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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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Matt Groening (born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist and television producer and writer from Portland, Oregon. Groening is best known as the creator of The Simpsons . He is also the creator of the comic Life in Hell and co-creator of Futurama. Life in Hell caught the attention of James L. Brooks. In 1985, Brooks contacted Groening with the proposition of working in animation for the FOX variety show The Tracey Ullman Show. Originally, Brooks wanted Groening to adapt his Life in Hell characters for the show. Fearing the loss of ownership rights, Groening decided to create something new and came up with a cartoon family, the Simpsons and named the members after his own family, except Bart, which was an anagram of the word brat. The shorts would be spun off into their own series: The Simpsons, which has since aired over 400 episodes in 19 seasons. In 1997, Groening got together with David X. Cohen and developed Futurama, an animated series about life in the year 3000. After four years on the air, the show was cancelled by Fox, but Comedy Central commissioned 16 new episodes to be aired in 2008. Groening has won 10 Primetime Emmy Awards, nine for The Simpsons and one for Futurama as well as a British Comedy Award for "outstanding contribution to comedy" in 2004. In 2002, he won the National Cartoonist Society Reuben Award for his work on Life in Hell.

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Credit: Mrfebruary

The giant artificial doughnut that was erected in Springfield, New Zealand to promote The Simpsons Movie.

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“

Good, 'cause I have a hot date tonight. (lie dectector buzzes) A date. (lie detector buzzes) Dinner with friends. (lie detector buzzes) Dinner alone. (lie detector buzzes) Watching TV alone. (lie detector buzzes) Alright! I'm going to sit at home and ogle the ladies in the Victoria's Secret catalog. (lie detector buzzes) Sears catalog. (lie detector dings) Now, would you unhook this already, please? I don't deserve this kind of shabby treatment! (lie detector buzzes).

”

— Moe Szyslak ("Who Shot Mr. Burns? Part II")

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Hank Azaria voiced Frank Grimes in the episode.

"Homer's Enemy" is the twenty-third episode of The Simpsons’ eighth season, first broadcast by Fox on May 4, 1997. It was directed by Jim Reardon and written by John Swartzwelder, although the idea for the episode came from Bill Oakley. The plot of the episode centers on the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant's hire of a new character named Frank Grimes. Homer attempts to befriend Grimes; however, Grimes ends up hating Homer and declares himself Homer's enemy. Meanwhile, Bart buys a run-down factory for a dollar. "Homer's Enemy" is one of the darkest and most famous episodes of The Simpsons, and is a favorite of several members of the production staff, including Bill Oakley, Josh Weinstein, Matt Groening, as well as The Office creator Ricky Gervais. Although Grimes makes his only appearance in this episode, he was later named one of the "Top 25 Simpsons Peripheral characters" by IGN.

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Did you know...

...that the title of Dan Castellaneta's album of comedy sketches I Am Not Homer is a parody of Leonard Nimoy's first autobiography I Am Not Spock?

...that when Dan Castellaneta was trying a voice for Groundskeeper Willie, he tried using a Spanish voice, and a "big dumb Swede" before using the voice of an angry Scotsman?

...that since leaving the series in 1993, Sam Simon has been credited as "Sam 'Sayonara' Simon" in the opening credits of Treehouse of Horror episodes?

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

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