The Simpsons History

The Simpsons is created by Matt Groening and the show started as 30 seconds breaks in The Tracey Ullman show in 1987. Later on in 1990 January 14th The Simpsons first appeared as a half hour show, Critics loved the show and called it as a family detailing the truest American family. The show in 1990, 1991, 1995 and 1997 received Emmy Awards for Outstanding Animated Program.

The family is one which includes five members:

• Marge – The wife of Homer and mother of the children
• Homer – Father and husband to Marge, works as a safety inspector at Springfield Nuclear Power Plant.
• Bart – 10 Years old, bad kid, name is anagram of brat, goes to school at Springfield Elementary
• Lisa – 8 years old, clever, bright student, plays the Saxophone, goes to school at Springfield Elementary
• Maggie – The baby of the family, has many interesting storylines to her for example killing Mr Burns, talks by using her dummy in actions like sucking it, doesn’t speak words.

The show has given the world that has seen it the phrases of “Eat my shorts, man!” and “Don’t have a cow, man!”

The Simpsons also include some political issues into the cartoon and one was where Former Vice President Dan Quayle had been quoted saying to a student that potato had an e on the end but in fact it doesn’t and the episode which said about this was when Bart (at the start always write on the chalkboard his lines) writes out Potato, not potatoe.

There has been times when The Simpsons did not sit well with people for example Even the President himself couldn’t resist getting in on the act. In a speech to the National Religious Broadcasters convention (1/27/92), then-President George Bush said “The nation needs to be closer to the Waltons than the Simpsons.” This was then when the cartoonist Matt Groening replied with “Hey, the Simpsons are just like the Waltons. Both families are praying for the end of the Depression.”

The show has been keeping up to date to the time of the creation by adding guest appearances by the famous celebrities of that time here are the people that featured: Elizabeth Taylor, Paul McCartney, Michelle Pfeiffer, Johnny Carson, Bette Midler, Winona Ryder, Danny DeVito, Glenn Close, The Smashing Pumpkins and Bob Hope.

Now The Simpsons is an international brand with thousands of shops selling Simpsons merchandise.

I would say that The Simpsons was always popular because it kept up to date with the issues of when it was created and it used jokes that applied to when it was created. It would also be popular as it shows the typical American family which nearly everybody can relate to.