The Simpsons: A Toon For Our Time

Admit it. It's okay. Your family will never attain that bliss-like perfection that permeated the lives of such T.V. families as those of 'Father Knows Best' and 'Leave it to Beaver'. The kids will never ask for permission to be excused from the table, much less bound off to the kitchen with a smile to wash the dishes and your mate will never live up to their fictional counterpart - and perhaps that's just as well.

After all, the pristine existence of the Andersons and the Cleavers never quite seemed to deal with such weighty everyday matters as paying bills, stopped-up toilets, daycare, and dead car batteries.

So take heart knowing that you are not alone, that a certain clan residing in a town called Springfield shares your chaos and feels your pain.

The brainchild of cartoonist Matt Groening, The Simpsons began as a series of shorts that appeared on The Tracy Ullman Show and later premiered as a series in it's own right in December 1989 and has since gone on to become the longest current running sitcom.

On the surface it's easy to pass on the series as just another cartoon, like so much Saturday morning fare, but take into account the 31 Emmy nominations and 15 wins, capped with six Annie Awards and a Peabody and one finds it difficult to argue with success.

Part of that success, aside from a top team of writers, directors, and voice talent stems from one attribute few shows can equal. "Animated characters don't get busted," says Groening, "And they don't get old." Indeed, one fear the Fox network need never have is Homer bailing out over a contract dispute.

It is also deeper than one might realize: Lisa's poems are a nod to Allen Ginsberg, the prisoner number 24601 worn in various episodes by Marge, Sideshow Bob, and Principal Skinner is the same worn by Jean Valjean in Les Miserables. A 10-year-old boy once even saved the life of his choking brother by performing the Heimlick maneuver after seeing it used on the show.

Even place names and characters have a very definite meaning to their background. While Springfield happens to be situated in the fanciful state of North Takoma, it's based on a real life locale that was, in Groening's words, "The next town over." from his home in Portland, Oregon. Many supporting characters are named after streets found in Portland.

Homer and Marge? credit Groening's parents for serving as namesakes, as well as two of his siblings for providing the monikers for Lisa and Maggie. for that little scamp Bart, his name is simply an anagram for the word "brat".

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic