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, Harry Shearer

Top Rated TV #60 | Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 172 wins & 308 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Dan Castellaneta	...	Homer Simpson / ... 659 episodes, 1989-2019
Nancy Cartwright	...	Bart Simpson / ... 659 episodes, 1989-2019
Harry Shearer	...	Ned Flanders / ... 659 episodes, 1989-2019
Julie Kavner	...	Marge Simpson / ... 658 episodes, 1989-2019
Yeardley Smith	...	Lisa Simpson / ... 657 episodes, 1989-2019
Hank Azaria	...	Moe Szyslak / ... 648 episodes, 1989-2019
Pamela Hayden	...	Milhouse Van Houten / ... 574 episodes, 1989-2019
Tress MacNeille	...	Dolph / ... 527 episodes, 1990-2019

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.

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Plot Keywords:

cult tv | dysfunctional family | beer | sitcom | satire | 

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Taglines:

Putting the Fun back in Dysfunctional!

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy

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Certificate:

TV-PG

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:

The Simpsons

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

According to the season four DVD commentary, the character of the Sea Captain was created by Conan O'Brien. When he first appeared, his name was given as Captain McAllister.

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Goofs

The Sands of Iwo Jima has a running time of less than two hours.

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Quotes

Homer: Alas, my gastronomic rapacity knows no satiety...

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Crazy Credits

The annual Halloween specials are generally the only Simpsons shows to actually display the episode title on screen. The opening credits for these specials are usually altered or completely substituted with something else in keeping with the theme.

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Alternate Versions

Beginning with the show's cable syndication run on FXX on August 21, 2014, new syndication masters have been created. Each episode has been restored to its full length, and is now presented in 16X9 high definition. In addition, credits for the Spanish SAP Translation have been added to the end credits of each episode.

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Connections

Referenced in The Cinema Snob: Christian Mingle: The Movie (2017)

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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.