The Simpsonsshorts are a series of animated short films that aired as a recurring segment on Fox variety television series The Tracey Ullman Show for three seasons, before the characters spun off into The Simpsons , their own half-hour prime-time show. They feature Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie, and a few secondary characters. The series was created by Matt Groening, who designed the Simpson family and wrote many of the shorts. The shorts first aired on April 19, 1987, starting with "Good Night". The final short to air was "TV Simpsons", originally airing on May 14, 1989. The Simpsons later debuted on December 17, 1989, as an independent series with the Christmas special "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". [1]
One marketing study found that only 14 percent of Americans were familiar with the shorts, compared to 85 percent in November 1990 who were familiar with the Simpsons family, 11 months after the full-length show began airing. [2]
Only a few of these shorts have been released on DVD. "Good Night" was included on The Simpsons Season 1 DVD. Five of these shorts were later used in the clip-show episode "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular" on the half-hour show, which was released on the Season 7 DVD. These five shorts were "Good Night", which was featured in its entirety, and portions of "The Perfect Crime", "Space Patrol", "World War III", and "Bathtime". [3] In "You Kent Always Say What You Want", the short "Family Portrait" replaces the entire opening sequence in celebration of the 400th episode. ("Family Portrait" was previously released as a pre-feature short on the 1989 CBS-Fox VHS release of the film Working Girl .) In June 2013, it was reported that FXX was trying to acquire the shorts for their Simpsons app, "Simpsons World". [4]
The version of the Simpson family from the shorts was depicted as ghosts haunting the Simpsons house in the season twenty six episode "Treehouse of Horror XXV". [5]
The shorts' interpretation of Homer was also briefly seen in Homer's dream in the post credits scene of the season 33 episode "Mothers and Other Strangers".
When producer James L. Brooks was working on the television variety show The Tracey Ullman Show , he decided that he wanted to include short animated wraparounds before and after the commercial breaks. Having seen one of cartoonist Matt Groening's Life in Hell comic strips, Brooks asked Groening to pitch an idea for a series of animated shorts, which Groening initially intended to present as his Life in Hell series. [6] Groening later realized that animating Life in Hell would require the rescinding of publication rights for his life's work. He therefore chose another approach while waiting in the lobby of Brooks's office for the pitch meeting, hurriedly formulating his version of a dysfunctional family that became the Simpsons. [6] [7] He named the characters after his own family members, substituting "Bart" for his own name. [6] Bart was modeled after Groening's older brother, Mark, but given a different name which was chosen as an anagram of "brat". [8] The stories were written and storyboarded by Matt Groening. [9] 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. [6] The animation was produced domestically at Klasky-Csupo, [10] with Wesley Archer, David Silverman, and Bill Kopp being animators for the first season. After season one, it would be animated by Archer and Silverman thereafter. [9] Gyorgyi Peluce was the colorist and the person who decided to make the characters yellow. [9]
The actors who voiced the characters in the short later reprised their roles in The Simpsons series. Dan Castellaneta performed the voices of Homer Simpson, Grampa Simpson, and Krusty the Clown. [11] Homer's voice sounds different in the shorts compared to most episodes of the half-hour show, as Castellaneta originally tried to impersonate Walter Matthau. Although he would retain this characteristic through the early episodes of the regular series, it was gradually dropped as Homer's personality evolved away from that of a stereotypical sitcom father. [12] The producers of the show were in need of someone to do voiceovers, so rather than hire actors, they asked Castellaneta (who had already done some voice work) and Julie Kavner, both members of the Ullman Show cast, to do it. [13] [14] The kids still needed voices, and Nancy Cartwright, a journeyman voice actress, came in to audition. She recalled that "I was already doing voicework for eight different shows at the time and thought this would just be another job. They originally wanted me for Lisa's voice, but I thought 'Nah, I don't want to be the boring middle child, I want to be a bratty 10-year old boy.' So as soon as I gave a demonstration, [Brooks and Groening] hired me on the spot." Some time later, Yeardley Smith, a 22-year-old B-movie actress whose most notable accomplishment to date was featuring in the notorious 1986 Stephen King film Maximum Overdrive , was brought in to do Lisa's voice. [11] The recording of the shorts was often primitive; according to Cartwright, the dialogue for the Ullman shorts was recorded on a portable tape deck in a makeshift studio, which consisted of the video engineer suite, above the bleachers on the Ullman show set. [15]
The shorts were featured on the first three seasons on The Tracey Ullman Show. By the fourth and last season of The Tracey Ullman Show, the first season of the half-hour show was on the air. In the two first seasons the shorts were divided into three or four parts, [16] but in the third season they were played as a single story. [16] Tracey Ullman later filed a lawsuit, claiming that her show was the source of The Simpsons' success and therefore should receive a share of the show's profit. [17] Eventually the courts ruled in favor of the network. [18]
No. [19] | Title [19] | The Tracey Ullman Show episode | Original air date [19] | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Good Night" | Season 1, Episode 3 | April 19, 1987 | |
Homer says goodnight to Bart, making him ponder the nature of the mind. Marge says goodnight to Lisa, giving her a fear of bedbugs. Marge then sings "Rock-a-bye Baby" to Maggie, giving her a nightmare about it. All three of the kids end up crowding Homer and Marge's bed. This short was featured on a later Simpsons episode "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular". Maggie's scene of this short was also featured at the beginning of "Looking for Mr. Goodbart". | ||||
2 | "Watching Television" | Season 1, Episode 5 | May 3, 1987 | |
3 | "Bart Jumps" | Season 1, Episode 6 | May 10, 1987 | |
4 | "Babysitting Maggie" | Season 1, Episode 8 | May 31, 1987 | |
5 | "The Pacifier" | Season 1, Episode 10 | June 21, 1987 | |
6 | "Burp Contest" | Season 1, Episode 11 | June 28, 1987 | |
7 | "Eating Dinner" | Season 1, Episode 12 | July 12, 1987 | |
Marge makes dinner and the family sits down for the meal. She insists that everyone should have table manners, but the family's crude eating habits are hard to stop. |
No. [20] | Title [20] | The Tracey Ullman Show episode | Original air date [20] | |
---|---|---|---|---|
8 | "Making Faces" | Season 2, Episode 1 | September 22, 1987 | |
9 | "The Funeral" | Season 2, Episode 2 | October 4, 1987 | |
10 | "Maggie's Brain" | Season 2, Episode 3 | October 11, 1987 | |
11 | "Football" | Season 2, Episode 4 | October 18, 1987 | |
12 | "House of Cards" | Season 2, Episode 5 | October 25, 1987 | |
13 | "Bart and Dad Eat Dinner" | Season 2, Episode 6 | November 1, 1987 | |
14 | "Space Patrol" | Season 2, Episode 7 | November 8, 1987 | |
Bart, Lisa and Maggie play a game of "Space Patrol" while Homer and Marge are out. Lisa plays a superhero with Maggie as her sidekick, while Bart puts a jug on his head with the pretense of it being the helmet of an alien warlord. However, his head gets stuck in the jug and Lisa "frees" Bart using a croquet mallet. Clips from this short were featured on a later Simpsons episode "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular". | ||||
15 | "Bart's Haircut" | Season 2, Episode 8 | November 15, 1987 | |
When Bart's hair grows too long, Homer and Marge order him to get it cut. The barber ends up shaving Bart's entire head, and he attempts to disguise his scalp using glue, his old hair, and eventually a paper bag. The family promises not to laugh if he shows them the haircut, but fail to keep their vow when they see how Bart looks. | ||||
16 | "World War III" | Season 2, Episode 9 | November 22, 1987 | |
Homer wakes up the family in the middle of the night claiming that World War III has started to test their readiness for a nuclear war. The terrified family manages to escape to a fallout shelter in the basement in 18 seconds, but Homer says that this is too slow. After two more drills, the increasingly exhausted family members trick Homer into racing into the bunker alone and lock him inside. Bart asks Marge if this is a good thing to do; she ignores the question and says they'll let him out in sunrise. Clips from this short were featured on a later Simpsons episode "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular". | ||||
17 | "The Perfect Crime" | Season 2, Episode 10 | December 13, 1987 | |
When Marge makes a batch of chocolate chip cookies, Bart becomes obsessed with pulling off "the perfect crime" and stealing them all. His various attempts are foiled by the heat of the cookies and Maggie, but eventually, all of the treats vanish from the tray. Maggie takes Homer and Marge along a trail of cookie crumbs that leads to Bart's bedroom, where he is lying with a bloated stomach and complaining that the "perfect crime" is impossible. Clips from this short were featured on a later Simpsons episode "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular". | ||||
18 | "Scary Stories" | Season 2, Episode 11 | December 20, 1987 | |
19 | "Grandpa and the Kids" | Season 2, Episode 12 | January 10, 1988 | |
Grampa tells the kids stories from his heyday. When the kids stop listening to him, he feigns his death to recapture their attention. | ||||
20 | "Gone Fishin'" | Season 2, Episode 13 | January 24, 1988 | |
21 | "Skateboarding" | Season 2, Episode 14 | February 7, 1988 | |
Bart teaches his sisters how to skateboard, but is outdone every time he tries to show off. | ||||
22 | "The Pagans" | Season 2, Episode 15 | February 14, 1988 | |
23 | "The Closet" | Season 2, Episode 16 | February 21, 1988 | |
When Bart hears Homer calling him, he fears that his father will make him do chores. He hides in a closet, only to accidentally lock himself in. After a failed attempt to get Maggie to help him, Bart breaks down the door and decides to do his chores, only to discover a note explaining that the whole family has left to get chocolate milkshakes. | ||||
24 | "The Aquarium" | Season 2, Episode 17 | February 28, 1988 | |
Homer takes Bart, Lisa and Maggie to the aquarium. Bart finds a way to get into the shark tank and swims with a shark. When Homer finds out, he is angry, prompting Bart to stay in the tank since he feels it's safer than dealing with him. Two parts of this short were featured at the beginning of a later Simpsons episode, "Lisa Gets the Blues". | ||||
25 | "Family Portrait" | Season 2, Episode 18 | March 6, 1988 | |
Homer has trouble taking a normal family portrait. Every time they are close to a good picture, the family sabotages the shot. This short replaced the opening sequence in a later Simpsons episode "You Kent Always Say What You Want".
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26 | "Bart's Hiccups" | Season 2, Episode 19 | March 13, 1988 | |
27 | "The Money Jar" | Season 2, Episode 20 | March 20, 1988 | |
Marge warns the kids that they shouldn't steal from the money jar. Lisa and Maggie's consciences appear to prevent them from taking the jar's contents, but Bart's conscience encourages him to help himself to the cash. However, the money jar only contains a dollar, prompting Bart to remark "You can't even trust your own mother." | ||||
28 | "The Art Museum" | Season 2, Episode 21 | May 1, 1988 | |
The Simpsons go to an art museum. Bart stares at a nude painting and Lisa plays with an ancient vase. Marge realizes that the kids are too young to appreciate fine arts. However, Bart decides to become a collector by stealing an art piece. This action embarrasses Homer.
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29 | "Zoo Story" | Season 2, Episode 22 | May 8, 1988 | |
Homer takes Marge and the kids on an outing to the zoo. While there, he points out how stupid a family of chimpanzees look and fails to realize that the chimps look identical to his own brood. Homer then teases the monkeys by tricking them with peanuts, only to have them throw waste in his face. On the ride home, the family discovers that Bart has switched places with his chimpanzee lookalike, while he is fed bananas by the others. |
No. [21] | Title [21] | The Tracey Ullman Show episode | Original air date [21] | |
---|---|---|---|---|
30 | "Shut Up Simpsons" | Season 3, Episode 1 | November 6, 1988 | |
Maggie squeaks her toy, which causes a chain reaction of anger in the family; Lisa attacks Maggie for making noise, Bart attacks Lisa for shoving a baby, Homer attacks Bart for hitting a girl, and Grampa attacks Homer for hitting a kid. Bart then encourages the family to make up, only to sabotage his deed by insulting Homer. Lisa and Maggie discover they're more like Marge than Homer, especially when they see Homer, Bart, and Grampa locked in a strangle match with each other. | ||||
31 | "The Shell Game" | Season 3, Episode 2 | November 13, 1988 | |
Bart tries to hide one of the cookies he stole from the jar by distracting his parents with the shell game. Although his plan seems to succeed, Maggie has hidden the cookie in her mouth and subsequently eats it. | ||||
32 | "The Bart Simpson Show" | Season 3, Episode 3 | November 20, 1988 | |
The kids are watching TV and Homer tells them to stop watching The Itchy & Scratchy Show because its "too violent". Unable to watch cartoons, Bart puts on his own show, which eventually angers Homer even more because Bart removed the TV's components to appear on screen. | ||||
33 | "Punching Bag" | Season 3, Episode 4 | November 27, 1988 | |
Marge and Homer throw the kids into their toy room and tell them to "play nice." Bart takes out his anger on a punching bag; Lisa then takes a turn and adds motivation by drawing Homer's face on the bag. Homer, trying to nap, rudely commands Marge to make the kids stop; when the noise suddenly gets louder, he discovers Marge punching the bag. Homer attempts to break the bag, only to be hit in the face and knocked out.
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34 | "Simpson Xmas" | Season 3, Episode 5 | December 18, 1988 | |
Bart tells a story of Christmas with the Simpson family in the style of The Night Before Christmas . | ||||
35 | "The Krusty the Clown Show" | Season 3, Episode 7 | January 15, 1989 | |
The kids get to see Krusty the Clown's show live for the first time. Bart believes Krusty is an impostor and exposes it on television, much to his parents' dismay. | ||||
36 | "Bart the Hero" | Season 3, Episode 8 | January 29, 1989 | |
37 | "Bart's Little Fantasy" | Season 3, Episode 9 | February 5, 1989 | |
After the kids are ordered to clean their room by Homer and Marge, Bart forces his sisters to do all the work while he tells a story about a parallel world where large kids are the bosses of their small parents, who are made to do chores. However, Bart is caught red-handed by Marge and Homer makes him mow the lawn for his lack of involvement. Lisa ends Bart's story with her and Maggie living happily, while Bart watches them from outside in dismay. | ||||
38 | "Scary Movie" | Season 3, Episode 10 | February 12, 1989 | |
Lisa, Bart, and Maggie go to the movies to see "The Return of the Happy Little Elves", but Bart convinces the girls to see "Revenge of the Space Mutants" instead. However, Bart ends up being scared by it because one of the space mutants looks like himself. As he screams, Lisa and Maggie try to comfort him. | ||||
39 | "Home Hypnotism" | Season 3, Episode 11 | February 19, 1989 | |
40 | "Shoplifting" | Season 3, Episode 12 | February 26, 1989 | |
Bart, hungry for chocolate bars, steals some from the supermarket, despite Lisa's "warnings". He is quickly caught by security, but when the guard leaves the room to talk to his boss, he eats the candy and claims the cops have "no proof." However, he is caught red-handed thanks to the guard looking at the mirror and his face covered in chocolate. Marge reprimands him for his behavior on the ride back to the house. However, he is nonchalant, pointing out that his parents are still driving him around after she tries to tell him about the saying "crime doesn't pay". They force Bart out of the car and drive away, leaving him to walk home. | ||||
41 | "Echo Canyon" | Season 3, Episode 13 | March 12, 1989 | |
42 | "Bathtime" | Season 3, Episode 14 | March 19, 1989 | |
Homer makes Bart take his bath, but he ends up flooding the bathroom. This short was later featured on a later Simpsons episode "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular". | ||||
43 | "Bart's Nightmare" | Season 3, Episode 15 | March 26, 1989 | |
The family discovers that someone has eaten every last cookie in the cookie jar except one. The culprit turns out to be Bart, who regrets gorging on the snack, especially when he has a nightmare in which he is only an inch tall and nearly crushed by giant cookies in the kitchen. Lisa awakens Bart, who is relieved that his experience was only a dream, but he is scared of Homer offering one to him. | ||||
44 | "Bart of the Jungle" | Season 3, Episode 17 | April 16, 1989 | |
The kids swing from the trees using Homer's neckties, and Homer, who is angered by this, ends up being caught in their trap. | ||||
45 | "Family Therapy" | Season 3, Episode 18 | April 23, 1989 | |
Homer takes the family to a psychologist because he claims they cannot laugh anymore. The psychologist tries to remain calm, but the disruptions caused by the Simpsons eventually drive him over the edge, and he kicks them out of his office. This turns out to be the cure the family needed, and they laugh all the way home. | ||||
46 | "Maggie In Peril: Chapter One" | Season 3, Episode 19 | April 30, 1989 | |
47 | "Maggie In Peril: The Thrilling Conclusion" | Season 3, Episode 20 | May 7, 1989 | |
Sequel to "Maggie In Peril", Maggie floats in the air hanging on to balloons and lands safely back in her playpen. | ||||
48 | "TV Simpsons" | Season 3, Episode 21 | May 14, 1989 | |
While Homer is watching a bowling match, Bart flies a kite outside with Maggie and Lisa. The wind suddenly blows and the kite gets stuck on the TV antenna, which messes up the reception. Homer gets a ladder, climbs on the roof and he struggles to get the kite out of the antenna. He eventually becomes furious and shreds the kite into pieces, causing him to lose his balance and fall off the roof, while Lisa and Bart laugh at seeing The Itchy and Scratchy Show, unaware of what just happened. |
Matthew Abram Groening is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is best known as the creator of the television series The Simpsons (1989–present), Futurama, and Disenchantment (2018–2023), and the comic strip Life in Hell (1977–2012). The Simpsons is the longest-running U.S. primetime television series in history and the longest-running U.S. animated series and sitcom.
Marjorie Jacqueline "Marge" Simpson (née Bouvier) is a character in the American animated sitcom The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. Voiced by Julie Kavner, she first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Marge was created and designed by cartoonist Matt Groening while he was waiting in the lobby of James L. Brooks' office. Groening had been called to pitch a series of shorts based on Life in Hell but instead decided to create a new set of characters. He based the character on his mother Margaret Groening. After appearing on The Tracey Ullman Show for three seasons, the Simpson family received their own series on Fox, which debuted December 17, 1989.
Homer Jay Simpson is the protagonist of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared, along with the rest of the Simpsons, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Homer was created by the cartoonist Matt Groening while he was waiting in the lobby of producer James L. Brooks's office. Groening had been called to pitch a series of shorts based on his comic strip Life in Hell but instead created a new set of characters. He named the character after his father, Homer Groening. After appearing for three seasons on The Tracey Ullman Show, the Simpsons received their own series on Fox, which debuted on December 17, 1989.
Margaret Lenny "Maggie" Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the youngest member of the Simpson family. She first appeared on television in the Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Maggie was created and designed by cartoonist Matt Groening while he was waiting in the lobby of James L. Brooks' office. She received her first name from Groening's youngest sister. After appearing on The Tracey Ullman Show for three years, the Simpson family was given their own series on the Fox Broadcasting Company which debuted December 17, 1989.
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television sitcom series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa was born as a character in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening created and designed her while waiting to meet James L. Brooks. Groening had been invited to pitch a series of shorts based on his comic Life in Hell, but instead decided to create a new set of characters. He named the older Simpson daughter after his younger sister Lisa Groening Bartlett. After appearing on The Tracey Ullman Show for three years, the Simpson family were moved to their own series on Fox, which debuted on December 17, 1989.
Abraham Jay "Abe" Simpson II, better known as Grampa Simpson, is a recurring character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He made his first appearance in the episode entitled "Grandpa and the Kids", a one-minute Simpsons short on The Tracey Ullman Show, before the debut of the television show in 1989.
Bartholomew Jojo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional character in the American animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening created and designed Bart while waiting in the lobby of James L. Brooks' office. Groening had been called to pitch a series of shorts based on his comic strip, Life in Hell, but instead decided to create a new set of characters. While the rest of the characters were named after Groening's family members, Bart's name is an anagram of the word brat. After appearing on The Tracey Ullman Show for two years, the Simpson family received its own series on Fox, which debuted December 17, 1989. Bart has appeared in every Simpsons episode except "Four Great Women and a Manicure".
Nancy Jean Cartwright is an American actress. She is the long-time voice of Bart Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, for which she has received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance and an Annie Award for Best Voice Acting in the Field of Animation. Cartwright also voices other characters for the show, including Maggie Simpson, Ralph Wiggum, Todd Flanders, and Nelson Muntz. She is also the voice of Chuckie Finster in the Nickelodeon series Rugrats and its spin-off All Grown Up!, succeeding Christine Cavanaugh.
"Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" is the series premiere of the American animated television series The Simpsons. A Christmas special, the show had a very long delayed release. It first aired on Fox in the United States on December 17, 1989. Introducing the Simpson family into half-hour television in this episode, Bart Simpson disobediently gets a tattoo without the permission of his parents. After Marge spends all the family's holiday budget on having it removed, Homer learns that his boss is not giving employees Christmas bonuses, and takes a job as a shopping mall Santa.
The Tracey Ullman Show is an American television sketch comedy variety show starring Tracey Ullman. It debuted on Fox on April 5, 1987, as the network's second original primetime series to air, following Married... with Children, and ran for four seasons and 81 episodes until May 26, 1990. It was produced by Gracie Films in association with 20th Century Fox Television. The show blended sketch comedy with musical numbers and dance routines, choreographed by Paula Abdul, along with animated shorts. The format was conceived by co-creator and executive producer James L. Brooks, who was looking to showcase the show's multitalented star. Brooks likened the show to producing three pilots a week. Ullman was the first British woman to be offered her own television sketch show in the United States.
The Itchy & Scratchy Show is a fictional animated series featured on The Simpsons. The cartoon depicts a sadistic mouse named Itchy who repeatedly maims or murders a black cat named Scratchy. It is typically presented as 15- to 60-second sketches that are a part of The Krusty the Clown Show. Itchy & Scratchy is filled with graphic violence, unsuitable for children, that almost invariably prompts laughter from The Simpsons characters, especially Bart and Lisa.
"Some Enchanted Evening" is the thirteenth and final episode of the first season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It was originally broadcast on Fox in the United States on May 13, 1990. A family drama, it had a very long delayed release. Written by Matt Groening and Sam Simon and directed by David Silverman and Kent Butterworth, "Some Enchanted Evening" was the first episode produced for season one and was intended to air as the series premiere in fall 1989, but aired as the season one finale due to animation problems. The Christmas special "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" premiered in its place on December 17, 1989. It is the last episode to feature the original opening sequence starting from "Bart the Genius". In the episode, Homer and Marge go on a night out while leaving the children under the care of a diabolical babysitter named Ms. Lucille "Botz" Botzcowski.
The Simpson family are the main fictional characters featured in the animated television series The Simpsons. The Simpsons are a nuclear family consisting of married couple Homer and Marge and their three children, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. They live at 742 Evergreen Terrace in the fictional town of Springfield, United States, and they were created by cartoonist Matt Groening, who conceived the characters after his own family members, substituting "Bart" for his own name. The family debuted on Fox on April 19, 1987, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" and were later spun off into their own series, which debuted on Fox in the U.S. on December 17, 1989, and started airing in Winter 1990.
The first season of the American animated television series The Simpsons premiered on the Fox network on December 17, 1989, with the Christmas special "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", with the rest of the season airing from January 14 to May 13, 1990. The executive producers for the first production season were Matt Groening, James L. Brooks, and Sam Simon. It was produced by Gracie Films and 20th Century Fox Television.
The Simpsons is an American animated television sitcom starring the animated Simpson family, which was created by Matt Groening. He conceived of the characters in the lobby of James L. Brooks's office and named them after his own family members, substituting "Bart" for his own name. The family debuted as shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987. After a three-season run, the sketch was developed into a half-hour prime time show called The Simpsons, which debuted on December 17, 1989. The show was an early hit for Fox, becoming the first Fox series to land in the top 30 ratings in a season (1990).
"Good Night" is the first of the forty-eight Simpsons shorts and the second segment of the third episode of The Tracey Ullman Show's first season. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on April 19, 1987 and marks the first ever appearance of the Simpson family – Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie – on television. After three seasons on Tracey Ullman's show, the shorts would be adapted into the animated show The Simpsons. "Good Night" has since been aired on the show in the episode "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular", along with several other Ullman shorts, and is one of the few shorts to ever be released on DVD, being included in the Season 1 DVD set.
The Simpsons is an American animated comedy franchise whose eponymous family consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The Simpsons were created by cartoonist Matt Groening for a series of animated shorts that debuted on The Tracey Ullman Show on Fox on April 19, 1987. After a three-season run, the sketch was developed into The Simpsons, a half-hour prime time show that was an early hit for Fox, becoming the first Fox series to land in the Top 30 ratings in a season (1989–1990). The popularity of The Simpsons has made it a billion-dollar merchandising and media franchise. Alongside the television series, the characters of the show have been featured in a variety of media, including books, comic books, a magazine, musical releases, and video games.
Five official episode guides for the American animated sitcom The Simpsons have been published by HarperCollins since 1997. The first guide covers seasons 1 to 8, while the following three cover seasons 9 to 14. The fifth was released in 2010 and covers seasons 1 to 20.