20 years of “The Simpsons” {thanks, FOX}

Twenty years after its debut, “The Simpsons” remains an indeedily-doodily delicious treat — as both pure entertainment and subversive satire. Sure, the show contains many typical comedy conventions — running physical gags (Homer choking Bart), exxxxcellent character catchphrases and character-foil-driven situations (boss vs. employee, smart vs. dumb students, rednecks vs. normal folks). But even as American culture and tastes shifted and evolved (some say de-volved), “The Simpsons,” an animated half-hour series, has been able to achieve what’s often impossible: changing with the times without losing its voice and heart. Managing the delicate balancing act of both celebrating and mocking society, staying sweet-natured while still blistering with criticism, “The Simpsons,” though several years past its peak, still stands alone in a TV world filled with tired procedurals, stereotyped characters and mindless “reality.” “The Simpsons” still winks at culture, tongue firmly in cheek. Here’s a look at how the residents of Springfield (aka: Anytown, U.S.A.) have shaped modern culture. JORDAN BARTEL, B

TURNING ‘FAMILY COMEDY’ ON ITS HEAD
Soon after “The Simpsons” premiered, it aired against the TV juggernaut of the day — “The Cosby Show.” In many ways, the Cosby clan was the yellow-hued family’s opposite. There was no ironic tinge to, well, anything the Cosbys did. But the success of “The Simpsons” proved that America was ready for something different, a more challenging family dynamic. Television comedy was never the same — or as safe. Even shows masked as “traditional family comedy,” such as “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “Everybody Hates Chris” and “The Bernie Mac Show,” contain glimmers of mocking self-awareness previously absent. And you could practically see and feel the “Simpsons” influence in its most obvious live-action descendant — “Arrested Development.”

CHANGING THE TONE OF COMEDY
A large, often racially diverse cast. Random, lightening-quick quips. Sentimentality devoid of saccharine-sweetness. This is the recipe — in part — for “The Simpsons.” And that recipe was used to create shows such as “Will & Grace” and “30 Rock.” Ricky Gervais has indicated that “The Simpsons” greatly influenced the original British “The Office” (Gervais later returned the favor by writing and starring in a “Simpsons” episode).

LANGUAGE
“D’oh!” hasn’t just been uttered by most of your friends — it’s also in the Oxford English Dictionary. Also in the dictionary: “meh,” a dismissive word popularized on the show. And how many times have you heard someone yell “Ha, ha!” a la Nelson Muntz? “The Simpsons” has changed the way we talk. Every episode is filled with malapropisms (Homer calls God “omnivorous”), instantly quotable portmanteaus (“beginualize” for “actualize” and “begin”; “jerkass” for “jerk” and “jackass”) and a never-ending stream of made-up words (Ralph calls a rat a “pointy kitty”; “dickety,” as in “nineteen-dickety-two”; Homer’s response after eating a waffle he prayed to as a God: “sacrilicious”). Even the catchphrases took on a popular life of their own. You can thank Bart for “Don’t have a cow, man” and “Eat my shorts” on countless T-shirts.

MERCHANDISING/PROMOTION
Speaking of “Eat my shorts,” from the very beginning, Fox was unafraid of licensing “Simpsons” faces and words to, uh, just about every brand. Throughout two decades, there have been lunch boxes, T-shirts, video games and pinball games emblazoned with “Simpsons” imagery. Burger King, Butterfinger, 7-Eleven, Target … they’ve all been on board. Variety estimates that “Simpsons”-theme licensing and merchandising alone have generated $5 billlion in revenue (roughly the combined GDPs of Greenland, Aruba and Belize). Some of the promotions have been cheesy (remember the whole “Do the Bartman” song?), while others, such as redoing several 7-Elevens as Kwik-E-Marts before “The Simpsons Movie”? Genius. Oh, and a  “Simpsons” glow-in-the-dark radioactive Homer action figure (new in the box!) was sold Monday on eBay for $66.

Homer from Season 7’s “King-Size Homer” {thanks, FOX}

TAKING ANIMATED SERIES SERIOUSLY
Arguably the greatest lesson from “The Flintstones,” which was once the longest-running animated prime-time series: Pelicans can be used to mix cement. But “The Simpsons” changed what animated series could talk about. Religion is a prominent topic in many an episode, and it’s both venerated and mocked. Episodes over the seasons have dealt with homophobia (John Waters teaches Homer to love the gays), outsourcing, treating ADD, politics (Republicans and Democrats get lambasted pretty equally), the environment and even violence in cartoons. It was because of the massive success and appeal of “The Simpsons” that we got a new breed of animated series that weren’t gimmicky or innately child-friendly: “King of the Hill,” “Futurama,” “South Park” and “Family Guy.” Comedy Central’s “South Park” even nodded to the ubiquity of “The Simpsons” with a 2002 episode titled “‘Simpsons’ Already Did It.”

EDUCATION
OK, so “The Simpsons” didn’t change our education system (sadly). But many institutions of higher learning have used the show as a teaching tool. Some current or once-taught college courses: “‘The Simpsons’: Sitcom as Political and Social Satire” and “‘Simpsons’ and Philosophy,” both at University of California-Berkeley (required reading for the latter: “The D’oh of Homer”), “‘The Simpsons’ as Satirical Authors” at Columbia College in Chicago and “‘The Simpsons’ as Social Science” at San Jose State. Rochester Institute of Technology even uses the show for an introduction to cultural studies course. An introduction.

FANDOM
“The Simpsons” has inspired mass fandemonium on the levels of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Lost” and every Cult Sci-Fi Show You Should Watch But Don’t. Google “Simpsons fan site” and you get about 1.1 million hits. Various sites are replete with character bios, detailed episode synopses and videos. Several sites are devoted to portraying Lisa as a “feminist hero.” Milhouse has his own site (lardlad.com/milhouse). And there’s a lot of odd fan fiction out there (topics include child molestation, Mr. Burns realizing he’s gay and one story in which Nelson and Lisa’s daughter go back in time). You can even see yourself as a “Simpsons” character at simpsonizeme.com. A telling caveat: The site is so popular, it crashes often.

Jordan Bartel is assistant editor at b. E-mail him at jordan@bthesite.com. Pick up Thursday’s b for more “Simpsons” content — your favorite characters, episodes and more.

Now that’s “Simpsons” devotion {thanks, ALLAN BADEKER}

FLYING HELLFISH TATTOO (Allan Badeker of Remington)

“‘The Simpsons’ have been a part of my life for a long while, and I wanted to get a tattoo to represent that, but didn’t want something dumb, like Bart on a skateboard, or Homer saying, ‘D’oh’. So I got something that looks cool on its own, but fans of the show will know what it is. I figured this particular image would be perfectly cromulent. FIRST tattoo ever as well.”

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