The Simpsons Reign Over All

I did not expect Fox's The Simpsons to last for 500 episodes, and yet every time I watch an episode I am still surprised how relevant this cartoon can be.  Last Sunday's 500th episode was no exception, as it illustrated Springfield's frustration with the antics of this crazy family.  Of course, this was followed by the town's understanding that they needed this family more than Springfield itself.  We now have more than one generation who has learned about American culture through this eyes of this little yellow family.  At this point, maybe we need them more than they need us.

Matt Groening recently describes the nature of his creation in the LA Times,

"The Simpsons" from the very beginning was based on our memories of brash '60s sitcoms — you had a main title theme that was bombastic and grabbed your attention -- and when you look at TV shows of the 1970s and '80s things got very mild and toned down and ... obsequious. And I loved the idea of Mayberry — how in "The Andy Griffith Show" you got to know Floyd the Barber and Goober at the gas station and so on. We can do that with Springfield even more so; in animation you create your own universe, so we could populate the show with as many people as wanted. I thought it would work, but it worked better than I thought.

What is pretty amazing today is how ubiquitous cartoons have become on prime time (particularly Fox) with programs such as The Cleveland Show, Bob's Burgers, Family Guy, The Boondocks, Futurama, and American Dad.  Of course, prior generations grew up with The Flintstones, The Jetsons, The Critic, and even Beavis and Butt-head (recently restarted by MTV).  And just last month two new cartoons were added to the prime time line-up:

-- Napoleon Dynamite (Fox, January 15th, 8:30 pm ET):  An animated series based on the hit film, NAPOLEON DYNAMITE follows the comic adventures of America's most awesomely awkward teenager and his offbeat family and friends as they navigate small-town life in rural Idaho. Whether he's facing down bullies or discovering the meaning of friendship, NAPOLEON (voice of Jon Heder) proves that true heroes follow their own path - especially when they have secret ninja skills from the government.

--  Unsupervised (FX, January 19th, 10:30 pm ET):  Unsupervised is an animated, half-hour comedy about two eternally optimistic best friends "Gary" and "Joel," who are navigating the harsh landscape of adolescence and trying to do what's right despite having no parental guidance whatsoever. Gary's father took off years ago and left him with his absentee stepmom, while Joel's elderly parents remain unseen and uninvolved. And the adults that are actually present in Gary and Joel's lives are anything but role models. At first glance, Gary and Joel's world may be bleak but their worldview is bright as they guide themselves through life with each other to depend on.

I am not sure if the attraction is eternal youth among the characters, lower production costs (without big name stars), a return to our youth with Saturday morning cartoons, or something else.  But the formula seems to be working.  I would like to know if any other country is so reliant on adult cartoons for social commentary.  I have heard of puppets (and we had this as well with the prime time Muppet Show), but I am not sure about cartoons.  This is a topic for another day.