The family situation comedy has long been a staple of American entertainment, and no family brings together more of the foibles and saving graces of the family than The Simpsons, which has aired on the FOX network since 1989. Part Honeymooners, part All in the Family, the animated Simpson family, crudely drawn with bright yellow skin and outlandish stylized hair, have represented the flailing attempts of human beings to keep up with twentieth-century life. Far from being a cartoon show for children only, The Simpsons deals with adult and teenage issues as well as world events. At the same time, the show is full of enough visual goofiness to keep the attention of young children.

Living in the Anywhere, USA, town of Springfield, these are the Simpsons:

Homer, the dad, works, between doughnut breaks, as a safety inspector at the Springfield nuclear power plant, where he was...