<story><title>Why did the golden age of the Simpsons end?</title><url>http://www.nathancunn.com/2018-10-21-simpsons-writers/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>bliblah</author><text>Nothing lasts forever. Plain and simple.&lt;p&gt;I really dislike TV&amp;#x2F;Anime that &lt;i&gt;never&lt;/i&gt; ends, seems to be the modus operandi for pretty much every mainstream show despite how bad the quality gets after 2-3 seasons.&lt;p&gt;Simpsons is a great showcase of the homogenization that every sitcom will go through given enough time. It starts out as a comedy with some wholesome family moments to bring it together but eventually every character is distilled to their most basic formula
Homer -&amp;gt; Idiot who causes events to happen
Bart -&amp;gt; Same as above
Marge -&amp;gt; Straight man &amp;#x2F; Voice of reason or Satire of moralistic conservative adults depending on the situation
Lisa -&amp;gt; same as marge but liberal piñata&lt;p&gt;Old episodes had genuine moments where you saw them become closer as family, now every episode is a hodgepodge of nonstop comedy.&lt;p&gt;Family Guy also went through this, especially after they got revived. The early episodes focused on the trials of the family with some goofy humor peppered throughout (Peter getting fired, Louis dealing with being a bored housewife) but now its just nonstop comedy.&lt;p&gt;Once you get syndicated it&amp;#x27;s not about making good episodes just churning out 26 more a year and cashing in that paycheck.&lt;p&gt;Even Steven Universe which has a very straightforward story with an end planned feels bloated with a bunch of filler episodes and lazy character development.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>dmortin</author><text>&amp;gt; I really dislike TV&amp;#x2F;Anime that never ends, seems to be the modus operandi for pretty much every mainstream show despite how bad the quality gets after 2-3 seasons.&lt;p&gt;Isn&amp;#x27;t this an American thing where TV&amp;#x2F;movie things are primarily for money making?&lt;p&gt;I mean the British Office had 2 seasons and 12 episodes. The US version had 9 seasons and 200 episodes.&lt;p&gt;I didn&amp;#x27;t watch The Office, so I don&amp;#x27;t know if the US version got worse towards the end, but in general in the US they keep making episodes while the series is profitable, regardless of quality and in the end they usually drive it to the ground.&lt;p&gt;They just can&amp;#x27;t stop until there is no money in it. Most of the time they can&amp;#x27;t end a TV series on a high note.</text></comment>
<story><title>Why did the golden age of the Simpsons end?</title><url>http://www.nathancunn.com/2018-10-21-simpsons-writers/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>bliblah</author><text>Nothing lasts forever. Plain and simple.&lt;p&gt;I really dislike TV&amp;#x2F;Anime that &lt;i&gt;never&lt;/i&gt; ends, seems to be the modus operandi for pretty much every mainstream show despite how bad the quality gets after 2-3 seasons.&lt;p&gt;Simpsons is a great showcase of the homogenization that every sitcom will go through given enough time. It starts out as a comedy with some wholesome family moments to bring it together but eventually every character is distilled to their most basic formula
Homer -&amp;gt; Idiot who causes events to happen
Bart -&amp;gt; Same as above
Marge -&amp;gt; Straight man &amp;#x2F; Voice of reason or Satire of moralistic conservative adults depending on the situation
Lisa -&amp;gt; same as marge but liberal piñata&lt;p&gt;Old episodes had genuine moments where you saw them become closer as family, now every episode is a hodgepodge of nonstop comedy.&lt;p&gt;Family Guy also went through this, especially after they got revived. The early episodes focused on the trials of the family with some goofy humor peppered throughout (Peter getting fired, Louis dealing with being a bored housewife) but now its just nonstop comedy.&lt;p&gt;Once you get syndicated it&amp;#x27;s not about making good episodes just churning out 26 more a year and cashing in that paycheck.&lt;p&gt;Even Steven Universe which has a very straightforward story with an end planned feels bloated with a bunch of filler episodes and lazy character development.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>Jun8</author><text>Exactly, and you have to know when to let go, a la Seinfeld. Adventure Time handled this very well, I think: told what they had to tell and ended after that. Another canonical good example exiting at the right time is Calvin and Hobbes.</text></comment>