The Simpsons

For related works also titled "The Simpsons," see The Simpsons (disambiguation).

The Simpsons
File:C-SimpFamily.png Clockwise from top left: Homer, Marge, Maggie, Santa's Little Helper, Bart, Snowball II and Lisa.
Created by	Matt Groening
Developed by	James L. Brooks Matt Groening Sam Simon
Starring	Dan Castellaneta Julie Kavner Nancy Cartwright Yeardley Smith Hank Azaria Harry Shearer Marcia Wallace Pamela Hayden Tress MacNeille Maggie Roswell Russi Taylor
Country of origin	USA
No. of episodes	378
Production
Executive producers	Al Jean James L. Brooks Matt Groening Sam Simon
Running time	21–23 minutes
Original release
Network	Fox
Release	December 17, 1989 – present (renewed through 2007–2008)

The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox network. The television series is a spin-off of a series of animated shorts originally aired on The Tracey Ullman Show. The sitcom is a satirical parody of the "Middle American" lifestyle epitomized by its title family. It lampoons many aspects of the human condition, as well as American culture, society as a whole and even television itself. The Simpsons has had a significant influence on post-Cold War popular culture. The show has also been cited as an influence on many adult-oriented animated series in the late 1990's, such as South Park and Family Guy.

The Simpsons is currently the longest-running American sitcom and longest-running American animated program of all time. Since it debuted on December 17, 1989, the show has aired 378 episodes in seventeen seasons. As of March 20, 2006, the show has been renewed through its nineteenth season, which would air in 2007–2008. The eighteenth season finale will be the 400^th episode, the 20^th anniversary of The Simpsons franchise will be celebrated in 2007. A feature-length movie is now being produced simultaneously with the television series, to be released on July 27, 2007.

Production

Origins

Matt Groening first conceived of the Simpsons in the lobby of James L. Brooks' office. He had been called in to pitch a series of animated shorts, and had intended to pitch his Life in Hell series. Upon realizing that he would need to rescind his publication rights for his life's work, and needing to create a new idea from scratch, he hurriedly sketched out his version of a dysfunctional family. He named the characters after his own family.

The Simpson family as they first appeared in The Tracey Ullman Show

The Simpson family first appeared in animated form as shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show, with the first short, "Good Night," airing on April 19, 1987. Matt Groening admits the reason that they were so crudely drawn in the beginning was because he could not draw well and the animators traced over his drawings. The shorts were aired by the BBC in the U.K. the first time the shows were broadcast, but not subsequently; though some of them, including "Good Night," were included in an anniversary episode.

In 1989, The Simpsons was adapted into a half-hour series for the Fox Network by a team of production companies that included what is now the Klasky Csupo animation house. The first full length episode shown was "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire," in place of the intended first episode, "Some Enchanted Evening." The latter was rejected after the creators saw the poor quality of the final animation that was returned to them. They had the episode reanimated, and Fox aired "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" first.

The Simpsons was the first true hit TV series for the Fox Network; it was the first Fox show to appear in the top thirty highest-rated shows of the season. The show had several episodes watched by over 20 million people and on occasion over 30 million people.

It also sparked controversy, as Bart Simpson was portrayed as a rebel who caused trouble and got away with it. Parents' groups and conservative spokespersons felt that a character like Bart Simpson provided a poor role model for children. George H. W. Bush railed, "We're going to keep trying to strengthen the American family. To make them more like The Waltons and less like The Simpsons." The Simpsons t-shirts, among others, one featuring Bart with the legend "Underachiever ('And proud of it, man!')" and other merchandise were banned from some public schools in several areas of the United States. The Simpsons merchandise, however, sold very well. During the first 14 months it generated $2 billion worldwide.

Executive producers

Matt Groening, James L. Brooks, and Sam Simon have been executive producers during the entire run. There is a more important position on the show, which is known as show runner. The show runner serves as head writer and is in charge of every aspect of the show's production for the entire season. Runners often stay on for multiple seasons, though they usually break their planning down by season. The show runner receives the first credit on the closing credits as executive producer. The following is a list of show runners of the production seasons as opposed to aired seasons:

• Season 1–2: Matt Groening, James L. Brooks, and Sam Simon
• Season 3–4: Al Jean & Mike Reiss
• Season 5–6: David Mirkin
• Season 7–8: Bill Oakley & Josh Weinstein
• Season 9–12: Mike Scully
• Season 13–present: Al Jean

Voice actors

Dan Castellaneta provides the voice of Homer Simpson and many other characters.

All episodes, with the exception of one, list only the voice actors and not the characters they voice. This is done because most of the voice actors portray many characters in each episode.

There are six main cast members on The Simpsons. Dan Castellaneta performs the voices of Homer Simpson, his dad Abraham Simpson, and Krusty the Clown, among others. Julie Kavner performs the voices of Marge Simpson, her sisters (Patty and Selma), and mother (Jacqueline Bouvier). She rarely plays other one-shot characters. She has been known to refuse to perform Marge's voice in public, to maintain the mystique of the character. Nancy Cartwright performs the voice of Bart Simpson and other children from the school that he attends; most notably Nelson Muntz and Ralph Wiggum. Yeardley Smith, the voice of Lisa Simpson, is the only main cast member who regularly voices only one character; though she occasionally voices one-shot characters. The two male actors who don't voice members of the title family play a majority of the other male townspeople. Hank Azaria voices dozens of recurring characters including Moe, Chief Wiggum, and Apu. Harry Shearer performs perhaps the largest array of regulars, including Mr. Burns, Smithers, Principal Seymour Skinner, Ned Flanders and many others.

Along with the main cast, there are also several regular guest cast members. Pamela Hayden occasionally voices women on the show, but more often provides the voices of male children, including Milhouse Van Houten, Rod Flanders and Jimbo Jones. Tress MacNeille voices Agnes Skinner, among other minor characters. Russi Taylor voices numerous school children; most notably Martin Prince, Sherri and Terri and Üter. Marcia Wallace voices Edna Krabappel. Until her death, Doris Grau played Lunchlady Doris. Maggie Roswell voices Helen Lovejoy, Miss Hoover, Luann Van Houten, and the late Maude Flanders. After the 1999 season, until the 2002 season, she did not appear because of a pay dispute. During this time she was replaced by Marcia Mitzman Gaven.

Recurring “special guest” cast members include Albert Brooks, Jon Lovitz, Karl Wiedergott, the late Phil Hartman, Jan Hooks and Kelsey Grammer (all of whom have voiced several characters, except Hooks and Grammer).

The main cast has been involved in much-publicized pay disputes with Fox on more than one occasion. In 1998, they stopped working, forcing 20th Century Fox TV to increase their salary from $30,000 per episode to $125,000. The actors were supported in their action by series creator Matt Groening. As the revenue generated by the show continued to increase through syndication and DVD sales, the main cast stopped showing up for script readings in April 2004 after weeks of unsuccessful negotiations with Fox. They asked for $360,000 per episode, or $8 million for a 22-episode season. On May 2, 2004, the actors resolved their dispute with Fox after having their demands met.

Further information: List of cast members of The Simpsons

Writing

File:Simpsons writing team.jpg

The Simpsons writing staff in season 13, including current show runner Al Jean (fourth from left in middle row) and previous show runners Mike Scully (first from left in back row), David Mirkin (sixth from left in back row), and Mike Reiss (fourth from left in back row).

During its initial run, and well into its first several seasons, The Simpsons was a form of television satire that took a look and examination of common everyday life. Though it was in animated form, it did not rely on the medium for its comedic basis, but rather focused on realistic situations and events, poking fun at the absurdity of what society consider the norm. Fair targets included family, work, religion and school.

As seasons progressed, new producers and teams of writers took the helm, gradually introducing new visions and style to the show. While wit and satire were still the focus point in stories, a shift from realism to more fantasy occurred. In order to fit this new style, character changes also came to pass, trading depth for somewhat of a one-dimensionalism to better blend into the types of zany and outlandish situations that stories were now introducing, particularly physical and visual humor often taking the place of dialogue.

The writing team divides seasons into two parts. For each half season there will be developed and pitched approximately 16 story ideas. These are mostly written by one or two writers. The 16 story ideas get developed into 12 scripts. Since it takes six to eight months to produce an episode of The Simpsons it is not possible to comment on current events.

The final scripts are developed during group rewriting sessions. In those sessions they can add and delete jokes, insert scenes, and call for rereadings of lines by the show’s company of vocal performers. The leader of those sessions is George Meyer, who has been with the show since the beginning. Long time writer Jon Vitti explains that even though he will get the script credit for an episode the best quotes are usually made by George Meyer.

John Swartzwelder is the most prolific writer on The Simpsons staff, personally writing 59 episodes. Another notable writer was Conan O’Brien, who wrote four scripts before he became the host of Late Night with Conan O'Brien. English comedian Ricky Gervais is the only celebrity ever to have guest written an episode.

Further information: [[:List of writers of The Simpsons]]

Animation

Overseas animation studios involved:

AKOM—200 episodes

• Exclusively produced the first two seasons of the series.
• Produced various episodes throughout the run of the series.

Anivision—55 episodes

• Produced animation for episodes from seasons 3–10.

Rough Draft Studios—120 episodes

• Produced animation for episodes from season four onwards.

U.S. Animation, Inc.—2 episodes

• Jointly produced "Radioactive Man" with Anivision.
• Produced "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular"

Toonzone Entertainment—2 episodes

• Produced "The Fat and the Furriest" and "She Used to Be My Girl".

* The numbers are based on Speedy Boris Official Site

The Simpsons has been animated by many different studios over the past 18 years, both domestic and overseas. Throughout the run of the animated shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show, the animation was solely produced domestically at Klasky Csupo. Klasky Csupo was also the animation studio during the first three seasons of the half-hour series. However, due to the increased workload, production was being subcontracted to overseas studios, usually in South Korea. While character and background layout is done by the domestic studio, inbetweening, coloring and filming is done by the overseas studios. Throughout the years, different overseas studios have animated different episodes, even episodes within the same season.

During season four, Gracie Films made a decision to switch domestic production to Film Roman, which continues to animate the show to this day. The last episode to be animated by Klasky Csupo was "Kamp Krusty", in production order.

After season 13, production was switched from traditional cel animation to digital ink and paint. The first episode to experiment with digital coloring was "Radioactive Man" in 1995, and again during season 12 with the episode "Tennis the Menace", but after seeing the results, Gracie Films decided to hold off for two more seasons. "Tennis the Menace," being already completed, was broadcast this way.

Broadcasting

Main article: Broadcasting of The Simpsons

Original episodes of The Simpsons are shown on the Fox network in the United States, and are widely distributed internationally. Episodes are sometimes altered for various reasons. This may include needing more time for advertising or updating the show; e.g. to match the current season's football team titles. In foreign countries it is sometimes necessary to adjust the material to suit a foreign country’s culture or humor. Arabic-speaking countries are an example of this, in which they cut out or modify references to alcohol, pork and non-Muslim religions. The animation in The Simpsons makes the show more frequently dubbed in foreign countries rather than subtitled.

Characters

The title family

The main characters were originally created by Matt Groening as part of a series of original animated segments for The Tracey Ullman Show. Over the course of the series Groening has used many of the themes present in his long-running comic strip series, Life in Hell. (For instance, the idea of creative school children constantly being persecuted and suppressed by totalitarian grown-ups stems from the strip). Many of the characters in The Simpsons take their names from important people and places in Groening's life — for example Lisa, Maggie, Marge and Homer share names with Groening's sisters, mother and father respectively. Bart, however, is an anagram for brat, with Groening having stated that he thought naming the boy "Matt" would be too obvious.

• Homer Jay Simpson, a safety inspector at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, is a generally well-meaning buffoon whose short attention span often draws him into outrageous schemes and adventures. He has an outright love for Marge and for doughnuts and is often seen drinking Duff brand beer.
• Marge Simpson (née Bouvier) of French origin was once intelligent and sophisticated, but has come to conform with the stereotype of housewife/mother.
• Bart Simpson, the oldest sibling at the age of 10, is a troublemaker and classroom terror who thinks of himself as a rebel.
• Lisa Simpson, the 8 year old once portrayed having a genius intellect with adult mannerisms, perception and extraordinary articulation, has leveled into a more average girl yet brainy student, who also happens to be a vegetarian, Buddhist, environmentalist, animal lover, and jazz music fan who dreams of a better future. She is referred to as "the future of the family".
• Maggie Simpson is an eternal baby who is shown to be comically smart and also self-reliant. She is perhaps best known for having shot Mr. Burns in a cliffhanger episode. She sucks on a pacifier and often falls over while walking or standing up. A running joke is the fact that she doesn’t speak, with a few exceptions.

Despite the fact that numerous years and birthdays clearly pass (for example, many Christmas episodes), the Simpsons do not appear to age, indicating some form of a floating timeline.

Family lifestyle

Homer describes his family as "upper lower middle class," similar to a quote which George Orwell used to describe his own family. The Simpson family lives in a relatively large double-story four-bedroom house bordering a friendly neighbor, Ned Flanders. Homer is breadwinner of the family, and Marge is a stay-at-home mom except in a handful of episodes in which she temporarily has a job. The Simpson lifestyle was initially fairly consistant with a one-income, middle class family. For example, in the first season episode "There's No Disgrace Like Home", Homer must pawn the family’s rabbit-eared television for $250 to afford a family therapy session. In other early episodes, Homer can only afford a very low-quality used RV, is forced to steal cable, and must scrimp and save to get the family dog a $750 life-saving operation. As the seasons have progressed, however, the lifestyle has been shown to be more flexible to the needs of any given episode or comedic situation. In one sixth season episode, he pulls $1,100 out of his wallet to exchange for Itchy & Scratchy Money. In a seventh season episode, he pulls out $750 out of his wallet to give Bart. The family now often makes extravagant purchases or vacations with little or no regard to cost, while at other times they still have financial problems.

The Simpsons go several years into the Internet age before acquiring a computer, reflecting the fact that the Simpson family is perpetually several years out of date. There are other clues as well, such as the avocado-green kitchen equipment, which was a popular color in the 1960s and 1970s, and the family's two cars, both of which appear to have been manufactured in the early 1980s.

Secondary characters

The Simpsons sports a vast array of secondary and tertiary characters.

Main article: List of characters from The Simpsons

The show also has a vast array of quirky supporting characters, including co-workers, teachers, family friends, extended relatives, and local celebrities. Originally, many of these characters were planned as one-shot jokes, or to fill a function in the town; but a number of them gained expanded roles, and some have subsequently been the subject of their own episodes. Many have developed a vast cult following of their own and serve to represent facets of the American society that the show scathingly critiques. Some of these, like Itchy and Scratchy, are fictional even within the Simpsons universe.

Setting

Main article: Springfield (The Simpsons)

The Simpsons is set in a fictional American city of Springfield. The state in which it is located has never been made clear, and it is not actually intended to exist in any specific state. Nevertheless, throughout the show's history, fans have tried to determine where Springfield is by taking the town's characteristics, surrounding geography and nearby landmarks as clues. As a response, in more recent episodes, the show has been intentionally deceptive about the state, and nearly every state and region in the U.S. has been both suggested and ruled out by conflicting "evidence". Creator Matt Groening has stated that Springfield has much in common with Portland, Oregon, the city he grew up in, and the name "Springfield" was chosen because it is a common city name, appearing in more than thirty states. The geography of Springfield and its surrounding areas are seen to be "flexible" and have been shown to contain coastlines, deserts, vast farmland, and tall mountains, or whatever a story or joke requires.

Animation scholars and fans have noted that the series uses the medium of animation to its advantage, allowing the show to take place in many settings and feature a far greater cast of characters than a live-action sitcom. The cost of having an episode of The Simpsons take place in the mountains, Europe, the city park, or a cruise ship on the ocean is hardly more than placing the family in the more conventional sitcom settings of a living room, a kitchen, and perhaps one or two related settings. This allows for far more flexibility in plot development than in a typical live-action sitcom constrained by physical limitations and logistics. This approach has been increasingly used to set the show in more implausible situations.

Storylines

Themes

Main articles: Politics in The Simpsons and Religion in The Simpsons

The show routinely mocks and satirizes show business conventions and personalities. Krusty the Klown has an enthusiastic following among Springfield's kids, but offstage he is a jaded, cynical hack, in poor health from a long history of overindulgence, gambling and substance abuse. He will endorse any product for a price. Kent Brockman is a self-important, spoiled TV news anchorman with little regard for journalistic ethics. Even Rupert Murdoch—whose corporate empire includes The Simpsons' broadcast network, Fox—has been gently spoofed in a couple of episodes. In fact, ridiculing Fox has become a running joke of sorts.

The show mocks politicians from any political background. Mostly the target is former or current presidents of the United States. George H. W. Bush was portrayed as Mr. Wilson in Dennis the Menace in one episode and Bill Clinton said "I'm a pretty lousy president" in another episode. Fox News however, has been portrayed as having an extreme conservative bias. The two most mocked figures on the show, however, have been George Bush Sr. and Al Gore, especially during earlier episodes.

Some social conservatives have come to embrace the show. One of the main explanations is that The Simpsons portrays a traditional nuclear family among a lineup of television sitcoms that portray less traditional ones. The show has toyed with the possibility of extramarital affairs, such as when Homer falls for a female nuclear technician who shares his love of donuts, or when Marge's ex-boyfriend Artie Ziff tries to rekindle their old romance. Nevertheless, these affairs never occur, and by the end of every episode, Homer and Marge's marriage is strongly affirmed. Social conservatives and some evangelical Christians have also pointed to the positive role model of devout Christian Ned Flanders, whose fretfulness is occasionally ridiculed but whose decency never wavers despite constant provocation from Homer. In several episodes, God actually intervenes to protect the Flanders family, invoking such Protestant concepts as Predestination. As compared with the Simpson family, the Flanders family is relatively well-off and less dysfunctional, although the Flanders family is quirky in its own way, with over-the-top devotion and their fundamentalist interpretations of the Bible.

The show has had several plots where homosexuality was the central theme. These episodes have been generally tasteful and portrayed gay characters in a positive light.

Plots

The format of a Simpsons plot has changed somewhat over the years. A character or group of characters or sometimes the whole town is usually placed in a problematic situation which they must solve or learn to accept. Initially these situations were usually simple, realistic moral or social situations with realistic resolutions. For example, Bart is being beat up by a bully and must stand up for himself. Some of these early episodes are fairly similar to standard sit-com plots.

As the show progressed, it became increasingly common to have the main plot issue result from a relatively unrelated first act scenario. For example, in "Hurricane Neddy", the entire first act revolves around a hurricane hitting Springfield in a scenario reminiscent of the movie Twister; only at the first act break do we learn that Ned Flanders’ house has been destroyed, leading to the episode's main plot of Flanders having a mental breakdown. The description of the 2003 episode "Dude, Where's My Ranch?" offered to Shaw Cable subscribers reads: "After David Byrne turns Homer's anti-Ned Flanders song into a monster hit, the family vacations at a dude ranch, where Lisa falls in love". This is commonly termed “plot drift”.

It also became increasingly common for the resolution of the episode to be secondary to the humor of the situation itself, often leading to a convenient deus ex machina ending. Episodes "Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment" and "The Principal and the Pauper" are two examples of this.

Originally, major changes in The Simpsons universe would generally be undone by the end of an episode. Occasionally, more in recent episodes, the writers have allowed some plot points to become permanent, including certain deaths, births, and marriages.

There is also another plot structure that is sometimes used. This structure is comprised of three short stories, often with an overarching story that “bookends” the segments. It is mostly used in the The Simpsons Halloween episodes, but is also sometimes used for regular episodes; typically when redoing classic stories with the Simpsons characters.

The plots of many episodes focus on one particular family member; however the plots have never been particularly predictable or constant and tend to be very character-driven. Recurring themes for the main family members in the episodes include:

• Homer gets a new job or attempts to make money in a get-rich-quick scheme. The Simpsons writers had Homer count 30 jobs in an episode, but the actual list is far longer.
• Marge attempts to escape the monotony of keeping house by finding employment or taking up a hobby.
• Bart causes a large problem and attempts to fix it, cover it up, or ignore it entirely.
• Lisa embraces or advocates the merits of a particular political cause or group.

The episode can also focus on the problems of a secondary or tertiary character, such as Apu Nahasapeemapetilon or Krusty the Klown, which is usually solved with the help of a member of the Simpson family.

When the whole family is part of the plot, they will often go on vacation. This has recurred often enough that it is self-parodied with Homer saying, "The Simpsons are going to [wherever they are going]!" whenever they go on a trip. With all the vacations the Simpsons have been on, they have visited every continent on Earth with the exception of Antarctica.

Hallmarks

Opening sequence

Main article: The Simpsons opening sequence

File:Simpsons couch gag.jpg

A memorable couch gag.

The Simpsons opening sequence is one of the show's most memorable hallmarks. Almost every episode opens with the camera zooming through show's title towards the town of Springfield. Then we follow the members of the family on their way home. Upon entering their house, they settle down on their couch to watch television.

The opening sequence is unique in that there are several variations from episode to episode. These are:

• Bart writes something different on the chalkboard (see chalkboard gag).
• Lisa sometimes plays a different solo on her baritone saxophone (see Lisa's sax solo gags).
• The family enters the living room to sit on the couch as something goes awry in an often surreal manner (see couch gag).

The couch gag sequence has sometimes been used to help stretch the episode to the proper length. Most couch gags last only about five seconds, but the longest one on record lasted 46 seconds. There are several length versions of the opening; as of season 17, the show frequently uses the shortest of these in which the zoom from the title goes directly to the family entering the house and a couch gag. The chalkboard gag, Lisa's sax solo, and the rest of the full opening, are not entirely gone, but are rarely used.

The series' distinctive theme tune was composed by musician Danny Elfman in 1989, when Groening approached him wanting a "retro" style piece. Taking two days to create, Elfman recognizes this as his most popular piece of his career.

Halloween episodes

Bart introducing a segment of "Treehouse of Horror IV" in the manner of Rod Serling's Night Gallery.

Main article: The Simpsons Halloween episodes

An annual tradition is a special Halloween episode consisting of three separate, self-contained pieces. These pieces usually involve the family in some horror, science fiction, or supernatural setting and is often a parody or homage of another piece of work in those genres; they always take place outside the normal continuity of the show.

The yearly Halloween special was named "Treehouse of Horror" because the first special depicted the Simpson children in their treehouse telling scary stories to one another. Later specials had different containing plots for the three segments, but they kept the Treehouse title. For several years the characters broke the fourth wall and introduced the episodes with a warning about how scary the episode would be. Another mainstay of the Halloween shows is the appearance of the two space aliens Kang & Kodos, introduced in the second segment of the first "Treehouse of Horror".

In "Treehouse of Horror II" the writers decided to give the cast and crew of the show scary names in the opening and closing credits, which became a tradition (with the exception of I, XII and XIII). Examples of these include "Mad Matt Groening" and "James Hell Brooks". Although the Treehouse series is meant to be seen on Halloween, in recent years new installments have premiered after Halloween. This is due to Fox's current contract with Major League Baseball's World Series.

Recurring jokes and catch phrases

Main article: Recurring jokes in The Simpsons

There are many running gags on The Simpsons, many of which have been retired during the series or implemented later on in the run. The Simpsons has perhaps most entered the public consciousness in the form of the numerous catch phrases of its characters.

Such catch phrases include Homer's famous annoyed grunt ("D'oh!"), Mr. Burns' "Excellent..." and Nelson Muntz's "Ha-ha!". An interesting phenomenon occurred with Bart's catchphrases. His now trademark "¡Ay, caramba!", "Don't have a cow, man!" and "Eat my shorts" were featured on t-shirts in the early days of the show's run; however, the latter two phrases were rarely actually spoken on the show itself until after they became popular through merchandise.

Recurring jokes were more prominent in the early seasons of the show. In one infamous example, Bart often made prank calls to Moe's Tavern in early seasons asking for someone with a suggestive name such as "Amanda Huggankiss", "Al Coholic", or "Mike Rotch". Another is the Krusty Brand - a line of products endorsed by Krusty the Klown, who will apparently endorse almost anything.

The show has been known for both sign gags and so-called VCR gags. A sign gag is a text sign on the show that has amusing content. The names of commercial establishments, and the message signs in front of the school or church are common forums for sign gags. Writers on the DVD commentaries have indicated that they often spent more time trying to come up with these sign gags than anything else in the episodes. The show premiered in the prime of the popularity of VCRs, and being animated, the writers made frequent use of what they termed VCR gags or freeze frame gags. These were images are on the screen too briefly to be identified normally, but would be visible if a viewer recorded the show and paused at the appropriate frame.

Guest stars

Main article: List of guest stars on The Simpsons

Many episodes feature celebrity guests contributing their voices to the show, as either themselves or as fictional characters. Guest playing themselves were especially used during seasons 7 to 13 – often as a cameo without a significant plot connection. Guests playing fictional characters were mostly used for other seasons. Notable in early seasons was that several celebrities guest starred but asked not to be credited. The highest rated episode featuring celebrity guest voices was "New Kids on the Blecch", shown on February 25, 2001, during the 12th season, in which pop stars 'N Sync supplied their voices to give helpful advice and dance moves to Bart's boy band "The Party Posse".

Cultural impact

Main article: List of neologisms on The Simpsons

Many of the characters, concepts and catchphrases from The Simpsons have become common knowledge in modern society. A number of neologisms originated on The Simpsons have become a part of the universal lexicon, the most famous of which is Homer's saying: "D'oh!," which is referred to in scripts, as well as four episode names, as "annoyed grunt". So ubiquitous is the catchphrase that it is now listed in the Oxford English Dictionary, but without the apostrophe. "D'oh" is the accepted spelling, and is certainly the most common; the closed captions for the program (at least in the U.S.), however, spell it "D-OHH". A much earlier use of the same expression, often similarly used to denote thwarted expectation, was established in the long-running BBC (U.K.) radio series The Archers, where it was used, almost as a catch-phrase, by the character 'Walter Gabriel' (voiced by actor Chris Gittings). Dan Castellaneta has explained that he borrowed the phrase from James Finlayson, an actor in early Laurel and Hardy comedies, who pronounced it more stretched-out and whiny. Castellaneta was told by the show's director to shorten the noise, leading to the annoyed grunt we know today. In the German translation of the show, Homer says 'Nein!' (No!).

Other Simpsons expressions that have entered into popular use include the word "excellent" — drawn out as a sinister and breathy "eeeexcelllent…" in the style of Montgomery Burns — Homer's triumphant "Woohoo!" and Nelson Muntz's mocking "HA-ha!". Groundskeeper Willie's description of the French as "cheese-eating surrender monkeys" was used by conservative National Review columnist Jonah Goldberg, a fan of the show, in 2003, after France's opposition to the proposed invasion of Iraq, and quickly spread to other journalists. The VCPR radio in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City has the line "I, for one, welcome our new Russian masters", echoing Kent Brockman's "I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords!" quote from the episode "Deep Space Homer".

The character Waylon Smithers is another example of cultural impact. Since the debut of the show, the term "Smithers" has become a common eponym for a spineless underling. The show's creators also take pride in having passed on schoolyard rhymes to a new generation of children who otherwise may not have heard them.

Impact on television

The Simpsons was the first animated program in prime time since the The Flintstones era. During most of the 1980s animated shows were seen as being for kids and the animation was too expensive to get quality suitable for prime time television. The Simpsons changed this perception. The use of Korean animation studios doing inbetweening, coloring and filming made the episodes cheaper. The success of The Simpsons and the lower production cost made television networks take chances on other animated series. This led to a boom in new animated shows for prime time in the 1990s, such as South Park, Family Guy, King of the Hill, Futurama and The Critic - the latter three all having former or then-present Simpsons writers/producers as their creators, and the latter four all appearing on Fox (The Critic moved there from ABC).

The Simpsons also had an impact on live-action shows. Malcolm in the Middle, which debuted January 16, 2000 in the time slot right after The Simpsons, was largely inspired by this show. The actors acted like they were cartoon characters. It featured some of the same editing, the use of sight gags and it did not use a laugh track like most sitcoms.

Some of the catch phrases were incorporated into other shows. For example, Homer's triumphant "Woohoo!" subsequently became the catch phrase of Melissa Joan Hart's portrayal of Sabrina in Sabrina The Teenage Witch.

Academia

The Simpsons has been the subject of several academic publications:

• "The Stuff You May Have Missed: Kunst und Film bei den Simpsons" by Henry Keazor, in: Kunsthistorische Arbeitsblätter, 7/8, 2003 (ISSN 1438-8995), p. 37 - 46 (illustrated German article, listing and analyzing hidden references to art and film in some of the episodes)
• Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation by Chris Turner ISBN 0679313184
• Leaving Springfield: The Simpsons and the Possibility of Oppositional Culture (Contemporary Film and Television Series) by John Alberti ISBN 0814328490
• The Simpsons And Society: An Analysis Of Our Favorite Family And Its Influence In Contemporary Society by Steven Keslowitz ISBN 1587362538 (republished as The World According to The Simpsons: What Our Favorite TV Family Says About Life, Love, and the Pursuit of the Perfect Donut" by Steven Keslowitz ISBN 1-4022-0655-9)
• The Gospel According to The Simpsons: The Spiritual Life of the World's Most Animated Family by Mark I. Pinsky ISBN 0664224199
• The Gospel According to the Simpsons: Leaders Guide for Group Study by Mark I. Pinsky, Samuel F. Parvin ISBN 066422590X
• The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer by William Irwin (Editor), Mark T. Conard (Editor), Aeon Skoble (Editor) ISBN 0812694333
• The Gospel According to Bart: Examining the Religious Elements of The Simpsons by Beth L. Keller
• Chapter "Do the Bartman!" in: Henry Keazor/Thorsten Wübbena, Video thrills the Radio Star, Bielefeld. 2005. ISBN 3-89942-383-6, p. 397ff. (analyzes the implications of the videoclip for the song "Do the Bartman" and its context in the series)
• "Mister Sparkle meets the Yakuza: Depictions of Japan in The Simpsons", by Hugo Dobson. Journal of Popular Culture 39 (2006): 44–64.
• "The Psychology of The Simpsons." Edited by Alan Brown, Ph.D. with Chris Logan. 2006. ISBN 1-932100-70-9

Critical reactions and achievements

Awards

Main article: List of awards won by The Simpsons

File:Simpsons Hollywood Walk of Fame.jpg

The Simpsons' star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The Simpsons has won dozens of awards since it debuted as a series, including 21 Emmy Awards, 22 Annie Awards and a Peabody. On January 14, 2000 the Simpsons were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In its 1998 issue celebrating the greatest achievements in arts and entertainment of the 20th century, TIME magazine named The Simpsons the century's best television series. In that same issue, Bart Simpson was named to the Time 100, the publication's list of the century's 100 most influential people. He was the only fictional character on the list. In 2002, it made the top 10 on TV Guide's list of the greatest shows of all time. In 2000, Entertainment Weekly magazine TV critic Ken Tucker named The Simpsons the greatest television show of the 1990s.

Run length achievements

On February 9, 1997 The Simpsons surpassed The Flintstones as the longest-running prime time animated series in America. In 2004 it replaced The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952 to 1966) as the longest-running sitcom, animated or live action, ever in the United States.

In October 2004, Scooby-Doo briefly overtook The Simpsons record as the longest-running American animated show. In April 2005, Scooby-Doo was cancelled again, finishing with 371 episodes, while The Simpsons have 378 episodes as of the end of their seventeenth season. Scooby-Doo has been renewed again under a new name, airing on Kids WB in 2006, giving it another chance to catch up to The Simpsons. It must be noted, however, that Scooby-Doo has experienced several incarnations, each one arguably a separate show; while The Simpsons record comes as a continuous production.

With its nineteenth season (2007-2008), through which the show was renewed in 2006, the series will be one season behind Gunsmoke's US entertainment record of 20 produced seasons; however, Gunsmoke's episode count of 635 episodes far surpases The Simpsons, which would take until its twenty-ninth season to beat, under normal season lengths.

While The Simpsons has a record number of episodes for an American animated show, some foreign animated shows, especially Japanese anime series, including Dragon Ball and Pokémon, have reached episodes numbering into the hundreds and thousands. Most notable are the series Sazae-san, which has been airing new episodes weekly since 1969, and Doraemon, both with well over 1,500 episodes. Detective Conan has an episode count slightly higher than The Simpsons despite premiering seven years later.

Criticism of declining quality

As The Simpsons has progressed over the years, it has also received some criticism. With turnovers in the writing staff, the tone and emphasis of the show has gradually changed. By 2000, a segment of long-term fans became disillusioned with the show's movement from its older, more character-driven plots to what they perceived as an overemphasis of zany antics, with some critics going so far as to call the show "tired". Of course, while some fans left the show for these reasons, others who enjoy the current format have replaced them.

In 2003, to celebrate the show's 300th episode "Barting Over", USA Today published a pair of Simpsons related articles: a top-10 episodes list chosen by webmaster of the The Simpsons Archive fansite, and a top-15 list by the Simpsons' own writers. The most recent episode listed on the fan list was 1997's "Homer's Phobia"; the Simpsons' writers most recent choice was 2000's "Behind the Laughter." In 2004, Harry Shearer critiqued the show's sliding quality in an interview: "I rate the last three seasons as among the worst, so Season 4 looks very good to me now." In May 2006, The Onion A/V Club published a feature article on the best quotes from The Simpsons; the most recent entry on the list was from 1999's "Mom and Pop Art."

Despite of this criticism The Simpsons has managed to maintain an audience. The best rated season (season 1) had an average of 13.4 million viewers, where the 17th season ended with an average of 9.2 million viewers. This indicates that either have the people who believe in declining quality been replaced by new viewers or that most viewers are still watching the show. Whether the show has jumped the shark could be answered on the website that popularized the phrase. A large majority has voted on The Simpsons page that the show never jumped the shark.

Publications

File:Simpsons comic books.jpg

A sampling of Simpsons comic books.

Main article: List of The Simpsons publications

Numerous Simpsons-related comic book series have been published by Bongo Comics since 1993. The Simpsons, Futurama, and Bart Simpson comics are also reprinted in the UK, under the same titles, with various stories from the other Bongo series reprinted in the main Simpsons comic. The comics have also been collected in book form; many other Simpsons books such as episode guides have also been published.

Music is prominently featured in The Simpsons, with virtually all members of the cast breaking into song at least once during the course of the series. Perhaps the best known song is "Do The Bartman," which was released as a single and became an international success. The Simpsons Sing the Blues and The Yellow Album contained cover versions of songs, as well as some originals (including "Do The Bartman"). Songs in the Key of Springfield and Go Simpsonic with The Simpsons are CD collections of original music featured in the TV series.

DVDs

Many episodes of the show have been released on DVD and VHS over the years. When the first season DVD was released in 2001, it quickly became the best-selling television DVD in history (although it would later be overtaken by the first season of Chappelle's Show) . The seven DVD volumes rank as the best-selling television DVD series of all time. In particular, these DVDs have been released in North America (Region 1), Europe (Region 2) and Australia/New Zealand/Latin America (Region 4).

Further information: The Simpsons DVDs

Board games

File:Simmonopoly.jpg

Monopoly: The Simpsons Edition

The Simpsons has also been used to make special editions of previously known games, including Clue, Monopoly and The Game of Life. In addition to those they have also released a few trivia games, which includes the game What Would Homer Do?.

Video games

Main article: The Simpsons video games

A screenshot of Konami's arcade game The Simpsons

With the popularity of The Simpsons, especially amongst children, it was only natural for the video game industry to turn to the characters and world of Springfield. While critical and public reaction has been mixed, several of the Simpsons games did very well commercially. Some of the early notable games includes Konami's arcade game The Simpsons and Acclaim Entertainment's The Simpsons: Bart vs. the Space Mutants. More modern notable games include The Simpsons Hit & Run and The Simpsons Road Rage.

There has also been released at least two Simpsons pinball machines; one released after the first season, and the other still available. The popularity of The Simpsons has resulted in several unofficial Simpson mods, for Doom, Counter Strike and Duke Nukem 3D.

The Simpsons Movie

Main article: The Simpsons Movie

Talk about a possible feature-length Simpsons movie has been going on since the early days of the series. The episode "Kamp Krusty" was originally going to be a movie, but became a regular episode after difficulties were encountered in trying to expand the script to feature-length; other rumours about a live-action movie were hoaxes. It is now confirmed that an animated Simpsons movie is in the works. It is produced by 20th Century Fox, Gracie Films, and Film Roman, and is scheduled to be released July 27, 2007. A teaser trailer was released before the movie Ice Age: The Meltdown, as well as appearing during The Simpsons episode "Million Dollar Abie" on April 2, 2006.

References

Print

• The World According to The Simpsons: What Our Favorite TV Family Says About Life, Love, and the Pursuit of the Perfect Donut by Steven Keslowitz ISBN 1-4022-0655-9
• The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family (episode guide for the shorts and seasons 1–8) ISBN 0-06-095252-0
• The Simpsons Forever!: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family ...Continued (episode guide for seasons 9 and 10) ISBN 0-06-098763-4
• The Simpsons Beyond Forever!: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family ...Still Continued (episode guide for seasons 11 and 12) ISBN 0-06-050592-3
• The Simpsons One Step Beyond Forever!: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family ...Continued Yet Again (episode guide for seasons 13 and 14) ISBN 0-06-081754-1
• "The Stuff You May Have Missed: Kunst und Film bei den Simpsons" by Henry Keazor, in: Kunsthistorische Arbeitsblätter, 7/8, 2003 (ISSN 1438-8995), p. 37 - 46 (German article, listing, illustrating and analyzing hidden references to art and film in some of the episodes)
• Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Defined a Generation by Chris Turner ISBN 0-306-81341-6
• My Life As a Ten Year-Old Boy by Nancy Cartwright ISBN 0786866969

External links

• The Simpsons at Sky One
• The Simpsons Archive
• The Simpsons at The Big Cartoon DataBase
• The Simpsons at the Encyclopedia of Television
• The Simpsons Wiki, or Wikisimpsons