d race, named Santas Little Helper. Their reasoning: How could this dog lose on Christmas Eve? The odds are 99 to 1, so they think they are going to be rich. Homer bets everything he has on Santas Little Helper, and as luck would have it, the dog never even makes it to the finish line. Homer and Bart comb the parking lot for winning tickets late into the night. Then, they see the track manager dispose of a dog. Coincidentally, it is Santas Little Helper. Bart and Homer return home to a worried Marge with the dog, making for a nice Christmas after all.Not many noticed the show for more than a simple cartoon at the time. It was not consumed in the manner in which it was intended. The show, which invented the idea of the animated sitcom, dealt with many of the issues that other more "wholesome" television programs (i.e. "Facts of Life" and "The Cosby Show") dealt with before, but cartoons for adults with sitcom-like messages had never really been considered. "The Simpsons" first show covered, albeit in an unorthodox way, child rebellion, economic problems, and family pride among other large issues of importance to the American family in the late 1980s. But, unfortunately, many viewers probably never made it to the end of the show, dismissing it too early as insulting and ridiculous to recognize the satire and eventual positive message that money doesnt make a Christmas special in the end.In addition to the satire, the writers of "The Simpsons" often allude to well-known aspects of popular culture such as movies or politicians. In the episode Itchy & Scratchy & Marge which originally aired on December 20, 1990 during the second season, still before many people had noticed the depth of the show. The scene: Homer is in the garage. The soundtrack of the famous shower murder scene in Alfred Hitchcocks film "Psycho" plays as little baby Maggie hits Homer over the head with a mallet. As Homer falls, he grabs a tablecloth (alluding to the...
