The Simpsons

From Infocentral

The Simpsons is an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning, animated American sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox TV Network. It is a satirical parody of the "Middle American" lifestyle epitomized by its title family, consisting of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. Set in the fictional town of Springfield, the show lampoons many aspects of the human condition, as well as American culture, society as a whole, and even television itself.

The family was conceived by Groening shortly before a pitch for a series of animated shorts with James L. Brooks. He sketched out his version of a dysfunctional family, and named the characters after members of his own family, substituting Bart for his own name. The shorts became a part of The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987.After a three-season run, the sketch was developed into a half-hour prime time show.

The Simpsons was an early hit for Fox, winning several major awards. Time magazine's 1998 issue named it the century's best television series, and on January 14, 2000 it was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It is the longest-running American sitcom, as well as the longest-running American animated program. As a testament to the show's influence on popular culture, its catchphrases have been adopted into the English lexicon (i.e. Homer Simpson's annoyed grunt "D'oh!"). The Simpsons is also cited as an influence to many adult-oriented animated sitcoms of the late 1990s.

Since its debut on December 17, 1989, the show has aired 394 episodes over 18 seasons, and as of March 20, 2006, it was renewed for a 19th season, due to be aired in 2007–2008. The 18th season finale will be the 400th episode, and the 20th anniversary of The Simpsons franchise will be celebrated in 2007. A feature-length movie is currently being produced, to be released on July 27, 2007.

Contents 1 Origins 2 Production 2.1 Executive producers 2.2 Voice actors 2.3 Writing 2.4 Animation 3 Characters 4 Setting 5 Themes 6 Hallmarks 6.1 Opening sequence 6.2 Halloween episodes 6.3 Recurring jokes and catchphrases 7 Cultural impact 7.1 Impact on language 7.2 Impact on television 8 Critical reactions and achievements 8.1 Awards 8.2 Run length achievements 8.3 Criticism of declining quality 9 Merchandise 9.1 DVDs 9.2 Video games 10 Film

Origins

Groening first conceived of the Simpsons in the lobby of James L. Brooks's office. He had been called in to pitch a series of animated shorts, and had intended to present his Life in Hell series. When he realized that animating Life in Hell would require him to rescind publication rights for his life's work, Groening decided to go in another direction. He hurriedly sketched out his version of a dysfunctional family, and named the characters after his own family, substituting Bart for his own name.

The Simpson family first appeared in animated form as shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show, with the first episode, "Good Night", airing on April 19, 1987. The family was crudely drawn, because Groening had submitted basic sketches to the animators, assuming they would clean them up; instead they just traced over his drawings.

In 1989, The Simpsons was adapted into a half-hour series for the Fox network by a team of production companies, including what is now the Klasky Csupo animation house. Due to the fledgling position of the Fox network, Jim Brooks obtained an unusual contractual provision that ensured the network could not interfere with the creative process by providing show notes. Groening has been quoted as saying that his goal in creating the show was to "offer an alternative to the audience, and show them there's something else out there than the mainstream trash that they are presented as the only thing." The first full length episode shown was "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" in place of the intended first episode, "Some Enchanted Evening." The latter had to be reanimated after the creators saw the poor quality of the final animation, and was eventually shown as the final episode of the first season.

The Simpsons was the first TV series for the Fox network to appear in the top 30 highest-rated shows of the season. Its success led Fox to move the show to compete directly against The Cosby Show, a move that hurt the ratings of The Simpsons. Ullman filed a lawsuit, claiming that her show was the source of the show's success and therefore she should receive a share of the show's profit. Eventually the courts ruled in favor of the network.

The show was also involved in controversy from early on- Bart was rebellious and frequently escaped without punishment, which led some parents' groups and conservative spokespeople to believe Bart provided a poor role model for children. George H. W. Bush railed, "We're going to keep trying to strengthen the American family. To make them more like the Waltons and less like the Simpsons." The Simpsons t-shirts—one featuring Bart with the legend "Underachiever ('And proud of it, man!')"—and other merchandise were banned from some public schools in several areas of the United States. The Simpsons merchandise, however, sold very well; during the first 14 months, $2 billion in revenue was generated worldwide.

Production

Executive producers

Groening, Brooks, and Simon have been executive producers during the entire run, and now basically function as creative consultants. A more involved position on the show is known as the show runner, who serves as head writer and is in charge of every aspect of the show's production for the entire season.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Credited as executive producers in the episode credits, runners often stay on for multiple seasons, though they usually break their planning down by season. As of season five, the show runner receives first billing on the closing credit run.

Voice actors

Template:Main With one exception, episodes list only the voice actors, and not the characters they voice. Both Fox and the production crew wanted to keep their identities a secret during the early seasons, and therefore closed most of the recording sessions, and refused to publish photos.<ref>Template:Cite video</ref> They eventually revealed which roles the actors performed in the episode "Old Money", because the producers felt the voice actors should get credit for their work.

There are six main cast members on The Simpsons and with the exception of Harry Shearer, every main cast member has won an Emmy for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance. Dan Castellaneta performs the voices of Homer Simpson, his dad Abraham Simpson, and Krusty the Clown, as well as many other characters.<ref name="crew">Template:Cite book</ref> Julie Kavner performs the voices of Marge Simpson and her sisters Patty and Selma.<ref name="crew"/> She occasionally, but rarely, plays other one-shot characters. She has been known to refuse to perform Marge's voice in public, to maintain the mystique of the character. Nancy Cartwright performs the voice of Bart Simpson and other children from the school.<ref name="crew"/> Yeardley Smith, the voice of Lisa Simpson, is the only main cast member who regularly voices only one character, though she occasionally voices one-shot characters.<ref name="crew"/> The two male actors who do not voice members of the title family play a majority of the male townspeople. Hank Azaria voices recurring characters like Moe, Chief Wiggum, and Apu.<ref name="crew"/> Harry Shearer provides voices for Mr. Burns, Smithers, Principal Skinner, Ned Flanders, Dr. Hibbert, and many others.<ref name="crew"/>

Along with the main cast, Pamela Hayden, Tress MacNeille, Marcia Wallace, Maggie Roswell, and Russi Taylor are regular cast members who voice several recurring characters.<ref name="crew"/> From the 1999 season to the 2002 season, Maggie Roswell's characters were voiced by Marcia Mitzman Gaven. Karl Wiedergott has made many appearances in minor roles but does not voice any recurring characters. Recurring "special guest" cast members include Albert Brooks, the late Phil Hartman, Jon Lovitz, Jane Kaczmarek, Jan Hooks, Joe Mantegna, Maurice LaMarche and Kelsey Grammer. The show is known for its frequent use of celebrity guest stars, who either play themselves or a character on the show.

The main cast has been involved in much-publicized pay disputes with Fox on more than one occasion. In 1998, they threatened to strike, forcing 20th Century Fox TV to increase their salary from $30,000 per episode to $125,000. The actors were supported in their action by series creator Groening.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> As the revenue generated by the show continued to increase through syndication and DVD sales, the main cast stopped showing up for script readings in April 2004 after weeks of unsuccessful negotiations with Fox. They asked for $360,000 per episode, or $8 million for a 22-episode season. On May 2, 2004, the actors resolved their dispute with Fox after reaching an agreement.

Writing

Template:Main The Simpsons has a writing team that consists of about 16 writers.<ref name="scully">Template:Cite news</ref> This team starts to propose episode ideas at the beginning of December.<ref name="scully"/> Then each episode idea gets assigned to a main writer, who produces the first draft of the script. The final scripts are developed during group rewriting sessions. In these sessions, the writers can add or remove jokes, insert scenes, and call for rereadings of lines by the show’s vocal performers.<ref name="meyer">Template:Cite news</ref> The leader of these sessions is George Meyer, who has been with the show since its beginning. Long time writer Jon Vitti once explained that even though he will get the script credit for an episode the best quotes are usually made by George Meyer.<ref name="meyer"/> Since it takes six months to produce an episode of The Simpsons,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> it is very rare for the show to comment on spontaneous current events, though they sometimes cite planned events such as the Olympics or World Series.

John Swartzwelder is the most prolific writer on The Simpsons staff, credited with 60 episodes. Another notable writer was Conan O’Brien, who wrote four scripts before he became the host of Late Night with Conan O'Brien. English comedian Ricky Gervais is the only celebrity ever to have guest written an episode,<ref name="Gervais">Template:Cite web</ref> although there have been other guest writers, such as Spike Feresten, a Seinfeld writer famous for "The Soup Nazi" episode.

Animation

The Simpsons has been animated by many different studios over the past 18 years, both American and international ones. Throughout the run of the animated shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show, the animation was solely produced domestically at Klasky Csupo.<ref name="animation">Template:Cite news</ref> Due to the increased workload, production began to be subcontracted to international studios for the half-hour show, usually in South Korea.<ref name="animation"/> Character and background layout is done by the domestic studio, and tweening coloring and filming is done by the international studios. Throughout the years, different international studios have animated different episodes, even episodes within the same season. Klasky Csupo was the domestic animation studio during the first three seasons of the half-hour series. Gracie Films made a decision from season four to switch the domestic production to Film Roman,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> which continues to animate the show as of December 2006. The last episode (in terms of production order) to be animated by Klasky Csupo was "Kamp Krusty".

After season 13, production was switched from traditional cel animation to digital ink and paint.<ref>Template:Cite video</ref> The first episode to experiment with digital coloring was "Radioactive Man" in 1995, and again during season 12 with the episode "Tennis the Menace". However, after seeing the results, Gracie Films decided to hold off for two more seasons. "Tennis the Menace", being already completed, was broadcast this way.

Characters

Template:Main The Simpson family lives a "Middle American" lifestyle and is a one-income, working class family.<ref name="Turner28">Turner, p. 28</ref> Homer Simpson is a safety inspector at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant and a generally well-meaning buffoon. Marge Simpson is for the most part a stereotypical American housewife and mother. Bart Simpson is a ten-year-old troublemaker who thinks of himself as a rebel. Lisa Simpson is an extremely intelligent eight-year old middle child who is often involved in left-wing activism and loves playing the saxophone. Maggie Simpson is a baby who sucks on a pacifier, falls down a lot and does not speak. The family has a dog (Santa's Little Helper), a cat (Snowball II), as well as several other one-shot pets. Despite the fact that numerous yearly milestones (such as holidays or birthdays) clearly pass, the Simpsons do not physically age.

The show has a vast array of quirky supporting characters, including co-workers, teachers, family friends, extended relatives, and local celebrities. Originally, many of these characters were planned as one-shot jokes, or to fill a function in the town; a number of them gained expanded roles, and some have subsequently been the subject of their own episodes.

Setting

Template:Main The Simpsons is set in the fictional American city of Springfield. The state in which it is located has never been made clear, and it is not actually intended to exist in any specific state. Nevertheless, throughout the show's history, fans have tried to determine where Springfield is by taking the town's characteristics, surrounding geography and nearby landmarks as clues. As a response, the show has become intentionally deceptive about the state, and nearly every state and region in the U.S. has been both suggested and ruled out by conflicting evidence. Only once, in the season 11 episode "Behind the Laughter", the Simpsons are described as a “northern Kentucky family”, but since there are many counterexamples contradicting this statement in other episodes, this could just be seen as a teaser from the writers at the increasing curiosity of the fans. Groening has stated that Springfield has much in common with Portland, Oregon, the city he grew up in,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the name "Springfield" was chosen because it is a common city name, appearing in more than thirty states. The geography of Springfield and its surroundings is seen to be flexible and has been shown to contain coastlines, deserts, vast farmland, and tall mountains, or whatever a story or joke requires.

Themes

Template:Main Template:Seealso The show's writing style draws influence from multiple ancestors. In animation the show has three ancestors. The first is the Warner Brothers cartoons for its madcap pacing, grown-up humor in cartoony packaging and pantheon of characters. The second is Rocky & Bullwinkle for its dense writing with in-jokes and oddball asides. Finally, The Flintstones pioneered the overall animated sitcom genre with skewed blue-collar realism, a fat jovial slob as protagonist and celebrity cameos.<ref>Turner, p. 44</ref> From live-action programs its ancestors are socially conscious sitcoms like All in the Family and M*A*S*H, which has the sitcom as a vehicle for social commentary. The show was also inspired by sketch comedies such as Saturday Night Live and SCTV for its vast array of minor characters, parodies of public figures and mass-media products. From Late Night with David Letterman they found a tone of self-aware, self-referential metahumor.<ref>Turner, p. 44</ref>

The basic premise of The Simpsons is a standard sitcom setup. It is a series about a family and their life in a typical American town.<ref name="Turner28"/> The scope of The Simpsons, however, is larger than the regular sitcom. The town of Springfield is a complete universe in which they can explore all themes of modern society. Homer is deliberate working in a nuclear power plant, so that the show can make a comment on the environment.<ref>Turner, p. 55</ref> Bart's and Lisa's days at Springfield Elementary School can make a statement on education. The town features a vast in-universe media landscape, which has everything from kids' television programming to local news. This is used to make a statement about the entertainment industry.<ref>Turner, p. 388</ref>

The show is sometimes political with a left-wing bias.<ref>Turner, p. 221</ref> There is a general fondness for progressive ideals, but the show does make jokes from both sides of the political spectrum.<ref>Turner, p. 224</ref> The overall philosophy of The Simpsons is nihilism. The show portrays government and big business so that they are out to screw the little guy.<ref>Turner, p. 222</ref> Thus any authority figure in the show is portrayed in a negative light. The politicians are corrupt, Reverend Lovejoy is indifferent to the people going to his church and the local police force is incompetent.<ref>Turner, p. 56</ref> Religion is also a recurring theme. In the time of crisis the family will turn to God and the show have been dealing with most of the major religions.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The plots of many episodes focus on one particular character, or the relationship between two characters. Common plots have involved the following: Homer getting a new job or attempting a get-rich-quick scheme; Marge attempting to escape the monotony of keeping house by finding employment or taking up a hobby; Bart causing a large problem and attempting to fix it, cover it up, or ignore it entirely; Lisa embracing or advocating the merits of a particular cause or group. Some episodes have focused on the problems of secondary or tertiary characters, which are usually solved with the help of a member of the Simpson family.

Hallmarks

Opening sequence

Template:Main Template:Seealso The Simpsons opening sequence is one of the show's most memorable hallmarks. Almost every episode opens with the camera zooming through the show's title towards the town of Springfield. Then we follow the members of the family on their way home. Upon entering their house, they settle down on their couch to watch television. The series' distinctive theme song was composed by musician Danny Elfman in 1989, after Groening approached him requesting a "retro" style piece. This piece, which took two days to create, has been noted by Elfman as the most popular of his career.<ref name="elfman">Template:Cite web</ref>

One of the most distinctive aspects of the opening is that there are several segments that are changed from episode to episode. Bart writes something different on the blackboard. Lisa sometimes plays a different solo on her saxophone and something different happens when the family enters the living room to sit on the couch. This last segment is often the only one of the three gags to survive the process of shortening the opening for some syndicated episodes and for later episodes which needed extra time. This concept of rotating elements has been subsequently used both by Groening in Futurama, and by others, such as a newspaper headline in American Dad!.

Halloween episodes

Template:Main An annual tradition is a special Halloween episode. "Treehouse of Horror" (1990) started a tradition of three separate, self-contained stories in each Halloween episode. These pieces usually involve the family in some horror, science fiction, or supernatural setting and often parody or pay homage to a famous piece of work in those genres. They always take place outside the normal continuity of the show. Although the Treehouse series is meant to be seen on Halloween, in recent years new installments have premiered after Halloween. This is due to Fox's current contract with Major League Baseball's World Series.

Recurring jokes and catchphrases

Template:Main There are many running gags and catchphrases on The Simpsons, several of which are not used anymore. Notable catchphrases include Homer's famous annoyed grunt "D'oh!", Mr. Burns' "Excellent..." and Nelson Muntz's "Ha-ha!". An interesting phenomenon occurred with Bart's catchphrases. His now trademark "¡Ay, caramba!", "Don't have a cow, man!" and "Eat my shorts!" were featured on t-shirts in the early days of the show's run; however, the latter two phrases were rarely actually spoken on the show itself until after they became popular through merchandise, and the use of many of these catchphrases has declined in recent seasons.

In one example of a running gag, Bart often made prank calls to Moe's Tavern asking for someone with a suggestive name such as "Amanda Huggankiss", "Al Coholic", "Seymour Butts" or "Mike Rotch". Another example is in the annual Simpsons' Halloween Specials, in which the names in the credits will be parodies of the actual ones such as, "Bat Groening", "Chains Hell Brooks", etc. References to the Fox network as a sub-par network are also common.

The show has been known for both sign gags and freeze frame gags. A sign gag is a text sign on the show that has amusing content. The names of commercial establishments, and the message signs in front of the school or church are common forums for sign gags. Freeze frame gags are images that are on the screen too briefly to be identified normally, but would be visible if a viewer recorded the show and paused at the appropriate frame.

Cultural impact

Impact on language

Template:Main A number of neologisms which originated on The Simpsons have become common knowledge.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The most famous is Homer's annoyed grunt: "D'oh!." So ubiquitous is the catchphrase that it is now listed in the Oxford English Dictionary,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> but without the apostrophe. (The first listed usage is not from The Simpsons, but from a 1945 BBC radio script; the word was spelled "dooh.") Dan Castellaneta has explained that he borrowed the phrase from James Finlayson, an actor in early Laurel and Hardy comedies, who pronounced it more stretched-out and whiny.<ref name="doh">Template:Cite news</ref> Castellaneta was told by the show's director to shorten the noise, leading to the famous grunt in the TV series.<ref name="doh"/>

Other Simpsons expressions that have entered into popular use include the word "excellent" (drawn out as a sinister "eeeexcelllent…" in the style of Charles Montgomery Burns), Homer's triumphant "Woohoo!" and Nelson Muntz's mocking "HA-ha!" Groundskeeper Willie's description of the French as "cheese-eating surrender monkeys" was used by conservative National Review columnist Jonah Goldberg, in 2003, after France's opposition to the proposed invasion of Iraq, and quickly spread to other journalists.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Impact on television

The Simpsons was the first animated program in prime time since the Flintstones era. During most of the 1980s, animated shows were seen as being for kids and the animation was too expensive to get a quality suitable for prime time television. The Simpsons changed this perception.<ref name="animation"/> The use of Korean animation studios doing inbetweening, coloring and filming made the episodes cheaper. The success of The Simpsons and the lower production cost made television networks take chances on other animated series.<ref name="animation"/> This led to a boom in new animated shows for prime time in the 1990s, such as South Park, Family Guy, King of the Hill, Futurama and The Critic.<ref name="animation"/> South Park later paid homage to The Simpsons with the episode "Simpsons Already Did It."

The Simpsons also had an impact on live-action shows. Malcolm in the Middle, which debuted January 9, 2000 in the time slot right after The Simpsons, was largely inspired by this show.<ref name="influence"/><ref name="malcolm">Template:Cite web</ref> It features the use of sight gags and does not use a laugh track like most sitcoms. Ricky Gervais has called The Simpsons a major influence on his British comedy The Office, which also leaves out a laugh track.<ref name="gervais">Template:Cite web</ref>

Critical reactions and achievements

Awards

Template:Main The Simpsons has won dozens of awards since it debuted as a series, including 23 Emmy Awards, 22 Annie Awards and a Peabody. On January 14, 2000 the Simpsons were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In its 1998 issue celebrating the greatest achievements in arts and entertainment of the 20th century, Time magazine named The Simpsons the century's best television series.<ref name="century">Citation</ref> In that same issue, Bart Simpson was named to the Time 100, the publication's list of the century's 100 most influential people.<ref name="timebart">Template:Cite web</ref> He was the only fictional character on the list. In 2002, it was listed as #8 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.<ref name="tvguide">Template:Cite news</ref> In 2000, Entertainment Weekly magazine TV critic Ken Tucker named The Simpsons the greatest television show of the 1990s. Furthermore, viewers of the UK television channel Channel 4 have voted "The Simpsons" top of two polls, 2001's 100 Greatest Kids' TV shows, and 2005's 100 Greatest Cartoons, with Homer Simpson voted first place in 2001's 100 Greatest TV Characters.

Run length achievements

On February 9, 1997, The Simpsons surpassed The Flintstones with the episode "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show" as the longest-running prime time animated series in America. In 2004 it replaced The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952 to 1966) as the longest-running sitcom, animated or live action, ever in the United States.<ref name="longsitcom"/> In October 2004, Scooby-Doo briefly overtook The Simpsons as the American animated show with the highest episode count.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In April 2005, Scooby-Doo was cancelled again, finishing with 371 episodes, while The Simpsons reclaimed the title with 378 episodes as of the end of their seventeenth season.<ref name="Guinness"/> While The Simpsons has a record number of episodes for an American animated show, some foreign animated series have surpassed The Simpsons in this regard. For example, the Japanese anime series Doraemon has over 600 episodes to its credit.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The year 2007 marks the 20th anniversary of the Simpsons franchise, since the show originally began as skits on The Tracey Ullman Show in 1987. With its 19th season (2007-2008), through which the show was renewed in 2006, the series will be one season behind Gunsmoke's US entertainment record of 20 produced seasons.<ref name="longsitcom"/> However, Gunsmoke's episode count of 635 episodes far surpasses The Simpsons, which would not reach that mark until its 29th season, under normal season lengths.

Criticism of declining quality

For many years, most critics' reviews of new Simpsons episodes praised the show for its wit, realism, and intelligence.<ref name="toonterrific"/><ref name="calgary">Template:Cite news</ref> But gradually starting in the mid-90s, the tone and emphasis of the show changed. Some critics began calling the show tired.<ref name="slate">Template:Cite web</ref> By 2000, a segment of long-term fans had become disillusioned with the show, including its movement from more character-driven plots to what they perceived as an overemphasis on zany antics.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2003, to celebrate the show's 300th episode "Barting Over", USA Today published a pair of Simpsons related articles: a top-10 episodes list chosen by webmaster of The Simpsons Archive fansite,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and a top-15 list by The Simpsons' own writers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The most recent episode listed on the fan list was 1997's "Homer's Phobia"; the Simpsons' writers most recent choice was 2000's "Behind the Laughter." In 2004, Harry Shearer criticized the show's sliding quality in an interview: "I rate the last three seasons as among the worst, so season four looks very good to me now."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Despite this criticism, The Simpsons has managed to maintain an audience and attract new fans, although the first season had an average of 13.4 million viewers alone in the U.S.,<ref name="rating89">Template:Cite web</ref> compared to the 17th season, which ended with an average of 9.2 million viewers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In an April 2006 interview, Matt Groening said, "I honestly don't see any end in sight. I think it's possible that the show will get too financially cumbersome...but right now, the show is creatively, I think, as good or better than it's ever been. The animation is incredibly detailed and imaginative, the stories do things that we haven't done before, so creatively there's no reason to quit."<ref name="avclub3">Template:Cite web</ref>

Merchandise

The popularity of The Simpsons has made it into a billion dollar merchandizing industry.<ref name="mikescully"/> The title family and supporting characters appear on everything from action figures (see World of Springfield) to t-shirts to posters. The Simpsons has inspired special editions of well-known board games, including Clue, Scrabble, Monopoly, Operation, and The Game of Life, as well as the trivia games What Would Homer Do? and Simpsons Jeopardy!.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Several card games such as trump cards and The Simpsons Trading Card Game have also been released.

Numerous Simpson-related publications have been released over the years. So far, nine comic book series have been published by Bongo Comics since 1993. The Simpsons and Bart Simpson comics are also reprinted in the United Kingdom, under the same titles, with various stories from the other Bongo series reprinted in the main Simpsons comic. The comics have also been collected in book form; many other Simpsons books such as episode guides have also been published.

Music is featured in The Simpsons, with characters breaking into song during the course of the series. Collections of original music featured in the TV series have been released on the albums Songs in the Key of Springfield and Go Simpsonic with The Simpsons. Several songs have been recorded with the purpose of a single or album release and have not been featured on the show. The best known single is "Do the Bartman", which was co-written by Michael Jackson<ref>Template:Cite video</ref> and became an international success. In the United Kingdom, "Deep, Deep Trouble" was released as a follow up to "Do The Bartman". The albums The Simpsons Sing the Blues and The Yellow Album contained cover versions of songs, as well as some originals.

DVDs

Template:Main Many episodes of the show have been released on DVD and VHS over the years. When the first season DVD was released in 2001, it quickly became the best-selling television DVD in history, although it would later be overtaken by the first season of Chappelle's Show.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In particular, these DVDs have been released in North America (Region 1), Europe (Region 2) and Australia/New Zealand/Latin America (Region 4). Seasons 1-7 have also been released in Japan (Region 2).

Video games

Template:Main The video game industry was quick to adapt the characters and world of Springfield into games. Some of the early notable games includes Konami's arcade game The Simpsons (1991) and Acclaim Entertainment's The Simpsons: Bart vs. the Space Mutants (1991). More modern games include The Simpsons Road Rage (2001) and The Simpsons Hit & Run (2003). Two Simpsons pinball machines have been produced; one after the first season, and the other still available.

Film

Template:Main There has been talk of a possible feature-length Simpsons movie ever since the early seasons of the series. James L. Brooks originally thought that the story of the episode "Kamp Krusty" was suitable for a movie, but difficulties were encountered in trying to expand the script to feature-length.<ref>Template:Cite video</ref> For a long time the project was held up. There was trouble finding a story that was right for a movie, and the crew did not have time to complete a movie, since they already worked full time year-round on the show.<ref name="avclub3"/>

An animated Simpsons movie is now well into production.<ref name="simpsonmovie"/> It is being produced by 20th Century Fox, Gracie Films, and Film Roman and is scheduled to be released July 27, 2007. The film will be directed by long-time Simpsons producer David Silverman and written by a team of Simpsons writers that includes Matt Groening, James L. Brooks, Al Jean, George Meyer, Mike Reiss, John Swartzwelder, Jon Vitti, David Mirkin, Mike Scully, Matt Selman, and Ian Maxtone-Graham.<ref name="simpsonmovie"/> The movie is produced alongside the series, despite long-time rumors that a movie would enter production only when the series had reached its end.