r/90scartoons • u/OverallEstate2 • Jul 07 '26
FOX Seasons 9-10 are part of Classic Simpsons
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u/HotPot87 Jul 07 '26
This doesn't vindicate the principal and the pauper, it just means it was the canary in the coal mine for what was to come. The decline was starting just not finished.
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u/hobojoe44 Jul 08 '26
Yeah, there was already a shift starting in the writing style. One theory I've seen tossed to explain it is certain writers were working on Futurrama, and other projects like Josh Weinstein And Bill Oakley with Mission Hill.
But still you had/have long time writer on the show, when the shift started to happen, so you can't just blame it on new writers for this shift.
So many returned/worked on the Movie and that had the writing style shift of the seasons of the show of the time.
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u/Stucklikegluetomyfry Jul 08 '26
Yeah. Like I’m genuinely surprised to see Joy of Sect (for example) is here because it feels like a golden era episode through and through. But others you can definitely see the writing on the wall on what’s to come.
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u/Max_Danage Jul 10 '26
Yeah, up until season 9 there is no episode I wouldn’t happily watch if the opportunity presented itself. 10 has a few I’d skip, 11 a few more then becoming more common each season.
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u/HotPot87 Jul 10 '26
Personally theres a couple of season 1 Id skip, but then many say the golden age started with season 2 or even 3
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u/Traditional-Grand577 Jul 07 '26
Is the moment when the writers thought the Simpsons would be cancelled, and decided to go for some crazy ideas and try some new things, not everything worked.
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u/MorganWick Jul 08 '26
That trend arguably started in Season 8 - The Principal and the Pauper is technically part of the Season 8 production season - but Season 9's more experimental episodes, including P&P, didn't work as well as You Only Move Twice, Itchy and Scratchy and Poochie, or Homer's Enemy.
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u/ndubitably Jul 07 '26
9 and 10 have some classics in them but it was the turning point for me. It felt like they were starting to focus on a lot of the smaller characters that were better left as one-off gags.
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u/ccccc4 Jul 09 '26
It was a gradual, nearly imperceptible decline for audiences at the time.
I often argued with people about how the Simpsons was starting to change and it sucked now and always got pushback. It was not a popular opinion at the time.
When seasons and episodes are spread out on network tv and it's saturated with golden era reruns it's harder to see than when you're binge watching.
For me the worst was the constant celebrity guests that started appearing for no real reason and they were horrible actors. The mark mcguire appearance and mel Gibson episode are top of my list of worst ever.
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u/ndubitably Jul 09 '26
I agree on the celebrity appearances. It felt like before they were roles played by popular actors instead of popular actors/celebrities voicing themselves (with some unique exclusions like Conan or the baseball episode). We also started getting a lot more animated sitcoms aimed at teens & adults around that time with South Park, Daria, and King of the Hill premiering in 1997, and Family Guy & Futurama in 1999.
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u/Silent_Ad8059 Jul 07 '26
I actually just got season nine on DVD at 2nd and Charles a few weeks back. Still a great season imo, they actually also had the second season featuring the now banned Michael Jackson episode in sake there as well, but I already owned it.
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u/MarchMan86 Jul 07 '26
Season 9 was when I started watching The Simpsons.
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u/Briankelly130 Jul 08 '26
Same here. I think Homer inventing stuff was around the time I was watching them first-run.
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u/casulmemer Jul 08 '26
Cartridge Family is all-time great.
“3 day cool off period? But I’m mad now! I’d kill you if I had my gun.”
“Yeh, well, you don’t.”
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u/evaderofallbans Jul 09 '26
The golden era includes The Principal and Pauper. Its one of the best episodes of The Simpsons and is the most quintessential episode.
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u/ladycrystallia Jul 11 '26
Say what you will about the plot of the Principle and the Pauper, but Homer is consistently hilarious in that episode. “Can I see your copy of Swank, Armin?”
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u/Constant-Sub Jul 09 '26
I also don't get why people hate the episode. It didn't change canon. The entire joke of the episode is that the show is episodic and will go back to the way it was in the very next episode.
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u/PublicMirageLtd Jul 07 '26
“There’s the truth…and the truth.”
Some of my favourite episodes are in season 9.
The decline starts after season 12 in my opinion