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The Simpsons

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Cartoons; Television

   The Simpsons
   Clockwise from top left: Homer, Marge, Maggie, Santa's Little Helper
   (dog), Bart, Snowball II (cat) and Lisa.
   Genre Animation/ comedy
   Picture format NTSC ( 480i)
   Running time 21–23 minutes
   Creator(s) Matt Groening
   Developer(s) James L. Brooks
   Matt Groening
   Sam Simon
   Executive producer(s) Al Jean
   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
   Marcia Mitzman Gaven
   Country of origin Flag of United States  United States
   Original channel Fox
   Original run December 17, 1989–present
   (renewed through 2007–2008)
   No. of episodes 385 ( List of episodes)
   Official website
   IMDb profile
   TV.com summary

   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 itself has
   had an impact on popular culture. Catchphrases have been used in real
   life and the annoyed grunt d'oh has been accepted into the English
   dictionary. The show has been cited as an influence on many
   adult-oriented animated series in the late 1990s, such as King of the
   Hill, South Park and Family Guy.; and there are countless other
   kid-oriented animated shows which singular humor that owe The Simpsons
   a debt of gratitude, such as Ren and Stimpy, Rugrats, Hey Arnold!,
   SpongeBob SquarePants and others. Although it in recent years has been
   accused of a decline in quality, it still remains a highly rated show.

   The Simpsons is the longest-running American sitcom, as well as the
   longest-running American animated program, to date. Since it debuted on
   December 17, 1989, the show has aired 385 episodes (see list of
   episodes) in eighteen 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, and the 20^th
   anniversary of The Simpsons franchise will be celebrated in 2007. A
   feature-length movie is currently being produced, to be released on
   July 27, 2007.

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."

   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. 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.

   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. 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." 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 saw the
   poor quality of the final animation, and was eventually shown as the
   final episode of the first season.

   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. The show had several episodes
   watched by over 20 million people and on occasion over 30 million
   people. Ullman filed a lawsuit, claiming that her show was the source
   of The Simpsons success and therefore should receive a share of the
   show's profit. Eventually the courts ruled in favour of the network.

   It 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." 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 in revenue worldwide.

Production

Executive producers

   List of show runners throughout the series' run:
     * Season 1–2: Matt Groening, James L. Brooks, & 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

   Groening, Brooks, and Sam Simon have been executive producers during
   the entire run, and now basically function as creative consultants.
   There is a more involved 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. Show runners are
   billed as executive producers in the episode credits. Runners often
   stay on for multiple seasons, though they usually break their planning
   down by season. As of season 5, the show runner receives the first
   credit on the closing credits.

Voice actors

   With one exception, all episodes list only the voice actors and not the
   characters they voice. Fox and the production crew wanted to keep the
   identities a secret during the first seasons, and therefore closed most
   of the recording sessions and refused to publish photos. They
   eventually revealed which characters the actors did in the episode "
   Old Money."

   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 occasionally, but 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. 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 male townspeople. Hank Azaria
   voices recurring characters like Moe, Chief Wiggum, and Apu. Harry
   Shearer provides voices for Mr. Burns, Smithers, Principal Skinner, Ned
   Flanders, Dr. Hibbert, and many others.

   Along with the main cast, Pamela Hayden, Tress MacNeille, Marcia
   Wallace, and Maggie Roswell, are regular guest cast members, who voices
   several recurring characters. From the 1999 season to the 2002 season,
   Maggie Roswell's characters were voiced by Marcia Mitzman Gaven,
   because of a pay dispute. Karl Wiedergott has made many appearances in
   minor roles but does not voice any recurring characters. Recurring
   "special guest" cast members include Albert Brooks, Phil Hartman, Jon
   Lovitz, Jane Kaczmarek, Jan Hooks and Kelsey Grammer. Brooks, Hartman,
   and Lovitz have voiced several characters. Grammer, Hooks, Kaczmarek,
   and Mantegna only voice one character each.

   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 TV to increase their salary from $30,000 per
   episode to $125,000. The actors were supported in their action by
   series creator 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 reaching an agreement.

Writing

   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 very rare for the show to
   comment on spontaneous current events, though they sometimes reference
   planned events such as the Olympics or World Series.

   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, although there have
   been other guest writers, such as Spike Feresten, a Seinfeld writer
   famous for " The Soup Nazi" episode.

   The writing staff has included a significant number of Harvard
   University alumni, and the school is often referenced in the series.
   Conan O'Brien once served as the president of the Harvard Lampoon and
   Bill Oakley once served as vice president.

Animation

   Overseas animation studios involved:

   AKOM—202 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—122 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. Due to the increased workload,
   production was being subcontracted to overseas studios for the half
   hour show, 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. Klasky Csupo was the domestic
   animation studio during the first three seasons of the half-hour
   series, but during season four, Gracie Films made a decision to switch
   the 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

   Original episodes of The Simpsons are shown on the Fox network in the
   United States, and are widely distributed internationally. Past seasons
   have been widely syndicated since 1994. In foreign countries, it is
   sometimes necessary to adjust the material to suit local 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

Primary characters

   Homer Simson: Homer Simpson is a safety inspector at the Springfield
   Nuclear Power Plant and a generally well-meaning buffoon. He is the
   father of the Simpson family. His best friends are Lenny and Carl.

   Marge Simson: Marge Simpson is for the most part a stereotypical
   American housewife and mother.

   Bart Simpson: Bart Simpson is a ten-year-old troublemaker who thinks of
   himself as a rebel. Lisa Simpson is an extremely intelligent eight-year
   old middle child who is often involved in left-wing activism and loves
   playing the saxophone.

   Lisa Simpson: Lisa SImpson is a 8 year old girl. She is very smart and
   often fights with Bart.

   Maggie Simpson: Maggie Simpson is a baby who, for the most part, simply
   sucks on a pacifier and doesn't speak.

   Pets: The family has a dog and cat, Santa's Little Helper and Snowball
   II respectively, and have also had several other one-shot pets. Despite
   the fact that numerous yearly milestones, such as holidays and
   birthdays, clearly pass, the Simpsons do not physically age, indicating
   some form of a floating timeline.

   Other kids: Millhouse is bart's best friend. Jenny is Lissa's Friend.
   Nelson and Jimbo are school bullies. Ralph is a kid in the fourth grade
   who is stupid.

   The Simpson lifestyle was initially fairly consistent 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,
   can't afford cable television, 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 the episode
   " The Day the Violence Died", Homer pulls $750 out of his wallet to
   casually give to 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.

   Throughout the series, the Simpson family's religion has been a form of
   Protestant Christianity. The most important deviation from this came
   when Lisa became a Buddhist in the episode " She of Little Faith". Bart
   and Homer later became Roman Catholic in the episode " The Father, the
   Son, and the Holy Guest Star".

Secondary characters

   The show 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; a number of them
   gained expanded roles, and some have subsequently been the subject of
   their own episodes. Matt Groening stated that the idea for the many
   different recurring characters of The Simpsons "was very much inspired
   by the sketch comedy show SCTV, with all the SCTV characters in
   Melonville interacting" and this made the town seem like its own little
   universe.

Setting

   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". 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.

Storylines

Themes

   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, the Republicans shown
   as interested in homosexuality and also as a set of sadists who plan
   things in a haunted castle and the United Nations frequently shown to
   be an incompetent and bickering organization.

   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, with the show always strongly affirming Homer and
   Marge's marriage in the end. 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. It is notable that in more recent
   episodes, many of Flanders' religious comments have been contextualized
   and emphasized ironically, clearly intending to portray his "blind
   faith" as unjustifiable.

   There are 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. Lisa
   Simpson, the most intelligent member of the Simpson family, is
   portrayed as an unabashed liberal.

Plots

   The format of a Simpsons plot has changed somewhat over the years. A
   character or group of characters 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 learn to 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 phenomenon
   is commonly termed " plot drift".

   It 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, though each is aware of and even lampoons its deus ex machina.
   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.

   The Simpsons' sometimes uses another plot structure. This structure
   comprises of three short stories, often with an overarching story that
   "bookends" the segments. It is mostly used in The Simpsons Halloween
   episodes, but it is also 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 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.

   The show occasionally uses an A-story/B-story breakdown such as in "
   Sunday, Cruddy Sunday", which follows Homer and Bart's trip to the
   Super Bowl, while following the B-story of Marge and Lisa's having
   nothing to do at home. According to the DVD commentaries, the more
   limited time constraints on episodes has resulted in less use of this
   structure.

Hallmarks

Opening sequence

   The Simpsons opening sequence is one of the show's most memorable
   hallmarks. Almost every episode opens 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.

   One of the most unique aspects of the opening is that there are several
   segments that are changed from episode to episode. Bart writes
   something different on the chalkboard. Lisa sometimes plays a different
   solo on her baritone saxophone and something different happens when the
   family enters the living room to sit on the couch. The latter 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
   subsequenty used both by Groening in Futurama, and by others, such as a
   newspaper headline in American Dad! and a morse code message in
   Jericho.

Halloween episodes

   An annual tradition is a special Halloween episode. " Treehouse of
   Horror" 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
   parodies or pays homage to a famous piece of work in those genres; 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.

Recurring jokes and catchphrases

   There are many running gags on The Simpsons, many of which have been
   retired during the series. 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, and the use
   of many of these catchphrases has declined in recent seasons.

   Recurring jokes are also used. In one example, Bart often made prank
   calls to Moe's Tavern asking for someone with a suggestive name such as
   "Amanda Huggankiss", "Al Coholic", "Seymour Butts" or "Mike Rotch".
   Another is the Krusty Brand - a line of often poorly made and
   potentially dangerous products endorsed by Krusty the Clown, who will
   apparently endorse almost anything. In one memorable clip, Bart
   mentions the Krusty Home Pregnancy Test, which warns that it may 'cause
   birth defects'. Or such as the annual Simpsons' " Treehouse of Horror"
   Halloween Specials, the names in the credits will be parodies of the
   actual ones such as, "Bat Groening," "Chains Hell Brooks," etc.

   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. 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 are images that 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. Freeze frame gags often included sign gags.

Guest stars

   Many episodes feature celebrity guests contributing their voices to the
   show, as either themselves or as fictional characters. Guests playing
   themselves were especially used during seasons 7-13, often as a cameo
   without a significant plot connection. Guests playing fictional
   characters were mostly used for other seasons. In the early seasons,
   some celebrities, such as Michael Jackson and Dustin Hoffman, would
   guest star using a pseudonym.

Cultural impact

Impact on language

   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. A much earlier use of
   the same expression, often similarly used to denote expectation, was
   established in the long-running British BBC 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. The
   show's creators 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
   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 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. 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.

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, Mr. Sparkle, 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.

Critical reactions and achievements

Awards

   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. 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.
   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.

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. In October
   2004, Scooby-Doo briefly overtook The Simpsons as the American animated
   show with the highest episode count. 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. 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, while The Simpsons' record comes as a continuous
   production.

   2007 will mark the 20th anniversary of the Simpsons franchise, since
   the show originally began as skits on The Tracey Ullman Show in 1987.
   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 surpasses The Simpsons, which would
   not reach that mark until its twenty-ninth season, under normal season
   lengths.{uncited}

   The Simpsons holds three other records. As it is technically a spin-off
   of The Tracey Ullman Show that makes it the longest-running American TV
   spinoff. It features the longest-running unaltered television series
   opening credit sequence; although each sequence contains different
   elements, and has been shortened over the years, the basic format of
   the opening and theme music have never changed. It is the
   longest-running series to have never experienced either a major change
   in cast members or the addition/removal of major characters (Gunsmoke,
   by comparison, underwent several such changes during its run).{uncited}

   While The Simpsons has a record number of episodes for an American
   animated show, some foreign animated shows, especially Japanese anime
   series like Dragon Ball (combined with Dragon Ball Z), Doraemon, and
   Pokémon, have more episodes than The Simpsons, though they have had to
   retitle their official show names (ie Dragonball and Dragonball Z,
   Doraemon and Doraemon +, and Pokemon and Pokemon:Advanced Generation)
   too. Another anime series, Detective Conan ("Case Closed" in America)
   has slightly more episodes than The Simpsons despite premiering seven
   years later. This is because the standard Japanese season is every six
   months, making 26 episodes a season and 52 episodes a year. An American
   season will air either 20-26 (after season 1, The Simpsons has aired
   between 21-25 episodes a season) episodes a year or only 13 episodes.

Criticism of declining quality

   For many years, most critics' reviews of new Simpsons episodes praised
   the show for its wit, realism, and intelligence. But gradually starting
   in the mid-90s, the tone and emphasis of the show changed, possibly due
   to turnover in the writing staff. Some critics began calling the show
   tired. 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.

   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 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
   criticized 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 April 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 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, compared to the 17th season,
   which ended with an average of 9.2 million viewers. 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."

   It might also be noted, as commented by the writing staff on several of
   the box set DVDs audio commentaries, that there was similar outcry
   about declining quality in the early years. After the generally
   down-to-earth first two seasons, when seasons three and four came
   along, with more ambitious storylines, some fans sited that the series
   had dropped in quality. Again, as noted on the DVD commentaries, many
   now regard the third and fourth seasons as the show's "golden era".

Merchandise

Publications

   There have been made numerous Simpson-related publications over the
   years.

Comics

   So far, nine 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

   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. In the United
   Kingdom, "Deep, Deep Trouble" (also from The Simpsons Sing the Blues)
   was released as a follow up to "Do The Bartman", and again was a hit.

Board games

   The Simpsons has also been used to make special editions of well known
   games, including Clue, Scrabble, Monopoly, Operation, Treehouse of
   Horror Monopoly and The Game of Life. In addition to those they have
   also released a few trivia games, which include the games What Would
   Homer Do? and Simpsons Jeopardy!. There has also been released various
   card games such as trump cards and The Simpsons Trading Card Game.

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 eight
   DVD volumes (as of August 2006) 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). Seasons 1-7 have also been released
   in Japan ( Region 2).

Video games

   With the popularity of The Simpsons, especially among children, it was
   only natural for the video game industry to turn to the characters and
   world of Springfield, with the early games starring Bart Simpson. 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 games include The
   Simpsons Road Rage and The Simpsons Hit & Run. Electronic Arts is now
   making Simpsons games for next-gen consoles, one of them being rumoured
   to be based on the upcoming movie (see below)

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

Posters

   Many posters involving Simpsons characters are available for purchase,
   as well as posters that have been included for free in the Simpsons
   comic books. One of the most famous Simpsons posters shows nearly the
   entire cast of characters which have made an appearance throughout the
   show. Many of these posters are spoofs of famous images; for example,
   one poster shows Bart swimming naked underwater staring at a dollar
   bill, similar to the cover of the Nirvana album Nevermind. On another
   poster Homer is screaming, similar to the painting The Scream by the
   Norwegian painter Edvard Munch.

Action figures

   Many characters are available to buy in figurine form, and each figure
   comes with an accessory. For example, Bart comes with his trademark
   slingshot and Homer comes with a donut. Toys have also been made of
   automobiles from the Simpsons, such as the family's car and the school
   bus, as well as familiar sets from the show, including Principal
   Skinner's office, Apu's Kwik-e-Mart, and Homer's workstation at the
   power plant.

Movie

   Talk about a possible feature-length Simpsons movie has been going on
   since the early days of the series. James L. Brooks had originally
   thought that the story of the episode " Kamp Krusty" was suitable for a
   movie. It became however 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. It is being produced by
   20th Century Fox, Gracie Films, and Film Roman, and is scheduled to be
   released July 27, 2007. 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.
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Simpsons"
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