Sunday, February 28, 2021

The Simpsons

I wasn't allowed to watch The Simpsons when it first came out. My mom thought it was too crude, and she was probably right as I was only 9-10 years old when it first came out. Since she didn't want me to watch it, of course I went out of my way to try and catch it when I could.

To be honest - 9-10 year old me didn't get it, and after catching an episode or two, I didn't bother anymore.

That is, until I was about 13, then I watched it every day. It was in the model of that imperfect family which, at the core of it all, love each other and stick together, so it does have some good morals and message, though it covers it with crude hilarity.

Today, we have a complete set of 1990 Topps The Simpsons - all 88 base cards.

This isn't a set I ever would have gone out of my way to collect or put together, but when it falls in your lap, and is complete, no reason to get rid of it, especially since it is a solid subject matter.

Here is the full set in all it's glory...oh, and the style is so crude in comparison to the show today, it's crazy to see the different in the product. Not saying it was "bad" back then, just a completely different style.











I can appreciate the design incorporating the TV which was symbolic from the opening theme and sequence, but it does take up a lot of real estate. As for the scenes themselves, a wide variety of throw away lines and some that are more iconic from the early years.

The show is so iconic, I am sure everyone out there has at least seen an episode or two - but how closely did you follow or watch the Simpsons, and for how long?

Interesting that they were able to use "suck" for Maggie on the cards, I remember listening to early season commentary on the episodes and they had talked about the need to use something different like "thuck" or similar - I think it was wanted by the network, but don't quote me on it.

May not be an expensive set, but a nice little nostalgia set to stick away.

6 comments:

  1. Wow, these are so much simpler that they would have been a few years later. I think I might have had a pack's worth of these 30 years ago but no specific card looks familiar to me.

    I was 9 when The Simpsons debuted and loved it almost right from the beginning. My mom didn't seem to have any issues with it at the time but that could be because my older sister was watching? I still watch the newer eps from time to time, and my daughters (11 and 8) watch a few classics with me.

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  2. I wouldn't say I was an avid fan, who had to watch every episode, but I watched the show here and there for a decade or so. What's ironic is I ended up watching a few other Fox cartoons after the Simpsons like King of the Hill and currently Bob's Burgers.

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    1. The Simpsons was good for that as a number of shows succeeded at least in part from their lead in.

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  3. Didn't watch Simpsons at the start; I started in the mid-90s during my college years because everyone was watching it. I've kept tabs on it from time to time but haven't seen it recently. I was more a fan of Futurama.

    My odd memory of the show was that somehow my mom had a Simpsons shirt she would wear around the house. We knew she never watched it so we have no idea how she wound up with it and why she would wear it so much.

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  4. The artwork from this set comes from the shorts on the Tracy Ullman show...which is next to impossible to find. I've never actually seen them, the only Simpsons I've never seen.

    I don't have any of the base cards from this set, but I have the complete sticker insert that I bought at a card show circa 2000.

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    1. I remember catching bits of the Tracy Ullman show shorts, but only a couple way back when. Haven't gone looking, but could believe they would be near impossible to locate.

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