Since airing, this episode has made a name for itself online when the show officially began its downward trend. This is thanks in large part to the twist in Act III, which reveals that riding jockeys are actually brain-eating elves. That sounds stupid, but it turns out to be even worse.
That half hour The simpsons also contains a lot of weird, out of place meta-jokes commenting on how Saddlesore Galactica repeats old storylines and jokes, which isn’t very funny and also just underscores how bad the episode actually is. While I think the show has had great episodes and even seasons since that point — even if a lot of people online think otherwise — I can’t deny that Saddlesore Galactica is likely the end of the show’s golden era.
