Thursday, December 17, 2009

20 Years Of "D’oh!" Is it time to g’oh?

This week marks the 20th anniversary of “The Simpsons” (December 17, 1989). As the irreverent show about the dysfunctional family from Springfield reached this iconic milestone, it has garnered many competitors and enemies. But as it reaches the two decade mark of being on the air, one has to wonder if nowadays “The Simpsons’” biggest enemy has become itself.

The actual birth of The Simpsons was in April of 1987 as a series of shorts on The Tracy Ullman Show. For years, Simpsons creator Matt Groening had done a popular comic strip called “Life In Hell” which was carried in numerous alternative newspapers throughout the country in the late 1970s and 1980s. I recall this strip fondly in the Detroit Metro Times with anthropomorphic rabbits and a pair of gay lovers that explored a wide range of topics about love, sex, work, and death. His drawings were full of expressions of angst, alienation, self-loathing, and fear of inevitable doom, which was quite entertaining for me back in the 1980s.

“Life In Hell” caught the eye of Hollywood writer-producer and Gracie Films founder James L. Brooks who contacted Groening with the proposition of working in animation on an undefined future project. This project would be the “bumper” cartoons on the Tracy Ullman Show that became The Simpsons. Although The Tracy Ullman Show was not a big hit, the shorts were, and FOX Television spun them off into a half-hour show in 1989.

The Simpsons were loosly based on Groening’s own parents and siblings, with all of them utilizing their real names (dad Homer, mom Margaret or Marge, sisters Lisa and Maggie) except for Groening being “Bart” (an anagram of “brat” since he did not want to use his real name).

The roots of The Simpsons are varied and come from many sources. Is manic pace (not to mention the inspiration for "Itchy and Scratchy") is borrowed from the 1930s and '40s animation pioneers like Warner Brothers’ Tex Avery and Chuck Jones, who gave that studio's cartoons a breathlessness much emulated by others. And MGM's original famed "Tom and Jerry" (not the current Hanna Barbara version) had that more violent note. Other roots are the likes of cultural and entertainment staples from the past: Mad Magazine, Second City, Firesign Theater, National Lampoon, Broadway musicals, Saturday Night Live, Monty Python’s Flying Circus, and even the original Late Night with David Letterman.

In the 1990s, "The Simpsons" was one of the most inventive shows ever broadcast, taking on everything as an equal opportunity offender. It became a unique statement within the culture at large and was revolutionary, helping to make FOX Television a big-league player. However, for many true fans of the show, today’s version is far from the glory days of the past. Complaints of the characters staleness and scripts being flat, the show seeming less cohesive, more about trying to get the jokes in there, instead of make a story and let the jokes come off of the story.

Two years ago The Simpsons made the jump to the big screen with “The Simpsons Movie”, which became a minor hit in theaters and bigger in DVD sales. But even with this it seemed that there was only so much one could do with the characters. But even with these faults, the show is still a Hollywood goldmine, earning over $3 billion over its 20 year run. As a vehicle for merchandising and licensing, the show is worth having. Without the show, the marketing and licensing aspect would be in serious decline.

Yet "The Simpsons" continues to attract new audiences. The show airs in more than 90 countries and still appeals broadly to both young and old alike. Today, with its 442 episodes airing all over the world, it's like the new Disney…iconic and well-known.

The 20th anniversary episode is scheduled to air next month on FOX. Will it offer something fresh? Will it be a rehash of the greatest moments of the show? One will have to tune by and find out…I know I will. Will the show die soon? That is up to audiences who still watch, and Matt Groening getting tired of doing it…which according to what money he continues to make from The Simpsons show and franchise won’t be anytime soon.