Santa's Little Helper the dog was a "sympathetic" character. Welker has been praised by staff members for his performances on the show. David Mirkin has noted that "he can do anything, and it fits perfectly. You forget you're listening to a guy, and he's a pleasure to work with." Groening has commented that he was "unbelievably good" at doing animal noises. After 1995, Castellaneta voiced Santa's Little Helper on his own while Welker performed other animal noises until his full departure in 2002, when he was denied a pay raise. In the "questions and answers" section on his website, Welker revealed that the
The Simpsons show. The celebration ended on January 10, 2010 (almost 20 years after "Bart the Genius" aired on January 14, 1990), with "The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special – In 3-D! On Ice!", a documentary special by documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock that examines the "cultural phenomenon of "The Simpsons"". As of the twenty-first season (2009–2010), "The Simpsons" became the longest-running American scripted primetime television series, having surpassed "Gunsmoke". On April 29, 2018, "The Simpsons" also surpassed "Gunsmoke"s 635-episode count with the episode "Forgive and Regret." "The Simpsons" has won dozens of awards since it debuted as a series, including 31 Primetime Emmy