Should 'The Simpsons' Be Canceled?

As The Simpsons continues year after year, becoming the longest running comedy on television, fans speculate whether the series should last much longer.

Some fans feel the show lost its heart and humor years ago. Some fans feel Futurama took quality writers and producers away from The Simpsons, making it suffer. Other fans think the show is as good as ever. How much longer will the show go on?

The Simpsons is set to stay in production through 2008.

Not only is The Simpsons continuing on television, the show's videogames are doing great business. The Simpsons Road Rage is a Simpsons version of Crazy Taxi. The Simpsons Hit and Run is basically Homer Simpson dropped into Grand Theft Auto. But between the two, The Simpsons franchise has racked up a lot of "D'oh!"

Since The Simpsons first aired in 1989, the show has earned several Emmys for the show and its cast. The Simpsons has become the longest running comedy on television, surpassing Cheers or M.A.S.H. But fans are becoming disappointed in the quality of the show.

The Simpsons was at a high in ratings and critical success in 1999. Then Matt Groening's other show was launched: Futurama. Many fans felt that when Groening's attention shifted to the new show set in the future, and Mike Scully became the show-runner, that the quality of The Simpsons began to slip.

There were still excellent episodes, such as "Behind the Laughter" and "Skinner's Sense of Snow." But overall the heart and humor of the show became harder, and cheesier, like with "Simpson Safari" and "Jaws Wired Shut."

Even after Futurama was canceled after five seasons, fans that had been with The Simpsons from the start felt they were watching a different, less funny, show. There is even an online petition for fans to sign to get the show canceled.