eator 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 a
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