The Simpsons are celebrating their 800th this weeke episode. At first glance, you might think that Homer beats Seraphim hands down, but that’s not the case.
Séraphin is far from being KO, even if it is difficult to tell the difference. There was 495 episodes of Beautiful stories from the lands above including three seasons in color, each lasting 60 minutes. Subsequently, Gilles Desjardins wrote 52 episodes of Country above. In the meantime, Séraphin had been the star of three feature films (compared to only 1 for Homer) and, above all, A man and his sin had been broadcast for 16 minutes each evening from 1939 to 1962 – 23 years! – on - radio.
It all started with a modest novel (216 pages) published in 1933, written by the doctor and pamphleteer Claude-Henri Grignon. It was he who gave birth to the legendary Séraphin Poudrier. The characters created by Grignon in the wake of his novel and all the series inspired the names of around thirty lakes and streets in Quebec, not to mention numerous dialects and swear words and, above all, the word “séraphin” which comes from immediately to the mind of a Quebecer who wants to talk about a miser. The Simpsons also made several expressions popular, but as far as I know, they were much less prolific when it came to toponymy!
It’s a draw!
If we take into account the two television series, the feature films and the radio series which owe their popularity to the universe of Séraphin, we can affirm that Séraphin and Homer are at least equal in the imagination of those who follow them or followed them for a long time.
So what do Seraphim, Homer and the characters who revolve around them have in common? They are all singular and picturesque characters with whom it is easy to associate a relative or a neighbor that we know. They have the same relationships as we do with family and with money, they are never vulgar or cynical or larger than life.
If the relationships between Donalda and Séraphin are most of the time extreme compared to those we have between husband and wife, if those of Homer and Marge are often dysfunctional, they remain no less realistic and evocative of those we experience daily.
A little reminder to broadcasters
At a time when television channels are giving pride of place to detective series, dystopias and preachy series, should we remind broadcasters and producers that the most successful series in the history of television are those which talk about couple relationships, which tell stories of family or neighbors and which feature characters with whom we easily identify. The Simpsons et The beautiful stories are eloquent examples.
