As it’s been noted around these parts, FXX will be airing all episodes of The Simpsons over 12 days in August along with an all encompassing website. As with anything regarding The Simpsons on the internet, there are also plenty of comments about it being nowhere near as good as it used to be (“So only three days of good episodes?,” “It’s all downhill after season x.” etc.). It made me wonder what the internet thought of the classic episodes when they first aired. Well thanks to The Simpsons Archive, we can observe just that, via the Usenet reviews in their episode capsules.

The results were as expected: while there was plenty of praise to go around, many episodes highly regarded today were drawing as much ire as the more recent ones. Here are some criticisms starting in season four:

“Kamp Krusty”

Larry Schwimmer {las}: Kamp Krusty had a few good gags and a lot of potential, but

it was often predictable and drawn out. Chris Baird {cjb}: Rushed. In the past I’ve attributed poor storylines to

the unsuccess of a show, but the voice direction for the first part of

this episode (including that from the usually splendid Ms. Smith) was

that abysmal, it should accept the responsibility for most of the jokes

falling flat. If this happens again, I’m buying a tin of red grease paint.

By the time season six rolls around, there are much stronger critiques, where even the compliments are backhanded.

“Itchy and Scratchy Land”