Long-running 'Simpsons' seeming like a Homeric epic.

No one is more surprised than creator Matt Groening that his show "The Simpsons" is still on the air after 12 seasons, making it the longest-running animated series in TV history. "Trying to surprise people - after having been on the air since 1987 with 'The Tracy Ullman Show' - is just harder and harder," Groening said during a recent Fox network party in Beverly Hills.