No one ever thought the 30-second brief cartoons on “The Tracy Ullman Show” would turn into a cultural phenomenon entering its 15th season.
“The Simpsons” is now television’s longest running sitcom in primetime and the longest-running animated series ever creating more than 300 episodes.
According to an article in “The Digital Collegian,” “The Simpsons” broke the longest-running animated series record in 1997 surpassing “The Flintstones.”
This season broke “Ozzie and Harriet’s” record for longest running primetime sitcom.
“The Simpsons” also holds the record for having the most guest stars on a television series.
This season’s guest stars include Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, Glenn Close, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Sir Ian McKellan, Michael Moore and “American Idol’s” Simon Cowell.
Other achievements include winning 20 Emmy Awards and having “D-oh” become an entry in the Oxford Dictionary.
The series revolves around the Simpson family.
Homer is the not-so-bright father and Marge is his loving wife. Together they raise three children. Bart is the oldest child. Lisa is the brightest Simpson and Maggie is their baby sister.
Many LSU students were just small kids when “The Simpsons” first aired in 1989.
Jacob Morales, a mass communication freshman, said he has been watching “The Simpsons” for seven years.
“It’s a funny look at real situations that happen in life,” Morales said.
One of his favorite episodes is the very first episode where Bart and Homer bring home Santa’s Little Helper from the racetrack.
Out of all the characters on “The Simpsons,” Morale’s favorite character is Homer.
“Homer is my hero,” Morales said. “He’s done so many things that I wish I could do. He always screws up so bad, but everything ends up O.K. in the end.”
Other students do not feel as strongly about “The Simpsons” as Morales does.
Leah Didier, an international studies senior, said she used to watch “The Simpsons” when she was younger, but does not have time to watch much television anymore.
Even though she does not watch “The Simpsons” now, Didier said the show was funny when she first watched it.
Other LSU students were not allowed to watch “The Simpsons” when they were younger.
Jen Haase, a psychology freshman, said she only watches the show if her roommate has it on.
“I grew up thinking it was a bad show,” Haase said. “But when I got older, a lot of my friends always watched it so I started watching it.”
She said her favorite character was Homer.
“There was one [episode] where Homer and Bart were at a zoo and all the animals escaped, and Homer said he knew what to do and yelled out ‘Jumanji,'” Haase said. “I thought that was really funny.”
Haase said she is surprised “The Simpsons” has lasted so long.
“Hopefully, they won’t last much longer because it’s a bad influence on little kids,” Haase said. “Bart is such a bad kid, and if a little kid sees that then they’ll try to go do it.”
On the other hand, Didier said she could see why “The Simpsons” survived this long.
“They will have a place in television for a long time as long as they stay creative about it,” Didier said. “It depends on if the creators and illustrators want to continue with it.”