I have been watching “The Simpsons” for as long as I can remember. As a child, I watched the show for the crude language and the simple humor, never quite grasping the abundant use of satire it cleverly employed to create one of the most well-rounded cartoons ever.

As I grew up and began to understand all the literary devices it used, I became a much bigger fan. But after a while, it seems as though the writers gave up. Season 11 was when the downfall began. The show started buying into the “fart joke” era.

It was as if the writers stopped trying. They started depending on guest appearances, and the writing got sloppy. Homer was dumbed down way too much, Barney became sober and Patty and Selma stopped smoking.

I was shocked when I sat through a whole episode without laughing once. The show got so bad that I gave up on it altogether, turning to other cartoons to fill the void left by it.

“Family Guy” was okay for a while, but it started getting too political. It was funny when it was subtle, but lately it slaps you across the face with it. “South Park” is good, but it was better when the animation was sub-par.

No, “The Simpsons” was unique.

It taught much of my childhood learning. My vocabulary grew after watching a few episodes; I knew what fjord meant.

Luckily, it has been improving greatly.

Homer is once again the lovable goof who still cares for his children.

The writers are employing satire in a much more clever fashion, such as in the last episode I watched where the parodied Apple.

The Simpsons has reclaimed an old faithful fan, and now I feel comfortable recommending it to everyone.