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"Simpsons" redirects here. For the surname, see Simpson. For other uses of "The Simpsons", see The Simpsons (disambiguation).
The Simpsons
File:C-SimpFamily.png
Clockwise from top left: Homer, Marge, Maggie, Santa's Little Helper (dog), Bart, Snowball II (cat) and Lisa.
Created byMatt Groening
Developed byJames L. Brooks
Matt Groening
Sam Simon
Voices ofDan Castellaneta
Julie Kavner
Nancy Cartwright
Yeardley Smith
Hank Azaria
Harry Shearer
(Complete list)
Theme music composerDanny Elfman
Country of origin United States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes398 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersAl Jean
James L. Brooks
Matt Groening
Sam Simon
Running time20–23 minutes
Original release
NetworkFox
ReleaseDecember 17, 1989 –
present
(renewed through 2007–2008)

The Simpsons is an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning animated American sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox TV Network. It is a satirical parody of the "Middle American" lifestyle epitomized by its title family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The show is set in the fictional town of Springfield, and lampoons many aspects of the human condition, as well as American culture, society as a whole, and television itself.

The family was conceived by Groening shortly before a pitch for a series of animated shorts with the producer James L. Brooks. Groening sketched an outline version of a dysfunctional family, and named the characters after members of his own family; substituting Bart for his own name.[1] The shorts became a part of The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987.[2] After a three-season run, the sketch was developed into a half-hour prime time show.

The Simpsons was an early hit for Fox, and won several major awards. Time magazine's 1998 issue named it the 20th century's best television series,[3] and on January 14, 2000 it was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Simpsons is currently the longest-running American sitcom,[4] and the longest-running American animated program.[5] Homer's annoyed grunt "D'oh!" has been adopted into the English lexicon, while The Simpsons has been cited as an influence on many adult-oriented animated sitcoms.[6]

Since its debut on December 17, 1989, the show has aired 399 episodes over 18 seasons. As of March 20, 2006, it was renewed for a 19th season due to be aired in 2007–2008.[7] The 18th season finale, aired on May 20, will be the 400th episode and 2007 marks the 20th anniversary of The Simpsons franchise. A feature-length film, The Simpsons Movie, is currently being produced to be released on July 27, 2007.[8]

Origins

Main article: The Simpsons shorts

Groening conceived of the Simpsons in the lobby of James L. Brooks's office. He had been called in to pitch a series of animated shorts, and initially intended to present 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 take another direction.[1] He hurriedly sketched out his version of a dysfunctional family, and named the characters after his own, substituting Bart for his own name.[1]

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

The Simpson family first appeared as shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987.[2] Groening submitted only basic sketches to the animators, assuming that they would be cleaned up in production. However, the animators merely traced over his drawings, leading to the crudely drawn appearance of the initial shorts.[1]

In 1989, The Simpsons was adapted into a half-hour series for the Fox network by a team of production companies, including what is now the Klasky Csupo animation house. Due to the then fledgling position of Fox, Jim Brooks obtained an unusual contractual provision that ensured the network could not interfere with the creative process by providing show notes.[9] Groening has remarked 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 had to be reanimated after the creators viewed the poor quality of the final animation, and the episode was eventually shown as the final episode of the first season.

The Simpsons was the first TV series of the Fox network to appear in the top 30 highest-rated shows of the season.[11] Its success led Fox to reschedule the series to compete directly against The Cosby Show, a move that hurt the ratings of The Simpsons.[12] Ullman later filed a lawsuit, claiming that her show was the source of the series' success and therefore she should receive a share of The Simpsons' profit. Eventually the courts ruled in favor of the network.[13]

The show was also involved in controversy early on in the series. Bart was rebellious and frequently escaped without punishment, which led some parents' groups and conservative spokespeople to believe he provided a poor role model for children. George H. W. Bush rallied, "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, one featuring Bart with the legend "Underachiever ('And proud of it, man!')", alongside other merchandise was banned from several public schools in the United States.[14] The Simpsons merchandise however, sold very well; during the first 14 months, US$2 billion in revenue was generated worldwide.[14]

Production

List of show runners throughout the series' run:

Executive producers

Groening, Brooks, and Simon have been executive producers during the entire run and now function as creative consultants. A more involved position on the show is known as the show runner, who serves as head writer and governs every aspect of the show's production for the entire season.[15] Credited as executive producers in the episode credits, runners often remain for multiple seasons. From season five onwards, the show runner receives first billing on the closing credit run.

Voice actors

Main articles: List of cast members of The Simpsons, List of guest stars on The Simpsons, and Foreign language voice cast of The Simpsons

With one exception, episode credits list only the voice actors, and not the characters they voice. Both Fox and the production crew wished to keep their identities a secret during the early seasons, and therefore closed most of the recording sessions and refused to publish photos.[16] They eventually revealed which roles each actor performed in the episode "Old Money," because the producers felt the voice actors should receive credit for their work.[17]

There are six main cast members who voice The Simpsons. Dan Castellaneta performs the voices of Homer Simpson, Abraham Simpson, Krusty the Clown, alongside many other adult male characters.[18] Julie Kavner performs the voices of Marge Simpson, Patty and Selma[18] and occasionally plays other one-time 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.[18] Yeardley Smith, the voice of Lisa Simpson, is the only main cast member who regularly voices solely one character, although she occasionally voices other one-time characters.[18] The remaining two male actors who do not voice members of the title family play a majority of the male townspeople. Hank Azaria voices recurring characters such as Moe, Chief Wiggum, and Apu[18] whereas Harry Shearer provides voices for Mr. Burns, Smithers, Principal Skinner, Ned Flanders and Dr. Hibbert.[18] With the exception of Harry Shearer, every main cast member has won an Emmy for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance.

Alongside the main cast, Pamela Hayden, Tress MacNeille, Marcia Wallace, Maggie Roswell and Russi Taylor are regular cast members who voice supporting characters.[18] From the 1999 season to the 2002 season, Maggie Roswell's characters were voiced by Marcia Mitzman Gaven. Karl Wiedergott has made many appearances in minor roles but does not voice any recurring characters. Recurring "special guest" cast members include Albert Brooks, the late Phil Hartman, Jon Lovitz, Jane Kaczmarek, Jan Hooks, Joe Mantegna, Maurice LaMarche and Kelsey Grammer. Celebrity guest stars are often cast who play a stylised version of themselves, especially in the later seasons.

The main cast has been involved in much-publicized pay disputes with Fox on more than one occasion. In 1998, they threatened to strike, forcing 20th Century Fox to increase their salary from $30,000 per episode to $125,000. The actors were supported in their action by series creator Groening.[19] As the revenue generated by the show continued to increase through syndication and DVD sales, the main cast stopped appearing for script readings in April 2004 after weeks of unsuccessful negotiations with Fox, requesting an increase to $360,000 per episode, or $8 million over a 22-episode season. On May 2, 2004, the actors reached an agreement with Fox.[20]

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).

Writing

Main article: List of writers of The Simpsons

The Simpsons is created by a writing team consisting of 16 writers.[21] The team proposes episode ideas at the beginning of December[21] and each episode is assigned to a main writer who produces the first draft of the script. The final scripts are developed during group rewriting sessions, during which the writers can add or remove jokes, insert scenes, and call for re-readings of lines by the show’s vocal performers.[22] The leader of these sessions is George Meyer, who has developed the show since season one. Long time writer Jon Vitti once explained that even though he will receive the script credit for an episode, the best quotes are usually invented by Meyer.[22] Since it requires six months to produce an episode of The Simpsons,[23] it is very rare for the show to comment on spontaneous current events, though they occasionally cite planned events such as the Olympics or the Super Bowl.

John Swartzwelder is the most prolific writer on The Simpsons staff, credited with 60 episodes. Interestingly, Conan O’Brien wrote four scripts before becoming the host of Late Night with Conan O'Brien. English comedian Ricky Gervais is the only celebrity to have guest written an episode[24] although there have been other guest writers, such as Spike Feresten, a Seinfeld writer famous for "The Soup Nazi" episode.

Animation

International animation studios involved:

AKOM

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

Anivision

  • Produced animation for episodes from seasons 3–10.

Rough Draft Studios

  • Produced animation for episodes from season four onwards.

U.S. Animation, Inc.

Toonzone Entertainment

The Simpsons has been animated by many studios, both American and international. Throughout the run of animated shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show, the animation was solely produced domestically at Klasky Csupo.[25] Due to the increased workload, production began to be subcontracted to international studios for the half-hour show, usually to South Korea.[25] Character and background layout is drawn by the domestic studio whereas tweening, coloring and filming is animated by the international studios. Throughout the years, different international studios have animated different episodes, even those within the same season.

For the first three The Simpsons was animated domestically by Klasky Csupo although from season four onwards, Gracie Films made the decision to switch the domestic production to Film Roman.[26] who continue to animate the show as of December 2006. The last episode (in terms of production order) to be animated by Klasky Csupo was "Kamp Krusty."

After season 13, production was switched from traditional cel animation to digital ink and paint.[27] The first episodes to experiment with digital coloring were "Radioactive Man" and "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular" in 1995. Digital ink and paint was used again during season 12 with the episode "Tennis the Menace". However, after seeing the results, Gracie Films decided to delay using 'digital ink and paint' for two more seasons. "Tennis the Menace," being already completed, was broadcast as made.

Characters

The Simpsons sports a vast array of secondary and tertiary characters.
Main articles: List of characters from The Simpsons and Simpson family

The Simpsons are a typical nuclear "Middle American" family who live in the town of Springfield. [28] Homer, the father, works as a safety inspector at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant although his personality would suggest otherwise, being that of a well-meaning buffoon. He is married to Marge Simpson, a stereotypical American housewife and mother, and together they have three children. The eldest, Bart, is a ten-year-old troublemaker who considers himself to be a rebel. On the other hand, Lisa, aged eight, is an extremely intelligent middle child, often involved in left-wing activism and loves playing the saxophone. Lastly, Maggie Simpson is a baby who is always seen with a pacifier. The family own a dog, Santa's Little Helper, and a cat, Snowball II, both of which have been the focus of several episodes. Despite numerous yearly milestones passing such as holidays or birthdays, the Simpsons do not physically age.

The show sports 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-time jokes or to fill a function in the town. However, a number of them gained expanded roles and subsequently have been the subject of their own episodes. According to Matt Groening, the show's large supporting cast was very much inspired by the sketch comedy show SCTV, in which all the characters interact within the in-show universe.[12]

Setting

Main article: Springfield (The Simpsons)

The Simpsons is set in the fictional American city of Springfield, located in no specific state. Nevertheless, fans have attempted to determine the site of the town by taking the town's characteristics, surrounding geography and nearby landmarks as clues. As a response, the show has become intentionally deceptive regarding the location and nearly every state and region in the U.S. has been both suggested and ruled out by conflicting evidence. [29] Only once, in the season 11 episode "Behind the Laughter", the Simpsons are described as a "Northern Kentucky family," but since there are many counterexamples, this could be taken as a teaser directed towards the increasing curiosity of the fans. In the theatrical trailer for The Simpsons Movie, Ned Flanders was shown explaining to Bart where Springfield was located: "Look at that. You can see the four states that border Spingfield: Ohio, Nevada, Maine, and Kentucky!" Groening has stated that Springfield has much in common with Portland, Oregon, the city he grew up in,[30] and the name "Springfield" was chosen as it is a common city name, appearing in more than thirty states. The geography of Springfield and its surroundings is seen to be flexible, containing coastlines, deserts, vast farmland, tall mountains, or whatever a story or joke requires.[31]

Themes

Main article: List of The Simpsons episodes
See also: Politics in The Simpsons, Religion in The Simpsons, and Education in The Simpsons

The basic premise of The Simpsons is a standard sitcom setup. It is a series about a family and their life in a typical American town.[28] The scope of The Simpsons, however, is larger than the regular sitcom. The town of Springfield is a complete universe in which they can explore all themes of modern society. Homer is deliberately working in a nuclear power plant, so that the show can make a comment on the environment.[32] Bart's and Lisa's days at Springfield Elementary School can make a statement on education. The town features a vast in-universe media landscape, which has everything from kids' television programming to local news. This is used to make a statement about the entertainment industry.[33]

The show is sometimes political with a left-wing bias.[34] There is a general fondness for progressive ideals, but the show does make jokes from both sides of the political spectrum.[35] The overall philosophy of The Simpsons is nihilism.[36] The show portrays government and big business so that they are out to screw the little guy.[36] Thus any authority figure in the show is portrayed in a negative light. The politicians are corrupt, Reverend Lovejoy is indifferent to the people going to his church and the local police force is incompetent.[37] Religion is also a recurring theme. In the time of crisis the family will turn to God and the show has dealt with most of the major religions.[38]

The plots of many episodes focus on one particular character, or the relationship between two characters. Common plots have involved the following: 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; and Lisa embracing or advocating the merits of a particular cause or group. Some episodes have focused on the problems of secondary or tertiary characters, which are usually solved with the help of a member of the Simpson family.

Hallmarks

File:Simpsons couch gag.jpg
Shot from an overblown, extended couch gag (often used when an episode is running short).

Opening sequence

Main article: The Simpsons opening sequence
See also: Chalkboard gag, Sax solo gag, and couch gag

The Simpsons opening sequence is one of the show's most memorable hallmarks. Many episodes open with the camera zooming through the 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 series' distinctive theme song was composed by musician Danny Elfman in 1989, after Groening approached him requesting a retro style piece. This piece, which took two days to create, has been noted by Elfman as the most popular of his career.[39]

One of the most distinctive aspects of the opening is that there are several segments that are changed from episode to episode. Bart writes something different on the blackboard. Lisa sometimes plays a different solo on her saxophone and something different happens when the family enters the living room to sit on the couch. This last segment is often the only one of the three gags to survive the process of shortening the opening for some syndicated episodes and for later episodes which needed extra time. This concept of rotating elements has been subsequently used both by Groening in Futurama, and by others, such as a newspaper headline in American Dad.

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. "Treehouse of Horror" (1990) started a tradition of three separate, self-contained stories in each Halloween episode. These pieces usually involve the family in some horror, science fiction, or supernatural setting and often parody or pay homage to a famous piece of work in those genres.[40] They always take place outside the normal continuity of the show. 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.

Humor

Main article: Recurring jokes in The Simpsons

The show uses catchphrases and most of the primary and secondary characters have at least one catchphrase each.[41] Notable catchphrases 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. The phrases "¡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.[42] However, the latter two phrases were rarely actually spoken on the show itself until after they became popular through merchandise, and the use of many of these catchphrases has declined in recent seasons. The use of catchphrase-based humor was mocked in the episode "Bart Gets Famous" in which Bart gets famous on the Krusty show for saying the line "I didn't do it."[43]

Another part of the show's humor is to make cultural references.[44] They cover a wide range of references so that viewers from all generations can have a piece of the show. These references could be scenes from a movie or TV show, which is played out in the Simpson universe. It could also be references to music, literature, science or history.[44]

Whenever possible, jokes are put in the background of the show.[45] This is typically humorous bits of text, which is put on signs, newspapers or other places. These are sometimes hard to find in a single viewing and some of them can only be viewed when the show is paused.[45]

Cultural impact

Impact on language

Main article: Culturally significant neologisms from The Simpsons

A number of neologisms that originated on The Simpsons have become common knowledge.[46] The most famous is Homer's annoyed grunt: "D'oh!." So ubiquitous is the catchphrase that it is now listed in the Oxford English Dictionary,[47] but without the apostrophe. The first listed usage is not from The Simpsons, but from a 1945 BBC radio script in which the word was spelled "dooh." 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.[48] Castellaneta was told by the show's director to shorten the noise, leading to the famous grunt in the TV series.[48]

Other Simpsons expressions that have entered into popular use include the word "excellent" (drawn out as a sinister "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, in 2003, after France's opposition to the proposed invasion of Iraq, and quickly spread to other journalists.[49]

Impact on television

The Simpsons was the first animated program in prime time since the Flintstones era. During most of the 1980s, animated shows were seen as being for kids and the animation was too expensive to get a quality suitable for prime time television. The Simpsons changed this perception.[25] 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.[25] 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.[25] South Park later paid homage to The Simpsons with the episode "Simpsons Already Did It."

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.[6][50] It features the use of sight gags and does not use a laugh track like most sitcoms. Ricky Gervais has called The Simpsons a major influence on his British comedy The Office, which also leaves out a laugh track.[51]

Critical reactions and achievements

The Simpsons have been awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Awards

Main article: List of awards won by The Simpsons

The Simpsons has won dozens of awards since it debuted as a series, including 23 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.[3] In that same issue, Bart Simpson was named to the Time 100, the publication's list of the century's 100 most influential people.[52] He was the only fictional character on the list. In 2002, it was listed as #8 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.[53] In 2000, Entertainment Weekly magazine TV critic Ken Tucker named The Simpsons the greatest television show of the 1990s. Furthermore, viewers of the UK television channel Channel 4 have voted "The Simpsons" top of two polls, 2001's 100 Greatest Kids' TV shows, and 2005's 100 Greatest Cartoons, with Homer Simpson voted first place in 2001's 100 Greatest TV Characters. On May 20th, of 2007, it will reach ground breaking history as the 400th episode will air on the night.

Run length achievements

On February 9, 1997, The Simpsons surpassed The Flintstones with the episode "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show" 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.[4] In October 2004, Scooby-Doo briefly overtook The Simpsons as the American animated show with the highest episode count.[54] In April 2005, Scooby-Doo was cancelled again, finishing with 371 episodes, while The Simpsons reclaimed the title with 378 episodes as of the end of their seventeenth season.[5] While The Simpsons has a record number of episodes for an American animated show, some foreign animated series have surpassed The Simpsons in this regard. For example, the Japanese anime series Doraemon has over 600 episodes to its credit.[55]

The year 2007 marks the 20th anniversary of the Simpsons franchise, since the show originally began as skits on The Tracey Ullman Show in 1987. With its 19th season (2007-2008), through which the show was renewed in 2006, the series will be one season behind Gunsmoke's US primetime, scripted television record of 20 produced seasons.[4] However, Gunsmoke's episode count of 635 episodes far surpasses The Simpsons, which would not reach that mark until its 29th season, under normal season lengths.

Criticism of declining quality

For many years, most critics' reviews of new Simpsons episodes praised the show for its wit, realism, and intelligence.[10][56] But gradually starting in the mid-90s, the tone and emphasis of the show changed. Some critics began calling the show tired.[57] By 2000, a segment of long-term fans had become disillusioned with the show, including its movement from more character-driven plots to what they perceived as an overemphasis on zany antics.[58][59]

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 the webmaster of The Simpsons Archive fansite,[60] and a top-15 list by The Simpsons' own writers.[61] 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 criticized the show's sliding quality in an interview: "I rate the last three seasons as among the worst, so season four looks very good to me now."[62]

Despite this criticism, The Simpsons has managed to maintain an audience and attract new fans, although the first season had an average of 13.4 million viewers alone in the U.S.,[11] compared to the 17th season, which ended with an average of 9.2 million viewers.[63] In an April 2006 interview, Matt Groening said, "I honestly don't see any end in sight. I think it's possible that the show will get too financially cumbersome...but right now, the show is creatively, I think, as good or better than it's ever been. The animation is incredibly detailed and imaginative, the stories do things that we haven't done before, so creatively there's no reason to quit."[64]

Merchandise

File:Simmonopoly.jpg
Monopoly: The Simpsons Edition
Main article: List of The Simpsons publications
See also: List of songs featured in The Simpsons

, The Simpsons discography

The popularity of The Simpsons has made it into a billion dollar merchandizing industry.[14] The title family and supporting characters appear on everything from t-shirts to posters. On April 24, 2007 it was officially announced that a The Simpsons Ride will be implemented into the Universal Studios Orlando and Universal Studios Hollywood. It is scheduled for a Spring 2008 opening.[65]. The Simpsons has inspired special editions of well-known board games, including Clue, Scrabble, Monopoly, Operation, and The Game of Life, as well as the trivia games What Would Homer Do? and Simpsons Jeopardy!.[66] Several card games such as trump cards and The Simpsons Trading Card Game have also been released.

File:Simpsons comic books.jpg
A sampling of Simpsons comic books.

Numerous Simpson-related publications have been released over the years. So far, nine comic book series have been published by Bongo Comics since 1993.[67] The Simpsons and Bart Simpson comics are also reprinted in the United Kingdom, 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 featured in The Simpsons, with characters breaking into song during the course of the series. Collections of original music featured in the TV series have been released on the albums Songs in the Key of Springfield and Go Simpsonic with The Simpsons. Several songs have been recorded with the purpose of a single or album release and have not been featured on the show. The best known single is "Do the Bartman", which was co-written by Michael Jackson[68] and became an international success. In the United Kingdom, "Deep, Deep Trouble" was released as a follow up to "Do The Bartman". The albums The Simpsons Sing the Blues and The Yellow Album contained cover versions of songs, as well as some originals.

DVDs

Main articles: The Simpsons DVDs and The Simpsons DVD sets

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.[69] In particular, seasons 1-9 have been released on DVD in America (Region 1), with more seasons expected to be released in the future, Europe (Region 2) and Australia/New Zealand/Latin America (Region 4). Seasons 1-7 have also been released in Japan (Region 2).

Video games

Main article: The Simpsons video games

The video game industry was quick to adapt the characters and world of Springfield into games. Some of the early notable games includes Konami's arcade game The Simpsons (1991) and Acclaim Entertainment's The Simpsons: Bart vs. the Space Mutants (1991). More modern games include The Simpsons Road Rage (2001), The Simpsons Hit & Run (2003) and The Simpsons Game (2007). Two Simpsons pinball machines have been produced; one after the first season, and the other still available.

Film

File:Simpsons movie poster.png
Official movie poster
Main article: The Simpsons Movie

There has been talk of a possible feature-length Simpsons film ever since the early seasons of the series. James L. Brooks originally thought that the story of the episode "Kamp Krusty" was suitable for a film, but difficulties were encountered in trying to expand the script to feature-length.[70] For a long time the project was held up. There was trouble finding a story that was right for a film, and the crew did not have enough time to complete the project, as they already worked full time year-round on the show.[64]

An animated Simpsons movie is now well into production.[8] It is being produced by 20th Century Fox, Gracie Films, and Film Roman and is scheduled to be released July 27, 2007. The film will be directed by long-time Simpsons producer David Silverman and written by a team of Simpsons writers that includes Matt Groening, James L. Brooks, Al Jean, George Meyer, Mike Reiss, John Swartzwelder, Jon Vitti, David Mirkin, Mike Scully, Matt Selman, and Ian Maxtone-Graham.[8] The film is produced alongside the series, despite long-time claims by those involved in the show's production that a movie would enter production only when the series had reached its end.

References

  • Richmond, Ray (1997). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to our Favorite Family. Harper Collins Publishers. pp. p. 178. ISBN 0-00063-8898-1. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  • Turner, Chris. Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation. ISBN 0-679-31318-4.
  1. ^ a b c d BBC (2000). 'The Simpsons': America's First Family (6 minute edit for the season 1 DVD) (DVD). UK: 20th Century Fox.
  2. ^ a b Richmond, p. 14
  3. ^ a b Unnamed author (1999-12-31). "The Best Of The Century". TIME. Retrieved 2006-07-03. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help); Check date values in: |date= (help) Cite error: The named reference "century" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b c Owen, Rob (2003-01-21). "TV Notes: 'Simpsons' breaks record with contract renewal". Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2006-12-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ a b Folkard, Claire (2006). Guinness World Records 2006. Bantam USA. ISBN 0553589067.
  6. ^ a b Unnamed author (2003-02-15). "The Simpsons: The world's favourite family". BBC News. Retrieved 2006-12-19. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ Turner, Chris (2006-03-20). "The Simpsons and King Renewed". Comingsoon.net. Retrieved 2006-07-03. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ a b c Fleming, Michael (2006-04-02). "Homer going to bat in '07". Variety.com. Retrieved 2006-07-03. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ Kuipers, Dean (2004-04-15). "'3rd Degree: Harry Shearer'". Los Angeles: City Beat. Retrieved 2006-09-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  11. ^ a b Unnamed author. "TV Ratings: 1989-1990". ClassicTVHits.com. Retrieved 2006-07-03. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help) Cite error: The named reference "rating89" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  12. ^ a b Rabin, Nathan (2006-04-26). "Matt Groening: Interview". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2006-10-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ Spotnitz, Frank (1992-10-23). "Eat my shorts!". Entertainment Weekly. p. 8(1). {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  14. ^ a b c d Griffiths, Nick (2000-04-15). "America's First Family". The Times Magazine. pp. 25, 27–28. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ Cagle, Daryl. "The David Silverman Interview". MSNBC. Retrieved 2006-12-29.
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  17. ^ Groening, Matt; Jay Kogen, Wallace Wolodarsky, Al Jean, David Silverman (2002). The Simpsons season 2 DVD commentary for the episode "Old Money" (DVD). 20th Century Fox. {{cite AV media}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  18. ^ a b c d e f g Richmond, pp. 178-179
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  20. ^ McGinnis, Rick (2004-08-09). "Star talks Simpsons". metro. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  22. ^ a b Owen, David (2000-03-13). "Taking Humor Seriously". The New Yorker. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  23. ^ Nixon, Geoff (2004-03-04). "Mmmmmm... pop culture". The Silhouette. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  24. ^ Unnamed author (2004-12-23). "Gervais writing Simpsons episode". BBC News. Retrieved 2006-12-29. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  25. ^ a b c d e Deneroff, Harvey (January 2000). "Matt Groening's Baby Turns 10". Animation Magazine, Vol. 14, #1. pp. 10, 12. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  26. ^ "'The Simpsons' Producer Changes Animation Firms". Los Angeles Times. 1992-01-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  27. ^ Groening, Matt; Al Jean, Jeffrey Lynch, Mike Reiss, David Silverman (2004). The Simpsons season 4 DVD commentary for the episode "Whacking Day" (DVD). 20th Century Fox. {{cite AV media}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  28. ^ a b Turner, p. 28
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  31. ^ Turner, p. 30
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  39. ^ Glionna, John M. (1999). "Danny Elfman in the L.A. Times". Danny Elfman's Music For A Darkened People. Retrieved 2006-07-03.
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  58. ^ Weinman, Jaime J. (2000-01-24). "Worst Episode Ever". Salon.com. Retrieved 2006-07-03. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  61. ^ Unnamed author (2003-02-06). "15 writer favorites". USA Today. Retrieved 2006-07-03. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  63. ^ Mahan, Colin (2006-05-26). "2006 Ratings Wrap-Up (continued)". TV.com. Retrieved 2006-07-03. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  65. ^ Powers, Scott (2007-04-24). "Universal Studios says welcome to The Simpsons ride in Orlando". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2007-04-27.
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  70. ^ Groening, Matt; Al Jean, Mark Kirkland, David Silverman (2004). The Simpsons season 4 DVD commentary for the episode "Kamp Krusty" (DVD). 20th Century Fox. {{cite AV media}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)

Further reading

  • Alberti, John (ed.) (2003). Leaving Springfield: 'The Simpsons' and the Possibility of Oppositional Culture. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-2849-0. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  • Brown, Alan (2006). The Psychology of The Simpsons. ISBN 1-932100-70-9. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  • Gray, Jonathan (2006). Watching with The Simpsons: Television, Parody, and Intertextuality. ISBN 0-4153-6202-4.
  • Irwin, William; Mark T. Conrad; Aeon Skoble (eds.) (1999). The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer. Chicago: Open Court. ISBN 0-8126-9433-3.
  • Keller, Beth L. (1992). The Gospel According to Bart: Examining the Religious Elements of The Simpsons. Regent University. ISBN 0-8126-9433-3.
  • Keslowitz, Steven (2003). The Simpsons And Society: An Analysis Of Our Favorite Family And Its Influence In Contemporary Society. Hats Off Books. ISBN 1-58736-253-8.
  • Pinsky, Mark I. The Gospel According to The Simpsons: The Spiritual Life of the World's Most Animated Family. ISBN 0-664-22419-9.
  • Pinsky, Mark I. The Gospel According to the Simpsons: Leaders Guide for Group Study. ISBN 0-664-22590-X. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
Wikiquote has quotations related to The Simpsons.


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