The Simpsons

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The Simpsons

Image:C-SimpFamily.png Clockwise from top left: Homer, Marge, Maggie, Santa's Little Helper (dog), Bart, Snowball II (cat) and Lisa.

Created by
Starring	Dan Castellaneta Julie Kavner Nancy Cartwright Yeardley Smith Hank Azaria Harry Shearer Marcia Wallace Pamela Hayden Tress MacNeille Maggie Roswell Russi Taylor Joe Mantegna Marcia Mitzman Gaven Phil Hartman Doris Grau
Genre	Animated sitcom
Run time	21–23 minutes
Original channel	Fox
Original run	December 17, 1989
	present (renewed through 2007–2008)
No. of episodes	383
Origin Country	c4tdompa
Rating	Template:TV-PG (most episodes)
Website	http://www.thesimpsons.com/

The Simpsons is an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Network. It became one of the first hits for the network, and is one of the most successful and critically acclaimed television shows in the history of the medium. The television series is a spin-off of a series of animated shorts originally aired on The Tracey Ullman Show.

The series 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, being famous for its frequent use of self-referential humor, and meta-references. The Simpsons has also had a significant influence on post-Cold War popular culture.^[1] Many of its catchphrases have become famous, and the show has also been cited as an influence on many adult-oriented animated series in the late 1990s, such as South Park and Family Guy.^[2]^[3]

The Simpsons is the longest-running American sitcom, and the longest-running American animated program, to date.^[3] Since it debuted on December 17, 1989, the show has aired 383 episodes in eighteen seasons. As of March 20, 2006, the show has been renewed through its nineteenth season, which would air in 2007–2008.^[4] The eighteenth-season finale will be the 400^th episode, and the 20^th anniversary of The Simpsons franchise will be celebrated in 2007. Although a number of fans accuse it of declining in quality, it has still remained a highly-rated show. A feature-length movie is now being produced, to be released on July 27, 2007.^[5]

1 Origins
2 Storylines
- 2.1 Themes
- 2.2 Plots
3 Cultural impact
4 The Simpsons Movie
5 Notes
6 Further reading
7 External links

[edit] Origins

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. When he realized that animating Life in Hell would require him to rescind publication rights for his life's work, Groening decided to go in another direction. He hurriedly sketched out his version of a dysfunctional family. He named the characters after his own family, choosing "Bart" since it is an anagram of "brat."^[6]

Image:Simpsons on Tracey Ullman.png

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.^[7] The family was crudely drawn, because Groening only handed over sketches to the animators, believing that they would clean them up, but instead they just traced over his drawings.^[8] Some of the shorts were later included in the "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular" 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. Due to the fledgling position of the Fox network, Jim Brooks obtained an unusual contractual provision that the network could not interfere by providing show notes.^[9] Groening has been quoted as saying that his goal in creating the show was to "offer an alternative to the audience, and show them there's something else out there than the mainstream trash that they are presented as the only thing."^[10] 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 one of 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.^[11] The show had several episodes watched by over 20 million people and on occasion over 30 million people.^[12] Ullman filed a lawsuit, claiming that her show was the source of the The Simpsons success and therefore should receive a share of the show's profit. Eventually the courts ruled in favor of the network.^[13]

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 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."^[14] 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.^[14] The Simpsons merchandise, however, sold very well. During the first 14 months it generated $2 billion in revenue worldwide.^[14]

[edit] Storylines

[edit] 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' broadcasting network, has been spoofed in a couple of episodes. In fact, ridiculing the Fox network has become a running joke.

The show has been rife with political satire over the years, often lampooning current and former U.S. presidents as well as other world leaders. Some examples include: George H. W. Bush was portrayed as a cantankerous nemesis to Homer in Two Bad Neighbors, Al Gore's seemingly banal personality being ridiculed, Bill Clinton claiming to have engaged in bestiality in Homer to the Max, and the United Nations frequently shown to be an incompetent and bickering organization.

Some social conservatives have come to embrace the show.^[15] 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 are never consummated, 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 Christian concepts as Divine Providence. As compared with the Simpson family, the Flanders family is relatively well-off and less dysfunctional, although they are quirky in their own way, with over-the-top devotion and their fundamentalist interpretations of the Bible. Of course, there are also many episodes of The Simpsons which are less pleasing to social conservatives; for example, in Homer's Phobia, Homer overcomes homophobia and befriends a gay man, and the episode There's Something About Marrying promotes acceptance of gay marriage. In addition, Lisa Simpson, the most intelligent member of the Simpson family, is portrayed as an unabashed liberal.

[edit] Plots

The format of the plot of an episode of The Simpsons 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, similar to standard sit-com plots. For example, in an episode from season one, Bart is being beaten up by a bully and must stand up for himself. Subsequent plots have tended to be much less ordinary, and increasingly often, less realistic.

Besides decreasing realism, 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 comprises 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 character, or the relationship between two characters. Common plots have involved: Homer getting a new job or attempting a get-rich-quick scheme; Marge attempting to escape the monotony of keeping house by finding employment or taking up a hobby; Bart causing a large problem and attempting to fix it, cover it up, or ignore it entirely; Lisa embracing or advocating the merits of a particular cause or group. Episodes have also focused on the problems of secondary or tertiary characters, 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 except Antarctica.

[edit] Cultural impact

[edit] Impact on language

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 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 famous grunt in the TV series.

Other Simpsons expressions that have entered into popular use include the word "excellent" — drawn out as a sinister and nasal "eeeexcelllent…" in the style of Charles 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.^[16] 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.

[edit] 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-current Simpsons writers/producers as their creators, and the latter four all appearing on Fox (The Critic moved there from ABC). The Simpsons is the longest lasting animated cartoon show, now with over 17 seasons.

The Simpsons also had an impact on live-action shows. Malcolm in the Middle, which debuted January 9, 2000 in the time slot right after The Simpsons, was largely inspired by this show.^[17] 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.

[edit] Impact on music

Several bands have names referencing themes, characters, or places from The Simpsons. Some examples are Noiseland Arcade, I Voted For Kodos, Rex Banner, Evergreen Terrace, Daddy's Soul Donut, Jebediah, The Canyoneros, Pinmonkey, Fall Out Boy, Vote Quimby, Stupid Sexy Flanders, Hot Rod Circuit, Poindexter, Maggie Speaks, Malibu Stacy, Worker & Parasite, Laszlo Panaflex, and the Rory Calhouns. The Bloodhound Gang made an entire song using only Ralph Wiggum quotes. On the album Bite Back: Live At The Crocodile Cafe the Built to Spill song Big Dipper is credited as Allen the Cowboy.

[edit] The Simpsons Movie

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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 rumors about a live-action movie were hoaxes. It is now confirmed that an animated Simpsons movie is in the works.^[18] It is being 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 episode "Million Dollar Abie" on April 2, 2006. A teaser clip was included in the special features section of the X-Men: The Last Stand DVD release. The movie will be produced alongside the series, despite long-time rumors that a movie would enter production only when the series had reached its end. On November 5, 2006 an announcement was made during the airing of the most recent Treehouse of Horror XVII, that a full trailer will be premiered on the Fox network at 8:00 ET on November 12, 2006, along side the episode G.I. (Annoyed Grunt).

In the Nov 12 2006 episode G.I. (Annoyed Grunt), when Lisa was on the red carpet with Krusty after Bart questioned Lisa's working with P.E.T.A., she threw red paint on Krusty's fur coat. She asked when his movie was coming out, possibly alluding to the real movie trailer to the Simpsons movie being shown during this episode.

On November 13 2006 it has been reported in the Daily Telegraph^[19] that the Simpsons Movie trailer is avaliable to be viewed and downloaded from Apple [1].