I am a huge fan of the "Golden Years" of the Simpsons, and have been since childhood. And even though most fans would end that era around S12, I still would enjoy episodes as far as S16/17. I would very rarely even contemplate watching a later episode, but curiosity got the best of me and I decided to watch one this evening. Big mistake.
The couch gag was pretty stupid but at least it was short, compared to some insanely long ones from recent seasons. Within the first minute or two, there were some funny moments, I laughed maybe twice, and I was optimistic about the rest of the episode. It was going fine until Maggie's subplot. I know The Simpsons is now owned by Disney, but is there any reason to hammer us over the head with it? Do they really believe than many Simpsons fans will enjoy a "cute" and unfunny storyline like this? The writers used to make the show for adults but accessible to children. Now, however, it's aimed entirely at young children. The jokes are crummy and cringey, too juvenile and wacky, with none of the down to earth nature of the best episodes. The meta joke about the couch gag made me physically angry. The Patty & Selma plot was bearable at least, and partially amusing. The Maggie one was unforgivable.