The End of the Simpsons?

With the departure of Harry Shearer longtime cast member of the longest running animated show in the history of TV, the show, in my opinion, is on life support.

Here's why the Simpsons best years (some will probably disagree with my estimates) are from season 3 to season 16. With seasons 4-8 being some of their best work. The reason for Shearer leaving is over money but I feel there are other things. After 26 years, the Simpsons have been in a very steady decline for me when season 20 hit I would watch various episodes with some interest, then the Lady Gaga episode hit after 15 minutes of that I turned it off. But anyway then my viewing became more and more sporadic until I stopped watching entirely with exception of the Lego episode and Futurama x-over. Because the show has long since lost my interest because I felt it was no longer funny as it was in its heyday. Thank god for DVD. 

I can think of another long running show that suffered a somewhat similar fate was Bonanza. Dan Blocker, who played Hoss Cartwright, passed away after season 10, I believe, the show got considerably darker and midway through its 14 season the show was cancelled because Hoss was the heart of the show. Also it was the early 70s and western were falling out of vogue for Television with the rise of the modern cop dramas.

Do I think the Simpsons should pack it in? Yes. The while the voice acting is still at the top but the writing is no longer there. And the show is really starting to feel its age the more it drags on. With gimmick episodes like the Family Guy x-over shows desperation of part of Fox and the creative staff.

What do any of you think