Collage by Lia Kantrowitz
Nowadays, cartoon comedies made for adults are so commonāfrom Archer to Bojack Horseman to Rick and Mortyāitās easy to forget that the genre was once considered a subversive underdog, fighting to get jokes aired and jockeying with live action sitcoms for premium time slots. In 1992 George H. W. Bush publicly denounced The Simpsons, and today Ted Cruz wonāt shut up about loving the show; Family Guy was once too taboo for family-friendly sponsors but was selling Coca-Cola by 2008. But these shows werenāt just gradually accepted by a changing world. They changed the worldāprobably more than you realize.I wanted to find some way to quantify the impact the major cartoons of the 90s had on societyāthis means Futurama, King of the Hill, The Simpsons, South Park, and Family Guy. So I did my best to tally up every instantly recognizable catchphrase, meme, and IRL impact created by each show. These programsāthe big three of Simpsons, Family Guy, and South Park in particularāliterally altered the way people talked, and later how they posted online. But kids parroting Cartman lines on the playground doesnāt leave as much of an impact on the world as the attitudes toward politics and environmentalism South Park helped create, so for each of these items I assigned a point value from 1 to 10.What resulted was a monumental, subjective, exhausting, and hopefully exhaustive process that at least gave me a math-based argument for which cartoon was the most important of our lifetimesāand one cartoonās massive reach did exceed all others. Which one? You'll have to scroll down to find out, because if I did all this work you little ingrates can at least skim this article.Buckle up, buckaroos. This is going to take a while.Starting in reverse chronological order with the series that premiered on March 28, 1999, Futurama was an instant hit with the nerd crowd for itās use of actual science references and formulas in its sci-fi comedy, a mechanism that directly influenced later shows like The Big Bang Theory (+1) and Rick and Morty (+1).Futuramaās meme prominence was at its peak during the impact font image macro era, when stills of a skeptical Fry (+2), āshut up and take my moneyā Fry (+2), or āwhy not Zoidberg" were still in vogue. Still in occasional use today are mesmerizing hypnotoad (+1) and Professor Farnsworth saying āI donāt want to live on this planet anymoreā (+3).The above lament, often seen without an accompanying image, brings us to the phrases and words the show added to the vernacular. Hermes gave us exclamations like āsweet zombie Jesus!ā (+1) and āmy Manwich!ā (+1), the canned meat companyās sole source of relevance in decades. Benderās ābite my shiny, metal assā (+1), mischievous spin on the word āneatā (+1), āyeah baby, I know itā (+2), and insistence that heāll make his own version of a thing āwith blackjack and hookersā (+1) donāt have as much portability to everyday conversations as the professorās āgood news, everyoneā (+2) or being ātechnically correct, the best kind of correctā (+2). Futurama also offered ammo for when we need to point out that āX does not work that wayā (+3) or someoneās thing is bad and they should feel bad. (+2).The show also invented a brand-new math theorem for an episode (+2) that doesnāt have much application outside of brain-switching scenarios, introduced us to āsnu snuā (+2), the term for occasionally fatal sex with a towering Amazonian woman, and ābonitisā (+1), a terrible and regretful way to die. And thanks to one particularly sad episode, a whole generation now canāt hear Connie Francis's āIām Will Wait for You" (+2) without tearing up.Total Score: 33Gaining a legion of fans within its first three seasons, Family Guy did not go quietly into that good night when it was initially cancelled in 2003. Fox gave the first 50 episodes to Cartoon Network, and those episodes helped carry the Adult Swim programming slate (+5) through its early years. Family Guy also sold a ton of DVDs, helping to fuel the series DVD boom of the era and get other shows on discs (+3).The show was so popular in death that Fox revived it in 2005. Not only did this result in another 14 (and counting) seasons and MacFarlane-verse sister series like The Cleveland Show (+1) and American Dad (+3), it made cancellation no longer a permanent death sentence, (+7), even though you ātouch yourself at night.ā (+1). The series' primary contributions to the comedy landscape were its popularization of the cutaway gag (+4), and introducing Adam West to a whole new generation (+1). The show also had a thing for eclectic musical non-sequiturs, and gave Conway Twitty (+2), the B-52ās āRock Lobsterā (+1), and the Trashmen song āSurfinā Birdā (+1) a brief renaissance. On the other hand, Family Guy is unique in its ability to kill an internet meme by merely featuring it on the show, a phenomenon known as āthe Family Guy effect.ā (+2)Though he killed many, Peter Griffin created a few memes of his own. He let us know what āgrinds his gearsā (+3), said āohmygod, who the hell cares" (+1) to boring or irrelevant information, and engaged in an ipecac war that provided a nice vomiting gif. (+1) He also hurt his knee (+1) in a way that, when you emulate it, takes some of the sting away. Pepperidge Farm remembers (+2) that season 2 joke like it was yesterday.Peterās trademark laugh (+1), āholy crapā (+1), endless āwhoa, whoa, whoasā (+1), and adaptable āshut up, Megā (+2) werenāt the only lines that made it off the screen. Chrisās āI need an adult" (+1) is perfect for escaping awkwardness. Stewieās early-era āwhat the deuceā (+1) and āvictory is mine!ā (+1) catchphrases evolved over time into less diabolical bits like his mispronunciation of the w (+2) at the beginning of words like whip or a āyouāre drunk / youāre sexyā (+1) tete-a-tete with Brian. Early Lois gave us the āX is Godās way of telling you Yā (+1) format. Quagmireās āgiggityā (+2) and āalllll rightā (+1) became phrases synonymous with horniness. Cleveland gave us āthatās nastyā (+1), and weatherman Ollie Williams provided āitās gonā rainā (+1) and "damn, nature, you scary.ā (+2)Though some Family Guy gags are pretty much universally beloved, like āwacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube men,ā (+2) it has also attracted criticism for being misogynist, racist, or just vile. An early Family Guy episode popularized the problematic phrase āfull-blown AIDSā (+2), but 13 years later, the show has vowed to no longer target gays with its jokes. So thatās something.Total Score: 62Though not the longest-running on this list, South Park has somehow remained consistent over its two decades on the air, adapting its humor and philosophy with the times. A profane show from day one, South Park was the first-ever regular program dubbed TV-MA (+8) in the US and blazed a trail for the future of television by normalizing unbleeped swearing on cable (+5). Creators Trey Parker and Matt Stoneās āboth sides suckā approach to issues helped to create a generation of āSouth Park Republicansā (+5) who (often incorrectly) assumed Parker and Stone to be on their team.The showās politics informed, shifted, and started national conversations about everything from the core beliefs of Scientology (+5) and Mormonism (+4), to trans rights (+2), āsafe spacesā (+2), PC culture (+3), and the smugness that comes from driving a hybrid (+2). After a controversial episode with a depiction of the prophet Mohammed garnered death threats and subsequent Comedy Central censorship, Everybody Draw Mohammed Day (+5) was founded in response. Though Cartman helped normalize anti-Semitism (+5) and hippie hatred (+2), and the idea of freezing yourself to wait for a video game release (+2), it was the ManBearPig (+1) episode that may have had the most profound impact on the world. The episode, which Parker and Stone have since apologized for with a follow-up episode, mocks the āsuper cerealā (+1) notion of man-made climate change, and gave its massive audience of contrarian-leaning edgelords permission to follow suit (+10).Less cataclysmic concepts conceived by the show include the now occasionally employed legal strategy of confusing the jury known as āthe Chewbacca defense" (+3), the notion that Family Guy is written by manatees pushing joke balls around (+2) and that The Simpsons already did every plotline conceivable (+4), the persistent idea that gingers are soulless (+4), and bowel movement size being measured in āCouricsā (+1). It was the first to say Sarah Jessica Parker looked like a horse (+3) as well as the reason every go-to fake porno is titled āBackdoor Sluts #9.ā (+2). In one episode, we learn Kanye West is a gay fish (+1). In another we learn Kim Kardashian is a hobbit (+1). In another still, we discover the singer Lorde, known for her hit song āI am Lorde, ya ya yaā (+1) is Randy Marsh in a wig (+1).In early seasons, South Park was catchphrase-heavy. Cartmanās āay!ā (+1), ābeefcakeā (+1), ābad kittyā (+1), ācheesy poofsā (+1), ārespect my authori-tahā (+2), āwhateva, I do what I wantā (+2), āscrew you guys, Iām going homeā (+2), and āIām not fat, Iām just big bonedā (+2) lines were on the lips and T-shirts of schoolchildren everywhere in the late 90s. The temperamental third-grader also implored us to suck his balls (+1)ānot the chocolate, salty (+1) kindāand called Kyleās mom a bitch (+1), to which sheād reply āwhat-what-WHAT?ā (+1), Stan would say ādude, thatās pretty fucked-up right there (+1), Kyle would sigh or scream āgoddammitā (+1), and after all that, āOh my god, theyād kill Kennyā (+2).Other repeated lines of the era included Mr. Mackeyās warning that ādrugs are badā (+1), mākayā (+2), Shellyās āstupid turdā (+1) insult, Big Gay Al letting us know he was āsuper, thanks for asking" (+2) and Jimboās hunting justification that āitās coming right for us" (+1). Isaac Hayesās Chef was still around then, too, dropping a āhello there, childrenā (+1) left and right. One special early ep both presented the Loch Ness Monster as a beggar in need of ātree fiddy" (+2) and gifted the world with the word āderpā(+6). (Derp actually originated in Parker and Stone's movie BASEketball, but we'll give it to South Park.) Later, a more evil Cartman would still whine for his āmeeeehhhm" (+1), but also engage in diabolical schemes that ended in him relishing the taste of an adversaryās tears (+2).Over the years, the showās universe expanded and we were introduced to standout meme-adjacent characters like a Christmas poo (+1), sexual harassment panda (+1), crab people (+1), a leather daddy slave who only lisped āJesus Christā (+1), and the best World of Warcraft player (+2) in Azeroth. A pot-smoking towel reminded us not to forget bringing him (+2). An (extremely un-PC) Chinese restaurant proprietor changed how we view Mongolians and woks in cities. (+1) Recurring disabled characters āTimmy!!ā (+2) and Jimmy got in a ācripple fightā (+1), but Jimmyās stand up predilectionsāāI mean, come onā (+1), āwhat a great audienceā (+1)āeventually became his defining characteristic.South Park has long been a meme gold mine, the most noteworthy being the ski instructor who lets us know if weāre about to have a bad time (+2), the banker who notes that our investment is immediately gone (+2), and Captain Hindsightās after-the-fact advice (+2). Post-ejaculation Randy (+2) works in a pinch as well. The show also taught us that a TBD step 3 doesnāt prevent us from āstep 4: profitā (+3) as well as what would make Craig āso happyā (+1). But it also taught us hard lessons, like how sometimes your only choices are a giant douche or turn sandwich (+2) and how āgirls are funny, get over itā (+2). āTheeenks" (+1) for understanding.Other phrases popularized by the show include the ātook our jerbsā (+2) lament of the recently unemployed, Randyās clarification that he āthought this was America" (+1), and the rednecksā suggestion that if one doesnāt like America, they ācan geeeet outā (+1). The angered crowds of townfolk would ārabble rabbleā (+1) or ādurka durrā (+1), perhaps even throwing us a ādurka durkaā (+1) if in the Middle East. PC Principal made sure āyou PC, broā (+1). A vehicular manslaughtering Caitlyn Jenner encouraged passengers and viewers to ābuckle up, buckaroos.ā (+1) A racially tinged ep about how annoying ānaggersā (+1) are really got Randyās āballs in a vice grip.ā (+1) Iām not just sure about that, āIām HIV positive.ā (+1)The showās impact didnāt stop there, giving us ācan I finish?" (+1), āraging cluesā (+1), and āpraise scienceā (+1), along with putting the Denver restaurant Casa Bonita (+1) on the map. While I didnāt get āsand in my vaginaā (+2) about it, I was personally less enthralled when it made āred rocketā (+1) the primary term for a dogās penis or insisted āfagā could just mean obnoxious biker (+1).Bits from the show occasionally took on a life of their own, like when police officers saying āniceā to every instance of a female teacher sleeping with a male student (+2) was co-opted as a response for every time the number 69 shows up (+4). Though those episodes might be, as Michael Jackson says, āignantā (+1), Parker and Stone still āreached these keedsā (+1) with their subversive show. Hell, āI memberā (+2) when it was just Cartman making up words like āmolesteringā (+1), but now theyāre explaining what a ābottom bitchā (+1) is. And if this upsets you, try to remember that āIām not your buddy, guy.ā (+1)Though bedlam on air, offscreen, the show accomplished the impossible. They helped to reunite estranged comedy duo Cheech and Chong (+2) and South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut (+1) resulted in Robin Williams singing āfuckā at the Oscars for their Oscar nominated song from the film (+1) while Parker and Stone sat in the audience tripping on acid in their iconic dresses (+2).Total Score: 184Though too grounded in reality to ever be the winner of this contest, I would be remiss to not mention the ahead-of-its-time, slow-boil comedy centered around Hill family and its cultural impact.Hank informed us āthat boy aināt right,ā (+2) and explained how Christian rock was not making Christianity better, but instead was just making rock and roll worse (+1). His exasperated ādang it, Bobbyā (+1), and ābwahhhā (+2) as incredibly fun to say as they are to see memed. Hank coined the term āvidyaā (+4) as a substitute for āvideo gamesā which has more traction online than you realize. Both he and Bobby have enjoyed recent resurgences of popularity online, presented as fuckboys (+2), chillwave aesthetics (+2), and all-around vibes (+3). And though it embarrasses him, one can't hear the phrase "narrow urethra" (+1) without thinking of poor Hank.Joining Hank in the drinking alley, you have Dale Gribbleās invention of āpocket sandā (+2) and Boomhaurās mumbly ādang olāā speech pattern (+1), but if KOTH is known for anything, itās Hankās exaltation of āpropane and propane accessoriesā (+4), a phrase impossible to not say in his voice when around a tank of the stuff.Total Score: 24The godfather of this list, The Simpsonās mark on the world cannot be overstated. Beyond serving as a proof of concept for every other show on this list (+5) and confirming that Americans prefer to watch dysfunctional families over healthy ones (+5), the show vaulted a young Fox network into the same league as the legacy networks, helping to turn the Big 3 into the Big 4 (+8).The showās instant runaway success led to early ā90s āBartmaniaā (+1) and a thriving bootleg Bart (+1) clothing black market. As the show became enmeshed with our culture, we later got a feature film (+1), a Simpsons takeover of 7-11s (+1), replete with the iconic pink donut (+1), and a theme park quadrant dedicated to the show at Universal Studios (+1). And Bart was a Butterfingers mascot (+1) half the time, too.Fans didnāt just consume Bart products, they quoted the hell out of him. āDonāt have a cow, manā (+1), āeat my shortsā (+1), āay, carambaā (+1), and āIām Bart Simpson, who the hell are you?ā (+1) were everywhere back in the day.His father, Homer, was just as prolific with coinage. āWhy you littleā¦ā (+1) and āmmmā¦ [food]ā (+1) are classics. He taught us that alcohol is the cause of and solution to all of lifeās problems (+1), that money can be exchanged for goods and services (+1), and that when we try and fail, the lesson is to never try (+1). His mispronunciations of āsaxamaphoneā (+1) and Jebus (+2) spread like wildfire. His annoyed ādāohā (+3) was added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary. āJerk assā (+2) wasnāt. āDonāt blame me, I voted forā OED. (+2)Other words the show manifested into reality include the perfectly ācromulentā (+1) word āembiggen,ā (+1) the Scrabble-ready ākwyjiboā (+1), craptacular (+1), snacktacular (+1), chocotastic (+1), the hybrid crop ātomaccoā (+1), an embarrassing ātrombonerā (+1), the delicious āsquisheeā (+1), and the āyoinkā (+3) you say when snatching something from someone. None of these get as much real-world mileage as the showās crowning vocab achievement, āmeh.ā (+7) With all these new words, it would be unpossible to fail English. (+1)Sometimes a characterās spin on an existing word or phrase made it forever their own, as is the case for Dr. Nickās āHi, everybody,ā (+1) Mr. Burnsā āexcellentā (+2), Nelsonās āHA-haā (+2), and Krabappleās āHA!ā (+1) Other times a mere sound was all it took, like Margeās annoyed hum (+1), Frinkās āglabenā (+1), or the entire speech pattern of the first Flanderized (+3) character, the okily-dokily (+1) neighborino (+1) Ned. But āthe goggles do nothingā (+1) to help us unsee āstupid, sexy Flandersāsā (+1) butt.Homer searched for the āanyā key. (+1) Bart played āknifey spooneyā (+1) and āsmashy smashy.ā (+1) Barney told us ājust hook it to my veinsā (+1), everything was ācoming up Milhouseā (+1), and Nelson will āsmell ya later.ā (+2) Ralph āchoo-choo-choosesā (+1) to acknowledge that he created the āX Y is Xā format (+2) with āfun toys are funā back in season 11, which was, as Abe remembers it, somewhere around ānineteen-dickety-twoā (+1). Iām sure youāre like, āboo-urnsā (+1), thatās not a real year and āsure hope someone got fired for that blunder,ā (+1) but give the writers a break. They work hard, they play hard. (+1) Itās not like theyāre some ācheese-eating surrender monkeyā (+1) Frenchies youād have to ārelease the houndsā (+1) on.The show created so many lasting character archetypes like Lisa (+3), Milhouse (+2), and Mr. Burns (+2), but the designed-by-committee Poochie (+1) concept is a personal favorite. When he said āI have to go now, my planet needs me,ā (+2) I felt that.It wasnāt all sunshine in the ambiguously-stated town of Springfield (+1). The Simpsons resulted in some negatives too, like racists and shitty kids calling brown people Apu (+4) throughout their lives and Homerās ineptitude at the power plant may have actually kneecapped Americaās nuclear power revival (+7).The recent glut of Simpsons memes have helped to make up for its above sins (and later seasons). Gifs of Abe U-turning in a brothel (+2) or Homer backing into a bush (+2) convey a desire to escape. Abeās āused to be with itā speech (+1), his āold man yells at cloudā (+2) news clipping, and Skinnerās insistence that āno, itās the children who are wrongā all mock the out-of-touch. Wolfcastleās āthatās the jokeā (+2) and Bartās āat least you triedā cake (+2) are perfect for condescending. Ralphās āIām in dangerā (+2) meme conveys what it says, as does Nedās parentsā insistence that theyāve ātried nothing and are all out of ideas.ā (+1) Moeās suicidal āNO FUNERALā (+1) stills pair well with impoverished Lennyās ādonāt tell anyone how I liveā (+1) plea. Bart hitting bathing Homer with a chair (+2) is a great escalation mechanism. Homer with his back fat tied off (+1) shows how much we hide, and Lisaās stage presentation (+2) is a great blank canvas.Sometimes a scene paused at the perfect moment, capturing the animation at a weird angle creates the meme. Thereās Skinnerās āpatheticā (+2), krumping Marge (+1), and Lisa looking down at her food (+1) or pouring coffee (+1).There are some nonsensical memes floating around out there, too, like āclassical gasā (+1), Dr. Hibbertās mirror punch (+1), Moeās āgive āem one of thoseā (+1) dance-fight, the āLisa needs bracesā (+1) bit, and āsay the line, Bart.ā (+1) But occasionally the obsessive internet weirdos create works of art, like the Simpsonswave (+1) music video genre, and the expansive universe thatās grown out of the āsteamed hamsā (+4) scene.Just remember that Millhouse is not, nor will he ever be a meme. (+1)Total Score: 164I'm as surprised as you that, according to my infallible scientific calculations, South Park has had a net bigger impact on the world than The Simpsons. But, before you crucify me, there are a few ways of interpreting this outcome. It could be reasonably argued that, as a direct result of the success of The Simpsons, Futurama's influence points should count toward The Simpsons' total, which would put them at 197 and first place. For that matter, none of these shows, South Park included, could have existed if The Simpsons hadn't done it first. Even though the Springfield gang hasn't been as relevant in the past decade-plus (especially when compared with South Park), it casts a long shadow. But I will say this: I'm glad VICE got rid of its comments section a long time ago.Sign up for our newsletter to get the best of VICE delivered to your inbox daily.Follow Justin Caffier on Twitter.
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Futurama
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Family Guy
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South Park
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King of the Hill
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The Simpsons
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Comic Book Guy gave us āworst [blank] ever,ā (+3) and āoh, Iāve wasted my life.ā (+1). Moe invited everyone to the party in his mouth (+1) and said ānot today, old friendā (+1) to suicide. Kent Brockman said it before and heāll say it again, ādemocracy simply doesnāt workā (+1) so he, for one, welcomes our new autocrat overlords. (+1) āWhat a time to be aliveā (+3) where Jasper gave us both that phrase and āa paddlin.āā (+1)
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