I was seventeen when the Simpsons became their own show. The cultural impact was enormous and immediate. By the summer of 1990, images of the Simpsons were freaking everywhere. Clothes, glasses, miscellaneous trinkets, everywhere.

So it's not really necessary for the first couple of seasons to come short against seasons three and four.

The seismic wave the show caused from its beginning were enough to garner those scores you see.