Introduction: the Simpsons, Satire, and American Culture
Notes Introduction: The Simpsons, Satire, and American Culture 1. Robert J. Thompson, Television’s Second Golden Age: From Hill Street Blues to ER (New York: Continuum, 1996), 19. 2. “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire” (#7G08) ranked thirtieth for its timeslot the night it premiered and earned Fox a 22 percent share and a 14.5 rating. See “Nielsens,” USA Today, December 20, 1989, 3D, Lexis-Nexis Academic, October 2, 2003. 3. “Bart the Genius” (#7G02) ranked forty-eighth for its timeslot and earned Fox a 19 percent share and a 12.7 rating. See “Nielsens,” USA Today, January 17, 1990, 3D, Lexis-Nexis Academic, October 2, 2003. 4. Harry F. Waters, “Family Feuds,” Newsweek, April 23, 1990, 58. 5. Although The Simpsons often ranked within the top ten for weekly or monthly Nielsen totals, the show has not ranked high overall: at the end of the 1989–90 season, its first full season on the air, The Simpsons ranked only thirtieth. See “Final Season Ratings,” Electronic Media, April 23, 1990, 36, Lexis-Nexis Academic, October 2, 2003. http:// web.lexis-nexis.com/universe. Curiously, the show has never been among the top 25 in the Nielsen seasonal totals. It is no longer the ratings juggernaut it once was, but new episodes of The Simpsons still rank in the Nielsen top 50 among prime-time television shows and often in the top 20 among shows in syndication. Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946–Present, 8th ed. (New York: Ballantine, 2003), 1073–74.
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