[larrik]

I also think that humor doesn't age well, it's largely generational. The Simpsons is better than most humor, because their jokes are generally stronger. They rarely go for the obvious joke (throw away the first 2-3 jokes you come up with, because they are too easy), and there is basically no sarcasm on the show (ever notice how all sitcoms are just sarcastic barbs for 22 minutes, and have been for decades?).

That said, it can be hard to appreciate just how excellent it was for its time, since it changed the way a lot of series to follow write their humor.

[freehunter]

Which is interesting because what originally turned me off Futurama when it first aired (and I was the right age to watch it at that time) was that it seemed like they went for the easy jokes a little too quickly, and not only that, they shoved them in your face by referencing the fact that they made a joke right then and there.

It took a few viewings before I understood there were also jokes at a deeper level, but at first blush it's the anti-Simpsons.

[yolesaber]

>and there is basically no sarcasm on the show

My sarcasm detector is exploding. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNGXoHQ0mps

[acomjean]

A sarcasm detector.. That's useful. (An actual invention on the show)

https://frinkiac.com/caption/S10E22/1040572

[nerfhammer]

The trick IMO is to have high density of lots of different kinds of jokes.