It was 20 years ago that Fox aired the first full-length episode of "The Simpsons" — now the longest-running prime-time series in American history. The dysfunctional cartoon family from Springfield — Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie — has left an indelible impression on American pop culture. But after 449 episodes, Bartmania has faded, and the show's audience has dwindled. Does "The Simpsons" still matter?
The show's influence has admittedly waned: "The Simpsons" doesn't drive the cultural conversation the way it used to, says John Ortved, author of The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History, in an interview with Salon. Quality slipped as the writers substituted "throwaway jokes" for character-driven comedy, and the show became less edgy when Bart's irreverence stopped stirring up complaints from the family values crowd. But "The Simpsons" "made audiences a lot smarter," and for that we should be grateful, even if the show isn't what it used to be.
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