Critic Reviews

Easily the the best, cleverest and nuttiest arrival of the 1989-90 season is The Simpsons...It's very small-scale, but perfectly conceived and executed. What we have here from creator Matt Groening is a rare confluence -- delightful writing, pictures and voices fitting like a Matisse. [12 Jan 1990, p.F1]

It's becoming obvious that The Simpsons, now in its second season, isn't just a product of media hype: Matt Groening's cartoon family is one of the few current works of popular art that possess wit and integrity.

The Simpsons has never been better. At a time when half-hour TV comedy is reaching a new level of self-referential daring — you can't fully appreciate the intricate, in-joke pleasures of great shows like NBC's Seinfeld and HBO's The Larry Sanders Show unless you've also watched a lot of really bad TV — The Simpsons continues to emphasize that there's a big world out there that television barely touches upon.

This is one of the sharpest, most purely pleasurable television series ever. ... What began in 1987 (as animated filler between sketches on The Tracey Ullman Show) has become one of the medium's most dependable entertainments, a cartoon that transcended cartoonishness a long time ago.

More than a cartoon, it's TV's most intelligent comedy. [11 Oct 1990]

The funniest family ever. [11 Oct 1990]

A hilarious holiday package. [15 Dec 1989, p.3D]

"The Simpsons" is both a challenge and a delight. It's also that rarest of TV fauna, a cartoon show with levels of mirth for every brain and pair of eyes in the family. [12 Jan 1990]

It is still fresh, quirky, wonderful. [11 Oct 1990]

The Simpsons hasn't lost an ounce of vinegar or chutzpah. [11 Oct 1990]