It's obvious that after almost 20 years, a show is going to lag a little. While the episodes of the past few seasons haven't really gone near the excellence of the episodes that happened during the Golden Years, it has been picking up again in just general humour in my eyes. While it isn't as referential and commentative on current events anymore (though in some instances it still is, just not to the extent that it used to), and more reliant on its own mythos for its humour, I still find it to be the funniest out of itself, South Park, or Family Guy.

South Park is actually quite clever in a lot of instances, but really has a very particular and individual way of looking at the issues or events that it comments on. It's a show that really has only gotten better with age if you are a fan, but if you were never a huge fan to begin with (like myself, though I think the movie is brilliant), than you'll find it amusing and clever, but it just really isn't something to tune into every week.

Family Guy, on the complete opposite end, is just not my cup of tea at all. The jokes and plots are mostly rehashes of jokes that have appeared already on other shows, or even in earlier episodes of itself. Rather than have jokes that derive from the natural progression of plot, they rely on zany flashbacks or random occurances that just happen to come out of nowhere at the right time. The commentary on issues and current events is weak at best, and done much better on both The Simpsons and South Park.

In my eyes, The Simpsons is well within its rights to be lagging a little after 20 years of being on the air, but it actually has been improving the past few seasons. Whether or not this season will continue that trend remains to be seen.

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