"The Simpsons" (1989)TV series 1989-????

Creator:

Matt Groening

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19

Release Date:

17 December 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Comedy

Tagline:

On Your Marks, Get Set, D'Oh!

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Pastor | School Groundskeeper | Deus Ex Machina | Beer | School Teacher

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 97 wins & 102 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Fri. Aug. 29	7:00 PM	Fox	Mom and Pop Art	#10.19
Fri. Aug. 29	11:30 PM	Fox	Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife	#17.15

Cast

Dan Castellaneta	...	Homer Simpson / ... (419 episodes, 1989-2008)
Julie Kavner	...	Marge Simpson / ... (419 episodes, 1989-2008)
Nancy Cartwright	...	Bart Simpson / ... (419 episodes, 1989-2008)
Yeardley Smith	...	Lisa Simpson / ... (419 episodes, 1989-2008)
Harry Shearer	...	Ned Flanders / ... (418 episodes, 1989-2008)
Hank Azaria	...	Chief Wiggum / ... (410 episodes, 1989-2008)
Pamela Hayden	...	Milhouse Van Houten / ... (343 episodes, 1989-2008)
Tress MacNeille	...	Agnes Skinner / ... (293 episodes, 1990-2008)
Karl Wiedergott	...	Additional Voices / ... (186 episodes, 1998-2008)

Runtime:

22 min (420 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

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

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby (seasons 3- | Stereo (season 1-2)

Certification:

Canada:14A (Manitoba) (DVD) | USA:TV-14 (some episodes) | Canada:PG (Nova Scotia/Ontario) (DVD) | Denmark:11 (DVD releases) | Netherlands:AL | Ireland:12 (DVD rating) (seasons 2, 4, 5, and 6) | Australia:M (4 episodes) | South Korea:15 | Netherlands:6 | Ireland:G (Some episodes) | Singapore:NC-16 (season 6) (season 10) | Canada:G (Quebec) (DVD) | Italy:T | China:(Banned) (Banned from Prime Time TV) | Ireland:PG (DVD rating) (seasons 1, 3, and 7) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G (some episodes) | Australia:PG | Brazil:12 (some episodes) | Brazil:Livre | Finland:K-12 (some episodes) | Finland:K-7 (DVD rating) | Finland:K-8 | Germany:12 (DVD rating) | Japan:U | Mexico:A | Portugal:M/12 (some episodes) | Portugal:M/6 | Spain:7 | UK:12 (some episodes) | UK:PG | UK:U (some episodes) | USA:TV-G (some episodes) | USA:TV-PG | Australia:PG (Season 2+ DVD) | Australia:G (Season 1 DVD)

Filming Locations:

Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Trivia:

This is the only non-variety television show that contains special guest appearances by three former The Beatles: the late George Harrison, Paul McCartney (who appeared with the late Linda McCartney), and Ringo Starr.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Although Grampa frequently refers to his World War II squadron as the "Flying Hellfish", the stationery and memorial read "Fighting Hellfish."

Quotes:

L.T Smash: [watching Bart's Band] Those guys are gonna be huge.
[to Skinner]
L.T Smash: And you tried to get in their way.
Principal Skinner: No I didn't. I even got in early to prepare orange drink.
L.T Smash: Orange drink? What, do you live with your mother?
Principal Skinner: *She* lives with *me*.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Duckman: Private Dick/Family Man: Duckman and Cornfed in 'Haunted Society Plumbers' (#4.14)" (1997)

Soundtrack:

'The Itchy & Scratchy Show' Theme

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.