Science Fair Project Encyclopedia Highly satirical, the show
lampoons many aspects of the human condition, but primarily
parodies the "Middle American" lifestyle its titular family
exhibits and more generally American culture, society and even
television itself. In a recent Channel 4 program, the 100
Greatest Cartoons, it was voted into first place. Setting,
characters and plot The characters were originally created by
Matt Groening as part of a series of original animated segments
for The Tracey Ullman Show. Over the course of the series
Groening has used many of the themes present in his long-running
comic strip series, Life in Hell. (For instance, the idea of
creative school children as constantly being persecuted and
suppressed by totalitarian grown-ups stems from the strip.) The
Simpsons is set in the fictional United States town of
Springfield. Throughout the show's history fans have tried to
determine where Springfield is by taking the town's
characteristics, surrounding geography and nearby landmarks