The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a satirical parody of the middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its titular family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The show is set in the fictional town of Springfield, and it lampoons many aspects of the human condition, as well as American culture, society as a whole, and television itself.

The family was conceived by Groening shortly before a pitch for a series of animated shorts with the producer James L. Brooks. Groening created 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. Richmond, p. 14 After a three-season run, the sketch was developed into a half-hour prime time show and was an early hit for Fox.

Since its debut on December 17, 1989, the show has broadcast 414 episodes and is currently in its nineteenth season. The season 18 finale, which aired on May 20, 2007, was the show’s 400th episode, and 2007 marked the 20th anniversary of The Simpsons franchise. The Simpsons Movie, a feature-length film, was released in theaters worldwide on July 26 and July 27, 2007, and has grossed approximately US$526.2 million worldwide to date.

The Simpsons has won dozens of awards since it debuted as a series, including 23 Emmy Awards, 26 Annie Awards and a Peabody Award. Time magazine's December 31, 1999 issue named it the 20th century's best television series, and on January 14, 2000 it was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Simpsons is the longest-running American sitcom and the longest-running American animated program. Homer's annoyed grunt "D'oh!" has been adopted into the English lexicon, while The Simpsons has influenced many adult-oriented animated sitcoms.

The Simpsons' 18th season aired from on September 10, 2006 to on May 20, 2007. The season contained seven hold-over episodes from the season 17 (HABF) production line. Al Jean served as the Executive producer, a position he has held since the thirteenth season. The series' 400th episode aired on May 20, two months prior to the opening of The Simpsons Movie. Additionally, the Simpsons franchise celebrated its 20th anniversary, as it has been on the air since April 1987, beginning with shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show.

Season 18 included guest appearances by Metallica, Tom Wolfe, Gore Vidal, Michael Chabon, Jonathan Franzen, Fran Drescher, The White Stripes, Kiefer Sutherland, Richard Lewis, Phil McGraw, Elvis Stojko, Natalie Portman, Jon Lovitz, Betty White, Eric Idle, Sir Mix-a-Lot, Stephen Sondheim, Ronaldo, Meg Ryan, Andy Dick, Peter Bogdanovich, James Patterson and others.

The Simpsons' tenth season originally aired between August 23, 1998 and May 16, 1999, beginning with "Lard of the Dance" which was aired earlier than normal to promote the premiere of That '70s Show.pics/dvd10.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.simpsoncrazy.com/product_pics/dvd10.jpg The season contained four hold-over episodes from the season 9 (5F) production line. It also saw the start of the new XABFXX production code, which has continued to this day.

The DVD set comes in two varieties – a limited edition Bart Simpson head-shaped box and a standard rectangular box with artwork prominently featuring Bart riding a cart to a movie studio. The box set was released in _Region 1 on August 7th, 2007, Region 2 on September 10, 2007 and Region 4 on September 26, 2007.

Season 10 included multiple numbers of guest stars including: Lisa Kudrow, Phil Hartman (in what would be his final role on the show due to his murder), Regis Philbin, Kathie Lee Gifford, Jerry Springer, Ed McMahon, Marcia Wallace, Robert Englund, Alec Baldwin, Kim Basinger, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, George Carlin, Martin Mull, Mark Hamill, The Moody Blues, Cyndi Lauper, John Madden, Troy Aikman, Dan Marino, Pat Summerall, Roosevelt Grier, Fred Willard, Dolly Parton, Rupert Murdoch, Ed Begley Jr., Yo La Tengo, Kane Hodder, Elton John, John Kassir, Hank Williams Jr., Jasper Johns, Isabella Rossellini, Jack La Lanne, Michael McKean, Stephen Hawking, George Takei, Gedde Watanabe, Keone Young, Karen Maruyama and Denice Kumagai.

The Simpsons is an animated Sitcom about the antics of a dysfunctional family called the simpsons (surprise surprise). Homer is the oafish unhealthy beer loving father, Marge is the hardworking homemaker wife, Bart is the ten year old underachiever (and proud of it), Lisa is the unappreciated eight year old genius, and Maggie is the cute, pacifier loving silent infant. There are 400 episodes to date Written by Sam Kelly

The Simpsons are very politically incorrect family. Homer works with pride in a nuclear power plant run with more regard for profit that safety. His wife is Marge, a kind of supermom. They have three kids: Bart, an underachiever ("and proud of it"), Lisa (who is as serious and responsible as Bart isn't), and Maggie. Written by Murray Chapman

The Simpsons is the longest-running prime-time animated show on TV! The show follows the comical adventures of the Simpson family in the town of Springfield, (the state is unknown). Homer, an unintelligent beer-drinking father who's mostly the cause of problems; Marge, the housewife mom who always tries to help the kids when they need it; Bart, the mischievous and clever 10-year-old; Lisa, the only person in Springfield who's worth becoming president of the USA; and Maggie, the baby of the family. Other characters include Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, the Hindu Kwik-E-Mart owner; Ned Flanders, the Simpsons' next-door neighbor who constantly aggravates Homer; Milhouse Van Houten, Bart's best friend and a complete coward; Mr. Burns, a extremely wealthy and evil businessman; and a huge variety of other characters. Running for 16 years, the Simpsons have connected with so many guest voices including Alec Baldwin, Kim Basinger, Mel Gibson, Tony Hawk, Elizabeth Taylor, Joe Mantegna, Lily Tomlin, Ricky Gervais, Richard Dean Anderson, James Caan, Kim Cattrall, 50 Cent, Gary Busey, Jane Kaczamrek, Lucy Liu, Robert Wagner, Amy Poehler, Stephen Hawking, Ray Romano, Albert Brooks, Fantasia Barrino, Jason Bateman, Liam Neeson, Glenn Close, Michael Moore, Ian McKellen, J.K. Rowling, Tony Blair, the Olsen Twins, and Tom Clancy. Written by Max Davison

The Simpsons is the ultimate (if very unorthodox) nuclear family. Homer, the lovable dufus father, stumbles apathetic ally through his family life and work at the local nuclear power plant. Marge, the overbearing but responsible mother, Bart, the 4th grade underachiever and nemesis to Springfield elementary's principal, Lisa, the brainy and responsible 8 year old, and Maggie, the oft-forgotten baby, round out the family. Based on a series of small cartoon sketches from the Tracy Ullman show, the Simpsons enjoy many wacky exploits in their hometown and beyond. Other characters include an incompetent lawyer, the tyrranical nuclear power plant owner, the too-perfect neighbors (the Flanders) of the Simpsons, and the less than perfect "Klown", Krusty. Colorful characters and situations abound. Written by Sam Hayes

Animated primetime series that follows the exploits of a hapless and semi-dysfunctional nuclear family named the Simpsons, who live in the fictional town of Springfield, whose various inhabitants add to the comedy, angst, satire and parody of this series. Written by Ondre Lombard

The Simpsons are a dysfunctional family living in Springfield. Homer, the man of the house, is a safety inspector at the Nuclear Power Plant. Homer constantly spends most of his time at Moe's Tavern getting drunk. Marge is a hard-working housewife of three children. Bart is a clever 10 year old who loves pranking others. Lisa is the genius of the Simpson family. She recieves very excellent grades in school. She is the most trusted person in school and a "principal's pet". Maggie is the youngest. Maggie has not spoken yet. The Simpsons get themselves in some crazy adventures. In fact, they are getting in maybe about 10,000 adventures by the time the show ends in 2010. Written by Seth Weinstein (problemchild4@hotmail.com)