WITS END - JO LEE Magazine

Converts are the worst. Much like the ex-prostitutes in the
choir, I sing loudest about TV’s dysfunctional Simpson
Family.
In its twentieth season, the Simpsons overtakes the venerable
Gunsmoke as the longest running fictional series.
Through obsessive channel surfing I was enticed into my first
episode and straightaway transformed by the intelligent and
adept writing. There are no taboos. The Simpsons writers
relish the edgy topics and shrewdly expose today’s hypocrisy
with piercing humor.
Kids get it right away, they always do. I was disinclined to
watch initially and I identify a similar reaction with certain
adults, but it’s not just for kids. Some parents condemn the
show, asserting that their children will never see an episode.
This is the early onset of parental delusion, which precedes “I
didn’t inhale” or “we were only wrestling”. Your kid has seen
the Simpsons, believe me.
The show depicts small town America, with characters
representing every lifestyle. Dialogue riddled with unsaid
truths, satirical plot lines and cynical characters so true that
they are credible, even as animated figures.
Mental disorders and vegetarianism are sliced with the same
satirical knife as alcoholism, senility and organized religion.
The cast is diverse with rednecks, criminals, gays and Jewish
clowns as regulars.
Dialogue is too clever to offend as it simultaneously
entertains multiple levels of audience, much in the tradition of
English Pantomime. The demographic is unparalleled, 7 to 70
with spectacular ratings. It is simply funny.
Music is a heavy component of some episodes and the top
artists of all time line up. Cameos are sought after featuring
ex-Presidents, philanthropists, captains of industry and
quantum physicists.
The cast has expanded over the ensuing years and character
development is superb with story lines easy to pick up with
masterly sub plots.
The inept, blatantly corrupt Police Chief Wiggim with nasal
Edward G. Robinson cadence commands a force of two, Lou
and Eddie who are only permitted first names, ‘kinda like
Cher’ is the explanation.
The Simpsons writers display particular disdain for the media
at all levels. The local TV newscaster Kent Brockman is
scripted the cleverest lines throughout the series, next only to
Ralph Wiggim, the Chief’s bedwetting son. “Oh boy, sleep!
That’s when I’m a Viking!”
STATISTICS
Longest running sit-com
Longest running animated show
Twenty-six Emmys 2006
Eight Peabody’s
Inclusion in the Oxford Dictionary
Time Magazine declared The Simpsons the best television
show of the century
*Time also voted Hitler Man of the Year in 1939.
Gracie Films have developed the sharpest show ever and
sustained this sterling standard over the past two decades,
bringing The Simpsons to cult status, translated into six
languages.
SUMMER 2007 JO LEE 99