I've watched it since about 1996, 1997 - I was quite young when I got into it, and BBC2 were a few series behind at the time anyway, so I was just in time for its apex.
I don't especially like what Al Jean's done with the show, but I do genuinely find it funny. It's a completely different kind of funny, though. I used to have my Sky+ set up to record any and all episodes of the Simpsons, and I also used to have a
lot of insomnia. (Hence the post count!) So I'd quite often drag my duvet into the living room, curl up into a ball, put my laptop on the desk, and throw on some Simpsons. Was expecting to want to switch it off at some point. Never did.
I think the modern stuff is still often creative, often funny, and actually a fairly strong show. After the old ones had been repeated so much (and I'd originally seen them at an age where I only got about half of the jokes!), they were quite a good detox. They get a bad rap, and fairly, 'cause they
do mute its legacy, a bit. But it's still a cracking bit of telly.
I think they've curtailed some of the old problems. They don't tend to use guest stars as gratutiously as they used to (although I still have no idea why you'd need to employ so many extra actors when you've got what is ostensibly the most talented voice cast in America at your fingertips), and they don't shoehorn the characters in quite as badly as they used to (although they still write a whole lot of jokes that don't make a lick of fucking sense - for such a big celebrity, Krusty is ALWAYS a few steps away from wherever the main characters are, and Homer never does a day's work any more) - I think they've got a lot better. There are some fairly sweet episodes. There was a nice one where the kids got Krabappel drunk, and Bart felt guilty. It's not a million miles away from the old stuff. More like a thousand. It's lost its voice to an extent, too, which is a shame, but it's still a good show. Moreso than it used to be in the early 2000s, I'd say. It absolutely is not on its way out, and long may it continue.
That said, the one thing that pisses me off is that the writers don't seem to think they need to write good dialogue. 'Cause it's a comedy show, they seem to think that they can just have the characters speak any exposition. Especially Marge, who I'm surprised doesn't have an even hoarser voice, given the amount of talking to herself and stating the obvious she gets up to.
Can't blame Groening though, The Simpsons is a massive cash cow that he'll surely milk till it's dry. Luckily Curb Your Enthusiasm is still great though so I've got a comedy fix
I think it's more Al Jean's baby, nowadays. Besides which, very few people cancel a show unless it's failing in the ratings, or they've run out of storylines (or fear it). Springfield's so big that there's an infinity of possible storylines, and it's still getting fairly strong ratings. And the reviews aren't bad, either! It's not generating award after award, and it doesn't deserve to, but it's definitely in a good place to survive.