The fact that classic Simpsons is still memeable to this day speaks to its timeless nature. Once they moved away from thematic jokes to celebrity cameos and topical humour things just went downhill. 

“I used to be with it, but then they changed what ‘it’ was. Now, what I’m with isn’t it, and what’s ‘it’ seems weird and scary to me.”

The Simpsons has been inconsistent for a long time, but Jean makes a lot of valid points in this article. When you’re a writer for a show in its 31st season and everything you write is going to be compared to the nearly 700 episodes that have come before, you’re kind of in a position to lose. There are episodes that…

I always thought the “owning” the town was entirely ceremonial for a gag gift, which is what made it have no value to the government when they seized all their assets. 

I get the sense they dropped a lot of the original pitch for the show. I’m part way through watching it, and as far as I can tell they completely dropped the entire opening premise of the show.

He’s apparently very shy and doesn’t care to do much press. He did participate in the cast fundraiser (for food banks) this week by reading some WH Auden, but it does feel strange that he didn’t sit for an interview about the show.

I’ve always kind of wondered about Ellior’s contract on this - because he also never does any of the press. I do remember him doing press during the first season and he was kind of . . . Chris Elliot about it? So maybe they decided to keep him away from the press. Yet everyone on the show consistently says he’s the…

I did not even notice he wasn’t there. I never particularly liked his character so I guess excluding him worked for me. I will never shed tears over Roland Schitt! But I’m surprised Mutt didn’t make any appearances at all over the final season or the doc. He was a fairly liked character.

Where was Chris Elliott in this documentary? 

Where was Chris Elliott in this episode or the post episode farewell? Love the way this series built a world by subtly fleshing out all these characters - with the exception of the more broad Roland. Was hoping he’d get some new context in these final episodes but he was practically absent here. 

There’s something about the name of this show that just feels so facile and juvenile that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to start watching it. 

Erik Dellums was so good as Luther Mahoney I never understood why he didn’t get much work after that until I realized he’s 6'7"

He also re-used the “shot a mouse and left it there as a warning to the others” joke between the shows (and from the book).

Fucking Carcetti.

That would be Erik Dellums, son of the late U.S. Rep. Ronald Dellums of Oakland, CA. We worked at the same DC law firm a couple years before he had his arc as Luther Mahoney.

Season 5 is still solid IMO, and season 6 has some highlights.

The first four seasons of HLOTS are bascially perfect.

They both have the female detective being the one who can’t stomach the detectives illegal activity and she goes to the bosses to rat them out.

The first few seasons of Homicide were unbelievably good. Watching Ned Beatty, Jon Polito, Yaphet Kotto, Melissa Leo, Andre Braugher and a bunch of other excellent actors with strong scripts was a joy. So watching it go down the drain was incredibly painful. If people think the decline of Battlestar Galactica was…

I think another part of the problem when calling it “one of the best ever” is looking now through the lens of time what a wet fart season 5 is compared to the rest of the seasons.