The Simpsons Poll

[Grumpy Alien]

I’m really curious about who watched/watches The Simpsons. I grew up in the US and from my perspective, it was never that popular. I didn’t know anyone that watched it and while I had seen bits of it, I never had any interest in watching a full episode. Pretty much everyone I know here in the UK though has at some point been a fan or at least happened to watch it regularly. I feel like The Simpsons might actually be more popular outside of America, which would be interesting.

 

Where are you from?

Did you watch The Simpsons growing up? (Or at some point in the past for those who were adults when it was newer.)

Do you regularly watch now?

When did you start watching it?

When did you stop, if you did?

Do you even like The Simpsons?

[Guest]

Hm, it's not letting me select from only one category. Whether there's a way to fix that I have no idea.

 

Anyhoo, I'm Canadian and used to watch the Simpsons all the time, mainly during their golden years and prior to the deactivation of analog cable.

[Grumpy Alien]

3 minutes ago, Jon A. said:

Hm, it's not letting me select from only one category. Whether there's a way to fix that I have no idea.

 

Anyhoo, I'm Canadian and used to watch the Simpsons all the time, mainly during their golden years and prior to the deactivation of analog cable.

You have to answer all questions to cast a vote in a poll. Both questions’ first option is the equivalent to n/a.

[Still]

Depends on how old you are, because the show was huge in the early 90s.

 

I'm a non-American, and I guess a diehard fan since I've seen all the old episodes so many times and still keep watching them. Started watching sometime in the early 90s, stopped watching new episodes probably around 2004-2005, which was already several years after the show had gone downhill big time. Can't imagine how bad it must be 15 years later.

[Guest]

@Kimchi Peanut Ah okay, I didn't see that before.

[Grumpy Alien]

1 minute ago, Still said:

Depends on how old you are, because the show was huge in the early 90s.

I was born 1992, so obviously none of my own friends would’ve been watching at that time. I remember some arcade game based on the show but I don’t remember ever knowing anyone that had ever intentionally watched it.

[Guest]

45 minutes ago, Kimchi Peanut said:

I’m really curious about who watched/watches The Simpsons. I grew up in the US and from my perspective, it was never that popular. I didn’t know anyone that watched it and while I had seen bits of it, I never had any interest in watching a full episode. Pretty much everyone I know here in the UK though has at some point been a fan or at least happened to watch it regularly. I feel like The Simpsons might actually be more popular outside of America, which would be interesting.

 

Where are you from?

Did you watch The Simpsons growing up? (Or at some point in the past for those who were adults when it was newer.)

Do you regularly watch now?

When did you start watching it?

When did you stop, if you did?

Do you even like The Simpsons?

The majority of people I know watch / watched it (it's kinda not as big now it seems, being so old... but when I was a kid everyone watched it). My mom never let us watch it as kids though cause she found it crude. And never had much interest as an adult, since I'm not into comedy. 

[Skycaptain]

Not American, British, so we've had the opportunity to see almost every episode. I've just not got it

[Paca ermito]

I'm American, and I started watching The Simpsons when it first began, as shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show.  I loved the first few seasons of The Simpsons, but then I stopped watching TV altogether, so I haven't seen the last 25 seasons or so.  The only exception was when I heard that John Waters had been a guest on the show.  I rented that disk from Netflix and watched that episode (which I liked).  It's kind of mind-boggling to me that it's stayed on the air for 32 seasons.

[the great acescape]

Put "other" because I am still a huge fan of the Simpsons pre Season 9 (Zombie Simpsons)

[Zagadka]

Yea, I liked it in the 90s, but since then... it just lost what made it really funny. Haven't even bothered with it in a while.

[RoseGoesToYale]

Teh swamp (Florida).

Nope, I was forbidden to.

Nope.

Never, I've seen a few sporadic episodes in my life.

Immediately.

I dislike it along with every other major American animated TV series. I guess American humor is just lost on me.

[the great acescape]

Literally nobody asked by one of my favorite visual gags ever is the exploding milk truck from season 3. 

 

[Grumpy Alien]

@the great acescape I... don’t get it??

[the great acescape]

Just now, Kimchi Peanut said:

@the great acescape I... don’t get it??

Usually in these types of scenes, a car has to drive into something flammable in order for it to explode (an oil tanker, usually). The idea of a car driving into a tanker of milk and resulting in this fiery explosion is just absurd enough that even now it tickles my funny bone. It also helps that it's a barely there gag that comes and goes in 3 seconds. 

[iff]

Where are you from? Ireland

 

Did you watch The Simpsons growing up? (Or at some point in the past for those who were adults when it was newer.)

Yes

 

Do you regularly watch now?

I go through phases of watching it Alot and watching it a small bit. I was feeling a bit under the weather today so it's perfect tv for me when feeling bad. 

 

 

When did you start watching it?

Shortly after it started on BBC. Google tells me it was November 1996. First episode was the Mr bergstrom. 

 

When did you stop, if you did?

Still watching it. I do watch the newer seasons too but they are really more like a tribute act when compared to the first 12 or 13 seasons, which were just fantastic. Season 9 is great. 

 

Do you even like The Simpsons?

Yes

 

----

I guess one of the things when comparing us viewing to uk/Ireland is choice. Most people in the UK growing up had 4 stations (Channel 5 launched sometime in the late 90s). BBC had it at 6pm then Channel 4 have had it at 6pm since they got the rights in 2904. That is the perfect time for an entertainment time.  2 of the other stations have news at that  time. 

In Ireland, we had the 4 UK channels and 2 of our own growing up) 1 of which has news at 6 and the other had simpsons at 6 (TnaG launched in 1998 but irish language and tv3 launched in 1999 but who knows what they showed at 6pm) until they started messing with the schedule 18 months ago

 

So at 6pm as a teenager, the choice was either simpsons on 2 channels, news on 3 channels or something else on the other

 

[Grumpy Alien]

1 minute ago, the great acescape said:

Usually in these types of scenes, a car has to drive into something flammable in order for it to explode (an oil tanker, usually). The idea of a car driving into a tanker of milk and resulting in this fiery explosion is just absurd enough that even now it tickles my funny bone. It also helps that it's a barely there gag that comes and goes in 3 seconds. 

Oh. I’m not sure I understand the humour there but I’m guessing I’m in the minority.

[the great acescape]

@Kimchi Peanut I mean it's definitely a matter of personal preference, I've just always loved the humor of completely absurd scenarios that catch you off guard. 

[Grumpy Alien]

@iff Wait... what? You only had a few channels in the 90s?? My mom barely remembers a time when there were that few and she was born in 1963...

[iff]

10 minutes ago, Kimchi Peanut said:

@iff Wait... what? You only had a few channels in the 90s?? My mom barely remembers a time when there were that few and she was born in 1963...

If you only had the terrestrial service. 

 

Sky launched in the 1990s but that is a premium service so would have been out of price range.

 

We had 6 channels with the 4 UK ones and 2 irish until the two more came in the late 1990s (we could never get a good reception on UK channel 5)

 

We were lucky with living near to the irish-northern Irish border so we got the uk signal too. 45 minutes down the road for my grandparents, they only had the 2 irish channels (and I'd spend a week or two there each summer as a child growing up) 

[Grumpy Alien]

@iff Wow... okay. That’s crazy. Also, I was very thrown by “terrestrial service.” Sounds like an alien army.

[Janus the Fox]

1 hour ago, OptimisticPessimist said:

There used to be only  3 channels, then channel 4 launched in 1982 and Channel 5 in 1997, along with sky tv in the 90's.

BBC1, BBC2, ITN and S4C is about as much as I got until early 2000s with basic Sky subscription, classic Sky background music to boot lol

 

Most of my Simpsons watching where either Sky 1 or Sky 2 

[Duke Memphis]

I never really get much opportunity to watch it, but I like it.

[SithLord]

When I was a kid, it was popular, but my mom banned us from watching it. And there were much better things to watch like DBZ so I wasn't that interested. Even when I was growing up, I didn't care that much to watch it and drifted more towards the other shows that were gaining in popularity like South Park and Family Guy, though also never watched those because I was a boring kid and because anime is still better. I've now seen a few episodes of each, but never have hooked me. The closest I've come to being a fan of any of them was watching American Dad and I LOVE Futurama. 

 

But Simpsons? I've never cared much. Mostly seen the specials around famous literature or stories or something because others show me when we're talking about the stories. 

[Gloomy]

Where are you from? U.S.

Did you watch The Simpsons growing up? Yes

Do you regularly watch now? No, since I haven't had cable in a few years, but once in a while I watch episodes on Hulu or Disney +.

When did you start watching it? I don't know, probably like 2 or 3 since my parents were watching it.

When did you stop, if you did? Haven't.

Do you even like The Simpsons? Yes, especially the older episodes.

[Anthracite_Impreza]

Where are you from? England

Did you watch The Simpsons growing up? (Or at some point in the past for those who were adults when it was newer.) No.

Do you regularly watch now? No.

When did you start watching it? Only ever seen it if others have it on. Far as I know, only my mother actually likes it.

When did you stop, if you did? N/A

Do you even like The Simpsons? No. Can't get into it, it grates on me for some reason.

[HonoraryJedi]

I'm Swedish.

Family had some Simpsons dvds that we saw. That was our treatment of most tv-series. We're not much for watching tv.

I don't remember if it was specific seasons, or a 'best of' kind of thing. It did start with the very first episode, and included a number that were apparently well known.

I liked it.

I don't remember if I got bored with it eventually, or if we simply rand out of episodes on the dvds.

I don't consider myself a fan per se, but I do remember liking many of the episodes.

 

[Guest]

Where are you from? The U.S.

 

Did you watch The Simpsons growing up? (Or at some point in the past for those who were adults when it was newer.) Yes.

 

Do you regularly watch now? Nah.

 

When did you start watching it? I was 9 or 10, I think. My dad banned it for a little while because he thought Bart was a bad influence or something, but that didn't last long because I remember watching it again like a year later.

 

When did you stop, if you did? I stopped really keeping up with the show sometime before 2007, though I've seen episodes here and there.

 

Do you even like The Simpsons? I liked the older seasons, not sure about the newer ones because I haven't watched in a while. I just don't really watch TV in general, I tend to be more into movies.

[everywhere and nowhere]

I have seen perhaps two episodes of the Simpsons. Never been a fan of them, but I also feel that none of the closed nswers suit me.

[fooledbysecrecy]

not american, i voted used to be a diehard fan,although i don't think i was ever proper diehard but that's the closest option i guess, i used to LOVE it a LOT! (which is why 'like' felt too weak of an option haha) haven't really watched the newest seasons, i think the best ones are up to season 11 or 12 or somewhere around there.