Editing Grampa Simpson (section)

==Reception==
===Commendations===
Nancy Basile of [[About.com]] named Grampa the fifth best character of ''The Simpsons'', calling him a "perfect stereotypical old person".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://animatedtv.about.com/od/lists/tp/sicharacters.htm |title=Top 10 'The Simpsons' Characters |last=Basile |first=Nancy |publisher=About.com |access-date=December 27, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707074806/http://animatedtv.about.com/od/lists/tp/sicharacters.htm |archive-date=July 7, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> In the 1000th issue of ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'', Grampa was selected as the "Grandpa for The Perfect TV Family".<ref name="List 2008"/> Joe Rhodes of ''[[TV Guide]]'' considered Grampa's most memorable line to be "If I'm not back at the home by nine, they declare me legally dead and collect my insurance."<ref name=tvguide/> Dan Castellaneta has won two [[Primetime Emmy Award]]s in the [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance|Outstanding Voice-Over Performance]] category for voicing various characters, including Grampa. The first was awarded in 1992 for the episode "[[Lisa's Pony]]",<ref name="Emmys">{{cite web |url=http://www.emmys.org/awards/awardsearch.php |title=Primetime Emmy Awards Advanced Search |publisher=Emmys.org |access-date=January 18, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090403022947/http://www.emmys.org/awards/awardsearch.php |archive-date=April 3, 2009}}</ref> and the second in 2004 for "[[Today I Am A Clown]]".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2004/scene/awards/emmy-speaks-for-homer-1117908929/ |title=Emmy speaks for Homer |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |author=Schneider, Michael |access-date=December 27, 2008 |date=August 10, 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012175223/http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117908929.html?categoryid=1603&cs=1 |archive-date=October 12, 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2010, Castellaneta was nominated for the award for voicing Grampa and Homer in the episode "[[Thursdays with Abie]]".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.emmys.com/sites/emmys.com/files/62ndemmys_noms.pdf |title=2010 Primetime Emmy Awards Nominations |access-date=July 8, 2010 |publisher=[[Academy of Television Arts & Sciences]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310014216/http://www.emmys.com/sites/emmys.com/files/62ndemmys_noms.pdf |archive-date=March 10, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>

''The Simpsons'' writer [[David Mirkin]] said that one of his favorite jokes on the show is the one where Grampa cycles down the street in high speed and shouts that he feels young again, and is then knocked flying from his bicycle after a doll's head flies into the spokes and falls into an open grave.<ref name="Mirkin"/> In a review of the Grampa-centric episode "[[Lady Bouvier's Lover]]", Patrick Bromley of DVD Verdict said that he is "never terribly interested" in episodes that revolve around Grampa, because he believes Grampa is "great as a background character, but less so when he takes center stage."<ref>{{cite web|access-date=January 24, 2009 |url=https://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/simpsonsseason5.php |title=The Simpsons: The Complete Fifth Season |publisher=DVD Verdict |date=February 23, 2005 |author=Bromley, Patrick |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090116115733/http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/simpsonsseason5.php |archive-date=January 16, 2009}}</ref> DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson said in a review of the same episode that Grampa is "always fun" and "it’s nice to see him in an ebullient mood, at least for a while."<ref>{{cite web |access-date=January 24, 2009 |url=http://www.dvdmg.com/simpsonsseasonfive.shtml |title=The Simpsons: The Complete Fifth Season (1993) |publisher=DVD Movie Guide |date=December 21, 2004 |author=Jacobson, Colin |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090420194900/http://www.dvdmg.com/simpsonsseasonfive.shtml |archive-date=April 20, 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Analysis===
[[File:Davidmirkin.jpg|thumb|Writer [[David Mirkin]] thinks that what makes Grampa funny is that the "boring" and "tedious" things he says are "actually funny" in the context of the boredom and the tedium.|alt=A seated David Mirkin wearing a cap smiles as he looks into the distance. His hands are crossed.]]

Mirkin thinks it is hard to make a "boring" and "tedious" character, such as Grampa, funny. He believes that what ultimately makes Grampa funny is that the things he says are "actually funny" in the context of the boredom and the tedium.<ref>{{cite video |people=Mirkin, David |year=2004 |title=The Simpsons season 5 DVD commentary for the episode "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> Anne-Marie Barry and Chris Yuill, the authors of the book ''Understanding the Sociology of Health'', commented that in episodes in which Grampa appears, the comedy content is often generated by Grampa falling asleep at "inopportune" moments or "embarking" on long rambling stories about his youth. "Instances such as these match popular stereotypes that all old people are 'demented' and in poor health," they wrote.<ref>{{cite book |last=Barry |first=Anne-Marie |author2=Yuill, Chris |title=Understanding the Sociology of Health |publisher=SAGE |year=2008 |page=212 |chapter=Ageing in society: a general overview |isbn=978-1-4129-3623-1}}</ref>

Alan S. Brown and Chris Logan wrote in ''[[The Psychology of The Simpsons]]'' that Grampa has the least amount of "power" in the Simpson family, and that he is treated as little more than a child and is often ignored. The family frequently laughs at his "failing" memory and his "ineffectual" attempts to get what he wants. They added that Grampa is left behind, forgotten, and rarely invited to spend time with the family. The authors commented that he is "not without influence, but he certainly does not play the traditional grandfather role in the family hierarchy."<ref name="brown"/>

Brown and Logan also wrote that Grampa had a considerable influence in the formation of Homer's character, and that flashbacks in ''The Simpsons'' show what an "angry", "critical" father he was to Homer. "He yelled, used corporal punishment, and constantly belittled Homer's attempts to have fun, date, and excel at various activities," they added. The authors said that Homer tries "in vain" to repair his relationship with Grampa and continuously seeks for his approval, but Grampa continues to be "as critical as ever". However, in some episodes, he does show a loving side to [[Homer Simpson|Homer]]. Such as the episode "[[Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy]]", he and Homer watch the farm burn, or the episode "[[To Cur with Love]]", where he does everything to protect Homer's dog from [[Mr Burns]] in a flashback.<ref name="brown">{{cite book |last=Brown |first=Alan S. |author2=Chris Logan |title=The Psychology of the Simpsons: D'oh! |publisher=BenBella Books, Inc. |year=2006 |pages=3–4 (Chapter: The Family Simpson – Family Hierarchy) |isbn=978-1-932100-70-9|title-link=The Psychology of The Simpsons}}</ref> In his book ''Understanding the Psychology of Diversity'', author Bruce Evan Blaine wrote that Grampa is typically portrayed as a "doddering", "senile", and "dependent" person who is a "trivial" and "often disposable figure" in his son's life.<ref>{{cite book |last=Blaine |first=Bruce |title=Understanding The Psychology of Diversity |url=https://archive.org/details/understandingpsy0000blai_c8p4 |url-access=registration |publisher=SAGE |year=2007 |page=[https://archive.org/details/understandingpsy0000blai_c8p4/page/160 160] |chapter=Presentations and Portrayals of Older People |isbn=978-1-4129-2109-1}}</ref>