THE SIMPSONS By Robert Graham ROBERT GRAHAM CIS

THE SIMPSONS By: Robert Graham ROBERT GRAHAM CIS 1020

LONGEST RUNNING PRIMETIME SHOW EVER! ROBERT GRAHAM CIS 1020

IN THE BEGINNING… • The Simpsons got their start of the Tracy Ullman Show. • Matt Groening was asked to draw a cartoon for the show. He had a successful comic strip, but didn’t trust Fox with his “baby” • So he slapped together a cartoon about a family modeled after his own family. • All the names were the same except his, He changed the name of the 10 year old him to be Bart, because it had the same letters as brat. ROBERT GRAHAM CIS 1020

THE FIRST SEASON • It didn’t take long for Fox to order a full season of The Simpsons. • The half-hour series premiered on December 17, 1989 with "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", a Christmas special. • "Some Enchanted Evening" was the first full-length episode produced, but it did not broadcast until May 1990, as the last episode of the first season, because of animation problems. • They fixed the animation and America’s favorite family was born. ROBERT GRAHAM CIS 1020

THE BUSH’S VS THE SIMPSONS • The Simpsons became very popular, because people related to the average American family • Barbara Bush did not feel the same way, Barbara Bush called The Simpsons "the dumbest thing she had ever seen. ” • In January 1992, then-current President George H. W. Bush made a speech during his re-election in which he said: "We are going to keep on trying to strengthen the American family, to make American families a lot more like the Waltons and a lot less like the Simpsons • The next broadcast of the Simpsons was a rerun of "Stark Raving Dad" on January 30. In that broadcast there was hastily included a new opening, which was a response to Bush's speech. The scene begins in the Simpsons living room. Homer, Patty, and Selma sit on couch. Maggie is in her high chair next to the couch. Bart and Lisa are sprawled on the carpet. They all stare at the TV and watch Bush's speech. When Bush says, "We need a nation closer to the Waltons than the Simpsons, " Bart replies "Hey, we're just like the Waltons. We're praying for an end to the Depression, too. " • The feud eventually led to the idea for the episode "Two Bad Neighbors", which has George and Barbara move into the house across the street from the Simpsons. ROBERT GRAHAM CIS 1020

MEET THE FAMILY ROBERT GRAHAM CIS 1020

HOMER SIMPSON • Father • Homer has held over 188 different jobs in the first 400 episodes of The Simpsons. In most episodes, he works as the Nuclear Safety Inspector at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. • Homer's age has changed as the series developed; he was 36 in the early episodes, 38 and 39 in season eight, and 40 in the eighteenth season, although even in those seasons his age is inconsistent. During Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein's period as showrunners, they found that as they aged, Homer seemed to become older too, so they increased his age to 38. ROBERT GRAHAM CIS 1020

MARGE SIMPSON • Mother • Marge is the ultimate homemaker, although she has had jobs through at the series. These include working as a nuclear technician alongside Homer at Springfield Nuclear Power Plant in "Marge Gets a Job" (season four, 1992); selling houses in "Realty Bites" (season nine, 1997); owning her own pretzel business in "The Twisted World of Marge Simpson" (season eight, 1997), and working at an erotic bakery in "Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes" (season 20, 2008). While Marge has never expressed discontent with her role as a homemaker, she has become bored with it. In "The Springfield Connection" (season six, 1995), Marge decided that she needed more excitement in her life and became a police officer. However, by the end of the episode, she became upset with the corruption in the force and quit. ROBERT GRAHAM CIS 1020

BART SIMPSON • 10 year old son of Marge and Homer • He attends Springfield Elementary. In Mrs. Krabapple’s 4 th grade class. • Even at the age of 10 Bart has had a few jobs including: He worked as a bartender at Fat Tony's social club in "Bart the Murderer" (season three, 1991); [ as Krusty the Clown's assistant in "Bart Gets Famous" (season five, 1994); as a doorman in Springfield's burlesque house, the Maison Derrière in "Bart After Dark" (season eight, 1996); and briefly owns his own factory in "Homer's Enemy". (season eight, 1997) ROBERT GRAHAM CIS 1020

LISA SIMPSON • 8 year old daughter of Marge and Homer • Lisa is the most intellectual member of the Simpson family, and many episodes of the series focus on her fighting for various causes. Lisa is often the focus of episodes with a real moral or philosophical point. ROBERT GRAHAM CIS 1020

MAGGIE SIMPSON • Baby of Marge and Homer • Maggie doesn’t talk, but sucks on a pacifier all day. • Despite her age, Maggie is a formidable marksman, as seen in "Who Shot Mr. Burns? " where shoots Mr. Burns with a handgun that falls into her hands, and in a more intentional manner during "Poppa's Got a Brand New Badge" where she is able to non-fatally shoot a group of mobsters in rapid succession with a rifle that she apparently hides in her crib. • Maggie is a baby genius she has: • She has spelled out E=MC² with her baby blocks • driven Homer's car • escaped from the Springfield daycare center • written her name on an Etch-A-Sketch. ROBERT GRAHAM CIS 1020