The Simpsons turn 25!
By: Emma Barnett
April 19, 1987, the world was introduced to what would
become the most famous dysfunctional family.
The Simpsons started as a short as part of The Tracey Ullman
Show. After three seasons, it was
developed into a half-hour prime time show, becoming Fox network’s first series
rate in the Top 30 that season.
“I remember growing up watching The Simpsons,” Peggy
Barnett, a long time Simpsons fan, reminisced, “I can’t believe they are
turning 25 this year.”
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| The Simpson family standing in front of their iconic house. | Photo Credit: Matt Groening |
The Simpsons is the
longest-running American sitcom, the longest-running American animated program
and in 2009 surpassed Gunsmoke as the longest-running American primetime,
scripted television series.
This dysfunctional family was based off of creator, Matt Groening’s own family. In fact,
Groening named the characters in the show after his own family, however he used
the name Bart, an anagram for “brat”, instead of Matt.
Producer James L. Brooks added a clause into the
contract with the Fox Broadcasting Company that prevented Fox from interfering
with the shows content. The Simpsons is
a show that is known for making jokes about everything and anything, including
the Fox network.
During season two, The Simpsons aired the first ever
“Treehouse of Horror”. Treehouse of
Horror became The Simpsons Halloween special, in which the family is involved
in some horror, science fiction or supernatural. Often the episode pays tribute or parodies a
famous piece of work in the genre.
“My favorite episodes in the series are the Treehouse of
Horror episodes,” Barnett stated, “I love seeing classic pieces of work
‘Simpson-ized’.”
"The Simpsons created an
audience for prime-time animation that had not been there for many, many
years,” Seth MacFarlane, creator of Family Guy, pays respect to Groening in an
interview with Vanity Fair. “As far as
I'm concerned, they basically re-invented the wheel. They created what is in
many ways—you could classify it as—a wholly new medium."
It would be hard to find an American
animated television series that hasn’t paid homage to The Simpsons. In 2002, the creators of South Park made an
episode called “Simpsons Already Did It”, in which several Simpson characters
make appearances.
In 2005 or the 17th season of The Simpsons,
during an interview with The New York Times, Groening was asked about previous
hints that the show might be almost done he responded, “I think the show has
almost reached its halfway point, which means another 17 years.”
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| The Simpsons Movie theatrical release poster. | Photo Credit: Matt Groening |
In 2007, a feature-length film was made. The Simpsons Movie earned almost $40 million on its opening day. Over its opening weekend it was shown on
5,500 screens at 3,922 theaters and grossed over $74 million, reaching the top
of the box office that weekend.
The Simpsons Movie was the tenth-highest revenue of all time
for an opening weekend in July, highest among non-sequels and the highest
animated TV adaptation of all time.
This year marks The Simpsons silver anniversary. The Simpsons are turning 25 years old. With the Simpson family part of American
culture, The Simpsons will continue to live on for many years to come.
List Sidebar:
If you watched all 548 episodes in a row, it would take
12,330 minutes or 205.5 hours or 8 and half days.
The six main actors were paid $30,000 per episode until
1998. They are currently making $300,000
per episode.
The Simpsons holds the world record for “Most Guest Stars
Featured in a Television Series”.
The Simpsons has won 27 Primetime Emmy Awards, 30 Annie
Awards and a Peabody Award.
In 1999, Time Magazine named The Simpsons the century’s best
television series and Bart Simpson was named on the list of the century’s 100
most influential people.
In 2000, The Simpsons were awarded a star in the Hollywood
Walk of Fame.
In 2013, TV Guide ranked The Simpsons as the greatest TV
cartoon of all time and the tenth greatest show of all time.
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