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The Simpson family.
The Simpsons is an animated television series
created by Matt Groening. It is the longest-running sitcom in U.S. television
history, with 16 seasons and airing over 335 episodes since its debut in 1989.
Origins
The Simpson Family first appeared in animated form as shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show, the first short Good Night airing on April 19, 1987. (The shorts were not aired by
the BBC in the UK). The
Simpsons was converted, by a team of production companies that included what is now the Klasky-Csupo animation house, into a series for the Fox Network in 1989, and has run
as a weekly show on that network ever since.
Set in the fictional - and vaguely located - U.S. town of Springfield, and highly satirical of many facets of
the stereotypical American way of life (including beer, fast food, television, and religion), The Simpsons was a massive
hit, generating a huge popular following as well as criticism from then-U.S. President George H. W. Bush. In September of 1990, Barbara
Bush said in an interview for People magazine that The
Simpsons was the dumbest thing she'd ever seen. The writers also showed a love for cameo appearances by celebrities and extended pastiches of
contemporary and classic movies, as well as subtle visual jokes showing a high regard for
the sophistication of the audience.
On February 9, 1997 The Simpsons surpassed The
Flintstones as the longest-running prime-time animated series; and in January 2003, it was announced that the show had
been renewed by Fox through 2005 – meaning it has replaced The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952 to 1966) as longest-running sitcom
(animated or live-action) ever in the United States.
The voice actors have gone on strike on more than one occasion. In
1998, the actors were making $30,000 per episode and stopped
working, forcing 20th Century Fox TV to renegotiate the amount to
$125,000. Six actors (playing over 50 characters) – Dan
Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, and Harry
Shearer – stopped showing up for script readings in April 2004. They asked for $360,000 per episode, or $8 million for a 22-episode season. On May 2, 2004, the actors ended their strike after having their demands met.
Some fans believed that the show has killed off characters from failed negotiations, citing the example of Maude Flanders, who
was killed in a freak accident. It was reported, however, that Maggie Roswell, the voice of Maude, asked to have the character
removed because she was tired of playing the role - Roswell apparently had to commute great distances to record very short
scenes.
Characters and plot
The show's basic premise centers around the antics of the Simpson family, which consists of Homer and Marge Simpson, and their three
children, Bart, Lisa
and Maggie (in decreasing order of age), as well as their pets Santa's Little Helper the dog
and Snowball II the cat. (Snowball I was run over and killed earlier in Simpsons history.)
One episode dealt with a succession of cats, including the original Snowball II and its replacement, Snowball III, which were
also run over and killed. The episode resolved the potentially confusing change to Simpsons history with a 'quick and dirty'
solution: a new cat was adopted. The new cat looked identical to Snowball II and was also given the same name. The resolution was
very much a Deus Ex device, similar to how a judge was used to force
the entire town of Springfield to pretend the dramatic changes in one episode involving the children's school Principal never
took place. The show's writers, cognizant of that fact, ended up bringing up their previous use of Deus Ex as a joke within the
same episode.
Homer is a safety inspector at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant and a generally well-meaning buffoon whose short attention
span is often drawn to outrageous schemes and adventures. Marge once was intelligent and sophisticated, but has come to
conform with the stereotype of housewife/mother. Bart is a troublemaker and classroom terror who thinks of himself as a rebel, while Lisa is a
brainy student and jazz music fan who dreams of a better future. Maggie is an eternal
baby. The Simpson children have had a number of birthdays, but remain the same age.
The show also has a vast array of quirky supporting characters, many of whom are even more popular among fans than the five
main characters. For a comprehensive list, see characters from The Simpsons.
Authority, especially in undeserving hands, is a constant target of the show's often sharp satire. This probably explains the
often strong negative reaction to the show from social conservatives.
Nearly every authority figure in the show is portrayed unflatteringly: Homer is thoughtless and irresponsible, the antithesis of
the ideal 1950s TV father; though he always comes through for his family in the end. Springfield police chief Clancy Wiggum (who is voiced by Hank Azaria in
a brilliant impersonation of Edward G. Robinson) is obese,
stupid, lazy, corrupt and not overly concerned with constitutional rights. Mayor Quimby – who sounds like one of the
Kennedys – is a corrupt, alcoholic womanizer. Seymour Skinner, the principal of Springfield Elementary School,
is an uptight, humorless bachelor who lives with his domineering mother; he is frequently likened to Norman Bates in Psycho. Reverend Lovejoy, the pastor
of the local church, is jaded and moralistic. While most of these characters are more
incompetent than truly evil, there is one true sadist: Montgomery Burns, owner of the Springfield Nuclear Plant and Homer
Simpson's boss; he is often compared to Charles Foster Kane in Citizen
Kane. It is probably not a coincidence that Harry Shearer's voice for Montgomery Burns closely resembles his voice for
former US President Ronald Reagan.
The show also 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 who will endorse any product for a price. Kent
Brockman is a self-important, spoiled TV news anchorman with little regard for journalistic ethics, possibly thanks to the fact that he won the lottery in one episode. Viewers also learn that
Brockman had an ethnic name in the 1960s, which he anglicized by the time the Simpsons episodes of the 1990s take place.
The plots of most episodes focus on the adventures of one particular family member, frequently Homer. However the plots have
never been very predictable or constant and tend to be very character-driven. Recurring themes in episodes include:
- Homer attempting to make money in a get-rich-quick scheme.
- Marge attempting to move out of the home and find employment.
- Bart causing a large problem and attempting to fix it.
- Lisa embracing or advocating the merits of a particular political cause or group.
- The entire family going on vacation. (They have visited every continent on
Earth with the exception of Antarctica).
Origin of the Names
- Lisa - Lisa Groening (Matt Groening's sister)
- Marge - Margaret Groening (his mother)
- Homer - Homer Groening (his father and one of his sons)
- Maggie - Maggie Groening (one of his sisters)
- Bart - an anagram for "brat"
- 742 Evergreen Terrace is the address of the place where Matt Groening grew up.
- Chief Wiggum - Groening's college love's last name was "Wiggum"
- Seymour Skinner - behavioral psychologist B.F. Skinner
- Miss Hoover (Lisa's teacher) - one of his primary school teachers
- Apu (Kwik-E-Mart owner) - reference to one of his favourite movies
- Maude, Rod and Todd Flanders - they all rhyme with "god"
- Kang and Kodos (aliens) - Klingons from Star Trek
- Barney Gumble (Homer's drinking buddy) - Barney Rubble from the Flintstones
- Troy McClure (actor) - B-Movie actors Troy Donohue and Doug McClure
- Dr. Nick Riviera (enterprising physician) - Elvis Presley's physician George C. Nichopoulos, was called Dr. Nick
Opening sequence
The Simpsons' opening sequence is one of the show's most memorable trademarks. Almost every episode opens with a title
shot coming through the cumulus clouds and into the school where Bart is writing
sentences on the class chalkboard, presumably set as a punishment by one of his
teachers for some mischievous deed or wayward comment; the sequence then introduces Lisa, Homer, Marge, and Maggie on their way
to their house on Evergreen Terrace (the exact house number varies from season to season). The members of the family weave
dangerously through traffic and in between fellow (and familiar) Springfield denizens, miraculously reaching home at the exact
same time. Upon entering, they all speed towards the family room couch where, in comedic parallel with the audience, they settle
to watch their 'must-see' TV show. For each episode, the sequence includes four variations: Bart writes something different on the chalkboard; Lisa plays a
different solo on her saxophone; Homer screams in a differing way, and the
attempt of the family to sit on the couch goes awry in an often surreal manner.
In syndication, sometimes all or part of the opening sequence is not
broadcast, in order to include more commercials in the show's allotted
timeslot.
The first season opening sequence featured a number of differences to the later seasons, including a shot of Lisa riding her
bike on the way home and Bart's way home consisting of snatching a bus stop, forcing several dazed Springfieldiens to chase the
bus, rather than just riding past a number of well-known characters.
The series' distinctive theme tune was composed by musician Danny Elfman. The current arrangement was
orchestrated by Alf Clausen.
Halloween Episodes
An annual tradition is a special Halloween episode, entitled Treehouse of
Horror, consisting of three separate, self-contained pieces. The tradition began in the second season with Bart and Lisa
telling scary stories to each other in their treehouse while Homer secretly
listened in. Neither Bart nor Lisa was scared, but Homer was terrified. In later years the episode dropped the treehouse
storytelling "frame", but kept the Treehouse title; for several years the characters broke the fourth wall and introduced their pieces directly to the audience. These pieces
usually involve the family in some fantasy setting, and always takes place outside the normal continuity and rules of the show.
Regular Simpsons characters play humorous special roles, and the two space aliens Kang and Kodos featured in the original Treehouse episode always make an appearance, albeit
sometimes at the last minute and for no reason but simply to continue the tradition of their appearances. These Halloween
segments have parodied many classic horror and science fiction films, and one segment is often a parody of a classic
Twilight Zone television episode. The Halloween episodes are
generally considered among the best Simpsons episodes.
Voice Actors and their characters
- Dan Castellaneta: Homer J. Simpson, Grampa
Simpson, Santa's Little Helper, Barney Gumble, Krusty The Clown, Groundskeeper Willie,
Mayor Quimby, Sideshow Mel, Itchy, Hans Moleman, Kodos, Arnie Pie,
Poochie, and others.
- Nancy Cartwright: Bart Simpson, Nelson Muntz,
Todd Flanders, Ralph Wiggum, and others.
- Julie Kavner: Marge Simpson, Patty Bouvier, Selma
Bouvier, Jacqueline Bouvier, Aunt Gladys.
- Hank Azaria: Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Moe Syzlak,
Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy, Lou, Carl Carlson, Dr. Nick Riviera, Snake,
Bumblebee Man, Professor Frink, Cletus, Kirk Van Houten, Superintendent Chalmers,
Drederick Tatum, Frank Grimes, and others.
- Harry Shearer: Montgomery Burns, Wayland Smithers,
Ned Flanders, Principal Skinner, Otto Mann, Reverend Tim Lovejoy, Dr. Julius
Hibbert, Jasper, Lenny, Eddie, McBain, Scratchy, Dr. Marvin Monroe,
Kang, Kent Brockman, Herman, and others.
- Pamela Hayden: Milhouse, Jimbo Jones, Rod
Flanders, Janey Powell, and others.
- Tress MacNeille: Dolph, Brandine, Agnes
Skinner, Nana Van Houten, and others.
- Maggie Roswell: Maude
Flanders, Helen Lovejoy, Miss Hoover, Luann Van Houten, and others.
Many episodes feature celebrity guests contributing their voices to the show, as either themselves or fictional
characters.
See: List of
celebrities on the Simpsons
Memes
Several memes (often neologisms) that
started on The Simpsons have now become mainstream words or sayings. The most famous of which is Homer's saying:
"D'oh!", which is referred to in scripts, as well as at least one episode name, as
"annoyed grunt". D'oh is now listed in the OED, but without the apostrophe.
Groundkeeper Willie's phrase, "cheese
eating surrender monkeys", used to describe the French, was picked up by US
politicians and publications in 2003, after European and especially French opposition to the proposed war in Iraq.
Other memes are listed on the article Made-up words in The Simpsons
Trivia
- KBBL is a fictional talk radio
station in Springfield, used in the show. The call letters represent the word "babble."
- Groening named many of the characters in the show after his own family members, and some after streets in Portland, Oregon, where he grew up.[1]
- The Simpsons is executive produced and developed by: The Mary Tyler Moore Show producer James L. Brooks, Cheers writer Sam Simon, and of course Matt Groening.
Series / movies within The Simpsons
- Itchy and Scratchy
- McBain
- Radioactive Man
- Krusty the Klown
- Eye on Springfield
- Channel 6
News
- The Happy Little Elves
- My Two Cents
- Smartline
- Nookie in New York
- Afternoon Yak
- Star Trek XII: So Very
Tired
- Nightboat
TV channels that air The Simpsons
Academia
Serious academic work has been done on the show. Among the publications that deal with it are:
- The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer by William Irwin (Editor), Mark T. Conard (Editor), Aeon Skoble
(Editor) ISBN 0812694333
- The Gospel According to The Simpsons: The Spiritual Life of the World's Most Animated Family by Mark I. Pinsky
ISBN 0664224199
Related topics
- Duff Beer
- Characters from The
Simpsons
- The Simpsons episode list
- SNUH (Springfieldians for Nonviolence, Understanding, and Helping)
- animation
External links
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