User blog:ARTaylor/30 Years of The Simpsons

Today marks the thirtieth anniversary of the premiere of The Simpsons. The animated series follows the members of the Simpsons family and the people of Springfield through their various adventures.

The show started out as series of shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show. The first episode was a Christmas special that paved the way for the series. The series was meant to be a satirical look at sitcoms, films, popular culture, politics, and real life. The series is currently airing its thirty-first season and has at this time produced six-hundred seventy-two episodes, with a thirty-second season having been announced that will include the seventh-hundred episode. The series has created a franchise that includes a theatrical film, shorts, video games, novels, comic books, music albums, magazines, and theme park attractions. It has crossed over with fellow animated shows The Critic, Futurama, and Family Guy. It has been referenced and itself parodied in numerous works. There have also been numerous analyzations of the show's themes, inspirations, and impact on the world. Several words and catchphrases have entered popular culture and even entered official dictionaries.

The series has been called one of the greatest ever made, and commonly ranks among the greatest shows and often tops as the greatest animated shows ever made. Time magazine called it the best television series of the twentieth century. The show has won numerous awards, including thirty-four Primetime Emmy Awards, thirty Annie Awards, and a Peabody Award. The show heralded the adult-oriented animated show while championing the counter-culture movement of the early 1990s. The show paved the way for numerous aimed at adults animated series to follow. While the early seasons struggled to find its audience, it eventually became a ratings juggernaut dominating in its time slot. The series was even awarded with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Despite this, the show peaked with fans and critics in the mid-1990s. Following the tenth season, longtime fans began noticing a drop in quality with an increased focus on recycled plots, tired gags, and overemphasis on guest stars. This was largely due to shifting showrunners as writers moved onto other series and projects.

The series was produced by the Fox Broadcasting Company. Early episodes were animated by AKOM. It features the talents of Hank Azaria as Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy, Jonathan Frink, Snake Jailbird, and others; Frank Welker as Santa's Little Helper, Snowball II, and other animals; Grey Griffin as Martin Prince, Sherry and Terri, and Uter; Maurice LaMarche as Orson Welles and others; Jonathan Kimble Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson, JJ Gruff, and Victor Klesnov; George Takei as Akira and himself; Dawnn Lewis as Carlotta Carlson; Stan Lee as himself; Billy West as his Futurama characters Philip J. Fry, Professor Farnsworth, and Dr. Zoidberg; John DiMaggio as his Futurama character Bender; Phil LaMarr as his Futurama character Hermes Conrad and a auctioneer; Jane Lynch as Jeanie; Paul Winfield as Lucious Sweet; Patton Oswalt as a T-Rex and Bart's guilt; Natalie Portman as Darcy; Paul Rudd as Dr. Zander; Adam West as himself playing Batman; Jeff Goldblum as MacArthur Parker; Robert Englund as Freddy Kruger; Edward Asner as an editor; Diedrich Bader as a police officer; Kathy Griffin as Francine; Nichelle Nichols as herself; Lily Tomlin as Tammy; Brent Spiner as a robot; Harlan Ellison as himself; John Mulaney as Warburton Parker; Dick Clark as himself; Maya Rudolph as Julia; Seth Green as a nerd; June Foray as the Happy Little Elf and a receptionist; Jess Harnell as Pancho; Joe Perry as himself; Luke Perry as himself; Jim Cummings as Dunkin; Neil Patrick Harris as himself; Kevin Feige as Chinnos; as well as Kevin Michael Richardson and Gregg Berger providing additional voices.