Portal:The Simpsons
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The Simpsons is an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Network. It is a satirical parody of the "Middle American" lifestyle epitomized by its title family, consisting of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie. Set in the fictional town of Springfield, the show lampoons many aspects of the human condition, as well as American culture, society as a whole and even television itself.
The family was conceived by Groening shortly before a pitch for a series of animated shorts with James L. Brooks. He sketched out his version of a dysfunctional family, and named the characters after members of his own family, substituting Bart for his own name. The shorts became a part of The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987. 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 has won several major awards. 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. On January 14, 2000 the Simpsons was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It is the longest-running American sitcom, as well as the longest-running American animated program. The Simpsons has been influential on popular culture. Its catchphrases have been adopted into the English lexicon. The annoyed grunt "D'oh!" has entered the English dictionary. It was cited as an influence on many adult-oriented animated sitcoms of the late 1990s.
Since its debut on December 17, 1989, 391 episodes have aired over 18 seasons. As of March 20, 2006, the show has been renewed for a 19th season, due to be aired in 2007–2008. The 18th season finale will be the 400th episode, and the 20th 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.
For a list of former Simpsons Portal featured articles, see this page.
Bartholomew "Bart" Simpson, voiced by Nancy Cartwright is the oldest child and only son of Homer and Marge Simpson, and brother of Lisa and Maggie. Along with his father, Bart is arguably the most well-known character on the long running animated series. Both Bart and Lisa ranked #11 in TV Guide's "Top 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time". In an interview, Simpsons creator Matt Groening claimed he chose the name "Bart" as an anagram of "brat".
He is a self-proclaimed underachiever who begins each show in school detention writing lines on the blackboard, which are known as the Chalkboard Gags. He is easily distracted by almost anything, even, strangely enough, algebraic equations. He is considerably under motivated and takes great joy in disrupting the routine at Springfield Elementary. His pranks are often elaborately complex, while his actions and speech frequently show considerable mental agility, street-smarts and understanding; so he cannot be called "stupid" per se. His best friend is Milhouse Van Houten.
Bart's interests include Krusty the Klown, skateboarding, reading comic books (especially Radioactive Man), terrorizing Lisa, playing video games/computer games, helping Lisa solve various problems (e.g. reuniting Krusty with his estranged father), and pulling off various pranks (such as mooning unsuspecting people and prank calling Moe Szyslak at his tavern).
For a list of Simpsons episodes that used to be featured, see this page.
| Episode no.: 168 |
| Prod. code: 4F11 |
| Airdate: 16 February 1997 |
| Writer(s): Ron Hauge |
| Director: Mike B. Anderson |
"Homer's Phobia" is the Emmy Award-winning fifteenth episode of The Simpsons' eighth season, which originally aired on the Fox network on February 16, 1997. It was the first episode written by Ron Hauge and was directed by Mike B. Anderson. John Waters guest starred, providing the voice of the new character John.
The episode sees Homer refusing to see a new family friend named John after finding out the truth that John is gay. "Homer's Phobia" was the first episode to revolve entirely around homosexual themes, with the title being a pun on the word "homophobia". Originally, due to the controversial subject, the Fox censors found the episode unsuitable for broadcast, but this decision was reversed after a turnover in the Fox staff. Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation awarded it a GLAAD Media Award for "Outstanding TV - Individual Episode".
The Simpsons - Episodes - Characters - Albums - Video games - Stubs
- March 3, The plot for "Homerazzi" is revealed: Homer becomes "Springfield's most valued photographer".
- February 18, The third trailer for The Simpsons Movie is aired with the episode "Springfield Up".
- February 16, The plot for "Rome-old and Juli-eh" is announced: Grampa and Selma fall in love, causing Homer and Patty to try to break the couple up.
- February 13, John Frink wins a Writers Guild of America Award for "The Italian Bob".
Marge decides to restage all of the family's photographs, and when a celebrity dating scandal is captured in the background of one of their photos, the Simpsons strike tabloid gold. Tasting success and seeing money to be made, Homer takes to the streets as one of the paparazzi. Overnight, Homer becomes Springfield's most valued photographer, and he appears unstoppable. However, when he crashes a celebrity wedding, the subjects who've been humiliated in his photos band together to seek revenge against Homer.
- ... that Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Pearl Jam and Hole were all sought to guest star in the episode Homerpalooza, but all four turned the offer down?
