I ran across a great article this morning about the Simpsons from Parade Magazine. I’m sure I’m not alone in being a fan of the show; I remember when it premiered both as a short and show respectively, and has since become a weekly television staple in my life. With a feature film hitting screens soon, it’s a nice time celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Simpsons. The Parade article reads:

Twenty years ago this week, a yellow family from Springfield, USA, first careened onto TV screens—lampooning American culture with pitch-perfect satire and touching off a new era in television comedy.

On April 19, 1987, The Tracey Ullman Show aired a two-minute animated short by Matt Groening that introduced the world to the Simpsons: Homer, Marge and their spiky-haired children, Bart, Lisa and Maggie.

The Simpsons was an early hit for Fox, winning several major awards. Time magazine’s 1998 issue named it the century’s best television series, and on January 14, 2000 it was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It is the longest-running American sitcom, as well as the longest-running American animated program. As a testament to the show’s influence on popular culture, Homer’s annoyed grunt “D’oh!” have been adopted into the English lexicon. The Simpsons is also cited as an influence to many adult-oriented animated sitcoms of the late 1990s. My wife often cites Homer as an influence on my behavior of as a husband.

In any case, check out the article I mentioned above: Homer’s 20-Year Odyssey. Recommended!

Filed under: Movies, Society