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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, 765 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 Treehouse of Horror episodes, also known as The Simpsons Halloween episodes, are a series of episodes in the animated television series The Simpsons. They are Halloween specials and consist of three separate, self-contained segments. These segments usually involve the Simpson family in some horror, science fiction, or supernatural setting. Considered non-canon, they always take place outside the normal continuity of the show and completely abandon any pretense of being realistic. The first Treehouse of Horror episode aired on October 25, 1990 as part of the second season and was inspired by EC Comics horror tales. There are currently eighteen Treehouse of Horror episodes, with one airing every year. The episodes are known for being more violent than an average Simpsons episode and contain several trademarks, including the alien characters Kang and Kodos, "scary names" in the credits, a special version of the opening sequence, and parodies of horror and science fiction films. The show's staff regard the Treehouse of Horror as being particularly difficult to produce as the scripts often go through many rewrites, and the animators typically have to design many new characters and backgrounds.

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Credit: Mrfebruary

The giant artificial doughnut that was erected in Springfield, New Zealand to promote The Simpsons Movie.

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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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"The Joy of Sect" is the thirteenth episode of The Simpsons' ninth season. It originally aired on the FOX network in the United States on February 8, 1998. In the episode, a cult called the "Movementarians" takes over Springfield, and Homer and the rest of the Simpson family become members. Homer and Bart are initially introduced to a pair of young Movementarian recruiters in an airport. Homer becomes brainwashed, and moves his family into the cult compound. David Mirkin had the initial idea for the episode, Steve O'Donnell was the lead writer, and Steven Dean Moore directed. The writers drew on many groups to develop the Movementarians, but were principally influenced by Scientology, Heaven's Gate, the Unification Church and Peoples Temple. The episode was later analyzed from religious, philosophical and psychological perspectives, and books compared the Movementarians to many of the same groups that the writers had drawn influences from. The show contains many references to popular culture, including the title reference to The Joy of Sex and a gag involving Rover from the television program The Prisoner.

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Did you know...

...that the Simpsons short Good Night aired April 19, 1987 on The Tracey Ullman Show and was the first ever appearance of the Simpson family on television?

...that for The Simpsons Movie, Isla Fisher, Minnie Driver, Erin Brockovich, Edward Norton and Kelsey Grammer all had guest spots cut?

...that in 1992 Tracey Ullman filed a lawsuit claiming that her show was the source of The Simpsons success and therefore should receive a share of the show's profit although eventually the courts ruled in favor of the network?

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

Image 1Morgan Spurlock produced a documentary on The Simpsons in order to celebrate the show's 20th anniversary. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 2Part of the writing staff of The Simpsons in 1992 (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 3
David Mirkin
Image 4Matt Selman won a WGA Award in 2004. (from List of awards and nominations received by The Simpsons)
Image 5The Android's Dungeon & Baseball Card Shop, as seen in the Springfield section of Universal Studios Hollywood (from Springfield (The Simpsons))
Image 6Hank Azaria has won four Emmy awards for Outstanding Voice-over Performance (from List of awards and nominations received by The Simpsons)
Image 7Voice actor Phil Hartman was killed by his wife in a murder–suicide in 1998. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 8"Lisa the Vegetarian", an episode produced by David Mirkin, won a Genesis Award in 1996
Image 9The Simpsons' visit to Rio de Janeiro almost led to a lawsuit and a diplomatic incident. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 10David Silverman, director of The Simpsons Movie.
Image 11In 2001, Yeardley Smith's character Lisa Simpson won an EMA Award. (from List of awards and nominations received by The Simpsons)
Image 12Voice actress Maggie Roswell left The Simpsons over a pay dispute, but returned three years later. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 13The Simpsons Movie premiered in Springfield, Vermont. (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 14In 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 15Michael Jackson co-wrote the single "Do the Bartman" (from History of The Simpsons)
Image 16Moe's Bar in Concepción, Chile, based on images from The Simpsons. (from Springfield (The Simpsons))
Image 17The 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 18A Seattle 7-Eleven store transformed into a Kwik-E-Mart. (from Springfield (The Simpsons))
Image 19
Mike Scully
(from History of The Simpsons)
Image 20In 2004, Matt Groening won a Lifetime achievement British Comedy Award.
Image 21James L. Brooks has won twelve Emmys with The Simpsons.

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When they said, 'We're going to a half-hour show,' I thought it could be fun, but this is phenomenal. .. I don't want it to end. I love it. It gives me power. Sometimes now I get other voiceover work without auditions.

— Nancy Cartwright

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