That '90s Show

I really don't see how this episode could get such a bad rap. What's made the Simpsons so great throughout the years is how it continues to change with the times to stay relevant and although most of the foundation has remained relatively untouched throughout the years there are plenty of examples of really good content that deviates from the original story. If it hadn't, Bill Clinton would still be president instead of Arnold Schwarzenegger or Obama. I really think that weather or not you take it as cannon or not, this was a good episode that modernized the characters in a funny parody of the 1990s. Keep in mind that unlike the children (as far as I know) Homer actually has a set date of birth in 1954 making him 54 years old by the time this episode comes around and makes it hard to keep them all timeless. Also you don't have to take this episode as canon if you don't want to since unlike the original story, I doubt there will be reference to any of the characters in it since what they really wanted was to make a 90s parody and I think they did that very well!

Yes, the "older" fans or long-time fans hate it because the episode itself doesn't necessarily hold on to the past seasons.

But I think they're missing the point of this episode and episodes like it. The Simpsons was never meant to be a show with a linear timeline or even an overall plot.

It was made to display individual stories. Like a modern equivalent of the newspapers comic strip - using set characters to try to make a joke or story come across to the audience made to leave any and all consequences behind.

This truly is the "Worst Episode Ever". If, in the end, we had found that Homer had been hit in the head with a brick, or had drunk some bad eggnog, and hallucinated this whole thing, all would be forgiven. Previous episodes have gone far off the reservation, and all have been redeemed by over-the-top, far fetched explanations (the "real" Principal Skinner being run out of town on a rail comes to mind). However, this apparent attempt to "update" the history of the family without, ultimately, returning us to the traditional timeline is unprecedented. Anyone who DOESN'T understand what a big deal this departure is cannot claim to be a true Simpsons fan. I believe The Simpsons was a on a rather short list of shows that had never Jumped the Shark. I fear that the streak has ended. Hopefully this does not signal a desire to "modernize" the show in a broader sense.

This episode was cute and funny for a satirical period piece but becomes the first in many a string of obnoxious canon disrupting timelines of the simpsons history so carefully curated over nearly 20 years. In my personal experience, I'm fine overlooking continuity errors such as the use of new technology despite no aging of the characters; but when flashbacks happen with Homer and Marge specifically, it's so frustrating for newer episodes to completely change what we know about their history rather than supplementing it with storylines that fit what we know and accept.

Still I love Homer and Marge love story episodes, but this is one I like to pretend doesn't exist canonically speaking

This episode is clear evidence that The Simpsons - once the very best show on television - has way overstayed its welcome. Everything about it was awful. The gags fell flat; Homer as a grunge rocker (with a far bushier mop on his head than he ever had in the 1960s or 1970s) was mind-numbingly unfunny; the band Sadgasm was a stupid "spoof" of grunge; the use of the Verve's Bittersweet Symphony puts the action in 1997, a year when some of the best Simpsons episodes were actually made; the character Professor August adds nothing to the show and the subplot involving Marge attending university was pointless. Clearly, The Simpsons has been on television too long. Either it needs to go off the air or it needs fresh writers who can bring back the show's edgy 90s humor. Watching this episode reminds me of the bad old days when we were subjected to some of those later Happy Days episodes or reruns of Archie Bunker's Place or the final season of The Love Boat. Some critics were upset by the fact that "That 90's Show" more or less subverted the entire Simpson family history time line. For example, the episode invalidates just about all of the flashback episodes, including the classic "Homer's Barbershop Quartet," which was set in 1985 and showed Bart as a little kid. But this is not what offended me about the episode. It was tired. It lacked creativity. It didn't even have as much edge as your typical Suite Life of Zack and Cody episode. What a sad assessment of a show that in its heyday used to excite TV viewers so much with its splendid subversive humor.