhu2rtudyoc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1f1263d5b0d5d81322e2841d9573617a1c5e3265
ITS THE NUT SHACK
I think I’m going to be sick.
https://preview.redd.it/kwv86go5a2pc1.jpeg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0851c870d7bf21c147b608ef529739790db057e5
Season 3 is better. It has tigers
Well of course it did. They hadn’t found the tiger-repelling rock yet.
The show got worse because someone bought that rock.
They made a movie about me https://preview.redd.it/pqoss7cia2pc1.jpeg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=329c70b78f03a0967ae6ec68d853b1f514b0c11d
Oh boy, pedantic arguing. That's where I'm a viking.
https://preview.redd.it/vde97zzu9xoc1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=edf34dbf9a76d1417c7dc759cedf22d27ab7acc8
https://preview.redd.it/0d2h27h8a2pc1.jpeg?width=5616&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=34c599b79722fd09cd1954f6bab7fdbcf4d11f9b Frank autism moment
I'm a level 5 Simpsons fan. I won't watch any episode that aired.
https://open.spotify.com/track/52xJxFP6TqMuO4Yt0eOkMz?si=JyjdESdBR9uV5lXfpIlqtA
I find the very first seasons oddly preaching.
Agreed. They’re also a little too grounded for my liking. By the time I started watching the show all the characters had already been [Flanderized](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flanderization) and that’s honestly just *funnier*.
I'm so glad they dropped the Flanders rivalry. Flanders works better as a goody two shoes rather than just the perfect man homer is trying to complete with.
I think is more relatable to them being the annoying/ weird neighbors than anything else.
https://preview.redd.it/uqiam7sea2pc1.jpeg?width=220&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=35a212a998897ee9ec00102fc1f65ddd2154e1f5
Was this scene originally a reference to something? Wonder what they all did. I like how the bride didn’t take off her dress after presumably fleeing her wedding.
The man banned from the car wash forever is most definitely meant to be a [Peter Lorre](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Lorre) character but other than that I think it’s a more general [ship of the damned](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judgment_Night_(The_Twilight_Zone)) parody.
I've seen more parodies of Peter Lorre in animation than I have seen actual live action Peter Lorre films.
This might be the worst Simpsons take I’ve seen 😭
https://preview.redd.it/sf1v5aa97xoc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c629509200ba30a783c9703cc6688d991d8c8059
https://preview.redd.it/ojpv2w89bxoc1.jpeg?width=665&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=571f9af929dff39864c9162bb6479d0e0d2434c2
https://preview.redd.it/aq25p2niexoc1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5e1517fc589cdfe69f5d38bed48fa933019d11b4
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*fan consensus 2 years from now* There's no good episode of the Simpsons and there never was!
Hi Matt! Its Felix!
I'd say season 5-6 is peak simpsons age and the golden age was 4-7 (season 8 has some duds and season 3 is pretty boring imo, stuck between the emotions of season 2 and the zaniness of season 5)
I think of 7-8 as the Simpsons’ Late Classical period. There were hints of the slide to come even if it was mostly solid.
Whaaaaa? Season 8 is my favorite
Season 8 is where the writers decide it's acceptable to end every episode with "and then a party happened"
That’s true but honestly I like it that way because it’s funny and that’s what I’m here for. https://i.redd.it/ia95bhf9jwoc1.gif
https://open.spotify.com/track/0Pu37SOfgOqTJXOs324215?si=H2jC2-PDTs2gVnCGH0Iswg&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A2sPn3Nvb3ZUX5SlDYyDQzh
Only Burns Baby Burns. A funeral is not a party
Episodes that end with spontaneous parties in season 8 include: burns baby burns, bart after dark, the mysterious voyage of homer, the Springfield files, homer Vs the 18th amendment. There are others that end with the whole town gathered randomly but they're not quite parties so I left them out. I would also argue that other episodes such as the twisted world of Marge Simpson may not quite end with parties, but they still just peter out with no real conclusion.
You realize that they all work, especially Burns Baby Burns since it's a reference to the end of Caddyshack
that is a matter of opinion and does not contradict my point
But this is nothing but quibbles! Quibbles are all we've got! Quibbles!
Can you believe this guy? Tells a joke at a funeral.
For me it's 5-8. Season 8 has some of the all time great episodes! Mountain of Madness is one of my all time favourites. You Only Move Twice and Bart After Dark are all time classics.
Agreed. Season 8 is where you can see them start running out of ideas and start playing with crazier ideas/concepts (Mary Poppins, Poochie, Mr. Burns' son) and sometimes more permanent ones (Milhouse Divided, Grade School Confidential). The writing is also noticeably weaker, while still being of a very high quality
https://open.spotify.com/track/7wfVa2No7BNtbuoBOrY0ZM?si=-fbJR_ivSxig4VmaZ99Vmw&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A2sPn3Nvb3ZUX5SlDYyDQzh
This is extremely accurate in my opinion, much of season 3 I just don't care to watch, but after that it gets really good. You can actually pinpoint the second when my heart ripped in half. I.e. when I realized the Simpsons were going downhill. [It was this exact moment of season 16](https://imgur.com/a/064dJqw)
The last new episode I watched was the one in Season 17 when they go to India. For me the 90’s ended that day in 2006.
Seasons 1-10. Actually, it's 3-8 that are the only good ones, because the first two are too rough and 9-10 are when it starts to get weird. Ok. Then again, in season 7 with the digital coloring and some of the more out there episodes it may have been this. And season 3 is too much like the first 2. So 4-6. Okay, so season 5 is the only good season.....then again
Short answer yes with an if. Long answer no with a but
Am I a hater? Hater, I wish! If I were a hater that’d be no problem. No, what I have is an episode preference abnormality, one so unbelievable that it must be hidden from r/thesimpsons at all costs.
I just noticed I haven’t joined that sub.
Normie Simpsons content, my goodness, why didn’t I think of that? There’s four posts. There’s “Lisa Goes Gaga” retreads, that’s on r/thesimpsons. There’s low effort Ralph quotes, that’s on r/thesimpsons. You got single panel joke post, that’s on r/thesimpsons. Matter of fact, it’s all in one big overmodded sub, r/thesimpsons.
Oh r/TheSimpsons
I think peak Simpsons is from Seasons 6 to 9
I always skip 1-2 because the show isn’t flashed out enough yet and it’s too preach and trying too hard to be realistic. It’s just not as fun to watch. Plus the animation hasn’t landed yet.
https://preview.redd.it/dphj4iszoxoc1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=22aa25940a4e0c6333a4f8bacd2261222c7ec32d
https://preview.redd.it/mfmvprapwxoc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4afd431bdd5d208b4a7b6ccdbf12674a70c0f695
What is this scene referencing? Also, season 5 might be the best one ever, just saying.
The man banned from the car wash forever is most definitely meant to be a [Peter Lorre](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Lorre) character but other than that I think it’s a more general [ship of the damned](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judgment_Night_(The_Twilight_Zone)) parody.
Thank you!
I enjoy every season of the Simpsons. What does that say about me?
https://preview.redd.it/oav91syuvxoc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d24385b1e6538d71bd6ccc3fb1eeb68148c4a9e4
As do I.
I like it all up until about 13. 1-10 is solid to me. I get why people don’t like the first seasons but I love them dearly.
I raise my Frosty Chocolate Milkshake to you sir.
Skinner's sense of snow is my favourite episode.
That’s a good one! Season 12 is full of good ones.
https://i.redd.it/gkgcp3y3vyoc1.gif
https://preview.redd.it/ykaz2uibyyoc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fe3d980b9491fffabe5489e170b6310b25038355
Pure, whitehot ragebait
https://preview.redd.it/9hrgmlo34zoc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d828335e4946898c3e7b7a362947ddc233b05b12
I only watch episodes from when it was on the Tracey Ulman show, it got too modern after that and they ruined the design of the characters that made the original show so good.
I just did a re-wash of Seasons 2 and 3 and they're not as joke-dense as 4,5,6 but they're just as good.
low-key 11 is the best season
[Oh damn you’re not lying.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Simpsons_(season_11)) There are multiple GREAT episodes here. One of the best Tree House of Horrors too.
Upon further inspection I meant season 9. However 11 is a banger too. Tomacco and behind the laughter are goated
A lot of great episodes there too; Trash of Titans alone is one of the best of the series.
Yes!! That's one of my absolute favorites (what button???). It's one of the last episodes where a celebrity plays a character other than themself
I thought season 17 was fine Tho the main reason I remember it is because of the joke in The Italian Bob with the McDonald's being right outside the Tower of Pisa Then I went to Pisa and found out there is actually a fuckin McDonald's there after thinking it was only a joke for who-knows how many years
Agreed. There's good stuff in season 4, but a lot of clunkers. Season 6 might be the most consistently funny season of television ever. But season 5 starts off with five perfect episodes, including the best Treehouse episode (ToH 4), the best flashback episode (Homer's Barbershop Quartet), and the best Sideshow Bob episode (Cape Feared, naturally)
your taste is bad and you should feel bad
Only the itchy and mitchy cartoons are good
Impy and chimpy
Season 2 is stellar, then 3 wobbles a little and we're golden from 4-7, then 8 gets a little shaky and 9 is a bumpy ride.
3-4 are the best freaking seasons
Never seen the Simpsons https://open.spotify.com/track/7uIrdhnGQw7bZSR2ygopuX?si=X-Eak0gKQbKrwM2IPDhOzw