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From The TV IV

The Simpsons (1989—) is an animated sitcom which first aired on December 17, 1989 and continues to air to this day, making it the longest running primetime series still airing. The series revolves around the core Simpson family and the expansive supporting cast which surrounds them in the fictional city of Springfield.

Contents 1 History 2 Themes 3 Cast 4 Seasons 5 In-Depth 6 DVD Releases 7 Soundtrack Releases 8 External Sites

[edit] History

Though the episode Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire was the first appearance of the family in a 30-minute format, the concept behind the series debuted in a much shorter form on The Tracy Ullman Show. Series creator and Life in Hell cartoonist Matt Groening was called in to pitch a version of Life in Hell that could be animated and broadcast, but once Groening realized that this would require him giving up publishing rights to his comic strip, he quickly sketched out what would become the first incarnation of the Simpson family and named them after his own family. His idea was accepted by James L. Brooks as a suitable replacement for what he was originally supposed to pitch and he was told to go forward on the shorts.

In the first season of Ullman's variety show, a more crudely drawn version of the Simpsons appeared as bumper segments alongside a quickly forgotten animated short which was left in the proverbial dust after The Simpsons began to gain popularity. In the beginning, these shorts were written entirely by Groening with the aid of several animators from Klasky-Csupo. The shorts would continue to be broadcast until the end of the third season when FOX allowed Groening and Brooks to develop the shorts into a full series.

The series quickly blew up in popularity, particularly during the early 1990s when "Bartmania" swept the country, leading to the extreme merchandising of the characters, particularly Bart and Homer. The first season of the series drew an average of 13 million viewers in the United States alone, a number that allowed the fledgling FOX network to catapult into the big leagues, although the series suffered when executives programmed it against the wildly popular Cosby Show. However, the popularity of the series wasn't seen as a positive force in television. President George H. W. Bush and his wife Barbara Bush openly criticized the program, saying that they wanted families to be "more like The Waltons and less like The Simpsons."

On July 27, 2007, the first feature-length Simpsons movie was released theatrically after being in creative limbo since the season four episode, Kamp Krusty, which was originally considered as the plot of a full movie.

[edit] Themes

Groening originally created the family as an alternative to what was being displayed on the typical American sitcom family in that the Simpsons are a functional dysfunctional family. In an early interview with Entertainment Weekly dating back to 1993, Groening commented that his goal 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." As a result, while the series at its core is a simply story about a family in American society, there are deliberate messages being delivered with their adventures.

Homer's employment in a nuclear power plant gives writers the ability to comment on environmental issues, Springfield Elementary is used as a backdrop of looking at education in America, Reverend Lovejoy and his church allow for religious discourse which at one point even included Homer having a conversation with a suspiciously five-fingered god in Homer the Heretic. However, the series is not technically topical like South Park due to the time it takes to produce an episode, instead it examines broad social messages, usually through the eyes of Homer or Bart.

Some have observed the social content and philosophy of the series as nihilist, due to the overwhelming corruption and incompetence of those who run the town. Mayor Joe Quimby is a womanizer, the police force is frequently ineffective, Rev. Lovejoy is often portrayed as bored and indifferent towards his congregation and corporate owners like C. Montgomery Burns are shown as out for greed and greed alone. However, beneath the somewhat bleak outlook, those beneath that specter are shown as unique and nuanced people who reflect average Americans rather than cartoonish caricatures.

[edit] Cast

For reasons of size, only the most prominent character voiced (usually a member of the core Simpson family) is listed in this table. For a full listing of Simpsons characters, see the character listing.

Actor	Character	Duration
Billed Cast
Dan Castellaneta	Homer Simpson	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
Julie Kavner	Marge Simpson	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
Nancy Cartwright	Bart Simpson	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
Yeardley Smith	Lisa Simpson	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
Hank Azaria	Additional Voices	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
Harry Shearer	Additional Voices	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
Supporting/Recurring Cast
Pamela Hayden	Milhouse Van Houten	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
Maggie Roswell	Maude Flanders	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
Tress MacNeille	Additional Voices	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	17	19	20
Russi Taylor	Additional Voices	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20

[edit] Seasons

Season	Premiere	Finale	#
FOX
Season One	December 17, 1989	May 13, 1990	13
Season Two	October 11, 1990	July 11, 1990	22
Season Three	September 19, 1991	August 27, 1992	24
Season Four	September 24, 1992	May 13, 1993	22
Season Five	September 30, 1993	May 19, 1994	22
Season Six	September 4, 1994	May 21, 1995	25
Season Seven	September 17, 1995	May 19, 1996	25
Season Eight	October 27, 1996	May 18, 1997	25
Season Nine	September 21, 1997	May 17, 1998	25
Season Ten	August 23, 1998	May 16, 1999	23
Season Eleven	September 26, 1999	May 21, 2000	22
Season Twelve	November 1, 2000	May 20, 2001	21
Season Thirteen	November 6, 2001	May 22, 2002	22
Season Fourteen	November 3, 2002	May 18, 2003	22
Season Fifteen	November 2, 2003	May 23, 2004	22
Season Sixteen	November 7, 2004	May 15, 2005	21
Season Seventeen	September 11, 2005	May 21, 2006	22
Season Eighteen	September 10, 2006	May 20, 2007	22
Season Nineteen	September 23, 2007	May 18, 2008	20
Season Twenty	Fall 2008	Spring 2009	22
Feature Films
The Simpsons Movie	July 27, 2007

[edit] In-Depth

• At a Glance: Additional information about the series
• Characters: A listing of characters on the show

[edit] DVD Releases

Title	Release Date	#
Season Sets
The Complete First Season	September 25, 2001	3	purchase
The Complete Second Season	August 6, 2002	4	purchase
The Complete Third Season	August 26, 2003	4	purchase
The Complete Fourth Season	June 15, 2004	4	purchase
The Complete Fifth Season	December 21, 2004	4	purchase
The Complete Sixth Season	August 16, 2005	4	purchase
The Complete Seventh Season	December 13, 2005	4	purchase
The Complete Eighth Season	August 15, 2006	4	purchase
The Complete Ninth Season	December 19, 2006	4	purchase
The Complete Tenth Season	August 7, 2007	4	purchase
Feature Film
The Simpsons Movie	December 18, 2007	1
Episode Collections
Treehouse of Horror	September 2, 2003	1	purchase
Christmas with the Simpsons	October 14, 2003	1	purchase
The Simpsons Gone Wild	September 14, 2004	1	purchase
Christmas with the Simpsons 2	December 2, 2004	1	purchase
Bart Wars	May 17, 2005	1	purchase
Kiss & Tell	February 7, 2006	1	purchase

[edit] Soundtrack Releases

Title	Release Date	Music By	#
Soundtracks
Songs in the Key of Springfield	March 18, 1997	Alf Clausen	39
Go Simpsonic With The Simpsons	November 2, 1999	Alf Clausen	53

[edit] External Sites

• Official website for The Simpsons
• Simpsons TV Listings, Episode Guide, Photos, Message Board, Cast and More at TVGuide.com