History of The Simpsons

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Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons.
Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons.

This is a history of the animated television series The Simpsons. The show was created by Matt Groening, who conceived of the idea for the Simpsons in the lobby of James L. Brooks's office. He named the characters after his own family members, substituting "Bart" for his own name.The family debuted as shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987. In 1989, the shorts were spun off into the series The Simpsons which debuted on December 17, 1989. Since then, the series has aired 400 episodes, over 19 seasons and a film was released in 2007.

Contents

[edit] The Tracey Ullman shorts

Main article: The Simpsons shorts

Groening conceived of the idea for the Simpsons in the lobby of James L. Brooks's office. Brooks had asked Groening to pitch an idea for a series of animated shorts, which Groening initially intended to present as his Life in Hell series. However, when Groening realized that animating Life in Hell would require the rescinding of publication rights for his life's work, he chose another approach and formulated his version of a dysfunctional family.[1] He named the characters after his own family members, substituting "Bart" for his own name.[2]

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

The Simpson family first appeared in short subjects in The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987.[3] Groening submitted only basic sketches to the animators and assumed that the figures would be cleaned-up in production. However, the animators merely re-traced his drawings, which led to the crude appearance of the characters in the initial short episodes.[2] The animation was produced domestically at Klasky Csupo,[4] with Wesley Archer, David Silverman, and Bill Kopp being animators for the first season.[5] After season one it was animated by Archer and Silverman.[5] Georgie Peluse was the colorist and the person who decided to make the characters yellow.[5]

The actors who voiced the characters would later reprise their roles in The Simpsons. Dan Castellaneta performed the voices of Homer Simpson, Abraham Simpson, and Krusty the Clown.[6] Homer's voice sounds different in the shorts compared to most episodes of the half-hour show. In the shorts, his voice is a loose impression of Walter Matthau, whereas it is more robust and humorous on the half-hour show, allowing Homer to cover a fuller range of emotions.[7] Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, and Yeardley Smith performed the voices of Marge Simpson, Bart Simpson, and Lisa Simpson respectively.[6] While most of the characters' personalities are similar to what they are in the series, Lisa is portrayed as a female version of Bart without the intelligence that she possesses in the half-hour series.

The shorts were featured on the first three seasons on The Tracey Ullman Show. By the fourth and last season of The Tracey Ullman Show the first season of the half-hour show was on the air. In the two first seasons the shorts were divided into three or four parts,[8] but in the third season they were played as a single story.[8]

[edit] The half-hour show

[edit] The first season

Main article: The Simpsons (season 1)

In 1989, a team of production companies adapted The Simpsons into a half-hour series for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The team included what is now the Klasky Csupo animation house. Jim Brooks negotiated a provision in the contract with the Fox network that prevented Fox from interfering with the show's content.[9] Groening said his goal in creating the show was to offer the audience an alternative to what he called "the mainstream trash" that they were watching.[10] The half-hour series premiered on December 17, 1989 with "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", a Christmas special.[11]

The series was originally set to debut in the fall of 1989 with the episode "Some Enchanted Evening", which was meant to introduce the main characters.[12] However, during the first screening of the episode, the producers discovered that the animation was so appalling that 70% of the episode needed to be redone.[13] The producers considered aborting the series if the next episode ("Bart the Genius") turned out as bad, but it only suffered from easily fixable problems. The producers convinced Fox to move the debut to December 17, and aired "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" as the first episode of the series.[12] The Simpsons was the Fox network's first TV series to rank among a season's top 30 highest-rated shows.[14]

[edit] Bartmania

The show was controversial from its beginning. The rebellious lead character at the time, Bart, frequently received no punishment for his misbehavior, which led some parents and conservatives to characterize him as a poor role model for children.[15][16] Several US public schools even banned The Simpsons merchandise and t-shirts, such as one featuring Bart and the caption "Underachiever ('And proud of it, man!')".[17] Despite the ban, The Simpsons merchandise sold well and generated US$2 billion in revenue during the first 14 months of sales.[17]

[edit] Season 2 onward

Main article: The Simpsons (season 2)

"Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish" was the first episode produced for the season, but "Bart Gets an F" aired first because Bart was popular at the time and the producers had wanted to premiere with a Bart themed episode.[18] The second season featured a new opening sequence, which was shortened by fifteen seconds from its original length of roughly 1 minute, 30 seconds. The opening sequence for the first season showed Bart stealing a "Bus Stop" sign; whilst the new sequence featured him skateboarding past several characters who had been introduced during the previous season. Starting with this season, there were three versions of the opening: a full roughly 1 minute 15 second long version, a 45 second version and a 25 second version. This gave the show's editors more leeway.[13]

Due to the show's success, over the summer of 1990, the Fox network decided to switch The Simpsons timeslots. It would move from 8:00 PM on Sunday night to the same time on Thursday where it would compete with The Cosby Show, the number one show at the time.[19] Many of the producers, including James L. Brooks, were against the move because The Simpsons had been in the top 10 while airing on Sunday and they felt the move would destroyed its ratings.[12] All through the summer of 1990, several news outlets published stories about the supposed "Bill vs. Bart" rivalry.[12] The Cosby Show beat The Simpsons every time during the second season and The Simpsons fell out of the top 10. It would not be until the third season episode "Homer at the Bat" that The Simpsons would beat The Cosby Show in the ratings.[18] The show remained in its Thursday timeslot until season 6.[19]

[edit] Feud with George H. W. Bush

On January 27, 1992 then-current President George H. W. Bush made a speech during his re-election campaign that reignited the feud between the Simpsons and the Bushes. At that point family values were the cornerstone of Bush's campaign platform. So he gave the following speech at the National Religious Broadcaster's convention in Washington. "The next value I speak of must be forever cast in stone. I speak of decency, the moral courage to say what is right and condemn what's wrong, and we need a nation closer to the Waltons than the Simpsons. An America that rejects the incivility, the tide of incivility and the tide of intolerance".[20]

The next broadcast of the Simpsons was a rerun of "Stark Raving Dad" on January 30. In that broadcast there was hastily included new opening, which was a response to Bush's speech. The scene begins in the Simpsons living room. Homer, Patty, and Selma sit on couch. Maggie is in her high chair next to the couch. Bart and Lisa are sprawled on the carpet. They all stare at the TV and watch Bush's speech. When Bush says, "We need a nation closer to the Waltons than the Simpsons," Bart replies "Hey, we're just like the Waltons. We're praying for an end to the Depression, too."[20]

[edit] New Orleans controversy

Main page A Streetcar Named Marge
The chalkboard gag for "Homer the Heretic"
The chalkboard gag for "Homer the Heretic"

During the fourth season the episode "A Streetcar Named Marge" was produced. The musical within the episode contains a controversial song about New Orleans, which describes the city as a "home of pirates, drunks and whores", among other things. Jeff Martin, the writer of the episode, had meant the song to be a parody of the opening number in Sweeney Todd, which speaks of London in unflattering terms.[21] Al Jean later explained that two Cajun characters were supposed to walk out of the theater in disgust, but none of the voice actors could provide a convincing Cajun accent.[22]

Before the premiere of the fourth season, the producers sent two episodes to critics: "Kamp Krusty" and "A Streetcar Named Marge".[18] A New Orleans critic viewed "A Streetcar Named Marge" and published the song lyrics in his newspaper before the episode aired.[22] Many readers took the lyrics out of context, and New Orleans' Fox affiliate, WNOL, received about one hundred complaints on the day the episode aired. Several local radio stations also held on-air protests in response to the song.[23]

The Simpsons' producers rushed out a chalkboard gag for "Homer the Heretic", which aired a week after "A Streetcar Named Marge". It read, "I will not defame New Orleans." The gag was their attempt to "apologize" for the song and hopefully bring the controversy to an end.[21] "We didn't realize people would get so mad," said Al Jean. "It was the best apology we could come up with in eight words or less."[24] The issue passed quickly, and a person in a Bart Simpson costume even served as Krewe of Tucks Grand Marshal at the 1993 New Orleans Mardi Gras.[25]

[edit] Tracey Ullman lawsuit

Tracey Ullman filed a lawsuit in 1992 , claiming that her show was the source of The Simpsons success and therefore should receive a share of the show's profit. "I breast-fed those little devils," Tracey Ullman once said of The Simpsons. She wanted a share of The Simpsons' merchandising and gross profits and believed she was entitled to $2.5 million of Fox's estimated $50 million in 1992. The Fox network had paid her $58,000 in royalties for The Simpsons as well as $3 million for the 3 1/2 seasons her show was on the air. Eventually the courts ruled in favor of the network.[26]

[edit] Labor difficulties

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 to increase their salary from $30,000 per episode to $125,000. The series creator Groening supported the actors in their action.[27]

Most writers in animation belong to Animation Guild, but The Simpsons as well as other animated shows on Fox are different. But in 1998 the shows made the change to become signatories to the guild. "Everyone expected a big fight with the studio," said Mike Scully, a producer of "The Simpsons" and continues "But it never materialized, because they conceded that prime-time animation was successful and everyone was benefiting". Chris Alexander, a spokesman for Fox's television division, explains that "We wanted to treat everyone equally".[28]

[edit] Rio de Janeiro controversy

In 2002 Rio de Janeiro tourist board found the season 13 episode "Blame It on Lisa" so offending for the Brazilian people that they threatened to sue the producers. The board's exact word were "What really hurt was the idea of the monkeys, the image that Rio de Janeiro was a jungle ... It's a completely unreal image of the city".[29] Brazilian president Fernando Henrique Cardoso found it to be "a distorted vision of Brazilian reality".[30] Rio de Janeiro had just spent millions promoting the city internationally. Their reputation was already damaged because of an outbreak of dengue fever a few years earlier. The producers apologized and the issue did not go any further. However it was international news for a while.[29]

[edit] Later seasons

In Season 14, production switched from traditional cel animation to digital ink and paint.[31] The first episode to experiment with digital coloring was "Radioactive Man" in 1995. Animators used digital ink and paint during production of the Season 12 episode "Tennis the Menace", but Gracie Films delayed the regular use of digital ink and paint until two seasons later. The already completed "Tennis the Menace" was broadcast as made.[32]

As the show's revenue continued to rise through syndication and DVD sales, the main cast stopped appearing for script readings in April 2004. The work stoppage occurred after weeks of unsuccessful negotiations with Fox, in which the cast asked for an increase in their pay to $360,000 per episode, or $8 million over a 22-episode season. On May 2, 2004, the actors reached an agreement with Fox.[33]

At the end of 2007 the writers of The Simpsons went on strike together with the Writers Guild of America. The broadcasting of The Simpsons was not be affected by the strike. Since it takes a long time to produce an episode of an animated show, the episodes are ready up to a year in advance. So the strike had to go on for a while if they should run out of new episodes.[34]

[edit] Film

Main article: The Simpsons Movie

20th Century Fox, Gracie Films, and Film Roman produced an animated The Simpsons film that was released on July 27, 2007.[35] The production staff of The Simpsons had entertained the thought of a film since early in the series, but production never came together. Groening felt a feature length film would allow them to increase the show's scale and animate sequences too complex for a TV series.[36] The film was directed by David Silverman and written by a team of Simpsons writers comprising 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.[35] Work continued on the screenplay from 2003 onwards and did not cease,[37] taking place in the small bungalow where Matt Groening first pitched The Simpsons in 1987.[38] The writers spent six months discussing a plot,[39] and each pitched a "half-assed" idea.[38] Groening read about a town that had to get rid of pig feces in their water supply, which inspired the plot of the film.[40] Having eventually decided on the basic outline for the film, the writers then separated it into seven sections. Jean, Scully, Reiss, Swartzwelder, Vitti, Mirkin, and Meyer wrote twenty five pages each, with the group meeting one month later to merge the seven sections in to one "very rough draft."[11] The script went through one hundred revisions.[39] Groening described his desire to also make the film dramatically stronger than a TV episode, as "we wanna really give you something that you haven't seen before. There are moments you actually forget that you're watching a cartoon and that is difficult when you have characters as ugly as the Simpsons."[41] The film was originally planned for release in summer 2006,[42] but Al Jean stated at San Diego's Comic-Con International 2004 that the producers were taking their time, to make sure that the film was perfect.[43]

Production of the film occurred alongside continued writing of the series despite long-time claims by those involved in the show that a film would enter production only after the series had concluded.[35] There had been talk of a possible feature-length Simpsons film 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 film, but encountered difficulties in trying to expand the script to feature-length.[44] For a long time, difficulties such as lack of a suitable story and an already fully engaged crew of writers delayed the project.[45]

After winning a Fox and USA Today competition, Springfield, Vermont hosted the film's world premiere.[46] The Simpsons Movie grossed a combined total of $74 million in its opening weekend in the US, taking it to the top of the box office,[47] and set the record for highest grossing opening weekend for a film based on a television series, surpassing Mission Impossible II.[48] It opened at the top of the international box office, taking $96 million from seventy-one overseas territories — including $27.8 million in the United Kingdom, making it Fox's second highest opening ever in that country.[49] In Australia, it grossed AU$13.2 million, the biggest opening for an animated film and third largest opening weekend in the country.[50] As of November 23, 2007 the film has a worldwide gross of $525,267,904.[51]

A Seattle 7-Eleven store transformed into a Kwik-E-Mart.
A Seattle 7-Eleven store transformed into a Kwik-E-Mart.

In July 2007, convenience store chain 7-Eleven converted 11 of its stores in the United States and one in Canada into Kwik-E-Marts to celebrate the release of The Simpsons Movie. Prior to July, the promotion had long been known but the locations were kept a secret until the morning of July 1, when the 12 stores were made over with industrial foam, vinyl and actual Kwik-E-Mart signs.[52] These 12 locations, as well as the majority of other North American 7-Elevens, sold products found in The Simpsons, such as "Buzz Cola", "Krusty-O's", "Squishees", pink frosted "Sprinklicious doughnuts" and other Simpsons-themed merchandise. It was decided that Duff Beer would not be sold due to the movie being rated PG-13, and the promoters wanted to have "good, responsible fun," though it was noted that it was a tough decision.[52] The promotion resulted in a 30% increase in profits for the changed 7-Eleven stores.[53] The conversions lasted through early August, when the stores were converted back to 7-Elevens.[54]

[edit] References

[edit] Sources

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Groening, Matt. Interview with David Bianculli. Fresh Air. National Public Radio. WHYY Philadelphia. 2003-02-14. Retrieved on 2007-08-08.
  2. ^ a b BBC. (2000). 'The Simpsons': America's First Family (6 minute edit for the season 1 DVD) (DVD). UK: 20th Century Fox.
  3. ^ Richmond, p. 14
  4. ^ Deneroff, Harvey. "Matt Groening's Baby Turns 10", Animation Magazine, Vol. 14, #1, January 2000, pp. 10, 12. 
  5. ^ a b c Cagle, Daryl. The David Silverman Interview. MSNBC. Retrieved on 2006-12-29.
  6. ^ a b Richmond, Ray; Antonia Coffman (1997). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to our Favorite Family. Harper Collins Publishers, p. 178. ISBN 0-00-638898-1. 
  7. ^ Brownfield, Paul. "He's Homer, but This Odyssey Is His Own", Los Angeles Times, 1999-07-06. 
  8. ^ a b Richmond, Ray; Antonia Coffman (1997). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to our Favorite Family. Harper Collins Publishers, pp. 14-15. ISBN 0-00-638898-1. 
  9. ^ Kuipers, Dean (2004-04-15). '3rd Degree: Harry Shearer'. Los Angeles: City Beat. Retrieved on 2006-09-01.
  10. ^ Tucker, Ken. "Toon Terrific", Entertainment Weekly, 1993-03-12, p. 48(3). 
  11. ^ a b "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" The Simpsons.com. Retrieved on February 5, 2007
  12. ^ a b c d Groening, Matt. (2001). The Simpsons season 1 DVD commentary for the episode "Some Enchanted Evening" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  13. ^ a b Silverman, David. (2001). The Simpsons season 1 DVD commentary for the episode "Some Enchanted Evening" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  14. ^ TV Ratings: 1989–1990. ClassicTVHits.com. Retrieved on 2006-07-03.
  15. ^ Turner, p. 131
  16. ^ Rosenbaum, Martin. "Is The Simpsons still subversive?", BBC News, 2007-06-29. Retrieved on 2007-08-06. 
  17. ^ a b Griffiths, Nick. "America's First Family", The Times Magazine, 2000-04-15, pp. 25, 27–28. 
  18. ^ a b c Jean, Al. (2002). The Simpsons season 2 DVD commentary for the episode "Bart Gets an F" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  19. ^ a b Reiss, Mike. (2002). The Simpsons season 2 DVD commentary for the episode "Bart Gets an F" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  20. ^ a b Turner p. 225-226
  21. ^ a b Martin, Jeff. (2004). The Simpsons season 4 DVD extra "The Cajun Controversy" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  22. ^ a b Mark Lorando. "'Simpsons' takes a shot at Crescent City." The Times-Picayune. 1992-10-01. p. A1.
  23. ^ Mark Lorando. "Fox apologizes for 'Simpsons'. The Times-Picayune. 1992-10-02. p. B1.
  24. ^ Mark Lorando. "Bart chalks up apology for New Orleans song." The Times-Picayune. 1992-10-08. p. A1.
  25. ^ "For Silver Celebration, Tucks 'Lov-A-Da Music." The Times-Picayune. 1993-02-21. p. D7. 1993-02-21.
  26. ^ Spotnitz, Frank. "Eat my shorts!", Entertainment Weekly, 1992-10-23, p. 8(1). 
  27. ^ Doherty, Brian. "Matt Groening", Mother Jones, March/April 1999. 
  28. ^ Munoz, Lorenza. "Why SpongeBob is sitting out the writers strile", Los Angeles Times, 2007-12-23. Retrieved on 2008-01-09. 
  29. ^ a b Turner, p. 326
  30. ^ Turner, p. 325
  31. ^ Groening, Matt; Al Jean, Jeffrey Lynch, Mike Reiss, David Silverman. (2004). The Simpsons season 4 DVD commentary for the episode "Whacking Day" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  32. ^ Grala, Alyson. "A Salute to the Simpsons", License Mag, pp. p. 14. Retrieved on 2007-08-11. 
  33. ^ McGinnis, Rick. "Star talks Simpsons", metro, 2004-08-09. 
  34. ^ Unknown author. How Will TV Strik Affect Viewers. The Showbuzz. Retrieved on 2008-01-09.
  35. ^ a b c Fleming, Michael (2006-04-02). Homer going to bat in '07. Variety.com. Retrieved on 2006-07-03.
  36. ^ Edward Douglas. "The Creators of The Simpsons Movie!", Comingsoon.net, 2007-07-24. Retrieved on 2007-07-25. 
  37. ^ Dave Itzkoff. "D'oh! They're Still Tinkering With Homer", The New York Times, 2007-05-06. Retrieved on 2007-05-05. 
  38. ^ a b Matt Groening. "The 12 steps to making a Simpsons movie", Total Film Issue 130, Summer 2007, pp. 84-85. Retrieved on 2007-07-03. 
  39. ^ a b Nick Curtis. "The Simpsons' big screen test", This is London, 2007-07-12. Retrieved on 2007-07-14. 
  40. ^ Dan Snierson. "Homer's Odyssey", Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2007-07-20. 
  41. ^ Dave West. "Groening: 'Simpsons Movie' will be emotional", Digital Spy, 2007-07-07. Retrieved on 2007-07-10. 
  42. ^ "A Simpsons Movie in 2006?", ICV2.com, 2004-02-11. Retrieved on 2007-05-07. 
  43. ^ "Simpsons Film Confirmed", ICV2.com, 2006-07-04. Retrieved on 2007-05-07. 
  44. ^ Groening, Matt; Al Jean, Mark Kirkland, David Silverman. (2004). The Simpsons season 4 DVD commentary for the episode "Kamp Krusty" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  45. ^ Rabin, Nathan (2006-04-26). Matt Groening interview with The A.V. Club (page 3). A.V. Club. Retrieved on 2006-10-27.
  46. ^ "Simpsons launch hits Springfield", BBC News, 2007-07-21. Retrieved on 2007-07-22. 
  47. ^ Weekend Box Office July 27–29, 2007. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
  48. ^ Joshua Rich. Raking in the d'oh!. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2007-07-30.
  49. ^ Frank Segers. ""Simpsons Movie" rules foreign box office", Reuters, 2007-07-29. Retrieved on 2007-07-30. 
  50. ^ Patrick Kolan. "Simpsons Movie Breaks Records", IGN, 2007-07-30. Retrieved on 2007-07-31. 
  51. ^ The Simpsons Movie. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2007-11-23.
  52. ^ a b "7-Eleven Becomes Kwik-E-Mart for 'Simpsons Movie' Promotion", Associated Press, 2007-07-01. Retrieved on 2007-07-03. 
  53. ^ Gail Schiller. "D'oh! 'Simpsons' limits tie-in partners", The Hollywood Reporter, 2007-07-06. Retrieved on 2007-07-06. 
  54. ^ Jenn Dolari. "Fadza! Damn yoo Fadza!", Jenn Dolari's LiveJournal blog, 2007-08-10. Retrieved on 2007-08-10.