It is now 20 years since The Simpsons were first on TV. I can remember in the early 1990s that my work colleagues were pretty scandalised that one of them let their quite young daughter watch. I never watched then and I hardly see them now, given that it is on when I am doing my domestic chores, but our kids would watch all that they could, if they were allowed. They show it for up to an hour and a half some nights here.
Although there are a few too many naughty words and mature themes, we think on balance it is ok. Uh Oh, does that make us bad parents? At least we draw the line at Big Brother, set to swamp the airwaves, starting later today. Verboten and Not Allowed in our house.
It is intriguing that after 20 years they basically look the same, rather like the somewhat less technicolour cartoon medium of Oor Willie or The Broons from my childhood. The themes in those cartoon strips were a good deal less racy and hardly a naughty word was said.
