“The Simpsons has popularized ‘ay caramba!’ as an expression of surprise. The term apparently originates from the nickname given to the popular 18th-century Spanish singer, Maria Antonia Fernandez. Although it’s Bart’s most used catchphrase, pointing out that he owes it to a 18th-century Spanish singer would likely earn you the instruction to ‘eat his shorts’ (on a side note; the only character know to have followed through with this request was one of Matt Groening’s other creations, Bender B Rodriguez, from Futurama – “mmm…shorts”).”
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Not every day in the Seitz household is that Simpsons-heavy. But if you’re reading this piece, you can probably relate. A decade-plus past its prime, The Simpsons has a stronger presence in American life than Cheers, Seinfeld, Community, or any other sitcom you can think of. Since Matt Groening’s show debuted in 1988, not a week has gone by that I haven’t thought about it, quoted it, or heard someone else quote it. The writing staff’s vacuum cleaner has ingested so much data and imagery that it’s hard for a fan to think about a significant TV show, movie, play, musical, painting, song, fairy tale, myth, or historical incident without remembering how The Simpsons made fun of it. Cheers is a flawless pearl glinting on a beach. But The Simpsons is the beach. It’s bigger than Cheers, bigger than sitcoms, in some ways bigger than television. It’s our virtual Smithsonian and Library of Congress, our collective data cloud, the Force, or Farce, that surrounds us, binds us, and holds the galaxy together. The Simpsons losing the Vulture comedy bracket? That’s unpossible.
Matt Zoller Seitz declaring ‘The Simpsons’ as the winner of Vulture’s Best Sitcom of the Last 30 Years Tournament (via popculturebrain)