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

User Rating:

9.2/10   

Creator:

Matt Groening

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20

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 | Sitcom | Baby | Tavern

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 100 wins & 114 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. July 5	8:00 PM	Fox	Stark Raving Dad	#3.1
Sun. July 5	9:30 PM	Fox	Eeny Teeny Maya Moe	#20.16

Cast

Dan Castellaneta	...	Homer Simpson / ... (440 episodes, 1989-2009)
Julie Kavner	...	Marge Simpson / ... (440 episodes, 1989-2009)
Nancy Cartwright	...	Bart Simpson / ... (440 episodes, 1989-2009)
Yeardley Smith	...	Lisa Simpson / ... (440 episodes, 1989-2009)
Harry Shearer	...	Ned Flanders / ... (440 episodes, 1989-2009)
Hank Azaria	...	Chief Wiggum / ... (431 episodes, 1989-2009)
Pamela Hayden	...	Milhouse Van Houten / ... (364 episodes, 1989-2009)
Tress MacNeille	...	Agnes Skinner / ... (314 episodes, 1990-2009)
Karl Wiedergott	...	Additional Voices / ... (212 episodes, 1998-2009)
Maggie Roswell	...	Maude Flanders / ... (168 episodes, 1990-2009)
Marcia Wallace	...	Edna Krabappel / ... (153 episodes, 1990-2009)
Russi Taylor	...	Martin Prince / ... (142 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) | 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)

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Trivia:

"Barting Over" was billed by FOX as the series' 300th episode because it was considered to be the 300th episode produced. However, FOX does not count the Christmas Special pilot towards that total. So technically, it was actually the 301st. FOX was very adamant about airing the "300th" episode on the same day as the Daytona 500 auto race, which is one of the biggest ratings draws of the year for the network, so they pushed the air date back to February 16th. So when the episode finally did air, it was actually the 302nd to do so (Christmas special included), even though FOX was hyping it up as #300. To further add to the confusion, all previous milestone episodes (100th, 138th, 200th, 250th) were based on airing order rather than production order, and with the Christmas special included.

Goofs:

Continuity: Marge's father in The Way We Were looks nothing like he does in Fear Of Flying (although it's possible the latter is her real father and the former is her stepfather.)

Quotes:

[the city of Springfield is having an illegal party in the ocean, about 300 yards from American territorial waters]
Bart: [on megaphone] What are you gonna do now, Coast Guard? Huh? You can't arrest us or do anything to us. Lousy Americans...
Coast Guard: [on megaphone] We can't hear you. Come 300 yards closer.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in MTV Video Music Awards 2007 (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

'The Itchy & Scratchy Show' Theme

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.