It’s Been 20 Years For The Simpsons
The Simpsons first appeared in an animated short that appeared on The Tracy Ullman Show back in 1987. Now, in 2007, The Simpsons can celebrate that they’ve not only lasted from the last 20 years, they’ve thrived for the last 20 years.
Some of the shows creators, Matt Groening, James L. Brooks, and Sam Simon spoke recently about the first season of the Simpsons and the birth of side characters like Comic Book Guy.
“When we first came up with that character[Comic Book Guy], I could not believe we were doing it, a comic book guy as a featured character was unheard of. But everyone knew a guy just like him growing up. Obnoxious and condescending, “Comic Book Guy” mocks everyone—and everything—that crosses his path. Simpsons veteran Hank Azaria reached into his own past and found the perfect voice for one of the show’s most mimicked characters.
Hank based Comic Book Guy’s voice on someone he went to college with. One of that guy’s favorite phrases was, ‘You are on my list.’” “Hank must be on that guy’s list now.”
The article goes on to say…
Though The Simpsons has inspired many imitators, no other show has matched its impact on pop culture. The sitcom is written about in scholarly journals, discussed at water coolers across the country, and chronicled in painstaking detail on innumerable Web sites (The Simpsons Archive and AllSimps among them).
Now The Simpsons are onto the big screen, about to make another first. Congrats to all those who worked so hard these last 20 years.
The Simpsons, The Simpsons Movie, FOX
-Anna
December 2nd, 2007 at 5:56 pm
[...] Simpsons has the distinction of being the longest running television cartoon, ever. There are many reasons for this, but I like to think it’s the characters, and the humanity at the [...]