i think it's right after the "who shot mister burns" two-parter, myself.

but really, it peaked with the monorail episode. i can't think of a funnier half-hour of comedy i've ever seen or heard. "i knew i shouldn't have stopped for that haircut..."

The slide starts with season 8 and is complete by season 10 in my opinion. About the time there is a special guest star in just about every episode although I don't know if there is a causal relationship there.

 What I'd really like to know is when 'Jump the Shark' jumped the shark.  I'm guessing just about the time the Jump the Shark book came out.

"It's not so bad as long as you can keep the fear from your mind." - D. Cooper

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind killer." - P. Atreides

"Whoever can see through all fear will always be safe" - L. tzu

~ Amanda

"Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave..."

I still find it generally funny.

Jordan .

I don't think The Simpsons suck. It's still rocking and if it hadn't enough audience, they wouldn't have made the movie. I don't think the series has "jumped the shark" (I just hate that sentence). The series changed inevitably because 20 years have passed and it couldn't just tell stories. Now it's kind of a commenting satire on the world's political and general decline and some episodes might seem crazy or random, they just need to be watched with a different eye. I admit there were a few lows, but the series is still capable of highs. I just read they're already working on the next movie, man!

AY CARUMBA!

"Did they scoff the whole damn Smörgåsbord?" (Audrey) 

"Gimme a donut!" (Coop)

"Harry, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don't plan it, don't wait for it, just let it happen. Could be a new shirt at the men's store, a catnap in your office chair, or two cups of good, hot, black coffee. Like this."  -Dale Cooper

"Harry, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don't plan it, don't wait for it, just let it happen. Could be a new shirt at the men's store, a catnap in your office chair, or two cups of good, hot, black coffee. Like this."  -Dale Cooper

Truth is that they suck sometimes and sometimes they don't and sometimes it happens within the same episode. My favorite example is the Homer tripping episode (El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer) from season 8.  The first half with Johnny Cash as the space coyote and the famous 'Merciless Peppers of Quetzlzacatenango' was great the second half, Homers 'soul mate' quest, was among the lamest of the lame.

I think that one of the problems that the early stuff (after the first season) was so consistently good that the later seasons suffered by comparison although some episodes rose to the early standard but not enough to

All this being said I'd still rather watch sucky Simpsons than 98.3% of everything else out there in T.V. land.

"It's not so bad as long as you can keep the fear from your mind." - D. Cooper

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind killer." - P. Atreides

"Whoever can see through all fear will always be safe" - L. tzu

 Hear, hear.

By the way, I love that episode you mentioned (Nuestro Homer bla bla). I think the episodes in season 8 I didn't really like  were only episode 2 ("You only move twice" On a whim, Homer takes a higher paying job with the Globex Corporation in the planned community of Cypress Creek. Reluctant to leave Springfield at first, his family soon warms to the idea. When they arrive in Cypress Creek, Hank Scorpio, Homer's easygoing boss (though he dislikes the term), shows him that his new job will be a breeze. While things seem utopian at first, they soon turn sour; Bart is put in a remedial classroom because he cannot read cursive writing, Lisa is allergic to nature, and Marge becomes bored when her household chores are all done by machines. The family wants to return to Springfield. Meanwhile, Homer never catches on to the truth about his new employer: Hank Scorpio is actually a supervillain bent on world domination. ). All the others are among my all-time favorites, just because they are crazy in a different way from the previous seasons.

I have to say there are too many football-related episodes in season 9 and 10 for my European taste.  I'm referring to episodes like "Bart star" or "Sunday, cruddy Sunday". But overall, my love for the series brought me to purchase every DVD box that came out and re-watching all the episodes without commercials, on my Tv, really didn't ever disappoint me.

Perhaps they should have designed the season 11's box differently. That one truly sucks.

"Did they scoff the whole damn Smörgåsbord?" (Audrey) 

"Gimme a donut!" (Coop)

"It's not so bad as long as you can keep the fear from your mind." - D. Cooper

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind killer." - P. Atreides

"Whoever can see through all fear will always be safe" - L. tzu

Space coyote with Johnny Cash's voice is just a superb and timeless classic!

Oh, I wanted to point, Nefud, that "Marge vs the Monorail" is not from season 8, but from season 4...

D'oh yourself!

"Did they scoff the whole damn Smörgåsbord?" (Audrey) 

"Gimme a donut!" (Coop)