It was twenty years ago today (give or take a few weeks)

Like many others, I watched the Simpson 20th Anniversary show the other night. As I sort of expected, I found it underwhelming. It was certainly filled with information but I’ve been following the show’s story long before there was a show to follow. Way back in 1984 my friend Huey moved to Baltimore to get a job after college. The local alternative paper there was one of the first to carry Matt Groening’s “Life in Hell” cartoon. He’d send them to us and we thought it was the best thing, well, ever. Unlike “Doonesbury”, “Bloom County” or “Peanuts” (which we also love) it was our generation’s sense of black humor. We would quote from it constantly in our conversations. (“at night, the ice weasels come” still makes me laugh) When Matt published his first book independently, I quickly sent in my check or money order for $6.95 plus shipping and got a copy. (Which I still have)

Fast forward to 1985 when I moved to Toronto. The morning after I arrived I was reading the paper and saw (as my jaw dropped to the floor, making the sound of a cash register opening) the Matt was going to be signing his artwork at an opening in town in two days. Even though I didn’t know the city that well, I grabbed my ever present copy of “Love is Hell” and headed down there to meet my idol. Like the gushy teenage girl that I was (am) I was the first person there and got to shake his hands as he drew a giant Binky in my book and wrote the inscription “To Scruff, See you in Hell.” It’s still my most treasured possession.

From that day forward, I’ve followed all the twists and turns in the story of the Simpsons, reading everything I could get my hands on. To me, Seasons 2 through 4 is the television equivalent of Joe DiMaggio’s hitting streak. Every episode is still remarkably dense, funny and smart. No other show ever beats ever beats that consistency.

Knowing the story of the show as well as I do, it’s too bad Sam Simon doesn’t get enough credit for developing the idea into what it became, but he’s super rich because of it, so I’m not going to cry too many tears for him. If you really want to know the story of the Simpsons, read the oral biography that came out last year. It’s very illuminating. There’s lots of good stories in it.

I don’t follow the show all that much anymore. I’ve seen certain episode so many times I can run them in my head. As one of my friends said once, “No other show has given so much and asked for so little.” I agree completely. When I watched the first episode of the series, the Christmas one, I wondered if it was going to be as good as I hoped. It didn’t take long for the question to be answered. I still remember the first great quote from it.

Dasher, Prancer, Dancer, Vixen. Comet, Cupid, Donna Dixon.