Who Watches the (New) Simpsons?

[Giggling Ghast]

Do you or does anyone you know watch new episodes of the Simpsons? This thought popped in my head today after I heard Harry Shearer (Monty Burns, Mr. Smithers, Ned Flanders, etc.) is returning to the show.

I will turn on the Simpsons on a Sunday night if I think of it and there's nothing going on, and I have seen the wonderfully inventive couch gags of recent years, but I'm not a regular viewer and I don't know anyone who still is.

While no one apparently watches the Simpsons, somehow it still pulls in millions of viewers. Yes, there's been a steep decline, but still: millions of viewers.

This is just a question about viewership of the Simpsons. This is not a thread to debate the quality of newer seasons of The Simpsons or the quality of the show vs. Family Guy vs. American Dad vs. Bob's Burgers. And no, I don't mean the Simpsons episodes from older seasons.

[Fragenstein]

I still watch. Maybe not as fervently as I used to, but I still DVR the new episodes and watch when convenient.

One caveat -- Treehouse of Horrors. I've not missed a single one as it was broadcast since the beginning. Recording it and watching it later does not count. If it's pre-empted, I watch the first re-broadcast. Every year. It's become an obsession. We had a massive ice storm one year, taking out power for days across the whole city. I bought a battery powered portable TV just so that I wouldn't miss it that year.

Other than that, my interest has certainly waned, but not vanished entirely for the rest of the episodes.

[Chen]

I think I stopped continuously watching somewhere in Season 15. I've caught an episode here and there though. Still decently funny.

[Balain]

I still watch the new ones. The classic ones are the best, but there are some gems here and there every season.

[Rodin]

Casual watcher here as well. If I'm short on things to watch that week (usually whenever Daily Show is on vacation), I'll check Hulu and see if they've got any I haven't seen up.

Perhaps because I am an infrequent watcher, I haven't noticed that great a drop in quality from the earlier seasons. Things that have become stale due to overuse don't appear that way so much when you only watch an episode a month or so (and I didn't watch at all for at least 5 years).

While it definitely isn't as good as the earlier seasons, it's never hit the dire drop in quality that afflicts some other shows that run too long. Family Guy is the example that comes to mind as a show that I tried to treat with the "casual watch" philosophy but found myself alternately bored and offended by the direction the show took. The Simpsons on the other hand remains...dependable. Not slap your sides funny, but plenty of chuckles and something good to stick on when I'm cooking.

[Socratov]

If anything I think the quality, which dropped after season 16 or so, has picked up again. Due to not living in the states I'm pretty much forced to popcorntime them, but otherwise I follow the episodes almost religiously (praise Jebas). I think the prospect of seeing mr. Burns again is great.

[Rodin]

I'm glad they got Harry Shearer back. I don't think the show could have survived him leaving - he's the iconic voice of too many characters.

[Chen]

I'm glad they got Harry Shearer back. I don't think the show could have survived him leaving - he's the iconic voice of too many characters.

The show's been on long enough that I'm sure they could get an appropriate replacement for those characters that sounded almost identical. I've heard some of the people who do Homer impressions and honestly they're pretty impossible to tell apart from the real voice. They probably couldn't get one person to do ALL the voices, but hell they could probably hire one for each and still pay less than they're paying Shearer.

[Quild]

I stopped watching some seasons ago when the structure of too many episodes started to be like this:

Some characters are trapped somewhere, forced to wait, bored of something else and they decide to narrate three different stories on a same subject, based on popular culture.

I think this didn't stand long, maybe it was only one season, maybe during writer's strike, but that was so bad I stopped watching.

(for those who haven't realized it, episodes usually have this structure:
- Small event occuring the 2 first minutes
- Leading to something else for some 5+ minutes
- Leading to the rest of the episode)

[Yora]

Last season I watched was season 10. By that time it started to overstay its welcome.

[cobaltstarfire]

I very rarely see a new episode, if my guy decides to watch one. I think I've sat through maybe only two or three though, most of the time I lose interest, or it never grabs me in the first place and I wander off to do something else. The couch gags are about the only part I've enjoyed about a new episode of the Simpsons. It's one of the rare times where I prefer the old things and just can't bring myself to be interested or care about the new ones.

I feel especially bothered by how much more angry/violent/inconsiderate Homer has become in the newer episodes I've seen. I mean he's always had those problems, but they seem to be much worse and more over the top now and that really bothers me.

[janet]

I still watch the new ones. The classic ones are the best, but there are some gems here and there every season.
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[Scowling Dragon]

I watch the sampsons. Those shorts are a riot!

[Winter_Wolf]

They still make nw episodes? Okay I'm just being facetious. But considering its on literally every single day of the week if you have Fox and FXX, it's easier to OD on it than NCIS or CSI: Miami. I'll second Treehouse of Horror episodes as being worth watching when they come out, though.

[Avilan the Grey]

I have watched every episode of every season. I will watch it until the bitter end.

[Emperor Time]

I have watched every episode of every season. I will watch it until the bitter end.

The same since I been watching it since I was a little child and can't quit until the show ends.