>>212155288 (OP)It's a funny episode, but it built a lot of tropes that turned into negatives for the Simpsons
>Direct Rip-Off It was just the guy from Falling Down in Springfield fighting Homer. Along with episodes like the Springfield Files it shows the show becoming more reliant on "Bring a universe into this universe"
>Jerkass Homer premierHomer has fully gone from "All American Average Man who manages to be at the center of fun schemes" to "Complete undeserving moron who lucked into a life of comfort and luxury"
>Full irreverence Pretty much everyone comes off as a jerk in it. Homer eating comical amounts of food has gone from a passive donut joke to Homer stealing lunches
That all being said I kind of like the episode, the Bart buys a warehouse for a dollar subplot also represents the rise in absurdism.
But what were they supposed to do after 7 seasons of quality, but turn it into an increasingly mechanical joke machine that relies on other media to make its media. It set up a formula for the next 25 seasons.