The Simpsons (1989– )

The satiric adventures of a working-class family in the misfit city of Springfield.

Creator:

Matt Groening

Stars:

Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 120 wins & 162 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Dan Castellaneta	...	Homer Simpson (538 episodes, 1989-2013)
Julie Kavner	...	Marge Simpson (538 episodes, 1989-2013)
Nancy Cartwright	...	Bart Simpson (538 episodes, 1989-2013)
Yeardley Smith	...	Lisa Simpson (538 episodes, 1989-2013)
Harry Shearer	...	Ned Flanders (537 episodes, 1989-2013)
Hank Azaria	...	Moe Szyslak (520 episodes, 1989-2013)
Pamela Hayden	...	Milhouse Van Houten (444 episodes, 1989-2013)
Tress MacNeille	...	Agnes Skinner (399 episodes, 1990-2013)
Karl Wiedergott	...	Additional Voices (247 episodes, 1998-2010)
Maggie Roswell	...	Helen Lovejoy (190 episodes, 1990-2013)
Marcia Wallace	...	Edna Krabappel (174 episodes, 1990-2013)
Russi Taylor	...	Martin Prince (160 episodes, 1990-2013)

Storyline

The Simpsons is an animated sitcom about the antics of a dysfunctional family called the Simpsons (surprise surprise). Homer is the oafish unhealthy beer loving father, Marge is the hardworking homemaker wife, Bart is the ten year old underachiever (and proud of it), Lisa is the unappreciated eight year old genius, and Maggie is the cute, pacifier loving silent infant.

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Plot Keywords:

nuclear power plant | dysfunctional family | school | neighbor | beer | 

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Taglines:

Putting the Fun back in Dysfunctional!

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Family

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Certificate:

TV-G

Details

Official Sites:

FOX Fox (Spanish)

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish Albanian French Japanese German Russian Hindi Swahili Italian Swedish Turkish Cantonese Mandarin Hebrew Arabic Klingon Bengali

Release Date:

17 December 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Los Simpson

Box Office

Budget:

$750,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gracie Films, 20th Century Fox Television, Curiosity Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

22 min 22 min (441 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Stereo (season 1-2) Dolby Digital (season 20-) Dolby (seasons 3-19)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Hank Azaria and Harry Shearer were not in the The Tracey Ullman Show and joined the cast when it became its own series.

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Goofs

Marge's father in The Way We Were looks nothing like he does in Fear Of Flying (although it's possible the latter is her real father and the former is her stepfather.)

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Quotes

Marge: Homer, it's easy to criticize.
Homer: Fun, too.

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Crazy Credits

In episode BABF10, "Alone Again, Natura-Diddly," 'Ian Maxtone-Graham' 's writing credit is larger than normal after an on-screen joke is made.

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Connections

Referenced in The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

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Soundtracks

"'The Itchy & Scratchy Show' Theme"
Written by Robert Israel and Sam Simon
Performed by Cast
(various episodes)

User Reviews

It started off fantastic...

No one, not even Matt Groening himself, could've imagined that The Simpsons would become as big as it did. Nor could anyone anticipate it could become so cultural. "D'oh" is in the dictionary, and it has spawned off several catch-phrases and one liners. Truly, The Simpsons is the biggest thing since Seinfeld! The first three seasons showed them as if they were an actual family. Like the kind of family you'd meet on the street (only a lot more dysfunctional). Homer trying to do the fatherly thing in each episode. Marge being the voice of reason all the time. Lisa and Bart with their sibling rivalry. These first three seasons are not usually sighted as being the best, but they are often brought up when one speaks of "The Best Episode Ever!" By Season four, the show took a turn for what may have been the best. It left it's more realistic roots and became more of a satire. With more zany antics and more clever, witty, and often times sophisticated humor, The Simpsons became the most popular family on television. Each episode still contained it's own merits, themes and messages. Seasons 4 to about 10 are often said to be the "Golden Age" of The Simpsons.

However, as the year 2000 came, fans began to see themselves divided. Those who stuck with the show since it came about in 1989 were quick to jump on how the show changed. The humor became more lurid and toilet like, with antics becoming heavily more unrealistic and zany (to the point where some even say it isn't funny... but stupid). Some characters becoming unrealistically stupid, and the show shifting gears from focusing on Bart to Homer... to everyone outside of the Simpson family. The show also began to see more cumbersome and meaningless plots. Plots that didn't focus on current issues, or that didn't seem to be as strong as older episodes. Despite this, new fans seem to have come about to replace then, and the show continues to remain at the top of its game, even today.

I'm sure you all know where I stand on that debate. Nine stars to nine fantastic seasons.