The simpsons are going to...jump the shark!

 Hey!

We all know that one episode where The Simpsons jumped the shark. The Principal and the Pauper. It is a very controversial episode in The Simpsons. I realize it is very problematic, and I don't mind this episode despite its flaws. But Season 9, from which this episode is from is when The Simpsons really started to end its Golden Era. A lot of people have analyzed when The Simpsons fell from grace.

The Jerkass Homer era are some very bad episodes, but looking back, the Jerkass Homer seasons are some of the most memorable seasons of all. There are a lot of travel episodes, a lot of them are offensive to the country they are travelling to, but they are also fun episodes. They are very quirky episodes. Plus the Jerkass Homer seasons are some of the most memeable seasons of the series. 

Obviously season 9 of The Simpsons is where the quality definitely begins to shift. I would argue that season 8 is a precursor to that because of the extra zany things that happen in season 8. But season 8 is also a very good season with a lot of my fave episodes. Season 8 has a lot of social commentary in it too. I think season 9 is where some of the social commentary begins to slow down. It definitely slows down in the HD era. I think though that there are some fresh ideas season 30+. I'm very behind on the HD era though and I am watching all the episodes season by season. I am on season 27 or 28 currently. (I don't remember haha).  I find that the HD era is just them doing stuff and not really having concrete plots or social commentary.

I figure maybe that The Principal and the Pauper might have been purposely a social commentary on jump the shark episodes not just being one, but parodying jumping the shark moments even. They even reset the status quo at the end of the episode making the episode almost non canon.

curlyalicia