The Simpsons 

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

Creators:

James L. Brooks, Matt Groening, Sam Simon

Stars:

Dan Castellaneta, Nancy Cartwright, Julie Kavner

Top Rated TV #56 | Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 168 wins & 302 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Dan Castellaneta	...	Homer Simpson / ... 642 episodes, 1989-2018
Julie Kavner	...	Marge Simpson / ... 642 episodes, 1989-2018
Nancy Cartwright	...	Bart Simpson / ... 642 episodes, 1989-2018
Yeardley Smith	...	Lisa Simpson / ... 642 episodes, 1989-2018
Harry Shearer	...	Ned Flanders / ... 642 episodes, 1989-2018
Hank Azaria	...	Moe Szyslak / ... 631 episodes, 1989-2018
Pamela Hayden	...	Milhouse Van Houten / ... 555 episodes, 1989-2018
Tress MacNeille	...	Dolph / ... 509 episodes, 1990-2018

Storyline

This is an animated sitcom about the antics of a dysfunctional family. Homer is the oafish unhealthy beer loving father, Marge is the hardworking homemaker wife, Bart is the perpetual 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.

---

Plot Keywords:

cult tv | satire | adult animation | dysfunctional family | beer | 

---

Taglines:

On Your Marks, Get Set, D'Oh!

---

Genres:

Animation | Comedy

---

Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Official Sites:

FOX Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

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

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, Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

22 min (441 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Stereo (season 1-2) Dolby Digital (season 20-)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bart's prank calls are inspired by the infamous "Tube Bar" prank calls in the mid 1970s to the Tube Bar in Jersey City, in which pranksters would ask the proprietor of the bar if they could speak to a fictitiously named customer. The fictitious gag names given by the pranksters were puns and homophones for other, oftentimes more offensive, phrases. Recordings of the calls were circulated widely on duplicated cassette tapes.

---

Goofs

The family portraits in the Hibbert home have yellow skin.

---

Quotes

Homer: I hate the modern World and all its crazy words.

---

Crazy Credits

Aspects of the opening credits are usually changed with each episode. Elements changed include the blackboard message Bart writes, the sax solo played by Lisa, and most notably the sequence right after Homer gets chased through the garage. Not all of these variations have been included in syndicated versions of the episodes.

---

Connections

Referenced in Jeopardy!: Episode #29.13 (2012)

---

Soundtracks

The Simpsons Theme
Written by Danny Elfman

User Reviews

Once Great, Now Ridiculous

For the first 8 seasons or so that it was on the air, "The Simpsons" was one of the greatest television shows of all time. Wonderfully developed characters, biting satire and top-notch writing made this cartoon a joy to watch. However, the show began to slide in season nine, and while it remained watchable through season ten or so, it has now become a shell of its former self. From about season 13 on, this formerly awesome show became the kind of "entertainment" it once parodied so well.

Several factors have contributed to the sorry drop in quality of the show. First, Homer's character has changed. He used to be a bumbling idiot, but had some good qualities. He has now morphed into a super-annoying, always in-your-face kind of moron. There is nothing likable about the new Homer. As for the other characters, Marge has become as morally bankrupt as Homer and is not likable either. Lisa, always a weak character, is now a little spokesperson for the Democratic Party. She spews out more propaganda than the "Weekend Update" no-talents on SNL. An eight-year old Buddhist? Come on! Bart has become less of a creative troublemaker, and is now more of a wimpy sidekick to Homer. The killing of Maude Flanders was inexcusable, and characters like Milhouse and Moe have become sometimes frighteningly weird (references to Milhouse-a ten year old boy-being gay and/or a cross dresser, for instance). Apu having all those kids was absurd. The shows now revolve around "wild and crazy" plots, with Homer constantly in the forefront. There is the constant, unnecessary use of blood and gore (Homer seems to always be cutting off something, and we are supposed to think it's funny). Also, the gratuitous use of guest stars is sickening. They are never funny, and serve only to promote and glorify themselves. "The Simpsons" used to poke fun at these pretentious celebrities. If this show stays on the air just a few more years, there will be more bad shows in syndication than good ones.

The DVD season-by-season sets are great, and really serve to remind us of how far this once incredible show has fallen. I'd advise everyone to buy these boxed sets and remember the great writing, inventive plots and brilliant characterizations that flourished during the first 8 seasons of the greatest cartoon series in history.