The Simpsons is one of the most celebrated and awarded shows on television. This show was first launched in Dec. 17th 1989 and has since aired over 452 episodes, spanning 21 complete seasons. The Simpsons has also won 25 Primetime Emmy Awards, 26 Peabody Awards, and several other minor awards. Another notable thing to mention is that Bart Simpson (a character from the show) was listed in Time's 100 most influential persons of the century.
The show is basically about the everyday life of the Simpsons family. Family members include Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. They all live in the fictional town of Springfield; this town always seems to be in constant danger because of its citizens, especially Homer who is the dimwitted father of the Simpsons family. This show has come under constant criticisms from family watchdog groups, most of the times for not promoting family values. Most of the times the claims are based on the fact that the parents are idiots and the children are considered "smart"; this allows the children to get away with tons of stuff that they normally would not be able to. Also law enforcement figures in this show are seen as incompetent and never get the job done.
This is the show that laid the groundwork for most adult cartoons out today. If you take a look at
Family Guy,
American Dad,
The Cleveland Show, or any other show that appears on adult swim you will notice that they all follow the same plot line. There is always a really dumb father, bratty kids, and a mother who does her best to keep the family together. That does not mean the mothers are sane either, on the contrary most of them are at least half insane, this always makes for "funny" torture of the children.
I am not here to discuss morals; my point is, just because it is a cartoon does not mean it is for little children. The Simpsons is geared towards a more mature audience who will be able to find the show entertaining but who will also know what is fiction from what is fact is. By all means watch this show; just make sure to use your better judgment when letting little children watch this show with you. Overall I give The Simpsons an 8/10
Matt Groening really hit the jackpot when he decided to make this show. Swing by the
Fox Network to check out this cartoon for yourself.
