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 #59 | Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 168 wins & 305 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Dan Castellaneta	...	Homer Simpson / ... 659 episodes, 1989-2018
Nancy Cartwright	...	Bart Simpson / ... 659 episodes, 1989-2018
Harry Shearer	...	Ned Flanders / ... 659 episodes, 1989-2018
Julie Kavner	...	Marge Simpson / ... 658 episodes, 1989-2018
Yeardley Smith	...	Lisa Simpson / ... 657 episodes, 1989-2018
Hank Azaria	...	Moe Szyslak / ... 648 episodes, 1989-2018
Pamela Hayden	...	Milhouse Van Houten / ... 560 episodes, 1989-2018
Tress MacNeille	...	Dolph / ... 513 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.

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Plot Keywords:

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

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Taglines:

Just a product of society that's lost its good manners.

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy

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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:

Les 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

The family name Wiggum comes from Matt Groening's mother's maiden name.

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Goofs

"In one episode they say this, but then in another episode they say that, and in yet another episode they say the other." As this is an animated comedy series, the emphasis is clearly on laughs rather than complete verisimilitude. Efforts are certainly made to create a vaguely consistent setting in which mostly consistent characters live and work, and many episodes refer to each other, but rigid consistency of every single detail in all episodes is unnecessary. In many episodes, the fact that something is inconsistent is the express point of a gag. Our general rule is that each episode is expected to be consistent within itself, but intra-episode inconsistencies are not being listed. There can be exceptions for unusually noteworthy matters, e.g., inconsistencies repeated in multiple episodes (such as the hair and skin colors of secondary characters, and the layouts of the main landmarks), drastic changes to a character's nature (such as Ralphie's school status, Jasper's abilities, or Milhouse's hair color), or something with an interesting anecdote behind it (such as Smithers' skin color).

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Quotes

[repeated line]
Lisa: If anyone needs me, I'll be in my room.

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Crazy Credits

There is one episode where Homer complains about how rich all the people listed in the closing credits (save for one) are. When the Gracie film logo comes up, Homer says, "Don't 'SSSHHH' me, you rich bastard!"

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Connections

Referenced in Epic Ink: Comedians, Zombies, and Space Cats, Oh My! (2014)

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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.