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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, 767 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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Troy McClure is a recurring fictional character in the animated series The Simpsons, who was voiced by Phil Hartman, and first appeared in the episode "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment." McClure was based on B-movie actors Troy Donahue and Doug McClure, as well as Hartman himself. After Phil Hartman's murder in 1998, the character was retired, and last appeared in the season ten episode "Bart the Mother." He is one of the show's most popular recurring characters and, had Hartman not died, would have been the subject of a live-action film.

McClure is a washed-up actor, frequently shown presenting infomercials and educational videos. He is vain, and cares principally for himself, marrying Selma Bouvier to aid his failing career and quash rumours about his personal life. McClure appears as the central character only in the episode "A Fish Called Selma", but presents the episodes "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular" and "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase."

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Credit: e5capeveloc1ty

James L. Brooks has a cameo role in the fourteenth season episode, "A Star Is Born-Again". Brooks started his own production company Gracie Films in 1984, which produced The Tracey Ullman Show and The Simpsons.

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“

I'm saying, you're what's wrong with America, Simpson. You coast through life, you do as little as possible... and you leech off decent hard-working people, like me! If you lived in any country in the world, you'd have starved to death long ago!

”

— Frank Grimes ("Homer's Enemy")

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"The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson" is the first episode of The Simpsons' ninth season, and premiered on September 21, 1997 on Fox. The episode sees the Simpson family traveling to Manhattan to recover the family car, which was taken by Barney and abandoned outside the World Trade Center complex with numerous parking tickets. Upon arrival, the family tour the city, while Homer attempts to find his car. He discovers it outside the World Trade Center, where a parking officer later arrives to remove the clamp, but leaves as Homer is urinating inside one of the towers. In frustration, Homer decides to drive the car with the clamp attached. He successfully removes it later and races to Central Park to find his family and leave the city. Writer Ian Maxtone-Graham was interested in making an episode where the Simpson family travels to New York to retrieve their lost car. Executive producers Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein suggested that the car be found in the World Trade Center plaza, as they wanted a location that would be widely known. Great lengths were taken to make a detailed replica of the city of Manhattan. The episode received generally positive reviews, and has since been on accolade lists of Simpsons episodes. The "You're Checkin' In" musical sequence won two awards. Because of the World Trade Center's central role, the episode was initially taken off syndication in many areas following the September 11, 2001 attacks, but has come back into syndication in recent years.

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Did you know...

... that from 1995 to 2003, an Arkansas radio station now called KZTD shared its "KBBL" call sign with the fictional radio station on The Simpsons?

...that Nancy Cartwright originally auditioned for the role of Lisa, but soon thought that her voice would be better suited for Bart, so Matt Groening let her try out for the part and gave her the job on the spot?

...that since leaving the series in 1993, Sam Simon has been credited as "Sam 'Sayonara' Simon" in the opening credits of Treehouse of Horror episodes?

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

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

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We're really writing a show that has some of the most esoteric references on television. I mean really, really, really strange, odd, short little moments that very few people get and understand. We do that for ourselves. We're writing it for adults and intelligent adults at that.

— David Mirkin

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