"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 | 20 | 21

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:

Nuclear Power | Dysfunctional Family | Principal | Tavern | Beer

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 101 wins & 118 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Wed. Dec. 9	7:00 PM	Fox	The Last Temptation of Krusty	#9.15
Thur. Dec. 10	12:00 AM	Fox	Das Bus	#9.14

Cast

Dan Castellaneta	...	Homer Simpson / ... (447 episodes, 1989-2009)
Julie Kavner	...	Marge Simpson / ... (447 episodes, 1989-2009)
Nancy Cartwright	...	Bart Simpson / ... (447 episodes, 1989-2009)
Yeardley Smith	...	Lisa Simpson / ... (447 episodes, 1989-2009)
Harry Shearer	...	Ned Flanders / ... (447 episodes, 1989-2009)
Hank Azaria	...	Chief Wiggum / ... (438 episodes, 1989-2009)
Pamela Hayden	...	Milhouse Van Houten / ... (371 episodes, 1989-2009)
Tress MacNeille	...	Agnes Skinner / ... (321 episodes, 1990-2009)
Karl Wiedergott	...	Additional Voices / ... (219 episodes, 1998-2009)
Maggie Roswell	...	Maude Flanders / ... (171 episodes, 1990-2009)
Marcia Wallace	...	Edna Krabappel / ... (158 episodes, 1990-2009)
Russi Taylor	...	Martin Prince / ... (146 episodes, 1990-2009)

Runtime:

22 min (441 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) | Canada:G (Quebec) (DVD) | Canada:PG (Nova Scotia/Ontario) (DVD) | Denmark:11 (DVD releases) | Ireland:12 (DVD rating) (seasons 2, 4, 5, and 6) | Ireland:PG (DVD rating) (seasons 1, 3, and 7) | Italy:T | Netherlands:AL | Australia:M (4 episodes) | China:(Banned) (Banned from Prime Time TV) | Ireland:G (Some episodes) | USA:TV-14 (some episodes) | Singapore:NC-16 (season 6) (season 10) | South Korea:15 | Netherlands:6 | Singapore:NC-16 (season 11) | Norway:11 (DVD release) | Australia:M (Season 12 DVD) | Singapore:PG (season 1 -5) (season 7 - 9) (season 12) | 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 2-11 DVD) | Australia:G (Season 1 DVD)

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Trivia:

Krusty the Klown's real name is revealed as Herschel Schmoikel Krustofski and Herschel Pinkus Yerucham Krustofski in different episodes.

Goofs:

Continuity: Springfield Elementary School is yellow in some episodes and white in others, sometimes changing color multiple times in the same episode (later episodes corrected this continuity problem by making the school's official color yellow, and including a picture of the "old, white" school in Principal Skinner's office.)

Quotes:

Marge: Who cut my brakes?
Homer: Oh, yeah. When I was fixing your car, I kinda spilled all your brake liquid. I didn't want to tell you, 'cause I thought you'd get mad.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saved by the Bell: The Fight (#4.1)" (1992)

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.