The Simpsons (Season 1-10)

***The Simpsons*** is a long-running animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show is the longest-running American animated TV series of all time, and one of the greatest for many reasons.

## Why These Seasons Rock

1. Great, fluid animation in its purest form.
2. It's had crossovers with *Family Guy*, *The Critic* and *Futurama*.
3. Clever humor and writing.
4. Good voice acting.
5. Likable and memorable characters, especially Homer and Bart Simpson.
6. Each of the family members has a very distinct personality.
	* Homer is the dimwitted, but well-meaning dad.
	* Marge is the strict, but loving mother.
	* Bart is the trouble-making son.
	* Lisa is the overachieving daughter.
	* Maggie is the silent member of the family.
7. There are so many hilarious and unforgettable running gags.
	* Sideshow Bob repeatedly trying to kill Bart Simpson after the events of "Krusty Gets Busted".
	* A different kind of couch gag at the beginning of every episode.
	* Homer Simpson's famous and signature catchphrase: *"D'oh!"*.
	* The way Superintendent Chalmers says *"Skinner!"*.
	* *Itchy & Scratchy*, which parodies the violent cartoons of the early-to-mid 20th century.
	* Nelson Muntz's famous laugh.
8. Memorable opening theme music, composed by Danny Elfman and arranged by Alf Clausen.
9. It's sophisticated and generous in its humor.
10. Gives out a lot of good morals and lessons for viewers of all ages, like *"be careful what you wish for"*.
11. The episodes where The Simpsons travel around the world to other countries and other US states are great (except for "Kill the Alligator and Run").
12. Loads of hilarious moments, funny couch gags, great stories and relatable pop-culture references like references to Dr. Seuss, *South Park*, *Monty Python's Flying Circus*, *Scooby-Doo*, The Beatles, Nintendo, *Looney Tunes*, *SpongeBob SquarePants*, Michael Jackson, Marvel, etc.
13. The "Treehouse of Horror" specials are funny, terrifying and unforgettable at the same time.
14. Gives us decent facts and real-life events about celebrities, politicians, etc.
15. Many supporting side characters (Lenny Leonard and Carl Carlson, Ned Flanders, Moe Szyslak, Krusty the Clown, Milhouse van Houten, Chief Wiggum etc.)
16. It also has its share of many entertaining antagonists (Mr. Burns, Sideshow Bob, Frank Grimes, Hank Scorpio, Kang and Kodos).
17. The series was so popular that it had its own film adaptation in 2007, which is also well-received.
18. Unlike most FOX shows, *The Simpsons* takes aim at both the Democratic and Republican parties, depicting Republicans as corrupt warmongers and Democrats as brainless idiots. (and the opposite, indeed!) Not even presidents were safe from criticism, as Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton have all been subjected to mockery on the show.
19. *The Simpsons* has many famous celebrity guest stars in their episodes (Ringo Starr, Barry White, George Carlin, Leonard Nimoy, Mark Hamill, Rupert Murdoch, Michael Jackson, Alec Baldwin, etc).

## Bad Qualities

1. On some occasions, the humor is done at the wrong time and barely makes any sense.
2. The way Klasky Csupo animated the show (mostly in season 1) is pretty iffy compared to later seasons to some people.
3. Unlike most Western and European shows being localized to Japan, it's Japanese dub lasted only 14 seasons, and after the movie was released in Japanese, starting in Season 15, the show is no longer dubbed by Japanese voice artists but is rather shown subtitled, an oddity for a foreign animated show in Japan.
4. It sometimes overuses pop-culture references, even in the earlier seasons. This also means that a lot of these references will go over the heads of younger viewers, as the Simpsons have always been intended as a more family oriented show compared, say, to the crassness of South Park.
5. Since season 11, the show started to decline in quality.
6. Some bad or mediocre episodes, even before season 11, such as:
	* "The Principal and the Pauper"
	* "Miracle on Evergreen Terrace"
	* "All Singing, All Dancing"
	* "When You Dish Upon a Star"
	* "Wild Barts Can't Be Broken"
	* "Homer's Night Out"
	* "Another Simpsons Clip Show"
	* "Fear of Flying"
	* "My Sister, My Sitter"
	* "Homer Simpson in: 'Kidney Trouble"
7. Some of the couch gags (whilst very enjoyable) can get pretty weird or outright disturbing to some viewers (the "Treehouse of Horror" ones being notable examples).
8. "Stark Raving Dad" was banned after allegations against guest star Michael Jackson resurfaced in 2019 with the release of *Leaving Neverland*. It's bad enough to ban the episode from airing on TV, but to make matters worse, said episode was also removed from digital distribution and future reprints of the Season 3 DVD set, and remained absent on Disney+. Thankfully, it was back on the air through FXX on October 9th, 2019 and it can be bought digitally through Amazon Prime in the UK, but even that wasn't enough.
9. Lisa, Jimbo Jones and Nelson Muntz can be annoying and unlikable characters at times.
	* To be fair, Lisa isn't too bad in the early seasons, but by around Season 6, she started to become a soapbox for whatever liberal viewpoints the creators want to push. And even in those early seasons, she behaves less like an actual child and more like a teenager or young adult, expressing knowledge that no kid her age (at least back then) would know or care about, such as when Texas became a state, what a revolver is, who Mel Brooks and William Shatner are, or that Monaco has a prince. Not to mention her feminist Thanksgiving centerpiece in "Bart vs. Thanksgiving".