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The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Developed by Groening, James L. Brooks, and Sam Simon, the series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. Set in the fictional town of Springfield, it caricatures society, Western culture, television, and the human condition.

The family was conceived by Groening shortly before a solicitation for a series of animated shorts with producer Brooks. He created a dysfunctional family and named the characters after his own family members, substituting Bart for his own name; he thought Simpson was a funny name in that it sounded similar to "simpleton". The shorts became a part of The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987. After three seasons, the sketch was developed into a half-hour prime time show and became Fox's first series to land in the Top 30 ratings in a season (1989–1990).

Since its debut on December 17, 1989, 768 episodes of the show have been broadcast. It is the longest-running American animated series, longest-running American sitcom, and the longest-running American scripted primetime television series, both in seasons and individual episodes. A feature-length film, The Simpsons Movie, was released in theaters worldwide on July 27, 2007, to critical and commercial success, with a sequel in development as of 2018. The series has also spawned numerous comic book series, video games, books, and other related media, as well as a billion-dollar merchandising industry. The Simpsons is a joint production by Gracie Films and 20th Television. (Full article...)

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Waylon Smithers is voiced by actor Harry Shearer

Waylon Smithers, Jr. is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons, who is voiced by Harry Shearer. Smithers first appeared briefly in the episode "Homer's Odyssey", although he could be heard in the The Simpsons series premiere "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". He is the consummate executive and personal assistant (and self-proclaimed best friend) of Springfield Nuclear Power Plant's CEO Mr. Burns. In many ways, Smithers represents the stereotype of the closeted gay man, and numerous overt allusions and double entendres to his homosexuality are made, though some of the show's producers instead refer to him as a "Burns-sexual".

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Credit: e5capeveloc1ty

James L. Brooks has a cameo role in the fourteenth season episode, "A Star Is Born-Again". Brooks started his own production company Gracie Films in 1984, which produced The Tracey Ullman Show and The Simpsons.

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“

This is indeed a disturbing universe.

”

— Maggie Simpson ("Treehouse of Horror V")

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Hank Azaria voiced Frank Grimes in the episode.

"Homer's Enemy" is the twenty-third episode of The Simpsons’ eighth season, first broadcast by Fox on May 4, 1997. It was directed by Jim Reardon and written by John Swartzwelder, although the idea for the episode came from Bill Oakley. The plot of the episode centers on the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant's hire of a new character named Frank Grimes. Homer attempts to befriend Grimes; however, Grimes ends up hating Homer and declares himself Homer's enemy. Meanwhile, Bart buys a run-down factory for a dollar. "Homer's Enemy" is one of the darkest and most famous episodes of The Simpsons, and is a favorite of several members of the production staff, including Bill Oakley, Josh Weinstein, Matt Groening, as well as The Office creator Ricky Gervais. Although Grimes makes his only appearance in this episode, he was later named one of the "Top 25 Simpsons Peripheral characters" by IGN.

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Did you know...

...that the book The Psychology of The Simpsons uses this TV series to analyze topics in psychology including clinical psychology, cognition and Pavlovian conditioning?

...that when Dan Castellaneta was trying a voice for Groundskeeper Willie, he tried using a Spanish voice, and a "big dumb Swede" before using the voice of an angry Scotsman?

...that in 1992 Tracey Ullman filed a lawsuit claiming that her show was the source of The Simpsons success and therefore should receive a share of the show's profit although eventually the courts ruled in favor of the network?

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The following are images from various The Simpsons-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1David Silverman, director of The Simpsons Movie.
Image 2"Lisa the Vegetarian", an episode produced by David Mirkin, won a Genesis Award in 1996
Image 3Voice actress Maggie Roswell left The Simpsons over a pay dispute, but returned three years later. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 4In 2004, Matt Groening won a Lifetime achievement British Comedy Award.
Image 5Moe's Bar in Concepción, Chile, based on images from The Simpsons. (from Springfield (The Simpsons))
Image 6James L. Brooks has won twelve Emmys with The Simpsons.
Image 7Morgan Spurlock produced a documentary on The Simpsons in order to celebrate the show's 20th anniversary. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 8The Android's Dungeon & Baseball Card Shop, as seen in the Springfield section of Universal Studios Hollywood (from Springfield (The Simpsons))
Image 9Hank Azaria has won four Emmy awards for Outstanding Voice-over Performance (from List of awards and nominations received by The Simpsons)
Image 10Michael Jackson co-wrote the single "Do the Bartman" (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 11
David Mirkin
Image 12The Simpsons Movie premiered in Springfield, Vermont. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 13Part of the writing staff of The Simpsons in 1992 (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 14
Mike Scully
(from History of The Simpsons)
Image 15The Simpsons' visit to Rio de Janeiro almost led to a lawsuit and a diplomatic incident. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 16In 1991, Nancy Cartwright accepted a Kids' Choice Awards while wearing a Bart Simpson costume. (from List of awards and nominations received by The Simpsons)
Image 17Matt Selman won a WGA Award in 2004. (from List of awards and nominations received by The Simpsons)
Image 18A Seattle 7-Eleven store transformed into a Kwik-E-Mart. (from Springfield (The Simpsons))
Image 19Voice actor Phil Hartman was killed by his wife in a murder–suicide in 1998. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 20In 2001, Yeardley Smith's character Lisa Simpson won an EMA Award. (from List of awards and nominations received by The Simpsons)
Image 21The show was criticized by several conservatives. Among those were President George H. W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush. (from History of The Simpsons)

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The great thing about the Simpsons is that they were more like real people than most of the people on television. Everything about the story line and the humor were character-driven. Now we often have a joke for the sake of a joke. I take exception to that, whether it's live-action or animation. But the show, I think, is still one of the best on TV.

— Yeardley Smith

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