I’ll be honest with you. My dad let me watch some pretty questionable stuff when I was growing up. While my wife told me that she watched wholesome programs like The Cosby Show, and Full House, I was watching Married… with Children, and New York Undercover (which is still, by the way, my favorite Dick Wolf show).
But, one show that I’m REALLY glad that my dad let me watch – which my wife was absolutely FORBIDDEN to see – was The Simpsons. Yep, the show that Barbara Bush once famously called “the dumbest thing” she’d ever seen (To which Marge Simpson wrote her an apology letter about), honestly changed my life for the better, and I have five reasons why.
It Basically Shaped My Sense Of Humor For The Rest Of My Life
A lot of people have told me that I have a weird sense of humor. I regularly recommend Tim and Eric’s: Chrimbus Special to people every Christmas without telling them what they’re getting themselves into, and I often find humor in the strangest of places, making people often wonder where I come up with this stuff.
Well, I think a lot of that comes from growing up with The Simpsons, which was sometimes irreverent, sometimes cerebral, sometimes just plain silly, but always hilarious. At least in those earlier seasons. It’s kind of crazy to think about what a phenomenon The Simpsons was back in the day with us ‘90s kids.
Sure, a lot of us loved Bart Simpson and his disrespectful, “Don’t have a cow, man” attitude. But, while we were all adoring Bart Simpson and tuning in to see what antics he would get himself into next, we were also being inundated by incredibly witty, acerbic dialogue, and intelligent situational comedy.
I also think a big part of why the humor was so effective to my young brain was because there was a lot of dumb humor mixed in with all the smart humor. Remember, many of the writers were Harvard alums, so they weren’t just dropping idiot comedy in those early episodes, even though there was definitely some of that in there, too.
Take Homer Simpson for instance. A lot of the comedy that made me laugh the most back then is how dumb Homer was. Homer and Bart always represented some of the broadest humor for the show, while other characters like Lisa (who, now that I look back at the older episodes, had all the best lines), and a whole slew of side characters, like Mr. Burns, Ned Flanders, etc. had more subtle humor. A lot of these characters, and the situations they were put in, had a great deal more “think about it” moments and jokes mixed in with the broader humor. And, I think I absorbed all of this unknowingly, which has shaped my sense of humor today.
It Also Introduced Me To Music At A Young Age That I Probably Never Would Have Heard If Not For This Show
I can’t even tell you how much music The Simpsons has turned me on to. Let’s start with The Beatles, since they were pretty much the gateway band to my infatuation with ‘60s and ‘70s rock music. The Simpsons actually had three out of four of The Beatles as guest voice stars, and many references to the band. Because of this, I wanted to learn more about (and I still want to learn more about The Beatles) since they were mentioned and appeared on my favorite show on multiple occasions.
But, it doesn’t stop there, since the show regularly had musical guests either having roles on the show, or music in certain episodes. Like, who can forget the now-pulled Michael Jackson episode, “Stark Raving Dad,” where Michael sang a birthday tune for Lisa? Or, when Sting sent all of his love down a well in “Radio Bart,” which, I later learned, was a reference to “We Are the World,” which of course opened me up to even more musicians that I might not have been interested in before, like Stevie Wonder.
I’ll tell you. I don’t want to brag (Okay, yes I do), but I have a pretty eclectic taste in music, and I think I get a lot of that from being introduced to so many great artists and tunes (Like NRBQ!) that I heard on The Simpsons.
Its Many References Led Me To Get Interested In Classic TV Shows And Movies
Now, I already mentioned all the great music that The Simpsons introduced me to, but I think an even greater benefit (And why I actually write for this website) is because of all the appreciation I got from older TV shows and movies from watching The Simpsons. In no short order, I learned about Westworld (the movie, not the TV show), The Prisoner, Cape Fear (which I re-watched not too, too long ago), A Clockwork Orange, The Great Escape, and so many more from The Simpsons.
And, because my dad often watched the show with me (because he liked the show, too), he would always say, “Oh, this is from…” or, “That’s a reference to…” and I would mentally take notes and then watch whatever he mentioned later. I swear, I seriously doubt that I would love so many forms of media (and classic black and white movies!) If I didn't grow up with The Simpsons.
I've Made Lasting Friendships Through Simpsons References
Anytime I hear somebody reference The Simpsons, my ears prick up. And I'll tell you, I've made some long lasting friendships through The Simpsons. For example, when I went to high school, I didn't have many friends, since most of my middle school chums went to a different high school. So, I was pretty lonely in the beginning.
That is until I joined the football team, and overheard some of the other players using lines from the show. As soon as I heard that, I saw my in. I went up to them, joked about the episode they were talking about (I forget which one now), sprinkled in some other references, and we've been friends ever since. So, yeah. The Simpsons made my high school years a lot more tolerable.
Homer Showed Me How NOT To Be A Husband And Father, Making Me A Better One In The Process
Lastly, I can't help but thank The Simpsons for making me a good father and husband. I mean, yes, I definitely have my own dad to thank for that (even though he used to let me watch Al Bundy frequent the strip club on the regular), but I think another part of why I'm a good papa and husband is because I watched Homer Simpson and learned what NOT to do when I grew up.
Yes, Homer has his moments of genuine good parenting and husbanding (husbanding?), but for every tender moment he has, he has about ten others where he's literally strangling his son, not listening to Marge, or not being supportive of Lisa.
In every way, after I got married and had children, I've had multiple moments where I've thought WWHND? (What Would Homer Not Do?), and it's helped me to be both a more attentive husband and father. Now, I'm no father of the year by any stretch, but I'm definitely a much better father than Homer Simpson. I know, I know. That's not a very high bar to clear, but at least I'm thinking about how to be a good husband and father. I don't think anything besides donuts or ceiling waffles have really occupied Homer's mind for more than a second at a time.
And, that's the list. Did you also grow up watching The Simpsons, or was it forbidden in your household like it was for my wife? For more news on all things The Simpsons, make sure to swing by here often.
