I admit it: I’m one of those fans of “The Simpsons.” That group of men of a certain age who won’t let you get two words out about the series before making sure you know that they don’t watch episodes of the show that premiere after a certain date. I’m perfectly aware of how obnoxiously this strange brand of snobbery comes off, but I can’t help myself.

And yet, for all my criticisms of the show’s quality in the past few decades, it’s hard to argue the fact that a show doesn’t get put on TV year after year for nostalgia reasons. Fox wouldn’t keep “The Simpsons” on TV into its 37th — yes, 37th — season if the show wasn’t delivering an audience consistently. And one thing that even the most traditionalist of “Simpsons” fans will usually begrudgingly admit is that the yearly “Treehouse of Horror” Halloween special is a must-watch.

I revisited the very first “Treehouse of Horror” episode that “The Simpsons” ever produced, as well as the most recent episode in that line, in the course of my weekly viewing. The result was easily my favorite stream of the week, even if I think my decision to avoid newer “Simpsons” seasons is justified.

Let’s start with Season 37’s episode. I found the episode itself executed competently enough; a few timely jokes that elicited true chuckles, even if I didn’t think the three segments had the same level of societal commentary that past episodes have achieved. I did enjoy the last portion of the episode, which takes viewers into a post-apocalyptic world covered in plastic in which Bart has become a warlord. And I laughed out loud during the second short of the episode, in which Bart calls out a reference to the original episode in a subtle and well-executed gag.

I have to give a special shout-out to the voice cast of “The Simpsons,” who continue to deliver their best performances almost 40 years after the show originally debuted. The passage of time is evident during some performances; Dan Castellaneta’s Krusty voice isn’t as smooth as it once was, for example. But the mere fact that these actors come back season after season shows a dedication to these characters and audiences that have spent literal decades loving them, which is highly admirable.

All of that being said, I can’t deny the first “Treehouse of Horror” episode in “The Simpsons” Season 2 just punches the nostalgia buttons of my brain in a delightful way. The episode introduced Kang and Kodos, the tentacled aliens that became staple “Simpsons” characters for years to come.

It also isn’t afraid to look to classic literature for inspiration, interlacing a version of Poe’s “The Raven” with “Simpsons” characters in a segment that manages to both revere and hilariously skewer the work at the same time. It’s the kind of clever subtlety that I think has become lost in “The Simpsons,” a fact that has undoubtedly affected its quality in my eyes. The show’s new episodes still have tastes of this kind of writing, but diving back into a classic episode made it very clear how stark the difference is.

“Treehouse of Horror” is a fun Halloween tradition, and it’s a testament to the cultural space “The Simpsons” has carved out that audiences anticipate this special episode with glee 35 years after it was first established. While I’m not ready to declare that new “Simpsons” episodes match the quality of older seasons, trying this year’s “Treehouse of Horror” and the first one ever made back-to-back were my favorite streams of the week. Seasons 1-36 of “The Simpsons” are available on Disney+, while Season 37 is found on Hulu.