Why, After 500 Episodes, Slagging The Simpsons Is Unfair

I’ve always been a huge Simpsons fan, and also lately quite the apologist. This article sums up my claims brilliantly.

Over the last two-plus decades, The Simpsons has spawned T-shirts, soundtracks, plush toys, figurines, bedsheets, costumes, comic books, video games, velvet paintings, tattoos, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day floats, college courses, and a wiki with 8,059 articles. It was, and remains, a densely written and supremely self-aware show and a comedic achievement on par with George Carlin’s discography and the films of Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, and the Marx Brothers. Together with Seinfeld and It’s Garry Shandling’s Show, The Simpsons refined a new TV template, the meta-sitcom — a half-hour comedy spiked with satire, pop-culture references, and postmodern riffs worthy of Ernie Kovacs and Monty Python.