Portal:The Simpsons

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The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. Set in the fictional town of Springfield, it caricatures society, Western culture, television and the human condition, and is still in current release. On April 2, 2025, the show was renewed for four additional seasons on Fox, with 15 episodes each, bringing the episode total from 801 to 861.

The family was conceived by Groening shortly before a solicitation for a series of animated shorts with producer Brooks. He created a dysfunctional family and named the characters after his own family members, substituting Bart for his own name; he thought Simpson was a funny name in that it sounded similar to "simpleton". The shorts became a part of The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987. After three seasons, the sketch was developed into a half-hour prime time show and became Fox's first series to land in the Top 30 ratings in a season (1989–1990).

Since its debut on December 17, 1989, 783 episodes of the show have been broadcast. It is the longest-running American animated series, longest-running American sitcom, and the longest-running American scripted primetime television series, both in seasons and individual episodes. A feature-length film, The Simpsons Movie, was released in theaters worldwide on July 27, 2007, to critical and commercial success, with a sequel in development as of 2024. The series has also spawned numerous comic book series, video games, books and other related media, as well as a billion-dollar merchandising industry. The Simpsons was initially a joint production by Gracie Films and 20th Television; 20th Television's involvement was later moved to 20th Television Animation, a separate unit of Disney Television Studios. (Full article...)

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Nedward "Ned" Flanders is a recurring character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Harry Shearer, and first appeared in the series premiere "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". He is the next door neighbor to the Simpson family and is generally loathed by Homer Simpson. A devout Christian, he is amongst the most friendly and compassionate Springfieldians and is generally considered a pillar of the Springfield community.

He was one of the first characters outside of the immediate Simpson family to appear on the show, and he has since been central to several episodes, the first being season two's "Dead Putting Society".

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Credit: e5capeveloc1ty

James L. Brooks has a cameo role in the fourteenth season episode, "A Star Is Born-Again". Brooks started his own production company Gracie Films in 1984, which produced The Tracey Ullman Show and The Simpsons.

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“

Why me, Lord? Where have I gone wrong? I've always been nice to people. I don't drink or dance or swear. I've even kept kosher just to be on the safe side. I've done everything the Bible says! Even the stuff that contradicts the other stuff! What more can I do? I...I..I feel like I'm coming apart here. I wanna yell out, but I just can't dang-darn-diddly-darn-dang-
ding-dong-diddly-darned do it! I just...I...*sigh*.

”

— Ned Flanders
("Hurricane Neddy")

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"You Only Move Twice" is the second episode of The Simpsons' eighth season, which originally aired November 3, 1996. It was directed by Mike B. Anderson and written by John Swartzwelder. The episode title is a reference to the James Bond film You Only Live Twice, and many elements of the episode parody the Bond films. The episode, based on a story idea by Greg Daniels, has three major concepts: the family moves to a new town; Homer gets a new modern boss; and that boss, unbeknownst to Homer, is an evil genius. Bart, Lisa, and Marge each have individual secondary storylines. Setting the second and third acts in a new town, Cypress Creek, required the animators to create entirely new layouts and background designs. Albert Brooks, in his fourth Simpsons appearance, guest stars as the voice of Hank Scorpio, who is one of the most popular one-time characters on The Simpsons. IGN named "You Only Move Twice" the best episode of the eighth season.

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Did you know...

...that in 1995, Matt Groening got in a major disagreement with James L. Brooks and other Simpsons producers over "A Star Is Burns", and requested his name be taken off the episode?

...that Nancy Cartwright originally auditioned for the role of Lisa, but soon thought that her voice would be better suited for Bart, so Matt Groening let her try out for the part and gave her the job on the spot?

... that Leaving Springfield is a non-fiction anthology of essays analyzing the impact of the television program The Simpsons on society?

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The following are images from various The Simpsons-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1
David Mirkin
Image 2The Simpsons Movie premiered in Springfield, Vermont. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 3Voice actor Phil Hartman was murdered in 1998. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 4David Silverman, director of The Simpsons Movie.
Image 5Morgan Spurlock produced a documentary on The Simpsons in order to celebrate the show's 20th anniversary. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 6A Seattle 7-Eleven store transformed into a Kwik-E-Mart (from Springfield (The Simpsons))
Image 7Hank Azaria has won four Emmy awards for Outstanding Voice-over Performance (from List of awards and nominations received by The Simpsons)
Image 8Part of the writing staff of The Simpsons in 1992 (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 9The Simpsons' visit to Rio de Janeiro almost led to a lawsuit and a diplomatic incident. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 10In 2001, Yeardley Smith's character Lisa Simpson won an EMA Award. (from List of awards and nominations received by The Simpsons)
Image 11Voice actress Maggie Roswell left The Simpsons over a pay dispute, but returned three years later. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 12
Mike Scully
(from History of The Simpsons)
Image 13The Android's Dungeon & Baseball Card Shop, as seen in the Springfield section of Universal Studios Hollywood (from Springfield (The Simpsons))
Image 14In 2004, Matt Groening won a Lifetime achievement British Comedy Award.
Image 15"Lisa the Vegetarian", an episode produced by David Mirkin, won a Genesis Award in 1996
Image 16The show was criticized by several conservatives. Among those were President George H. W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 17In 1991, Nancy Cartwright accepted a Kids' Choice Awards while wearing a Bart Simpson costume. (from List of awards and nominations received by The Simpsons)
Image 18Matt Selman won a WGA Award in 2004. (from List of awards and nominations received by The Simpsons)
Image 19Moe's Bar in Concepción, Chile, based on images from The Simpsons (from Springfield (The Simpsons))
Image 20Michael Jackson co-wrote the single "Do the Bartman" (from History of The Simpsons)

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First off there are 50 or so characters. We can really do different episodes every week and not stretch it as thin. And the fact that our characters don't age means we won't have shows coming out later where people will say, "This isn't the 'Happy Days' I fell in love with. Fonzie's teaching high school now." We all work really hard, the actors and the writers, to make it the best show it can be.

— Al Jean

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