The Simpsons: One of our greatest every sitcoms:

“Kids, you tried your best and you’ve failed miserably. The lesson is never try!” – Homer Simpson

Above is possibly one of my favourite quotes in television comedy history. Goodness knows how many times I have sat in the pub or a restaurant and had my sides almost split at a friend uttering a famous quote from a beloved sitcom, one which beamed from our living room television screen at 7pm sharp every day.  This beloved and almost sacred of television sitcoms to which I refer is of course The Simpsons: a show focusing on a dysfunctional family of five Americans all of whom have a yellow tinge to their skin. The slow witted father: the mother with the metre length blue hair;  the bratty trouble maker son; a daughter with the brain of Einstein and of course the muted baby whom is unable to stand for more than five seconds with out hilariously tumbling forward.

America’s favourite family, but is this still the case?

The world of Springfield and its never ending flow of  familiar much loved characters and locations was created by the bearded, long haired and now greying Matt Groening. This portly spectacled man from Portland Oregon, who seems to have a penchant for brightly coloured shirts and brilliant comic strips which included rather goofy looking rabbits, has made me rather sad in recent years.  Groening, along with his staff of comedy writers which at one point included the brilliant Conan O’Brien, were at one time hailed by my brother and I as comedy geniuses. One of the highlights of growing up was sitting at the breakfast table and repeating to my mother’s annoyance,  quotes that one of the many comical characters would blurt out in their American drawl.

I don’t often find the time to watch this once-beloved show, but after turning on the television a few days ago I feel that maybe its a good thing. Maybe I should join the likes of the ever cynical Comic Book Guy and blurt out the famous phrase “worst episode ever” as I get up from the sofa slightly disgruntled and disappointed.  It seems to me that twenty odd years of  Simpsons capering have been enough for me.  I feel I shall always laugh hysterically at the episodes which emerged from the programme’s golden age and will continue to have fond memories of this  piece of comedy history, but I feel maybe now it is time for that yellow family of five to take a seat on that famous brown couch for the last time.

Is it time the Simpsons left our screens?

Is it time for Groening to shelve the Simpsons for good?

In April 2006, a year prior to the Simpsons film debut, people were asking after Groening out of concern for the shows lack of convincing and solid plot ideas as well as  weak humour. Groening’s response was as follows:-

“I honestly don’t see any end in sight. I think it’s possible that the show will become too financially cumbersome… but right now, the show is creatively, I think, as good or better than it’s ever been.”

Personally I disagree with his assessment of the situation, maybe i’m wrong and my sense of humour has changed over time. Over the seven years since that interview, I believe the quality has declined to an even greater extent. What do you think?