LogFAQs > #948858143

I saw something in a compilation of Smithers being gay clips, that perfectly summarizes how bad the humor has gotten:

In this clip, Smithers is on fire, and runs over to Mr. Burns asking for help, saying he is "flaming"

Mr. Burns looks at the camera as Smithers is running around in the background with a look on his face like "Smithers? Flaming? the joke writes itself"

but in the past Mr. Burns would have been super oblivious to Smithers advances, or stop them while not fully grasping them. This was one of those "too obvious it's bad" character dynamic ruining jokes.