The Simpsons was named the best television series of the 20th century by TIME magazine in 1998, and it made the top 10 on TV Guide's list of the greatest shows of all time in 2002.
The patriarch of the Simpson family is Homer, a safety inspector at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. Homer is generally a well-meaning buffoon whose short attention span often draws him into outrageous schemes and adventures. His wife Marge has come to conform with the stereotype of housewife and mother. Bart, the oldest sibling, is a troublemaker and classroom terror ("the devil's cabana boy", as Lisa once described him) who thinks of himself as a rebel while Lisa is a brainy student, vegetarian, Buddhist and jazz music fan who dreams of a better future (she is referred to as "the future of the family"). Maggie is an eternal baby, and despite the fact that numerous years (and birthdays) clearly pass (for example, many Christmas episodes), the Simpsons do not appear to age. Some characters' ages have fluctuated throughout the years; this is most likely due to simple oversight on the part of the writers.
The Simpsons sports a vast array of secondary characters. Homer describes his family as "upper lower middle class", and this appears to be about right. The Simpson family (which sometimes includes Homer's father, Abraham "Abe" Simpson) lives in a relatively large four-bedroom house bordering a friendly neighbor on one side, Ned Flanders, and many varying things, including a cemetery, on the other. The Simpson lifestyle yo-yos depending on whether or not Homer is employed at the time; Marge is largely a stay-at-home mom. The Simpsons go several years into the internet age before acquiring a computer, reflecting the fact that the Simpson family is perpetually several years out of date. There are other clues as well, such as the avocado-green kitchen equipment (this color was popular in the 1960s and '70s) and the family's two cars, both of which appear to have been manufactured in the early 1980s.
The show also has a vast array of quirky supporting characters, including co-workers, teachers, family friends, extended relatives, and local celebrities. Many of these characters have developed a vast cult following of their own. Some of these, like Itchy and Scratchy, ultraviolent versions of Tom and Jerry, are fictional even within the Simpsons universe.
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