Have the Simpsons become more mean-spirited this year?

I'm one of those viewers that feels that taken out of context of a particular season that there have been several episodes from later seasons each that hold their own against shows from when the show was at it's summit in terms of writing and quality.

However, with this season, it appears that the writers have gone out of their way to make a number of formerly likeable characters more mean-spirited and malicious.

Examples I've noticed:

Flanders - Since Flanders gleefully celebrated the stealing of the 2000 election (something much more in character for C.M. Burns or other members of the Springfield RNC) the writers have made him more strident in his faith, more pushy (this last episode's confrontation with Apu) and generally more obnoxious than he was through most of the series.

Apu: - Constantly complains about his wife and how he longs to escape from his kids (sounding more like Homer by the episode).

Ralph - No longer the perpetually socially-retarded innocent - Now portrayed as a severely brain-damaged idiot (probably as result of his trip through the hog killing factory from last season's Pie Man episode).

I know some will also say Homer's become more of a jerk but Homer's always been a jerk for the most part. (Witness "Homer the Heretic" from season 4 where Homer fantasizes about Flanders caught in a burning house while Homer reclines on a hammock and laughs - nothing in recent seasons matches that).



There have been some good overall episodes this year (last week's was enjoyable beyond some gratuituous political commentary that was outside of the general plot and this year's Christmas episode had some great spoofing of holiday specials). But overall, even the episodes that make you think there may still be life in the series get weighted down by one or two "off" moments.

Is it just me or have others noticed this change in some of the character writing? I think the writers are still capable of kicking out interesting ideas (not easy for anyone after 15 seasons) but something seems to dragging the recent episodes down that has nothing to do with the general plot-lines.

I heart The Simpsons, but there comes a time when you can't avoid jumping the shark anymore.

Sometimes at the expense of humor. It's a trade off I'm willing to live with because someone needs to cover for the MSM's lack of interest.

IMO The Simpsons need to go after the FCC next. Not just one episode either, they need to pound on them every week.

the world as it is. People like Flanders are getting meaner, Apu has reached the point that having eight babies and a shrew of a wife, working his existance away in a convenience store would do to anyone.

Homer once was a lovable oaf, charming in his utter stupidity. He gradually became more angry and boorish in later seasons.

He still was funny as hell (and still is from time to time) but his sympathy as a character suffered from the transistion.

I guess it's easier for the writers (for whatever reason) to write in that fashion. I'm not going to criticize them because even though the show has lacked the quality of its peak years, it still manages to make me laugh hysterically.

watch the old Ullman show Simpsons and see what I mean.

...when Conan O'Brien and Swartzwelder (sp?) and that group took over the writing. Homer softened up a bit and pretty much was effectively used as the unassuming dimwit that got into wacky situations beyond his control.

It changed shortly thereafter, then he became dumber (and meaner).

I do think the recent seasons stand up better in syndication when they are lined up individually against older episodes. Even at its peak moments the Simpsons weren't creating classic episodes week after week and I do think some of the later seasons have episodes that match up with some of the non-classics from earlier seasons.

every single episode was a trip to vegas or some shit like that, and they all had about 20 celebrity guest spots, all of which basically consisted of homer saying "Wow, you're <celebrity name here>".

"Oh my God! Where did you get that brownie?!"

edit: Nevermind that it was in an episode from one of the good seasons.

Not for the better. It's become much more formulaic. They've got a Ralph Wiggum one-liner in every show now, that's the reason for the change with his character. They've essentially run out of original plot ideas, so they either redo the same plot (and have at least one character, often Lisa, remark how they already did that plot) or they do current events a la South Park.

It's jumped the shark. Now, I'd want the Simpsons to have jumped the shark. They had to dragged it on further than it should have. If they had cancelled the Simpsons before it became obvious to everybody that the show was done, it would have been an outrage like Futurama, only on a much bigger scale. But the problem is, the show was done several years ago, about the time of the punk race horse "worst episode ever" episode. And they've just beaten it, and beaten it, and beaten it over and over trying to squeeze every bit of money they can out of it. And that's a shame.

The characters used to still be somewhat likable in spite of their quirks, with Burns as the exception (but even Burns had a soft spot for his long lost teddy bear). Homer may have always been a loud obnoxious jerk, but at least when it came down to it, he could still be counted on to be a decent person (remember also in the episode "Homer the Heretic" that Homer was only starting a religion so that he could worship in his own way; I hate to think what the current writers would have done with that plot). Even Flanders being the pushy evangelical that he is, was still all-in-all a good person, and in older episodes he never did anything intentionally malicious.

But lately, the characters have become a lot less sympathetic, and they just seem to act in a way that will bring a cheap laugh. The Simpsons characters used to be thoughtfully and most of all consistently written. Can't say the same for the newer episodes.

That was the episode where Nelson was taken under Marge's wing. They had Nelson behave as though he had never interacted with any of the Simpsons outside of Bart prior to this episode which definitely wasn't the case.

It was also the episode where Ralph went completely brain dead and became just a punch line.

Some of my favorite episodes involved Ralph as a central character (Ralph with his crush on Lisa and the one where Ralph becomes Barts play-date) but I guess those days are over now.

I saw the episode (couple of years ago) when they went to Brazil. And also the one where they went to Australia. I considered both to be offensive and full of stereotypes. After watching each, I thought "that was shit," and I'd never thought that about The Simpsons before.