The Simpsons

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"Simpsons" redirects here. For the surname, see Simpson. For other uses of "The Simpsons", see The Simpsons (disambiguation).

The Simpsons
Clockwise from top left: Homer, Marge, Maggie, Santa's Little Helper (dog), Bart, Snowball II (cat) and Lisa.
Genre	Animated television series Comedy
Creator(s)	Matt Groening
Developer(s)	James L. Brooks Matt Groening Sam Simon
Voices of	Dan Castellaneta Julie Kavner Nancy Cartwright Yeardley Smith Hank Azaria Harry Shearer (Complete list)
Theme music composer	Danny Elfman
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of episodes	394 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Al Jean James L. Brooks Matt Groening Sam Simon
Running time	20–23 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	Fox
Picture format	480i (SDTV)
Original run	December 17, 1989 – present (renewed through 2007–2008)
Links
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 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.^[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 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.^[3] On January 14, 2000 the Simpsons was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It is the longest-running American sitcom,^[4] as well as the longest-running American animated program.^[5] 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.^[6]

Since its debut on December 17, 1989, 394 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.^[7] 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.^[8]

Origins

Main article: The Simpsons shorts

Groening first 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 had 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 to go in another direction.^[1] He hurriedly sketched out his version of a dysfunctional family, and named the characters after his own family, substituting Bart for his own name.^[1]

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

The Simpson family first appeared in animated form as shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show, with the first episode, "Good Night", airing on April 19, 1987.^[2] The family was crudely drawn, because Groening had submitted basic sketches to the animators, assuming they would clean them up; instead they just traced over his drawings.^[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 fledgling position of the Fox network, 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 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."^[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 saw the poor quality of the final animation, and was eventually shown as the final episode of the first season.

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

The show was also involved in controversy from early on- Bart was rebellious and frequently escaped without punishment, which led some parents' groups and conservative spokespeople to believe 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."^[14] The Simpsons t-shirts—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.^[14] The Simpsons merchandise, however, sold very well; during the first 14 months, $2 billion in revenue was generated worldwide.^[14]

Production

Executive producers

Groening, Brooks, and Simon have been executive producers during the entire run, and now basically function as creative consultants. A more involved position on the show is known as the show runner, who serves as head writer and is in charge of every aspect of the show's production for the entire season.^[15] Credited 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 five, the show runner receives first billing on the closing credit run.

Voice actors

Main articles: List of cast members of The Simpsons and List of guest stars on The Simpsons

With one exception, episodes list only the voice actors, and not the characters they voice. Both Fox and the production crew wanted 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 the actors performed in the episode "Old Money", because the producers felt the voice actors should get credit for their work.^[17]

There are six main cast members on The Simpsons and with the exception of Harry Shearer, every main cast member has won an Emmy for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance. Dan Castellaneta performs the voices of Homer Simpson, his dad Abraham Simpson, and Krusty the Clown, as well as many other characters.^[18] Julie Kavner performs the voices of Marge Simpson and her sisters Patty and Selma.^[18] 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.^[18] 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.^[18] The two male actors who do not voice members of the title family play a majority of the male townspeople. Hank Azaria voices recurring characters like Moe, Chief Wiggum, and Apu.^[18] Harry Shearer provides voices for Mr. Burns, Smithers, Principal Skinner, Ned Flanders, Dr. Hibbert, and many others.^[18]

Along with the main cast, Pamela Hayden, Tress MacNeille, Marcia Wallace, Maggie Roswell, and Russi Taylor are regular cast members who voice several recurring characters. 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. The show is known for its frequent use of celebrity guest stars, who either play themselves or a character on the show.

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.^[19] 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.^[20]

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 has a writing team that consists of about 16 writers.^[21] This team starts to propose episode ideas at the beginning of December.^[21] Then each episode idea gets assigned to a main writer, who produces the first draft of the script. The final scripts are developed during group rewriting sessions. In these sessions, the writers can add or remove jokes, insert scenes, and call for rereadings of lines by the show’s vocal performers.^[22] The leader of these sessions is George Meyer, who has been with the show since its beginning. Long time writer Jon Vitti once explained that even though he will get the script credit for an episode the best quotes are usually made by George Meyer.^[22] Since it takes 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 sometimes cite planned events such as the Olympics or World Series.

John Swartzwelder is the most prolific writer on The Simpsons staff, credited with 60 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,^[24] although there have been other guest writers, such as Spike Feresten, a Seinfeld writer famous for "The Soup Nazi" episode.

Animation

The Simpsons has been animated by many different studios over the past 18 years, both American and international ones. Throughout the run of the 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 in South Korea.^[25] Character and background layout is done by the domestic studio, and tweening coloring and filming is done by the international studios. Throughout the years, different international 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. Gracie Films made a decision from season four to switch the domestic production to Film Roman,^[26] which continues 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 episode to experiment with digital coloring was "Radioactive Man" in 1995, and again during season 12 with the episode "Tennis the Menace". However, 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

Main article: Broadcasting of The Simpsons

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.^[28] The animation in The Simpsons makes the show more frequently dubbed in foreign countries rather than subtitled.

Characters

The Simpsons sports a vast array of secondary and tertiary characters.

Main articles: List of characters from The Simpsons and Simpson family

The Simpson family lives a "Middle American" lifestyle and is a one-income, working class family. Homer Simpson is a safety inspector at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant and a generally well-meaning buffoon. Marge Simpson is for the most part a stereotypical American housewife and mother. 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. Maggie Simpson is a baby who sucks on a pacifier, falls down a lot and does not speak. The family has a dog (Santa's Little Helper), a cat (Snowball II), as well as several other one-shot pets. Despite the fact that numerous yearly milestones (such as holidays or birthdays) clearly pass, the Simpsons do not physically age.

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 that this made the town seem like its own little universe.^[12]

Setting

Main article: Springfield (The Simpsons)

The Simpsons is set in the 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, the show has become 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. 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 contradicting this statement in other episodes, this could just be seen as a teaser from the writers at the increasing curiosity of the fans. Groening has stated that Springfield has much in common with Portland, Oregon, the city he grew up in,^[29] 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 surroundings is seen to be flexible and has been shown to contain coastlines, deserts, vast farmland, and tall mountains, or whatever a story or joke requires.

Plots

Main article: List of The Simpsons episodes

See also: Politics in The Simpsons, Religion in The Simpsons, and Education in The Simpsons

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; 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 is usually solved with the help of a member of the Simpson family.

The show routinely mocks and satirizes show business conventions and personalities. Krusty the Clown 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. Local authority figures, such as the city mayor 'Diamond' Joe Quimby and police chief Clancy Wiggum, are also frequently mocked and derided as being largely incompetent, stupid, cynical, corrupt or a mixture of all four.

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: Richard Nixon shown as a friend of the devil in "Treehouse of Horror IV", George H. W. Bush was portrayed as a cantankerous nemesis to Homer in "Two Bad Neighbors", Al Gore's seemingly banal personality being ridiculed, Jimmy Carter as a breakdancing hick, Bill Clinton claiming to have engaged in bestiality in Homer to the Max (Clinton also called himself "...a pretty lousy President." in another episode), and the United Nations is frequently shown to be an incompetent and bickering organization. Not surprisingly, the war in Iraq has also been a frequent target for satirical witticism. For instance, in "Revenge is a Dish Best Served Three Times", Marge tries to teach Homer of the pitfalls of revenge, to which he responds, "Then what are we doing in Iraq?"

Some social conservatives have come to embrace the show.^[30] 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 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. 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, in Three Gays of the Condo, Homer lives with two gay men for a short time, 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.

The show has used several different plot structures over the course of its run. During the early seasons it was common to have plots similar to those of a standard sitcom plot. Here a character or group of characters are placed in a simple, moral or social situation, which they must solve or learn to accept. After the early seasons it became common to have the main plot issue result from a relatively unrelated first act scenario. This phenomenon is commonly termed "plot drift" and is the most used plot structure on The Simpsons. Often the main plot is augmented by side-plots, sometimes tying into the main plot at the end, to better the episode. This was joked at in the episode Bart to the Future where, after being asked why Bart's vision (the main plot) included a story about Homer searching for Lincoln's gold, the Native American chief responded "I guess the spirits thought the main vision was a little thin." The last notable plot structure comprises 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.

Hallmarks

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, Lisa's sax solo gags on The Simpsons, and couch gag

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.^[31]

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. 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

Main article: Recurring jokes in The Simpsons

There are many running gags and catchphrases on The Simpsons, several of which are not used anymore. 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. 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.

In one example of a running gag, 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 example is in the annual Simpsons' Halloween Specials, in which the names in the credits will be parodies of the actual ones such as, "Bat Groening", "Chains Hell Brooks", etc. References to the Fox network as a sub-par network are also common.

The show has been known for both sign gags and freeze frame 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. Freeze frame gags 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.

Cultural impact

Impact on language

Main article: Culturally significant neologisms from The Simpsons

A number of neologisms which originated on The Simpsons have become common knowledge.^[32] 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,^[33] but without the apostrophe. (The first listed usage is not from The Simpsons, but from a 1945 BBC radio script; 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.^[34] Castellaneta was told by the show's director to shorten the noise, leading to the famous grunt in the TV series.^[34]

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.^[35]

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][36] 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.^[37]

Critical reactions and achievements

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.^[38] 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.^[39] 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.^[4] In October 2004, Scooby-Doo briefly overtook The Simpsons as the American animated show with the highest episode count.^[40] 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.^[41]

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 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 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][42] But gradually starting in the mid-90s, the tone and emphasis of the show changed. Some critics began calling the show tired.^[43] 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.^[44][45]

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,^[46] and a top-15 list by The Simpsons' own writers.^[47] 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."^[48]

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.^[49] 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."^[50]

Merchandise

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 action figures (see World of Springfield) to t-shirts to posters. 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!.^[51] Several card games such as trump cards and The Simpsons Trading Card Game have also been released.

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. 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^[52] 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.^[53] 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

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) and The Simpsons Hit & Run (2003). Two Simpsons pinball machines have been produced; one after the first season, and the other still available.

Film

Official movie poster

Main article: The Simpsons Movie

There has been talk of a possible feature-length Simpsons movie 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 movie, but difficulties were encountered in trying to expand the script to feature-length.^[54] For a long time the project was held up. There was trouble finding a story that was right for a movie, and the crew did not have time to complete a movie, since they already worked full time year-round on the show.^[50]

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 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.

References

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. 
• Brown, Alan; Chris Logan (2006). The Psychology of The Simpsons. ISBN 1-932100-70-9. 
• 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. The Simpsons And Society: An Analysis Of Our Favorite Family And Its Influence In Contemporary Society. 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.; Samuel F. Parvin. The Gospel According to the Simpsons: Leaders Guide for Group Study. ISBN 0-664-22590-X. 
• Turner, Chris. Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation. ISBN 0-679-31318-4. 

External links

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