The War of Art (The Simpsons) competence without any major missteps will have to suffice." He added that despite one of a number of criticisms of recent Simpsons being "the cast’s perceived disinterest", in this episode it was clear Smith was giving 100% to Lisa in her obsession over the guinea pigs. Tony Sokol of "Den of Geek" gave the episode 4 stars out of 5, and wrote "I’ve said before and will say again that The Simpsons towers over all current TV sitcoms. That the worst episode of "The Simpsons" will still have more laughs per minute than the best episode of, say "Modern Family"..."The
The Simpsons storylines in favor of and overuse of celebrity cameo appearances and references to popular culture. Schembri wrote: "The central tragedy of "The Simpsons" is that it has gone from commanding attention to merely being attention-seeking. It began by proving that cartoon characters don't have to be caricatures; they can be invested with real emotions. Now the show has in essence fermented into a limp parody of itself. Memorable story arcs have been sacrificed for the sake of celebrity walk-ons and punchline-hungry dialogue." In 2010, the BBC noted "the common consensus is that "The Simpsons" golden era ended after season nine",