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 119 wins & 159 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Dan Castellaneta	...	Homer Simpson (529 episodes, 1989-2013)
Julie Kavner	...	Marge Simpson (529 episodes, 1989-2013)
Nancy Cartwright	...	Bart Simpson (529 episodes, 1989-2013)
Yeardley Smith	...	Lisa Simpson (529 episodes, 1989-2013)
Harry Shearer	...	Ned Flanders (528 episodes, 1989-2013)
Hank Azaria	...	Moe Szyslak (511 episodes, 1989-2013)
Pamela Hayden	...	Milhouse Van Houten (442 episodes, 1989-2013)
Tress MacNeille	...	Agnes Skinner (399 episodes, 1990-2013)
Karl Wiedergott	...	Additional Voices (246 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

In the scripts, Homer's "D'oh" is written as "(ANNOYED GRUNT)", Marge's disapproving murmur is written as "(FRUSTRATED MURMUR)", and Professor Frink's mumblings are written as "(FRINK NOISE)".

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Goofs

Jasper confesses to being blind when viewing the premier of the Poochie episode, but could see perfectly well in a number of episodes (i.e. watching the Tatum fight at the Simpson house and walking down the street when Smithers shot him in his wooden leg.)

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Quotes

Bart: Don't have a cow, man.

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Crazy Credits

The credits for episode 3F31, "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular", read "Written by Penny Wise" and "Directed by Pound Foolish."

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Connections

Referenced in Jeopardy!: Episode #22.21 (2005)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

The greatest television show of all time

What more can I possibly say about a TV show that has already been praised to death? I was 15 when the Simpsons first aired and I'm 25 now. I've seen every single episode, and I'd have to say it's a rare combination of factors that come together to make The Simpsons the best show ever.

It's a very clever and intelligent show - they never dumb anything down - and as creator Matt Groening has remarked, "The Simpsons is a show that rewards paying attention." There are always enough obscure pop-culture references or subtle background gags to ensure that the second, third, or tenth viewing of an episode will find you noticing something you hadn't before.

In the early days of The Simpsons, they derived a large part of their popularity from the everyday, down-to-earth, unglamorous, average-blue-collar-slob aspect of the Simpson family. Homer is lazy and doesn't like his job, Bart doesn't excel at school, the plastic ketchup bottle they use at the dinner table makes that farting sound, and so on. This aspect of the program contrasts it with popular 80's family sitcoms such as The Cosby Show which always featured impossibly well-functioning families who got along a little too perfectly and usually learned a neat little lesson at the end of each episode. An early tag-line for The Simpsons said that they "put the Fun back in Dysfunctional."

Perhaps this blue-collar-slobness by itself is nothing shockingly original - think of previous TV shows such as Roseanne, Married with Children, All in the Family, The Honeymooners - but the Simpsons doesn't stop there. This show is extremely densely packed with jokes - everything from cerebral witticisms and sly satire to Homer falling down and going "D'oh!" Because it's a cartoon, the writers can get away with surreal gags such as the time Homer tells a joke which falls flat, after which a long silence happens which is punctuated by a single tumbleweed rolling through the Simpson's living room.

There are just too many things to mention about The Simpsons. It can be touching occasionally; more often the viewers are treated to an unequalled cavalcade of obscure references, surreal sight gags, wacky adventures, self-mocking irony... The list goes on and on. Just watch it, else you're missing out on one of the most important elements of 1990's popular culture.