The Beginning
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The Simpson Family were created by Matt Groening when he had a interview about a cartoon he had created he had nothing so he quickly drew up some really bad drawings of the SIMPSON FAMILY.
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In need of filler material for Fox's "The Tracey Ullman Show," Pauly Platt, a fan of Matt Groening's "Life in Hell" comic strip, suggested that Groening be brought in to work on the program. The Simpson family itself was created in less than fifteen minutes while Groening waited in the foyer to James L. Brooks' office. The show first appeared on April 19th, 1987 as a series of thirty second spots produced by Groening. Response to the Ullman shorts was so positive that The Simpsons premiered on Fox as a half-hour Christmas special on December 17th, 1989, and then as a regular series on January 14th, 1990.
Seasons
Two, Three, Four, and Five were broadcast by Fox on Thursday nights in the 8 PM
slot, before returning to Sunday nights beginning with Season Six. Before local
syndication, Fox aired classic Simpsons episodes beginning at 7 PM to lead the
failed block of comedy Fox scheduled for 1995.
In addition, Seasons One, Two, and Three were animated by Klasky-Csupo, who also worked on the Ullman shorts. Subsequent seasons have been animated by Film Roman, with additional animation being done by Akom Production Company, Anivision, and Rough Draft Studios in Korea.
The
series has spawned an abundance of merchandise bearing the likenesses of
Groening's creations. One would have to look far and wide to find a place where
there is not a Simpsons mug, beach towel, t-shirt, board game, wristwatch,
puzzle, notebook, pencil, or backpack with Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie
proudly telling the world that the owner is a certified Simpsons fan. There is
even a platinum recording entitled "The
Simpsons Sing the Blues," which gave birth to two music videos
("Do the Bartman" and "Deep, Deep Trouble") and put the
family on the musical charts. By 1996, among entertainment properties, total
sales of Simpsons merchandise worldwide was second only to "Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles." After an oversaturation of Simpsons merchandise on the
market in the early 90's, Fox has recently attempted to revive production of
items featuring OFF. 1997's book� was a huge hit, as was 1999's CD.
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As
far as achievements go, The Simpsons has been honored with a Peabody Award,
sixteen Emmy Awards, 34 Emmy nominations, eight Annie Awards, three Genesis
Awards, three International Monitor Awards and three Environmental Media Awards.
In August 2000, a program called "behind the laughter" won an Emmy for
Outstanding Animated Program, marking the sixth time The Simpsons has captured
that award. Life on the fast lane, Homer vs Lisa and the eigth
commandment,Lisa's Wedding, Homer's Phobeia� and Trash Of The Titans also
captured the award in 1990, 1991, 1995, 1997, and 1998, respectively. Also, in
1997 The Simpsons surpassed "The Flintstones" as the longest-running
prime-time animated show in history.
The
ultimate honor came on January 14th, 2000, when The Simpsons received a star on
the Hollywood Walk of Fame. This is part of what Fox is calling The Simpson
local Fanfest a yearlong celebration of all things Simpson. Several lines of
Simpsons action figures by Playmates have been released, Fox Interactive is
planning two Simpsons video games for the Sony PlayStation, and more Simpsons
episode collections will be released on VHS and eventually on DVD. Finally, in
October of 2000, Hollywood hosted an invitation-only event dedicated to the
show.
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