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The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Developed by Groening, James L. Brooks, and Sam Simon, the series 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.

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, 768 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 2018. 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 is a joint production by Gracie Films and 20th Television. (Full article...)

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Robert Underdunk Terwilliger, better known by his stage name Sideshow Bob, is a recurring character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Kelsey Grammer, and first appeared briefly in the episode "The Telltale Head", although his first major appearance was in "Krusty Gets Busted". Sideshow Bob has been described as "Frasier pickled in arsenic" Frasier being Grammer's character on the series Frasier. In 2006, Grammer won an Emmy for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for his portrayal of Bob in the episode "The Italian Bob." Sideshow Bob was originally the sidekick on Krusty the Clown's television show, but Krusty's continuous abuse led to Bob framing him for armed robbery. Krusty was arrested and Bart Simpson discovered that Bob was behind the crime, leading to Bob's arrest. Since then he has been a villainous homicidal maniac, as well as Bart's mortal enemy, and as a result he has tried to kill Bart on several occasions. Bob has been featured in ten episodes, with the most recent one airing during the nineteenth season.

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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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“

Oh, what gave me away? Out of curiosity, was it the "hoyvin" or the "maving" or was it the whole "GA-HOW-VING!" thing that I do?

”

— Professor Frink ("Sweets and Sour Marge")

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"Itchy & Scratchy & Marge" is the ninth episode of The Simpsons' second season and first aired on December 20, 1990. In the episode, which is a satire of censorship issues, Maggie attacks Homer with a mallet and Marge blames The Itchy & Scratchy Show for Maggie's actions. It was written by John Swartzwelder and was the first episode to be directed by Jim Reardon. Alex Rocco makes his first of three guest appearances as Roger Meyers, Jr.

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Did you know...

...that the book The Psychology of The Simpsons uses this TV series to analyze topics in psychology including clinical psychology, cognition and Pavlovian conditioning?

...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 when it came time to give Grampa Simpson a first name, the writers named him Abraham which by coincidence was the name of Matt Groening's grandfather?

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

Image 1Voice actor Phil Hartman was killed by his wife in a murder–suicide in 1998. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 2"Lisa the Vegetarian", an episode produced by David Mirkin, won a Genesis Award in 1996
Image 3The Android's Dungeon & Baseball Card Shop, as seen in the Springfield section of Universal Studios Hollywood (from Springfield (The Simpsons))
Image 4A Seattle 7-Eleven store transformed into a Kwik-E-Mart. (from Springfield (The Simpsons))
Image 5Part of the writing staff of The Simpsons in 1992 (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 6Matt Selman won a WGA Award in 2004. (from List of awards and nominations received by The Simpsons)
Image 7In 2001, Yeardley Smith's character Lisa Simpson won an EMA Award. (from List of awards and nominations received by The Simpsons)
Image 8Morgan Spurlock produced a documentary on The Simpsons in order to celebrate the show's 20th anniversary. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 9The 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 10
Mike Scully
(from History of The Simpsons)
Image 11Moe's Bar in Concepción, Chile, based on images from The Simpsons. (from Springfield (The Simpsons))
Image 12In 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 13Voice actress Maggie Roswell left The Simpsons over a pay dispute, but returned three years later. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 14Hank Azaria has won four Emmy awards for Outstanding Voice-over Performance (from List of awards and nominations received by The Simpsons)
Image 15In 2004, Matt Groening won a Lifetime achievement British Comedy Award.
Image 16David Silverman, director of The Simpsons Movie.
Image 17
David Mirkin
Image 18James L. Brooks has won twelve Emmys with The Simpsons.
Image 19Michael Jackson co-wrote the single "Do the Bartman" (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 20The Simpsons Movie premiered in Springfield, Vermont. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 21The Simpsons' visit to Rio de Janeiro almost led to a lawsuit and a diplomatic incident. (from History of The Simpsons)

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We've repeated some basic themes and situations, but there's still plenty of material to keep it going. And, of course, we've developed a wealth of supporting characters over the years, so the writers don't have to build every show around Homer, Marge, or the kids. I think some of our best shows have been built around the secondary characters. No, believe me, we've still got plenty of juice left in 'The Simpsons'.

— Dan Castellaneta

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