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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, 766 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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The Simpsons shorts is a series of one-minute shorts that ran on the variety show The Tracey Ullman Show for three seasons, before the characters spun off into their own half-hour prime time show called The Simpsons. It features the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The series was created by Matt Groening, who designed the Simpson family and wrote many of the shorts. 48 shorts were produced, starting with "Good Night", which first aired on April 19, 1987. The final short to air was "TV Simpsons", originally airing on May 14, 1989. The Simpsons would later debut on December 17, 1989 with the Christmas special "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". Only a few of these shorts have been released on DVD. "Good Night" was included on The Simpsons Season 1 DVD. Five of these shorts were later used in the clip show episode "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular" on the half-hour show, which was released on the Season 7 DVD. These five shorts were "Good Night", which was featured in its entirety and portions of "The Perfect Crime", "Space Patrol", "World War III", and "Bathtime". Groening has announced that all of the shorts will be available on mobile phones.

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Credit: Bill Oakley

Part of the writing staff of The Simpsons in 1992. Back row, left to right: Mike Mendel, Colin ABV Lewis (partial), Jeff Goldstein, Al Jean (partial), Conan O'Brien, Bill Oakley, Josh Weinstein, Mike Reiss, Ken Tsumara, George Meyer, John Swartzwelder, Jon Vitti (partial), CJ Gibson and David M. Stern. Front row, left to right: Dee Capelli, Lona Williams and Leslie Richter.

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“

[In response to an aid's concerns that he may have gone mad with power] Well of course I have! Have you ever tried going mad without power? It's boring, no one listens to you.

”

— Russ Cargill (The Simpsons Movie)

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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 in 1993, the producers submitted "A Streetcar Named Marge" and "Mr. Plow" in the "Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series" category but did not receive a nomination?

...that for "Homer's Enemy", Hank Azaria provided the voice of Frank Grimes although he felt that the role should go to William H. Macy and ended up modeling many of Grimes' mannerisms after him?

...that town of Springfield was partly inspired by Melonville, the town in Second City Television, which featured a large cast of recurring characters and Groening liked the idea of a town that was its own mini-universe?

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

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