David Silverman reminded us all on Facebooktoday that we first saw the Simpson family in a short, “Goodnight, Simpsons” on The Tracey Ullman Show in 1987.
Yes, I saw it. I was 12.
I doubt that anyone thought on that night that the family would ever even get their own show, much less that they would be on the air 23 years later. Who could have guessed that there would have a movie and that they would change the face of television, of primetime, of satire, forever?
I doubt anyone could have guessed that the subject of this short would become one of the foci of my life, that I would teach classes on it and one day write a book on it with my best friend.
Thank you, The Simpsons, for giving me so much happiness over the years, for reminding me that television doesn’t have to be stupid, and for showing that dysfunctional families are revelant to our lives. Thank you for being my longest and most satisfying relationship.
COMON! I wrote it on David’s wall and our fanpage wall a full four hours before David posted anything. I read it in the timeline from this really cool book I have: The Simpsons in the Classroom.
“Thank you for being my longest and most satisfying relationship.”
Go Homer, go! 🙂