r, creator Groening says: "There are the obvious jokes, the visual sight gags, the subtle literary allusions and at the most subtle, what we call the freeze frame gags." While I agree with Groening, I would categorise the humour slightly differently. The first level is 'blatant comedy'. This includes "obvious jokes". The appeal to children that originally heralded The Simpsons is based on blatant comedy and the antics of Bart, such as his famous phone pranks: Bart phones Moe's tavern. Moe: Moe's Tavern. Bart: Hello, is Al there? Moe: Al? Bart: Yeah, Al. Last name: Coholic. Moe: Lemme check... [calls] Phone call for Al. Al Coholic. Is there an Al Coholic here? [bar denizens laugh] Wait a minute... [to phone] Listen, you little yellow-bellied rat jackass, if I ever find out who you are, I'm gonna kill you! This level also includes other forms of blatant humour, such as juxtaposition, and many of the visual sight gags. It can also include the simplistic use of repetition, such as catch-phrase comedy. Many of the characters have catch-phrases which are repeated wherever possible. The most famous of these are Homer's "D'oh!" and Bart's "Eat my shorts!" Other repetitive jokes are in the form of the opening sequence, of which there are many variations. They are the lines that Bart writes during his detention and the way the family sits down in front of the TV together. The second level refers to more subtle humour. This type of humour has accounted for the expansion of appeal to a more adult audience and includes a more sophisticated repetition type joke. For example: Homer tells Marge about a work night out: Marge: So how was the office birthday party? Homer: Oh, it was de-lightful! The frosting on the cake was this thick! [about an inch] And Eugene Fisk (my poor sucker of an assistant) didn't know the fruit punch was spiked, and he really made an ass of himself putting the moves on a new girl in valve maintenance. Ha ha Marge: Does this girl...
