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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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Phil Hartman (September 24, 1948 – May 28, 1998) was a Canadian-born American actor, comedian, writer and graphic artist. Born in Brantford, Ontario, Hartman and his family later immigrated to the United States. He attended California State University, Northridge, graduating with a degree in graphic arts and going on to design several album covers. He joined The Groundlings in 1975 and there helped Paul Reubens to develop his character Pee-wee Herman, co-wrote the screenplay for the film Pee-wee's Big Adventure and made recurring appearances on Reubens' show Pee-wee's Playhouse.

Hartman became well-known in the late 1980s when he joined the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live. He won fame for his impressions, particularly of President Bill Clinton, and stayed on the show for eight seasons. Called "the Glue" for his ability to hold the show together and help other cast members, Hartman won a Primetime Emmy Award for his SNL work in 1989. In 1995, after scrapping plans for his own variety show, he starred as Bill McNeal in the NBC sitcom NewsRadio. He also had frequent roles on The Simpsons, and appeared in the films Houseguest, Sgt. Bilko, Jingle All the Way, and Small Soldiers. He was shot dead by his wife Brynn while he slept in his Encino, California home in 1998. In the weeks following his death, Hartman was celebrated in a wave of tributes.

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Credit: nick aleck

Hank Azaria became a part of the regular cast of The Simpsons during the second season and voices many characters, including Moe, Chief Wiggum and Apu, Comic Book Guy, Carl, Cletus, Professor Frink and Dr. Nick. He has won three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance.

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“

Last night's Itchy & Scratchy was, without a doubt, the worst episode ever! Rest assured I was on the Internet within minutes, registering my disgust throughout the world.

”

— Comic Book Guy ("The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show")

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"Cape Feare" is the second episode of The Simpsons' fifth season, which premiered on the Fox network on October 7, 1993 after being held over from season four. The episode features Sideshow Bob trying to kill Bart Simpson after getting out of jail. It is a spoof of the 1962 film Cape Fear as well as its 1991 remake, but alludes to other horror films. The production crew found it difficult to stretch "Cape Feare" in order to fulfil the standard length of a half-hour episode, leading to the padding of several scenes for which some became memorable. "Cape Feare" was written by Jon Vitti and directed by Rich Moore and was the last episode that the original writing staff helped produce. Kelsey Grammer guest stars as Sideshow Bob. The episode is generally rated as one of the best of the entire series and the score received an Emmy Award nomination.

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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 for "Homerpalooza", Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Pearl Jam and Hole were all sought to guest star but all four turned the offer down?

...that before Hank Azaria joined the show, he had previously performed only one voice over, as an animated dog in the Fox pilot Hollywood Dog?

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

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

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.. I came back and did some freelance episodes. But now when I go in there, everything done on 'The Simpsons' is done collectively, done as a group. It's run like a kibbutz, with 10 writers sitting around working on the script a line at a time.

— Mike Reiss

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