I Love The 90s: The Simpsons.

If there was one TV show that could define the 90s, it would have to be, in my eyes, The Simpson's. Ok, so  I know it started in 1989 and is still on to this very day, but it was in the 90s that The Simpson's ruled and was at its very best, setting a standard that nearly every comedy show, and not just animated ones, would follow for years to come.  From their instantly recognisable yellow skin, to the countless couch gags and the identifiable cast of thousands, The Simpson's is a 90s icon and my favourite show ever, there I said it.

 

I grew up on the Simpson's, I can still remember when channel 4 launched the show for the first time on terrestrial TV back in mid 90s they made a very big deal about it and I was so excited. When we got Sky a few years later, I remember having the Simpson's on a daily basis at 6, with a new episode premiere every Sunday. I was in heaven, the Simpson's had everything a TV show should have film parodies, random musical numbers (the best one being Mr Burns 'See my vest') and so much more.

 

One of the best things about the show was its cast of thousands, all recognisable and nearly all of them with their own catch phrase; Who could forget Dr Nick Riviera, "hi everybody". "Hi Dr Nick". And the endless list of guest stars, anyone who's anyone has been on The Simpson's, and some more then once, Kelsey Grammer has been on the show so many times I consider him a cast regular.

 

 

Do you remember  the old VHS tapes they released back in the days before DVDs with the complete series? I had them all. You only got four episodes and I'd watch them religiously over and over until I knew the episodes like the back of my hand. 

 

 

The videos was only a mere part of The Simpson's franchise that has spawned everything  you could think of; from multiple video games, toys to food, clothes to posters, a blockbuster movie and they even had their own monopoly board (And more then one of them). The Simpson's is a multi million global marketing machine to rival the Spice Girls.

 

 

There are so many classic episodes from when The Simpson's was at its creative and critical high in the 90s. Remember when Bart got an elephant? When the monorail came to Springfield and the casino? When Homer was in a barbershop quartet and went into space, among many other things? When Mr Burns was shot by Maggie? All classics. One of my personal favourite episode ever was the one where Lisa becomes a vegetarian. 

 

 

The episode had everything, it was clever, original, current (At the time) post modern and very, very funny still to this day. It has some of my favourite jokes from The Simpson's ever, far too many for me to go into now, I'll just say this... "you don't win friends with salad!" You need to go watch it, now!

 

                                        

 

The influence of The Simpson's can be seen on all animated shows these days, Family Guy owes a lot to The Simpson's and while in the 2000s, Family Guy may have outshined The Simpson's - as there was a noticeable decline in the shows quality - at it's best in the 90s The Simpson's trumps it every time. And not only animated shows but live action as well, cult classic Spaced freely admits to trying to be a live action version of the Simpson's and shows like Scrubs and 30 Rock (Not enough peopel watch this show) wouldn't be what they are without it's influence.

 

 

At it's best The Simpson's is amazing and ahead of it's time, with absurd moments of madness that came out of the story that was drawn from the characters and their relationships that had a real heart behind it. It could be both outlandish and heart warming, hysterical and heart breaking, because the thing that made everyone fall in love with the Simpson's was that amidst  all of it's craziness, these characters were still very real, they made mistakes, they got really drunk and did stupid things, got mad at each other and sometimes they didn't resolve their problems, (And usually ended in a angry mob breaking out)

 

 

But at the end of the day they were a family and they loved each other and we loved them for it. I love The Simpson's in the 90s, do you?

 

Let me know what you think, please feel free to comment, follow, plus and share. Be sure to check out some of my other loves from the 90s here.