> The position of the writers was always that they wouldn't do a movie until the show ended, because until that happened they didn't feel they would be able to put the time and energy into it that the movie would require.
>
> Obviously the show is still running. I'm not sure what happened to change their minds. Maybe the realization that the show may not *ever* end.

I think it's pretty clear that the writers -- none of whom are the same now as when the show started -- don't really care about quality the way they used to. For a few years, The Simpsons was a truly special show, a cartoon that blended wacky humor with real characters. These days it's pretty much just nonstop zaniness.

Stephen