The Simpsons (Season 1-10)

The Simpsons (Season 1-10)

"Every Sunday at 8:00pm, you'd always wanna sit on your couch and watch this amazing show."

Genre:	Sitcom
Running Time:	21-24 Minutes
Country:	United States
Release Date:	December 17, 1989–present
Network(s):	Fox
Created by:	Matt Groening
Distributed by:	20th Television
Starring:	Dan Castellaneta Julie Kavner Nancy Cartwright Yeardley Smith Hank Azaria Harry Shearer
Seasons:	31+
Episodes:	684+
Previous show:	The Simpsons shorts from The Tracey Ullman Show

The Simpsons is a long-running animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show is one of the longest-running TV series of all time, and one of the greatest.

Why It Rocks

Great animation in its purest form.
It's not only the longest-running show on Fox but also the longest-running American animated show in general, having put out episodes non-stop since 1989. In addition, the show has been renewed for a 32nd season.
It had crossovers with Family Guy, The Critic and Futurama.
Clever humor and writing.
Good voice acting.
Likable and memorable characters, especially Homer and Bart Simpson themself.
Each of the family members has a very distinct personality.
- Homer is the dimwitted, but well-meaning dad.
- Marge is the strict, but loving mother.
- Bart is the troublemaking son.
- Lisa is the overachieving daughter.
- Maggie is the silent member of the family.
There are so many hilarious and unforgettable running gags.
- Sideshow Bob repeatedly trying to kill Bart Simpson after the events of "Krusty Gets Busted".
- A different kind of couch gag at the beginning of every episode.
- Homer Simpson's famous and signature catchphrase, "D'oh!".
- The way Superintendant Chalmers says "Skinner!".
- Itchy & Scratchy, which parodies the violent cartoons of the early-to-mid 20th century.
- Nelson's famous laugh.
Memorable opening theme music.
It's sophisticated and generous in its humor.
Gives out a lot of good morals and lessons for viewers of all ages, like "be careful what you wish for".
The episodes where The Simpsons travel around the world to other countries and other US states are great (all except for "Kill the Alligator and Run").
Loads of hilarious moments, funny couch gags, great stories and relatable pop-culture references like references to Dr. Seuss, South Park, Monty Python, Scooby-Doo, The Beatles, Nintendo, Looney Tunes, SpongeBob SquarePants, Michael Jackson, Marvel, etc.
The "Treehouse of Horror" specials are funny, terrifying and unforgettable at the same time.
Gives us decent facts and real-life events about celebrities, politicians, etc.
Many supporting side characters (Lenny and Carl, Ned Flanders, Moe Szyslak, Krusty the Clown, Milhouse, Chief Wiggum etc.)
It also has a share of many entertaining antagonists (Mr. Burns, Sideshow Bob, Frank Grimes, Kang and Kodos).
The series was so popular that it had its own film adaptation in 2007.
Unlike most FOX shows, they take aim to jab at both the Democratic and Republican parties, depicting Republicans as corrupt warmongers and Democrats as brainless idiots. Not even presidents were safe from criticism, as Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton were subjected to mockery on the show.
The Simpsons has many famous celebrity guest stars in their episodes (Ringo Starr, Barry White, George Carlin, Leonard Nimoy, Mark Hamill, FOX owner Rupert Murdoch, Michael Jackson, Alec Baldwin, etc).
Has so many great and memorable episodes, such as:
- "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire"
- "Bart the General"
- "You Only Move Twice"
- "Brick Like Me"
- "Gone Boy"
- "Marge vs. The Monorail"
- "Stark Raving Dad"
- "Cape Feare"
- "Who Shot Mr. Burns?"
- "Krusty Gets Busted"
- "Mother Simpson"
- "Marge Be Not Proud"
- "Homer at the Bat"
- "Bart on the Road"
- "22 Short Films About Springfield"
- "Homer Goes to College"
- "Burns' Heir"
- "Homer's Phobia"
- "Homer's Enemy"
- "Homer the Great"
- "Team Homer"
- "Two Bad Neighbors"
- "A Star is Burns"
- "Behind the Laughter"
- "The Springfield Files"
- "The New York City VS Homer Simpson"

Bad Qualities

On some occasions, the humor is done at the wrong time and barely makes any sense.
The way Klasky Csupo animated the show (mostly in season 1) is pretty iffy compared to later seasons.
It sometimes will overuse pop-culture references at times, even in the earlier seasons. This also means that a lot of these references will go over the heads of younger viewers.
The series has gone downhill since season 11.
Some bad episodes, even before season 11 and later seasons, such as:
- "The Principal and the Pauper"
- "Another Simpsons Clip Show"
- "All Singing, All Dancing"
- "When You Dish Upon a Star"
- "Miracle on Evergreen Terrace"
- "Wild Barts Can't Be Broken"
- "Homer Simpson in: 'Kidney Trouble"
- "Homer's Night Out"
Some of the couch gags (whilst very enjoyable) can get pretty weird or outright disturbing (like the Don Hertzfeldt one in "Clown in the Dumps", which is disturbing, but in a good way).
"Stark Raving Dad" has been banned by the producers because of Michael Jackson guest starring and allegations resurfaced in 2019 with the release of Leaving Neverland. It's bad enough to ban the episode from airing on TV, but to make matters worse, said episode was also removed from digital distribution and future reprints of the Season 3 DVD set, and remained absent on Disney+.
Lisa and Nelson can be annoying and unlikable characters at times. To be fair, Lisa isn't too bad in the early seasons, but by around Season 6, she starts to become a soapbox for whatever liberal viewpoints the creators want to push.

Trivia

The show is a spin-off of a successful series of shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show from 1987 to 1989.
The first episode (The Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire) is a Christmas special.
"Some Enchanted Evening" was originally going to air as the first-ever episode of the show in September 1989, but due to delays with the said episode during production, the episode's plot had to be rewritten and pushed back a decade later. However, according to the original production order of Season 1, it still remains as the first episode.