This show may have gone downhill significantly over the years, but we have to remember how amazing it once was! After being introduced in animated shorts on "The Tracey Ullman Show" in 1987, the Simpson family started out in their own show late in 1989, with a Chrismas special. The first season continued in 1990, and during the show's early days, it was controversial. At that point in time, it seems that society wasn't used to cartoon shows not being 100% kid-friendly. However, "The Simpsons" also turned out to be one groundbreaking series of the decade, and the controversy eventually died down (less kid-friendly cartoon shows have come since)!
The Simpsons are a dysfunctional American family who live in the city of Springfield. The parents are Homer (an overweight, lazy, aggressive simpleton who works at the local nuclear power plant) and Marge (usually a stay-at-home mother who tries her best to keep the rest of the family in line). The kids are Bart (a ten-year-old boy who very often gets in trouble, and doesn't usually do so well at school), Lisa (a very intelligent, gifted eight-year-old girl who plays the saxophone and usually does very well at school, but often has trouble with her social life), and Maggie (the youngest in the family, only a baby). The family owns two pets, a dog named Santa's Little Helper and a cat named Snowball. Various kinds of trouble for this family often arise, including Marge and Homer having trouble with their relationship, Bart or Lisa experiencing a problem at school, and so many other things! Wherever the Simpsons go, trouble seems to await!
The show has many excellent supporting characters, probably more than most shows do! They include Krusty the Clown (a wacky clown whose #1 fan is probably Bart), Mr. Burns (Homer's evil 104-year-old boss at the power plant), Waylon Smithers (Burns' assistant), the Flanders' (the Christian fundamentalist family who live next door to the Simpsons), Seymour Skinner (the principal of Springfield Elementary who is middle-aged and still lives with his mother), Agnes Skinner (Seymour's bossy mother), Apu Nahasapeemapetilon (a man from India who runs the local Kwik-E-Mart), Edna Krabappel (Bart's teacher, who often gives him trouble), Abraham J. "Grampa" Simpson (Homer's silly father, who lives at a retirement home and has a lot of history), Patty and Selma Bouvier (Marge's nasty, chain-smoking sisters, who hate Homer), Moe Szyslak (a local bartender who is easily fooled by Bart's crank calls), Barney Gumble (Homer's alcoholic friend who is usually only seen at Moe's), Lenny and Carl (two more of Homer's friends, who drink at Moe's with him and work at the power plant), Milhouse Van Houten (Bart's nerdy friend)...the list goes on!
Aside from all the funny characters, "The Simpsons" has several other notable features, including lots of brilliant humour, excellent writing, social commentary, a lot of voice talent (most of the cast members provide the voices of several characters), impressive animation (even if the main characters are simply drawn), etc.! The Halloween episodes are a highlight as well, each featuring three short stories, which are generally less realistic than the plots for most regular episodes. There's really not much (if anything) to be said about the long-running, groundbreaking series that hasn't already been said many times, so I'm basically just repeating things that others have mentioned!
It has now been nearly eighteen years since "The Simpsons" started out in full episodes, and it currently holds the record for the longest-running cartoon show! Unfortunately, but unsurprisingly, it hasn't been the same in recent years, gradually declining in quality. Personally, I can't stand watching new episodes. I certainly don't think they're horrendous, but they seem very stale, and certainly can't compare to the classics, making me feel as if I've lost something in my life. I know I'm certainly not the only fan who avoids new episodes, many others believe that it should have come to an end long ago. However, it's best not to dwell on the negative. What "The Simpsons" was in its heyday is not something to be forgotten, and clearly, television in the 1990s wouldn't have been the same without it!
The Simpsons are a dysfunctional American family who live in the city of Springfield. The parents are Homer (an overweight, lazy, aggressive simpleton who works at the local nuclear power plant) and Marge (usually a stay-at-home mother who tries her best to keep the rest of the family in line). The kids are Bart (a ten-year-old boy who very often gets in trouble, and doesn't usually do so well at school), Lisa (a very intelligent, gifted eight-year-old girl who plays the saxophone and usually does very well at school, but often has trouble with her social life), and Maggie (the youngest in the family, only a baby). The family owns two pets, a dog named Santa's Little Helper and a cat named Snowball. Various kinds of trouble for this family often arise, including Marge and Homer having trouble with their relationship, Bart or Lisa experiencing a problem at school, and so many other things! Wherever the Simpsons go, trouble seems to await!
The show has many excellent supporting characters, probably more than most shows do! They include Krusty the Clown (a wacky clown whose #1 fan is probably Bart), Mr. Burns (Homer's evil 104-year-old boss at the power plant), Waylon Smithers (Burns' assistant), the Flanders' (the Christian fundamentalist family who live next door to the Simpsons), Seymour Skinner (the principal of Springfield Elementary who is middle-aged and still lives with his mother), Agnes Skinner (Seymour's bossy mother), Apu Nahasapeemapetilon (a man from India who runs the local Kwik-E-Mart), Edna Krabappel (Bart's teacher, who often gives him trouble), Abraham J. "Grampa" Simpson (Homer's silly father, who lives at a retirement home and has a lot of history), Patty and Selma Bouvier (Marge's nasty, chain-smoking sisters, who hate Homer), Moe Szyslak (a local bartender who is easily fooled by Bart's crank calls), Barney Gumble (Homer's alcoholic friend who is usually only seen at Moe's), Lenny and Carl (two more of Homer's friends, who drink at Moe's with him and work at the power plant), Milhouse Van Houten (Bart's nerdy friend)...the list goes on!
Aside from all the funny characters, "The Simpsons" has several other notable features, including lots of brilliant humour, excellent writing, social commentary, a lot of voice talent (most of the cast members provide the voices of several characters), impressive animation (even if the main characters are simply drawn), etc.! The Halloween episodes are a highlight as well, each featuring three short stories, which are generally less realistic than the plots for most regular episodes. There's really not much (if anything) to be said about the long-running, groundbreaking series that hasn't already been said many times, so I'm basically just repeating things that others have mentioned!
It has now been nearly eighteen years since "The Simpsons" started out in full episodes, and it currently holds the record for the longest-running cartoon show! Unfortunately, but unsurprisingly, it hasn't been the same in recent years, gradually declining in quality. Personally, I can't stand watching new episodes. I certainly don't think they're horrendous, but they seem very stale, and certainly can't compare to the classics, making me feel as if I've lost something in my life. I know I'm certainly not the only fan who avoids new episodes, many others believe that it should have come to an end long ago. However, it's best not to dwell on the negative. What "The Simpsons" was in its heyday is not something to be forgotten, and clearly, television in the 1990s wouldn't have been the same without it!