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KwyjiboThe Simpsons, an animated television series, has used and coined many neologisms for humorous effect. The most famous example is Homer Simpson's signature annoyed grunt, "D'oh!" which has been listed in the Oxford English Dictionary, in addition to smaller references such as OUP's single-volume Oxford Dictionary of English (second edition).
Few of the following would qualify as neologisms from a strict lexicological perspective due to their extremely limited use outside of the show. For those that have found their way into regular use, the route passes through the considerable fan-base where use of these words carries the prestige of pop-cultural literacy among those who catch the references, just as among other cultural groups a clever parallel to a well-known phrase from the literary or rhetorical canon would be acknowledged.
The following, then, is presented more as a glossary of references than a list of neologisms. This list, however, is distinguished from other Simpsons-related lists by focusing on invented words and phrases rather than the names of specific characters or locations that are well documented elsewhere.
Many of these are intentional mutations, mispronunciations, amplifications, or portmanteaus of recognizable words that reveal or emphasize aspects of the characters using them. Homer, for example, often mispronounces words, showing his ignorance. Grandpa Simpson and Mr. Burns use obsolete or old-sounding words, which emphasize their age. And Professor Frink and Dr. Nick Riviera invent new scientific-sounding jargon to lend meager credibility to their obvious ineptitude.
0-9
40 Rods to the Hogshead
Grandpa says in "A Star is Burns" that his car gets 40 rods to the hogshead, which is about 0.00198413 miles per gallon, or about 10.48 feet per gallon.
A
America Balls
A delicacy concocted by Bart and named by Homer, they make an appearance in the episode "The Principal and the Pauper." They consist of tiny American Flags on toothpicks, which are then inserted into round balls of dog food. They are made to commemorate Skinner's 20 years of service to Springfield Elementary, and are based on Bart's theory that "Skinner likes dog food."
Assal Horizontology
First coined by Dr. Nick Riviera, in "King-Size Homer" where Homer Simpson tries to gain weight to get on workers' compensation. While prescribing a diet consisting of a steady gorging process for Homer, he suggests that it be combined with assal horizontology. Presumably, he means lying down - or more likely, sitting (since Homer does this anyway, which adds to the comedic irony).
Assbutt
A derogatory term originally spoken by Jimbo Jones in "Lisa's Date With Density": "Oh yeah, prove it, assbutt!"
Avoision
In the episode "Bart the Fink" Kent Brockman conflates the words avoidance and evasion. When corrected through his earpiece, Brockman responds to them on-air: "I say avoision." This is a reference to a William Shatner outtake where he argues with his director over "sabotage": "You say sabotage. I say sabatage". Ironically, Shatner's version is now the standard pronunciation.
Possibly inspired by Three Stooges dialogue and speech patterns.
B
Bartesque
Bart: 'But it involves being a bit underhanded, a bit devious, a bit, as the French say: bartesque'.
BBBQ
A variation of the "BBQ" abbreviation for barbecue. Homer's invitations in "Lisa the Vegetarian" read, "Come to Homer's BBBQ. The extra B is for BYOBB." When Bart asks what the extra 'B' is for in BYOBB, Homer replies that it's a typo.
Beginulate
A combination of "begin" and "emulate". Professor John Frink employs a pseudo-scientific jargon. Its use appears in the "Treehouse of Horror XV" short In the Belly of the Boss:
:Frink: "Let the commencement… beginulate!"
Beverine
A coffee-flavored, beverage-like substance commonly consumed in the Springfield Elementary School's Teachers Lounge. Superintendent Chalmers takes it "grey, with Creamium."
From the episode "The Principal and the Pauper".
Bi-Mon-Sci-Fi-Con
Bi-Mon-Sci-Fi-Con is the Bimonthly Science Fiction Convention held in Springfield. Its name parodies the often nonsensical-sounding syllabic abbreviations of fantasy and role-playing conventions. The convention first appeared in the episode "Mayored to the Mob", which featured actor Mark Hamill as a guest star.
Blingwad
Unclassified transformed matter.
:Krusty the Clown: I oughta replace it right now with that Chinese cartoon with the robots that turn into...blingwads! But I'm a lazy, lazy man.
(From the episode "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show".)
Bloodening
The Bloodening is the title of a horror film parodying the movie Village of the Damned, a.k.a. The Midwich Cuckoos, in the episode "Wild Barts Can't Be Broken".
The Blunch Black of Blotre Blame
The Blunch Black of Blotre Blame is the title of a Blaxploitation version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame that is mentioned as Homer watches TV in "Simpson Tide". It was on a program called "Exploitation Theatre" and it followed Blackenstein, which followed Blackula (which are both real Blaxploitation movies).
Blurst
A word made up in "Last Exit to Springfield" by one of Mr. Burns's thousand monkeys at a thousand typewriters, which causes Mr. Burns to crumple the paper on which it was written into a ball and throw it at the monkey.
:Mr. Burns: It was the best of times, it was the blurst of times? You stupid monkey!
(This is a play on the famous opening sentence of the Charles Dickens novel, A Tale of Two Cities.)
Bolognium
An element on the promotional periodic tables provided by Oscar Meyer that Springfield Elementary must resort to using due to budget shortfalls. Its atomic weight is "Delicious" (also acceptable, "Snacktacular".)
Boneis Eruptus
A medical condition made up by Dr. Nick Riviera in the episode "22 Short Films About Springfield" when diagnosing a frantic Abe Simpson, who had demanded to see a quack. Dr. Riviera describes Boneis Eruptus as "a terrible condition where the skeleton tries to leap out of the mouth and escape the body". This is a reference to the common cartoon trope of a skeleton escaping a character's mouth in fright, as well as wordplay on the term coitus interruptus, and possibly a reference to the Ray Bradbury short story "Skeleton".
Bonestorm
The video game that Bart wants as a Christmas present in the episode "Marge Be Not Proud". Milhouse owns it and claims that it is a one-player game, although the screen says otherwise. The TV advertisement for Bonestorm instructs children to tell their parents, "Buy me Bonestorm, or go to hell," which Bart does immediately after seeing the commercial.
Boo-urns
During the episode "A Star Is Burns", after Montgomery Burns asks his faithful assistant Waylon Smithers if the crowd is booing his blatantly egotistical motion picture. Smithers, ever the yes-man, replies that they are saying "boo-urns" (i.e. "Burns"), and not "boo". When Burns asks for clarification, the crowd replies that they are indeed saying "boo", and not "boo-urns". After the crowd replies, Hans Moleman says that, in fact, he was saying "boo-urns".
:Hans Moleman: I was saying "boo-urns…"
Bort
Bort is a name that, in the series, appears to be very popular. The name first appears in the episode "Itchy & Scratchy Land", when, at a gift shop, Bart Simpson is unable to find a novelty license plate with his name, the nearest match being "Bort". At that time, there happen to be two people named Bort in the store, and later in the episode it is revealed that the gift shop has run out of Bort license plates.
The word "BORT" appears in a later episode, in a clip from a campy 70s Radioactive Man movie. The word appears, in the fashion of the Batman series of this era, in an explosion bubble accompanied by sound effects.
: ZUFF! PAN!! SNUH! BORT! POOO! NEWT! MINT! ZAK!
(SNUH also appears earlier, as an acronym for Springfieldians for Nonviolence, Understanding, and Helping.)
In the real world, bort is a term used in the diamond industry to refer to shards of gem-grade/quality diamonds. In the manufacturing and heavy industries, "bort" is used to describe dark, imperfectly formed/crystallized diamonds of varying levels of opacity. They are used as an industrial-grade abrasive. The word also means "away" in the Scandinavian languages.
Bort is also the name of one of the six robot characters in the Saturday-morning cartoon The Mighty Orbots that ran for just one year (1984). The Orbots could join together to form one large spaceship/robot. Most of their individual names used letters in the word "robot." Bort was realized as a somewhat scrawny, tall and stammering robot that could transform into useful items.
Buh
Buh is a sound uttered by various Simpsons characters when they feel obliged to respond in a conversation they want no part of. Homer uses the sound most famously when being pressed by Marge to assure her that he won’t rashly buy Lisa a pony. At first, Homer just grunts in reply, to which Marge inquires whether that was a yes or a no. Homer then answers with "Buh," to which Marge replies that he is not even using real words, to which Homer replies with the even more nonsensical "Snuh."
Also see an exchange between criminals in "Cape Feare":
:Sideshow Bob: Take care, Snake. May the next time we meet be under more felicitous circumstances.
:Snake: Guh?
:Bob: Take care.
:Snake: Buh.
The usage here seems to show that "Buh" implies an understanding and possibly agreement.
C
Capdabbler
A word made up by Mr. Burns in "Last Exit to Springfield" for a song parodying Dr. Seuss's "The Grinch":
"Look at them all, through the darkness I'm bringing
They're not sad at all. They're actually singing!
They sing without juicers
They sing without blenders
They sing without flungers, capdabblers and smendlers!"
Car Hole
A common man's term for garage, coined by Moe Szyslak in "The Springfield Connection". While "Car Hole" appears only twice in the series itself, it is often used by fans to jokingly refer to a garage, or garage-like structure.
The phrase first appears in a conversation between Moe Szyslak and Homer Simpson, wherein Moe ridicules Homer for his use of the overly formal word, "garage".
:Homer: Hmm. I wonder why he's so eager to go to the garage?
:Moe: The "garage"? Hey fellas, the "garage"! Well, ooh la di da, Mr. French Man.
:Homer: Well what do you call it?
:Moe: A car hole!
The phrase appears once more, as Homer Simpson expresses his shock, upon discovering a counterfeit jeans outfit has (inexplicably) taken up operation in his garage.
:Homer: [gasps] A counterfeit jeans ring operating out of my car hole!
Due to closed-caption mistakes, many people have mistakenly thought this was "Car Hold".
Charlie Church
Homer's term for someone who regularly attends church, e.g. Ned Flanders.
Another nickname given to Flanders by Homer was Churchy LaFemme.
Cheese-eating Surrender Monkeys
A derogatory nickname for the French. This phrase originated in Britain in the 1980s but was popularized by Scottish character Groundskeeper Willie.
:Willie: [attempting to teach French to a classroom of children] Bonjour-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r, you Cheese-eating Surrender Monkeys!
Chestal
Of, or relating to, the chest. As in, "I'm all tense through the chestal area!" from "Bart's Girlfriend"
The word "chestal," in this sense, first became popular in the 1960s when Woody Allen used it in one of his stand-up comedy routines.
Also used: "neckal"
Chester A. Arthritis
After being diagnosed with "Jebeditis" by Hollis Hurlbut, Lisa jokingly suggests, "Just when I was getting over my Chester A. Arthritis." Hollis, not getting Lisa's joke replies, "did... you have arthritis?"
Chewtality
The Simpson Family is arrested by a robot policewoman, who uses a sticky spray of taffy to trap the family. Struggling amongst the taffy, Homer screams "Ahh! Police brutality" and as he takes a bite out of the wad of taffy surrounding the family, adds "... and chewtality."
Chocobots
Fictitious Mattel toys that have their own television show called the Mattel and Mars Bar Quick Energy Chocobot Hour. It replaced the children's news show started by Bart and Lisa in the episode "Girly Edition". Chocobots bear a strong similarity to Gobots or Transformers, both of which were robot toylines that featured an animated series tie-in that functioned as a thinly disguised program-length advertisement for the toys.
Chocotastic
One of the three neglected food groups, along with the Whipped group and the Congealed group, that Homer must concentrate on eating more of in "King-Size Homer"
Clouseauesque
A combination of excessive clumsiness and ridiculously bad luck, in the manner of Peter Sellers's hapless Inspector Jacques Clouseau.
From the episode "The Boy Who Knew Too Much".
Commu-Nazis
Term used by Rainier Wolfcastle in a scene during a McBain movie. While delivering UNICEF pennies to the "puny children who need [them]", the airplane he is in gets attacked. He picks up the radio and says, "McBain to base, under attack by Commu-Nazis." These "Commu-Nazis" are most likely a combination of Russian Communism and Nazi sympathizers; they use a mix of the Swastika and Hammer and Sickle on a red background as their standard.
CompuGlobalHyperMegaNet
CompuGlobalHyperMegaNet was Homer's Internet company in "Das Bus".
Marge thought it up when Homer asked her what he should name his Internet company. Throughout the episode, it is addressed several times what, if anything, CompuGlobalHyperMegaNet actually does. Comic Book Guy contacts Homer after seeing a pop-up advertisement for the company while browsing pornography online. Later in the episode, Bill Gates destroys the company with the help of two hired goons after he offers to "buy-out" the company.
See also: [http://www.compuglobalhypermega.net/ CompuGlobalHyperMega.Net]
Crantastic
A reference to an Ocean Spray advertising device, where the word "cranberry" is reanalyzed as a compound of two distinct morphemes and "cran" becomes lexicalized. Also note the reanalysis of "fantastic" using the same methodology. Said by the squeaky-voiced teen as he is swept away by a tide of cranberry juice in "Homer and Apu".
Craptacular
A reanalysis of "spectacular" which is then combined with "crap" - used by Bart to describe the supposedly defective Christmas lights that Homer purchased in "Miracle on Evergreen Terrace". It is one of the more frequently used made-up words from the Simpsons, and, like a few others, was probably being used before The Simpsons made it popular.
Creamium
The cream substitute, usually served as adjunct to Beverine.
Crisitunity
A portmanteau combining the words crisis and opportunity, coined by Homer after Lisa tells him that the Chinese use the same word for both situations (imploring him to draw something positive out of being barred from Moe's).
Cromulent
When schoolteacher Edna Krabappel hears the Springfield town motto, "A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man," she comments she'd never heard of the word embiggens before moving to Springfield. Miss Hoover, another teacher, replies, "It's a perfectly cromulent word".
Later in the same episode, while talking about Homer's audition for the role of town crier, Principal Skinner states "He's embiggened that role with his cromulent performance."
Based on the context in which Miss Hoover uses the word cromulent, we can interpret that it means "legitimate" or "appropriate." Based on the way Principal Skinner uses it, it can be interpreted as meaning something similar to "more than acceptable" or "more than adequate," these usages would also (in an assumed lexical context) satisfy Miss Hoover's use of the word. Lisa uses it later in that episode, when instead of telling the truth about Jebediah Springfield, she accepts that the myth and the made-up words have inspirational value.
Both "embiggen" and "cromulent" were quickly adopted and used by Simpsons fans. Cromulent has taken on an ironic meaning, to say that something is not at all legitimate and in fact spurious.
In the 2005 Xbox game Jade Empire, the player meets a man who uses made-up and mispronounced words. When the player confronts the man with this, the man claims that one of the words he used was "cromulent", an obvious reference to The Simpsons.
While this word is rumoured to appear in the Blackadder Series Three episode, "Ink and Incapability," a scan of [http://ics.leeds.ac.uk/papers/vp01.cfm?outfit=pmt&requesttimeout=500&folder=1185&paper=1187 the posted script] shows it not to appear.
"Cromulent" has since appeared in the Webster's New Millennium Dictionary of English. ([http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=cromulent lookup] via reference.com.)
D
Dash Hole
Another name for the cigarette lighter power socket. Used by the automotive appliance salesman when asking Homer what he had plugged into his Dash Hole.
Debigulator
A debigulator is a fictional device that has the power to shrink people down to a smaller size. In the Halloween episode where Lisa creates her own mini universe out of a lost tooth, the miniature scientist, who looks like Professor Frink, used the debigulator to make Lisa small enough to rule their tiny society. In the same episode, the scientist suggests that the debigulation can only be reversed by a "rebigulator", which he describes as, "a concept so ridiculous, it makes me want to laugh out loud and chortle— uh, but not at you, O Holiest of Gods, with the wrathfulness, and the vengeance, and the blood rain, and the hey-hey-hey-it-hurts-me."
Deceleratrix
The brake pedal on a car. Mr. Burns attempts to drive a car for the first time while proclaiming he is sure the owners manual will instruct him as to which pedal is the velocitator and which one is the deceleratrix. The word is formed by applying the largely antiquated feminine suffix '-trix' to the real word "decelerator".
De Fault
When Barney is disqualified from becoming an astronaut in "Deep Space Homer," Homer is awarded the honour by 'default'. Homer begins chanting "De fault", and confirms this new dual-word using the phrase "ah, de fault, the two sweetest words in the English language"
Delochinator
Pronounced, "dee-LOK-in-eh-ter". A device used by Prof. Frink in the episode "Monty Can't Buy Me Love", in the search for the Loch Ness monster. It is essentially a water-pump used to drain a loch.
Dickety
Dickety is Grandpa Simpson's made up word for twenty. This occurred in the episode "Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in "The Curse of the Flying Hellfish"."
:Abe: Now, my story begins in nineteen-dickety-two. We had to say "dickety" 'cause the Kaiser had stolen our word "twenty". I chased that rascal to get it back, but gave up after dickety-six miles…
The word may have a faux "old timer" feel because of its similarity to the words "dicker" and lickety as in "lickety split." Dicker is a word for bargain that's sometimes associated with rural or antiquated settings.
It also echoes some dialects of northern England in which "dick" means ten.
In the Latin American version the word used is "tijiri", which has no actual meaning or similarity to another word.
Diddly
Generally speaking, "diddly" is what linguists call a filled pause, a non-word which a speaker uses to take up time or space in a sentence, and which are sometimes used for emphasis. Ned Flanders often uses "diddly" as an alliteration in his sentences, i.e. "What can I diddly-do you for?" Flanders also seems to use filled pauses as a crutch to avoid swearing, as in "son of a diddly...", until he finally snaps in "Hurricane Neddy" when the inept townspeople of Springfield push him too far and he belts out "Aw hell diddly ding dong crap! Can't you morons do anything right?!" (Diddly is not a made-up word — Flanders's usage is just a little bit out there)
Occasionally, Flanders will use "diddly" as a tmesis such as in the episode "Summer of 4 Ft. 2" in his note at the summer house to the Simpsons ("Wel-diddly-elcome").
In the Latin American version, "diddly" is often translated as "-irijillo", an overly elaborate and ridiculous diminutive (e.g. "Perfectirijillo").
Dog-Dangling
Dog-Dangling is a phrase used by Homer Simpson to describe the tedium of a boring afternoon, though it can be applied to any boring situation. In the episode "El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Homer", he's sitting on the couch dangling Santa's Little Helper from a chew toy when he declares, "Yeah, it's a lazy dog-dangling afternoon", a reference to the 1975 Sidney Lumet film Dog Day Afternoon.
D'oh!
D'oh is an exclamation often uttered by Homer.
Donder-Blitzen
When the Simpsons entertain Rainier Wolfcastle as a dinner guest, Marge prepares a variety of sausages. Lisa, a vegetarian, names each type of food in disgust, ending with Donder-Blitzen.
The word is assumed to be a combination of Donder and Blitzen, two of Santa's reindeer from Clement Clarke Moore's poem A Visit from St. Nicholas (also known as 'Twas the Night Before Christmas) whose names usually follow one another when listed. "Donner" (spelled "Donder" in the original poem) is German for "Thunder" and "Blitz" is German for "Lightning".
Dorkus Malorkus
Dorkus malorkus is a fictitious Latin phrase used by Bart Simpson presumably based on the word dork. In the episode "Bart on the Road", Bart announces that he is going to the National Grammar Rodeo and his sister, Lisa, protests.
:Lisa: It's not fair. I'm the best student in school, how come I never heard about this competition?
:Bart: Maybe because you are, as we say in Latin, a dorkus malorkus.
:Lisa: That's not Latin. Mom! Bart's faking it!
:Marge: Lisa, you've had your glory. Now it's Bart's turn.
This episode was a 1996 episode and dorkus malorkus was in use on the school grounds well before 1996. In fact, there is considerable testimonial evidence that the term was in use as far back as the late 1970s. A more appropriate spelling would be Dorcus mallorcus, indicating a dork of the major variety.
Double-Bacon Geniusburger
Über-intelligent person, when used as an alternate lyric in the Grinch song. "You're a Hero, Homer J. You're as crafty as a skunk! They'll thank you in the morning, for stealing Flanders's junk, Homer JAAAY! You're a double-bacon geniusburger, and just a little drunk!" From the episode "'Tis The Fifteenth Season".
Droodel
The word Homer uses to describe a dreidel in the episode, "Homer's Triple Bypass"
Drunkening
The process of becoming drunken, this would be gerund form of the pseudo-verb "To Drunken".
Moe tells Homer he's late for his drunkening.
Dumbening
Dumbening is the process of becoming dumber. In the episode "Lisa the Simpson," Lisa is writing in her diary after speaking to Grandpa about "the Simpson Gene," which supposedly makes everyone in the Simpson family stupid.
:Lisa: [writing] Dear log, can it be true? Does every Simpson go through a process of dumbening? Hey, that's not how you spell 'dumbening'. Wait a minute… 'dumbening' isn't even a word!
Dumpster Buns
In the episode "Thank God it's Doomsday", Homer wants to go to the mall to eat the day old throw aways from Cinnabon. While at the mall, Bart and Lisa run into their father eating out of the dumpster.
:Homer: Mmm...dumpster buns.
E
Edna Krabappoly
Edna Krabappoly is a fictitious game featured in the episode "Brawl in the Family" that uses the Monopoly game board. But instead of Rich Uncle Pennybags, it has Edna Krabappel as the main character. This is a parody of the trend of making Monopoly games with a centralized theme, including a Simpsons edition.
Electromicide
According to Dr. Nick Riviera, the only treatment for Boneis Eruptus is trans-dental electromicide, a process of introducing severe electrical currents into the body through the mouth. The word electromicide is possibly a conflation of the prefix electro- with homicide.
Embiggen
From a famous saying by Jebediah Springfield/Hans Sprungfeld: "A Noble Spirit Embiggens the Smallest Man". This term, apparently referring to the action of making something larger, is reminiscent of the archaic and esoteric tone often adopted in the language of civic memorials and statuary. It is likely a creative conflation of big with the word embolden (to render bold; to hearten, to encourage).
F
Feast of Maximum Occupancy
Homer calls in to work in "Homer the Heretic" to advise the plant he won't be coming in that day due to his observation of the Feast of Maximum Occupancy, a religious holiday he just concocted by reading a sign on the wall of Moe's. Various groups have since celebrated this faux holiday throughout the year, with June 5 being an especially popular date, as the number on Moe's sign reads 65 (taken as 6/5).
Financial Panther
In the episode "Homer vs. Dignity," Marge suggests to Homer that they need to talk to a financial planner, which he mishears as "financial panther." This sparks a humorous daydream in which, after being informed that his account is overdrawn by a dollar, Homer tells his panther "Sheba" to attack the bank employee.
Fishbulb
When Homer stumbles across a Japanese dish detergent, in the episode "In Marge We Trust", whose mascot, Mr. Sparkle, bears a striking resemblance to him, he becomes determined to find its origin. The truth is found at the very end of a video from the detergent's manufacturer, meant for potential investors. The Homer-like visage is an amalgamation of two other corporate logos: a fish and a lightbulb. Bart then turns to Homer and says "There's your answer, Fishbulb."
Five H Club
A play on the Four-H club movement, only with homosexuals included, from the episode "The Bart of War".
Flintstones chewable morphine
When everyone in the house but Marge gets sick with dreaded Osaka flu, in the episode "Marge in Chains", Homer, Grampa and the kids all call out what they want from the Kwik-E-Mart:
:Lisa: Mom, could you bring me more O.J.?
:Bart: Mom, could you get me some of those Flintstones chewable morphine?
Basically, morphine for children, in the shape of Flintstones characters.
Floor Pie
In the episode "Boy Scoutz N the Hood", Homer is lured into a trap set up by Bart in which the bait is a pie on the floor ("Ooooh, floor pie!").
Flunjer
A word made up by Mr. Burns in "Last Exit to Springfield" for a song parodying Dr. Seuss's "The Grinch,":
"Look at them all, through the darkness I'm bringing
They're not sad at all. They're actually singing!
They sing without juicers
They sing without blenders
They sing without flunjers, capdabblers and smendlers!"
Flupid Bloroplope
In the episode "Treehouse of Horror XI," Homer reads his horoscope which states he will die today. As he backs out of the driveway leaving for work, lightning strikes a tree, which just barely misses striking the front of the car. "Missed me! Stupid Horoscope!" Homer taunts. He drives past a work zone where men are demolishing a Planet Hollywood restaurant. The wrecking ball knocks down the planet above the restaurant which falls on and destroys most of his car. "Stupid horoscope," Homer says to himself, chuckling. Then a pick-axe falls off of a truck in front of him and comes through the front windshield, embedding itself in Homer's forehead. Homer laughs and says, "Flupid bloroplope."
Flurking Shnit
An exclamation used by the aliens Kang and Kodos in place of the more vulgar words "fucking" and "shit". Often combined with holy, as in "Holy flurking shnit!"
Focusyn
A parody of Ritalin. When Bart is diagnised with ADHD he is given the experimental drug to alter his behaviour. From the episode "Brother's Little Helper".
Foilage
Walking around during autumn in the episode Burns, Baby Burns, Marge implores the kids to enjoy the fall foilage (Lisa points out that the word is 'foliage').
Fortress of Choclitude
The Chocobots' headquarters, "Fortress of Choclitude", is made out of what appear to be Hershey's like rectanglular sections. It can be seen prior to hearing "put down those entertaining Mattel and Mars Bar products..." at the very end of "Girly Edition."
Frinkahedron
In the Halloween episode "Treehouse of Horror VI", Professor Frink tries to explain Homer's disappearance into the third dimension. He explains by making a cube, which he later names a Frinkahedron.
Italian & Spanish version: Frinkaedro
Frogurt
Portmanteau of FROzen yOGURT.
Frostillicus
The name that Apu gives to Jasper as a money-making attraction when Jasper freezes himself in a Kwik-E-Mart freezer in a makeshift attempt at cryogenics. From the episode "Lisa the Simpson".
Führerific
How Bart describes what is claimed to be Hitler's car (in the episode "Bart Carny"): "It's Führerific."
G
Gamblor
The name Homer gives to the monstrous gambling vice that has "enslaved" Marge in "$pringfield." The creature is purported to have neon claws.
Garbagewater
Homer spills some detritus-laced liquid from the bottom of the garbage can on his slipper while taking out the trash and coins this word, as in, "AAAAH! Garbagewater!"
Gime
How Homer pronounces "Gym" in the episode where he climbs the Murderhorn, the highest mountain in Springfield. (IPA: /gaɪm/)
Whilst walking at night:
:Homer: "Gime? What’s a gime?"
He then walks into the gym and sees the exercise equipment:
:Homer: "Oh, a gime!"
Glaven
A word used by Professor Frink when he's muttering. In one episode while he's shocked he says, "Great glaven in a glass!" It is most often heard when Frink is in pain like "Oh, so much pain in the glaven!" (pronounced /ˈglejvn̩/) This is probably an adaptation of Jerry Lewis's interjection "froyndleyven!", which, in turn, is presumed to be Yiddish semi-nonsense roughly meaning "happytime!" (cf. standard German "Freund" ("friend"), "Freude" ("joy"), "Leben" ("life")). The similarity to Slavic words for 'head' (golova, glava, glowa) does not account for the vowels or 'n' and is probably coincidental. Interestingly, Lewis's portrayal of the Nutty Professor is considered by many Simpsons fans to be partial inspiration for Frink's character.
:Frink: That meteor is headed straight for us, with the fire, and the impact, and the hundred percent chance of pain!… Pain in the glaven!!
Alternate spelling: glavin or glayvin.
GM Chrysler!
A minced oath exclaimed by Principal Skinner in "Bart on the Road" to express his surprise and frustration at the outrageous cost of changing his plane reservations (which were improperly made to begin with). Refers to automakers General Motors and Chrysler, and equally obviously, to the American oath, "Jesus H. Christ".
Groin-Grabbingly
A phrase used by Homer to describe anything positively during his brief stint as a food critic in the episode "Guess Who's Coming to Criticize Dinner?":
:Lisa: Hmm. What's the English equivalent for [drools like Homer]? I'd say...transcendent.
:Homer: How about groin-grabbingly transcendent?
:Lisa: Uh ... I don't think so.
:Homer: We make a good team. A groin-grabbingly good team.
H
Headbag
An ice bag found by Bart in the ice freezer at the Kwik-E-Mart, with Mr. Burns's bear, Bobo, in it (the body is buried in the ice, so that only the head is visible). Apu comes up with the name, and claims it's "full of...heady goodness", so that Bart will buy it anyway, instead of throwing it away in disgust. From the episode "Rosebud".
Hoaxiscope
Another Frink invention, used in conjunction with the Monsterometer at Loch Ness in "Monty Can't Buy Me Love."
HoJu
Homer's suggested nickname for Bart in "Marge vs. the Monorail". Basking in Bart's new-found respect after he is accepted as the monorail conductor, Homer asks Bart "Do you want to change your name to Homer Junior? The kids can call you 'HoJu'".
Patterned on "HoJo," a popular nickname for the Howard Johnson's chain of hotels and resorts.
Homersexual
During a routine disciplinary visit to Principal Skinner's office, Bart must call Moe's Tavern looking for his father, Homer. But when Moe answers the phone, Bart preempts the original purpose of the call and substitutes one of his trademark prank-calls. Instead of asking for his father "Homer Simpson," Bart asks for "Homer Sexual." With the prank thus launched, Bart quickly hands the phone to the Principal, who is shocked and dismayed to hear Moe Szyslak's resulting tirade.
Later, when Homer marks Skinner as a possible mate for Selma, an imaginary head-up display seen from Homer's point of view (a spoof of The Terminator movies) identifies Skinner as a possible "homer-sexual."
Though not exactly the same, Homer proclaims it is time to "get Homererotic" when he is having himself photographed in suggestive poses for a gift portfolio for Marge. Incidentally, the background music used on this sketch was Right Said Fred's I'm Too Sexy, which is something of a gay anthem.
Hoyvin-Mayvin
A secret project by the Motherloving Sugar Corporation to get the town of Springfield addicted to sugar in the episode "Sweets and Sour Marge." The project was named after the vocal ramblings of its creator, Professor Frink. The Professor was also the project's whistleblower.
Hungy
Homer's mispronunciation of 'hungry' due to his fatigue during his hunger strike in the episode "Hungry, Hungry Homer".
:Homer: Me so hungy.
A possible play on Papillon Soo Soo's "Me so horny" exchange from the Stanley Kubrick movie Full Metal Jacket (1987).
Hypohemia
Mr. Burns's rare blood disease, for which he needed a transfusion of Bart's blood in the episode "Blood Feud". The word stems from a combination of hypo (Greek prefix for under or below) and hemia (Greek for blood).
I
I, for one, welcome our new (insert word) overlords
Like Mmm, word, this is a formulaic expression that was popularized by The Simpsons. In this case, the expression was popularized in the episode "Deep Space Homer." Anchorman Kent Brockman, believing the Earth about to be conquered by "giant space ants," broadcasts his sycophantic statement, "And I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords."
The actual quote is from a movie called Empire of the Ants, a '70s science fiction film in which huge, mind-controlling ants try to take over the world. Following its use on The Simpsons, paraphrasing this expression has become a common internet meme or snowclone, especially when commenting on a situation of control.
This phrase has gained wide popularity on Slashdot, Metafilter, and FARK, appearing in many threads, especially those discussing potentially troubling new technologies or laws; it even made it in the script to Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, as part of the Vice City Public Radio, where Jan Brown says "I, for one, welcome our new Russian overlords" when talking about the possibility of the U.S.S.R. invading (in the middle of the Cold War).
Interslice
A buzzword that is meant to evoke the image of being at the cutting edge of the newest Internet technology. Homer considers it as the name for his Internet company in "Das Bus", but later chooses CompuGlobalHyperMegaNet.
:Marge: What exactly is it your company does again?
:Homer: Come on. This industry is moving so fast, it's really hard to tell. That's why I need a name that's cutting edge, like Cutco, Edgecom… Interslice.
Introubulate
In the episode "I'm With Cupid", Kent Brockman reads a story about how Apu is giving his wife extravagant presents for Valentine's Day, and the rest of the town's wives are annoyed at their husbands for their comparative romantic lameness.
:Brockman: One Springfield man is treating his wife to an extra-special Valentine's Day this year, [sotto voce] and introubulating the rest of us. (Where "introubulate" of course means "get into trouble".)
Italian-American Mexican Standoff
Moe leads the Simpson family to Little Italy to save Maggie from getting caught in the crossfire of a standoff between mob bosses, which Marge dubs the Italian-American Mexican Standoff. From the episode "Moe Baby Blues".
J
Jammitin
A drug to help old people have sex. An obvious parody of impotency drugs like Viagra.
Jebeditis
When Hollis Hurlbut, curator of the Springfield Historical Society, returns to Lisa with Johnny Cakes, she is acting strangely having just found "The Secret Confessions of Jebediah Springfield" hidden in Springfield's flute. Lisa attempts to disguise her behavior as "just the excitement of studying Jebediah." Apparently this excitement is a product of having contracted a serious case of Jebeditis.
Jebus
According to Matt Groening, the Simpsons writers have an ongoing competition to write a line that: "most represents Homer at his singularly most stupid." Most likely the current champion is Homer's faux term for Jesus, first mentioned in the episode "Missionary: Impossible". It's possibly a variant of "Jebus" which is believed to date from at least the 1970s as a response to the Jesus Freaks. Jeebus appeared on the Frank Zappa album "them or us" in 1979 on the song "heavenly pocket book." Matt Groening, a well known Zappa fan borrowed it for the episode.
The earliest use was by jazz performer Duke Ellington, in a throwback to his Catholic school days. He used it instead of Jesus so that the nuns couldn't beat him. He used it instead of Jesus for the rest of his life, which is how Zappa probably found it.
In another animated show, Family Guy, Jebus appears as a typo on page 375 in The Bible.
Historically, in the Old Testament of the Bible, there actually was a people called the Jebusites, which was an old name for Jerusalem.
Jerkass
A combination of the words "jerk" and "jackass," used by Homer, in the episode "The Joy of Sect".
This term is also used to describe Homer's behavior during some recent seasons, primarily during seasons 10-12, and rising up briefly in season 16.
Jerkface
An insult used, but not coined, by Bart Simpson, in the episode "Two Dozen and One Greyhounds." Bart says to Jimbo Jones, "Hey, jerkface! You have the face of a jerk!" "Jerkface" goes back at least to the 1970s.
Juggler's Despair
One of the many fictitious maladies that Homer finds qualify for disability in "King-Size Homer." Unfortunately, he doesn't have Juggler's Despair and despairingly checks it off the list, along with Lumber Lung and Achy Breaky Pelvis.
K
Khlav Kalash
In episode "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson," Homer travels to New York City to collect his car (currently Denver booted in front of the World Trade Center). Whilst waiting for the police to arrive, he gets hungry and orders the foreign-delicacy-on-a-stick, Khlav Kalash, from a street vendor and eventually washes it down with many a Crab Juice. It shows up again in the episode where Lisa attempts to get to the museum by herself and ends up in an Russian neighborhood of Springfield. A similar vendor offers her the same treat and she's terrified.
Knowitallism
Knowitallism (also Know-it-all-ism) is a fictitious word made up by the faculty of Springfield Elementary School to describe Lisa Simpson's precocious personality. The students break into the school's vault and find their permanent records and when Lisa reads that her teachers have labelled her as suffering from "knowitallism", she exclaims, "That's not even a word!" Knowitallism probably riffs on "Know-nothingism," originally a political epithet from the 1850s used against the nativist American Party, who wanted to create the United States as a nation of Anglo-Saxon Protestants.
Krudler
The name of the racehorse Krusty the Klown owned with the singer Bette Midler - the joke seemingly being that 'Misty' would be a much more fitting name for a horse and is also a portmanteau of their names.
Kwyjibo
Kwyjibo () is a fictitious word made up by Bart Simpson during a game of Scrabble with his family. In the episode "Bart the Genius," Bart puts "Kwyjibo" on the board, scoring more than 150 points. When Homer demands Bart say what a Kwyjibo is, Bart replies, "A big, dumb, balding North American ape… with no chin." Marge adds in, "…and a short temper." At this point, Homer chases Bart away, causing him to exclaim, "Uh oh! Kwyjibo on the loose!"
'Kwyjibo' was used as one of the aliases of the creator of the Melissa worm, and is the name of a yo-yo string trick. 'Kweejib' is a handmade clothing company in San Francisco.
L
Learnding
In "Lisa Gets an "A"," when Ralph is using a learning program on the school's computer, he announces, "I'm learnding."
Lupper
When Bart and Lisa embarrass their parents while having brunch, Homer decides to leave and go to Moe's, stating he will see them at "lupper" (a portmanteau of lunch and supper). This rather obvious parallel portmanteau has appeared before in Archie comics and in the television sitcom Seinfeld.
M
Macamadamia
Homer's reinterpretation of the word "macadamia", which features in the episode "Bart's Dog Gets An F".
He exclaims "Ooo... macamadamias!" when offered free samples from the Collossus Cookie store, and subsequently uses this misspelling in the note he writes declaring it his property.
Magaggie
Homer's misspelling of his daughter's name on a birthday cake.
Malk
The cost-effective milk substitute served to the children of Springfield Elementary (with plenty of "Vitamin R").
:Bart: But I always drink plenty of… [examines carton] malk?
Spanish translation: Lache
French translation: Laik
German translation: Malch
Dutch/Afrikaans translation: Melch
Malparkage
In "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson" Barney had left Homer's car illegally parked at what was believed to be the World Trade Center. Homer then received a letter regarding this violation:
:"Dear motorist, your vehicle is illegally parked in the Borough of Manhattan. If you do not remedy this malparkage within 72 hours, your car will be thrown into the East River at your expense."
This could be a reference to George Orwell's Newspeak, featured in his book 1984, where mal is a prefix for mistake, bad, or wrong. The following is a Newspeak quote from 1984 asking the protagonist to fix an error in Big Brother's speech on Africa:
:"times 17.3.84 bb speech malreported africa rectify"
Maxwell Circuit
McBain says, "Alright Mendoza, I'll give you the Maxwell Circuit if you give me my daughter back." Believed to be from the episode where Apu has an affair. Later in episode, Homer imagines being on a hang-glider shooting enemies, uttering "You can run but you can't glide"
Megacide
The murder of a giant. Used by Eddie in Simpsons Bible Stories. When he is one of the Israelite soldiers who arrests King David (Bart)
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is the longest-running animated television series in television history, and the longest-running sitcom in the history of American television, with 17 seasons and 363 episodes since it debuted on December 17, 1989 on FOX. The TV series, created by Matt Groening, is a spinoff of a skit originally aired on The Tracey Ullman Show; it is produced by Gracie Films for 20th Century Fox. It made the top 10 on the TV Guide's list of the greatest shows of all time in 2002.
Highly satirical, the show lampoons many aspects of the human condition, but primarily parodies the "Middle American" lifestyle its titular family exhibits, and more generally American culture, society, and even television itself. The Simpsons is seen by many critics as the greatest animated series ever, including Time, which named it the best TV show of the 20th century in 1998. It has had a huge influence on post–Cold War popular culture. The Simpsons was also one of the key shows that changed the view of cartoons to a more adult standard. It is considered a sign of definite status as a celebrity or other important figure to be featured or asked to parody oneself in an episode of the show.
Setting, characters, and plot of The Simpsons
Characters
The main characters were originally created by Matt Groening as part of a series of original animated segments for The Tracey Ullman Show. Over the course of the series Groening has used many of the themes present in his long-running comic strip series, Life in Hell. (For instance, the idea of creative school children constantly being persecuted and suppressed by totalitarian grown-ups stems from the strip.) Many of the characters in The Simpsons take their names from important people and places in Groening's life — for example Lisa, Maggie, Marge and Homer share names with Groening's sisters, mother and father respectively. Bart, however, is an anagram for brat.
The show's basic premise centers on the antics of the family: Homer and Marge, their children Bart, Lisa and Maggie, the colorful citizens of Springfield, and occasional guest stars.
Maggie
Homer, a safety inspector at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, is a generally well-meaning buffoon whose short attention span often draws him into outrageous schemes and adventures. Marge (of French origin) was once intelligent and sophisticated, but has come to conform with the stereotype of housewife/mother. Bart, the oldest sibling, is a troublemaker and classroom terror ("the devil's cabana boy" is how Lisa once described him) who thinks of himself as a rebel while Lisa is a brainy student, vegetarian, Buddhist and jazz music fan who dreams of a better future (she is referred to as "the future of the family"). Maggie is an eternal baby, and despite the fact that numerous years (and birthdays) clearly pass (for example, many Christmas episodes), the Simpsons do not appear to age. Some characters' ages have fluctuated throughout the years; this is most likely due to simple oversight on the part of the writers.
Homer describes his family as "upper lower middle class", and this appears to be about right. The Simpson family (which sometimes includes Homer's father, Abraham "Abe" Simpson) lives in a relatively large four-bedroom house bordering a friendly neighbor on one side, Ned Flanders, and many varying things, including a cemetery, on the other. The Simpson lifestyle yo-yos depending on whether or not Homer is employed at the time; Marge is largely a stay-at-home mom. The Simpsons go several years into the internet age before acquiring a computer, reflecting the fact that the Simpson family is perpetually several years out of date. There are other clues as well, such as the avocado-green kitchen equipment (this color was popular in the 1960s) and the family's two cars, both of which appear to have been manufactured in the early 1970s.
The show also has a vast array of quirky supporting characters, including co-workers, teachers, family friends, extended relatives, and local celebrities. Many of these characters have developed a vast cult following of their own. For a comprehensive list, see characters from The Simpsons. Some of these, like Itchy and Scratchy, ultraviolent versions of Tom and Jerry, are fictional even within the Simpsons universe.
Setting
The Simpsons is set in the fictional United States town of Springfield. 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 Lisa once said of the state, "It's a bit of a mystery, yes, but if you look at the clues, you'll figure it out"). However, both the town itself and its location are fictional. Nearly every state and region in the U.S. has been both suggested and ruled out by conflicting "evidence" of a location for Springfield, so that the town could not really be anywhere. It seems it is kept indeterminate on purpose so that the location can suit any plot, as Springfield and its surrounding areas have been shown to contain coastlines, deserts, vast farmland, and tall mountains, or whatever the story requires. (See [http://www.snpp.com/guides/springfield.list.html Where Is The Simpsons' Springfield?] for more information on this issue.) According to the video game The Simpsons Hit & Run, the town of Springfield is in Florida, but this could be ruled out in the episode Special Edna, in which a sign in Springfield shows the distance to Orlando too far for Springfield to be in the same state.
In an episode during season 13, Mr. Burns states they will smuggle sugar in from south of the border to which Homer replies, "Oh, you mean Tennessee?", implying they live in Kentucky. Also, in one of the behind-the-scene episodes, Behind the Laughter, the narrator says "...but that wasn't the end for this Northern Kentucky family." Looking closely at a map of Kentucky in the northern part of the state, the towns of Simpsonville and its neighbor city Shelbyville can be clearly seen.
Creator Matt Groening has stated that Springfield has much in common with Portland, Oregon, the city he grew up in (see [http://www.portlandtribune.com/simpsons/ Matt Groening's Portland]), and the name "Springfield" was chosen because virtually every state has a town or city with that name.
According to David Silverman, writer for the series, Springfield is in North Tacoma. This has not been confirmed officially.
Animation scholars and fans have noted that the series uses the medium of animation to its advantage, allowing the show to take place in many settings and feature a far greater cast of characters than a live-action sitcom. The cost of having an episode of The Simpsons take place in the mountains, Europe, the city park, or a cruise ship on the ocean (all of which simply use drawn and painted backgrounds) is hardly more than placing the family in the more conventional sitcom settings of a living room, a kitchen, and perhaps one or two related settings. This allows for far more flexibility in plot development than in a typical live-action sitcom constrained by physical limitations and logistics.
Themes
Authority, especially in undeserving hands, is a constant target of the show's often sharp satire. This probably explains the often strong negative reaction to the show from social conservatives. This negative reaction was most pronounced during the early seasons of the show. Nearly every authority figure in the show is portrayed unflatteringly:
- Homer is thoughtless and irresponsible, the antithesis of the ideal 1950s TV father, though he always comes through for his family in the end.
- Marge Simpson is also of the 50's stereotype category, and attempts to exercise control to compensate for her husband's failings.
- Springfield police chief Clancy Wiggum (voiced by Hank Azaria in an Edward G. Robinson-influenced tone) is obese, stupid, lazy, corrupt and not overly concerned with constitutional rights (not to mention that he somewhat resembles a pig).
- Mayor Quimby — who sounds like John F. Kennedy — is a corrupt, spendthrift womanizer.
- Seymour Skinner (who sounds like Charles Kuralt), the principal of Springfield Elementary School, is an uptight, humorless bachelor who lives with his domineering mother. He has frequent flashbacks to his capture and imprisonment by the Viet Cong, and in early seasons, Skinner was repeatedly likened to Norman Bates in Psycho though this ultimately was dropped later on in the series.
- Ms. Edna Krabappel is Bart's depressed, sexually-promiscuous, chain-smoking elementary school teacher who is impatient and ignorant of her class, and demands darkness and silence when she is hung over.
- Reverend Lovejoy, the pastor of the local church, is judgmental and moralistic (but only regarding other people), with a monotonous voice that always puts Homer to sleep during Sunday sermons.
- While most of these characters are more incompetent than truly evil there is one true sadist: C. Montgomery Burns, owner of the Springfield Nuclear Plant and Homer Simpson's boss. Evil and cruel, Burns is aided in his campaign of terror against the residents of Springfield by his trusted assistant Waylon Smithers, who secretly harbors an unrequited love for Burns.
Waylon Smithers
During the more recent years of Simpsons production, some social conservatives have come to embrace the show. One of the main explanations of this shift is that the Simpsons portrays a traditional nuclear family among a lineup of television sitcoms that now portray less traditional families. The show has toyed with the possibility of extramarital affairs, such as when Homer falls for a female nuclear technician who shares his love of donuts, or when Marge's ex-boyfriend Artie Ziff tries to rekindle their old romance. Nevertheless, these affairs never occur, and by the end of every episode, Homer and Marge's marriage is strongly affirmed. Social conservatives and some evangelical Christians have also pointed to the positive role model of devout Christian Ned Flanders, whose fretfulness is occasionally ridiculed but whose decency never wavers despite constant provocation from Homer (except that time that he had extra-marital sex). In several episodes, God actually intervenes to protect the Flanders family, invoking such Protestant concepts as Predestination. As compared with the Simpsons family, the Flanders family is relatively well-off and less dysfunctional, reflecting certain theories expressed by sociologist Max Weber in his seminal work, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.
Race relations are also the subject of satire in the show, as the handful of African American characters are almost always portrayed as being more intelligent and rational than their "Yellow" counterparts. Some people interpret this as a satire of Hollywood and liberal TV's portrayal of exaggerated 'reverse stereotypes' in which the computer genius is always a black actor. For instance, Dr. Hibbert, despite a tendency to laugh at the most inappropriate times, is arguably among the least dysfunctional characters in the series, and is certainly more professionally qualified for medical practice than Dr. Nick Riviera. Furthermore, Officer Lou is constantly lecturing Chief Wiggum on his inept law enforcement practices, and even Homer's co-worker Carl, in addition to possessing a Master's degree in Nuclear Engineering, occasionally lambasts Homer's stupidity.
The show also routinely mocks and satirizes show business conventions and personalities. Krusty the Klown has an enthusiastic following among Springfield's kids, but offstage he is a jaded, cynical hack, in poor health from a long history of overindulgence and substance abuse. He will endorse any product for a price. Kent Brockman is a self-important, spoiled TV news anchorman with little regard for journalistic ethics. Many wealthy characters are members of the Republican Party, which meets in a dark castle. Even Rupert Murdoch—whose corporate empire includes The Simpsons' broadcast network, Fox—has been gently spoofed in a couple of episodes. In fact, Fox itself has been ridiculed many times, and Fox News has been portrayed as extremely biased towards conservatives.
Plots
A standard "template" Springfield situation, in terms of characters and events, has emerged over the years. Each episode presents some sort of change in that situation, its consequences, and almost always how things get back to normal. Episode plots rarely follow any sort of linear course, often taking several digressions to move storylines in unexpected directions. For example, the description of the 2003 episode "Dude, Where's My Ranch?" offered to Shaw Cable subscribers reads: "After David Byrne turns Homer's anti-(Ned) Flanders song into a monster hit, the family vacations at a dude ranch, where Lisa falls in love."
The plots of many episodes focus on the adventures of one particular family member, frequently Homer. However the plots have never been particularly predictable or constant and tend to be very character-driven. Recurring themes in episodes include:
- Homer gets a new job (Simpson writers had Homer count 30 of them in a recent episode but the actual list is far longer) or attempts to make money in a get-rich-quick scheme.
- Marge attempts to escape the monotony of keeping house by finding employment or taking up a hobby.
- Bart causes a large problem and attempts to fix it.
- Lisa embraces or advocates the merits of a particular political cause or group.
- The entire family goes on vacation. (Because of these vacations the entire family has been to every continent on Earth with the exception of Antarctica.)
- Grandpa Simpson or Abraham Simpson needs help sorting out issues from his past and calls upon the main Simpsons family.
- Sideshow Bob attempts to kill Bart.
There are several types of scenes that recur often and have become conventions of the show's storytelling style. Examples of these stock scenes include:
- A scene at the very beginning of the show in which the family goes somewhere together, like a cartoon festival or a cider mill. After a few minutes there, the main plot begins.
- A scene, often near the middle of the show, in which Homer and Marge are in bed together discussing the events of the story so far.
- A scene in which the family is eating dinner together and talking about the events of the plot. Conceptually this is very similar to the "Homer and Marge in bed" scenes, but including Bart and Lisa.
- A scene in the morning in which Marge is preparing breakfast, and the kids and Homer are eating before going to work or school as they talk about what they are going to do. This is often near the start of the episode.
- A scene in which Homer is at Moe's Tavern escaping the hassles of work and family to be with his friends.
- A scene in which one or more Simpsons are watching a TV program, which the viewer watches along with them.
- A crowd scene, in which the entire town of Springfield convenes to witness some notable event, protest something, attend a civic meeting, or even start a riot. Many recurring minor characters appear and speak.
- TV anchorman Kent Brockman reporting on the events of the plot.
- Scenes that cut from the main action to show what a secondary character, like Krusty or Mr. Burns, is doing at the time.
- A fantasy in which one of the Simpsons imagines how something might turn out.
Hallmarks
Opening sequence
Kent Brockman
Kent Brockman
The Simpsons opening sequence is one of the show's most memorable hallmarks. Almost every episode opens with a title shot coming through the cumulus clouds and into the school where Bart is writing sentences on the class chalkboard, presumably set as a punishment by one of his teachers for some mischievous deed or wayward comment; Homer is shown leaving the power plant, with Mr. Burns (seen putting his watch to his ear, then shaking it to get it to work) and Smithers in the background (second season onwards); Marge and Maggie are shown checking out at the supermarket with Maggie traveling across the scanner, ringing up at $847.63, the then-annual cost of raising a baby (although a 'trivia question' shown as a wraparound for commercials during the episode "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular" claims that the register says "NRA4EVER" — National Rifle Association For Ever, ironically and comedically portraying the non-aligned writers of the show as gun-crazed right-wingers); The sequence then introduces Lisa (who leaves a band rehearsal, usually playing a different saxophone solo); the family is then shown on their way to their house at 742 Evergreen Terrace (the address varied in the beginning, but the writers now use 742 Evergreen Terrace exclusively). The members of the family weave dangerously through traffic and in between fellow (and, from the second season onward, familiar) Springfield denizens, all miraculously reaching home at the exact same time. Upon entering, they all speed towards the family room couch where, in comedic parallel with the audience, they settle to watch their "must-see" TV show.
For each episode, the sequence includes four variations: Bart writes something different on the chalkboard, Lisa plays a different solo on her saxophone, Homer screams in a different way (only done in the first couple of seasons), and the family attempts to sit on the couch as something goes awry in an often surreal manner.
In the syndicated version, part or all of the opening sequence is usually cut in order to include more commercials in the show's allotted timeslot.
The "couch gag" sequence is frequently used to help show staff make the show longer or shorter, depending on the length of the episode itself. Most couch gags last only about five seconds, but the longest one on record lasted 46 seconds. The chalkboard gag lasted several seasons before it was cut to save time; however, it was reintroduced for the premier episode of the 17th season with a self-and education-jeering "Does any kid still do this anymore?"
The first season opening sequence featured a number of differences from the later seasons, including a shot of Lisa riding her bike on the way home and Bart's way home consisting of snatching a bus stop sign, forcing several dazed Springfieldians to chase the bus, rather than just riding past a number of well-known characters.
The series' distinctive theme tune was composed by musician Danny Elfman. The current arrangement, which dates back to the third season, is orchestrated by Alf Clausen.
Halloween episodes
Alf Clausen's Night Gallery.]]
An annual tradition is a special Halloween episode consisting of three separate, self-contained pieces. These pieces usually involve the family in some horror, science fiction, or supernatural setting; they always take place outside the normal continuity of the show (and are therefore considered to be non-canon), and completely abandon any pretence of being realistic. Regular Simpsons characters play humorous special roles, occasionally being killed in gruesome ways by zombies, monsters, or even each other. These Halloween segments have parodied many classic horror and science fiction films; often one of the segments spoofs an episode of The Twilight Zone. Some include "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet", "To Serve Man", "Living Doll", "It's a Good Life", The Shining and "Little Girl Lost"
In later years the series dropped the framing device of characters telling stories, but kept the Treehouse title; for several years the characters broke the fourth wall and introduced their pieces directly to the audience. In Treehouse of Horror II the writers decided to give the cast and crew of the show scary names in the opening and closing credits (like "Mad Matt Groening" and "James Hell Brooks"). This also became a tradition, and has been done in every Halloween episode except I, XII, and XIII. The names have changed in subsequent seasons. Another mainstay of the Halloween shows is the appearance of the two space aliens Kang and Kodos, introduced in the second segment of the first "Treehouse of Horror."
In a section of "Treehouse of Horror VI" called "Homer³", Homer and Bart go into a three-dimensional world, which Homer likens to Tron, created by Pacific Data Images (Now owned by Dreamworks SKG), a computer animation company. This segment from the Halloween show was also used as a segment of a film shown in the IMAX 3D film Cyberworld. This was one of the few times The Simpsons have strayed from their traditional 2D animation, along with a live action cameo by Regis and Kathie Lee in "Treehouse of Horror IX", a couple of claymation scenes in "'Tis The Fifteenth Season" featuring The California Prunes and Jimmy Stewart, and a live action couch gag consisting of a sketchbook being flipped by a hand to make the characters run towards the couch and sit down. Another recent episode featured a CGI trailer for a comedy about humanoid playing cards. Other Treehouse segment name parodies include "Citizen Kang", "The nightmare on Evergreen Terrace", "The Thing and I", "House of Whacks", and "Reaper Madness".
Guest celebrities
Many episodes feature celebrity guests contributing their voices to the show, as either themselves (especially during the middle of the Simpson's years, i.e. seasons 7 to 13) or as fictional characters (mainly during the early and later seasons). In fact, the highest rated episode featuring celebrity guest voices was shown during the 12th season in which pop stars N
- Sync supplied their voices to give helpful advice and dance moves to Barts boy band "The Party Posse".
Production and history of The Simpsons
celebrity.]]
The Simpson family first appeared in animated form as shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show, with the first short "Good Night" airing on April 19, 1987. Matt Groening admits the reason that they were so crudely drawn in the beginning was because he could not draw well and the animators did nothing more than just trace over his drawings. The shorts were aired by the BBC in the UK the first time the shows were broadcast, but not subsequently, though some of them, including "Good Night", were included in a Simpsons anniversary episode. The Simpsons was converted, by a team of production companies that included what is now the Klasky Csupo animation house, into a series for the FOX Network in 1989 and has run as a weekly show on that network ever since. The first full length episode shown was "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", however the intended first episode was "Some Enchanted Evening", but when "Some Enchanted Evening" was completed it was rejected due to poor animation, so Fox aired "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" first.
The Simpsons was the first true TV series hit for the FOX Network; it was the first Fox show to appear in the top twenty highest-rated shows of the time. It also sparked controversy, as Bart Simpson was portrayed as a rebellious troublemaker who caused trouble and got away with it. Parents' groups and conservative spokespersons felt that a cartoon character like Bart Simpson provided a poor role model for children. When a Simpsons T-shirt was marketed featuring Bart and the logo "Underachiever ('And proud of it, man!')", Simpsons T-shirts and other merchandise were banned from public schools in several areas of the United States.
United States issue.]]
The outcry against Bart was reflected in the second season opener, featuring an episode called Bart Gets an F where Bart's school wants to make him repeat the fourth grade. In this episode, the school counselor quotes the controversial T-shirt by stating, "He is an underachiever... and proud of it."
In September 1990, Barbara Bush said in an interview for People magazine that The Simpsons was the dumbest thing she had ever seen (adding insult to injury, she went on to say that she was a fan of America's Funniest Home Videos). Six years later, an episode had George and Barbara Bush move to Springfield and leave after George gets involved in a feud with the Simpson family (in a style reminiscent of Dennis the Menace and Mr. Wilson). Mr. and Mrs. Bush were both portrayed by voice actors. One of the Simpsons DVD sets includes a special feature that presents an exchange of letters between the First Lady and show staff. In another address, Mr. Bush said that America needed to be closer to The Waltons than to The Simpsons, causing Bart to say they were a lot like the Waltons, since they were both praying for an end to the Depression.
the Depression
The writers have shown a love for cameo appearances by celebrities and extended pastiches of contemporary and classic movies, as well as subtle visual jokes.
In 1995, Western Pacific Airlines repainted a Boeing 737 jet with Simpsons characters to promote the series. The creator Matt Groening and some of writers didn't go for the plane's first trip as they feared it would crash, and they would die with the The Simpsons (plane).
On February 9, 1997 The Simpsons surpassed The Flintstones as the longest-running prime time animated series in America, however it has not yet beaten several Japanese anime series such as Sazae-san (which has been running since 1969) and Doraemon (running since 1979). In 2004 it surpassed Scooby Doo in number of episodes.
In January 2003, it was announced that the show had been renewed by Fox through 2005 — meaning it has replaced The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952 to 1966) as longest-running sitcom (animated or live action) ever in the United States. In 2004, the series was renewed through its 19th season. Some take the view that The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet should continue to be counted as the longest-running sitcom as The Simpsons is animated, not live-action, although this view is declining as more authorities unambiguously credit The Simpsons as television's longest-running sitcom.
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. In that same issue, Bart Simpson was named to the Time 100, the publication's list of the century's 100 most influential people. He was the only fictional character on the list.
Since the series originated as part of The Tracey Ullman Show, it is also considered the longest running and most successful spinoff of all time.
Over the years, virtually every Simpsons character has appeared on a magazine cover, ranging from TIME to Christianity Today and even Airliners.
Airliners]
The Simpsons has won dozens of awards since it debuted as a series, including 21 Emmy Awards, 22 Annie Awards, a Peabody and numerous others. On January 14, 2000 the Simpsons were awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The voice actors have been involved in much-publicized pay disputes with Fox on more than one occasion. In 1998, the voice actors stopped working, 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 Matt Groening. [http://www.snpp.com/other/interviews/groening99e.html] As the revenue generated by the show continued to increase through syndication and DVD sales, six actors (playing over 50 characters) — Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, and Harry Shearer — 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 having their demands met. The universally reported claim that this dispute was in fact a full-blown strike is denied by Harry Shearer. [http://www.metronews.ca/column_tube_talk.asp?id=2347&cid=650]
Since as early as Season 4, the show has drawn criticism from some fans for straying too far from its comedic structure, for becoming too "mainstream," and changing character personalities without explanation. Some consider its parody of the prequel Star Wars trilogy in the episode Co-Dependent's Day being very harsh considering the show's own "downfall." These attacks have been countered by less hardcore fans stating that the show was always more or less mainstream, and nonsensical personality changes and the structural changes were done in a spirit of creative experimentation, and has not damaged the show (see Criticism).
Producers
The series has gone through numerous executive producers, also known as show runners, throughout its run. The showrunner is in charge of every aspect of the show for a season.
- Season 1–2: Matt Groening, James L. Brooks, and Sam Simon
- Season 3–4: Al Jean and Mike Reiss
- Season 5–6: David Mirkin
- Season 7–8: Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein
- Season 9–12: Mike Scully
- Season 13–present: Al Jean
Voice actors and their characters
Al Jean and many other characters.]]
All episodes (with the exception of one) list only the voice actors (not the characters they voice) in keeping with the mystique of having the audience not associate any one character with an actor — this is to discourage the audience from easily identifying exactly which voice actor did what. Yeardley Smith, voice actress of Lisa Simpson, and Marcia Wallace, voice actress of Edna Krabappel, are the only cast members who only do one voice, though both have on occasion voiced one-shot characters. Dan Castellaneta performs the voices of Homer Simpson and his dad, Abraham Simpson, while Julie Kavner performs the voices of Marge Simpson and her sisters, mother, and (in one episode) her aunt. Nancy Cartwright performs the voice of Bart Simpson and other children from the school that he attends. Guest stars had performed as well.
Writing
John Swartzwelder is the most prolific writer on the Simpsons' staff, personally writing over 50 episodes (more than any other Simpsons writer). According to the DVD commentaries, he used to write episodes while sitting at a booth in his favorite restaurant. When the restaurant closed down, he bought the booth and had it installed in his house.
Current late-night talkshow host Conan O'Brien was a writer during the fourth and fifth season. He wrote "New Kid on the Block" (9F06), "Marge vs. the Monorail" (9F10), "Homer Goes to College" (1F02) and part of"Treehouse of Horror IV" (1F04).
Ian Maxtone-Graham has been a prominent writer for The Simpsons since the eighth season.
The character Professor John Frink was named for writer/producer John Frink.
Animation
The Simpsons has been animated by many different studios over the past 18 years, both domestic and overseas. Throughout the run of the animated shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show, the animation was solely produced domestically at Klasky Csupo. Klasky Csupo was also the animation studio during the first three seasons of the half-hour length series, however, due to the increased workload, production was now being subcontracted to overseas studios, usually in Korea, where labor is cheaper. While character and background layout is done by the domestic studio, inbetweening, coloring and filming is done by the overseas studios. Throughout the years, different overseas studios have animated different episodes, even episodes within the same season.
During season four, Gracie Films made a decision to switch domestic production to DPS Film Roman, which continues to animate the show to this day. The last episode to be animated by Klasky Csupo was "A Streetcar Named Marge".
After season 13, production was switched from traditional cel animation to digital ink and paint. Originally, the switch was intended to happen during season 12 with the episode "Tennis the Menace", but after seeing the results, Gracie Films decided to hold off for two more seasons. Tennis the Menace, however, being already completed, was broadcast this way. The Simpsons has been widely distributed internationally; for a list of distributors, see List of TV channels that air The Simpsons. "The Simpsons" is one of the longest running TV shows ever created. By the end of its 16th season, the show had accumulated 356 episodes (see list).
Cultural impact
A number of neologisms that started on The Simpsons have entered common usage. The most famous of which is Homer's saying: "D'oh!", which is referred to in scripts, as well as three episode names, as "annoyed grunt". D'oh is now listed in the Oxford English Dictionary, but without the apostrophe. "D'oh" is the accepted spelling, and is certainly the most common; the closed captions for the program (at least in the U.S.), however, spell it "D-OHH". Note: A much earlier use of the same expression, often similarly used to denote thwarted expectation, was established in the long-running BBC (UK) radio series 'The Archers', where it was used, almost as a catch-phrase, by the character 'Walter Gabriel' (voiced by actor Chris Gittings). Dan Castalanetta has explained that he borrowed the phrase from an actor in early Laurel and Hardy comedies, but that he originally pronounced it much more stretched-out and whiny. He was told by the show's director to shorten the noise, leading to the annoyed grunt we know today.
Groundskeeper Willie's description of the French as "cheese-eating surrender monkeys" was used by conservative National Review columnist Jonah Goldberg, a fan of the show, in 2003, after France's opposition to the proposed invasion of Iraq, and quickly spread to other journalists.
The expression "excellent" — drawn out as a sinister and breathy "eeeexcelllent…" in the style of Montgomery Burns — has also entered popular use, as have Homer's triumphant "Woohoo!" and Nelson Muntz's mocking "HA-ha!". "Woohoo" subsequently became the catch phrase of Melissa Joan Hart's portrayal of Sabrina in Sabrina The Teenage Witch. Homer's unsporting "IN YOUR FACE!" has become a standard vocalization of unsporting behaviour, particularly in children. The phrase was not invented by The Simpsons, but they made it popular.
In various internet communities, the popular meme "I, for one, welcome our new overlords!" stems from a quote of Kent Brockman from the episode "Deep Space Homer". It can also be heard on VCPR radio in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.
The character Waylon Smithers. Since the debut of the show, the term "Smithers" has become a common eponym for a spineless underling.
The show's creators also take pride in having passed on schoolyard rhymes to a new generation of children who otherwise may not have heard them.
Fan controversy
In spite of the devotion the show has inspired among its fans (or perhaps because of it) there has been an extraordinary amount of analysis of the show's strongest and weakest periods, especially among its most ardent fans. This brand of criticism is distinct from the broader debate over the show's sociopolitical themes that have drawn fire from both ends of the political spectrum.
Fans hold a wide range of views on which period in the show's history was the best. Some prefer the earliest seasons, particularly 2 and 3, when the show focused more on realistic, character-driven humor instead of what they perceive as cheap, throwaway gags. Others prefer seasons 4–7, when Al Jean/Mike Reiss, David Mirkin and Bill Oakley/Josh Weinstein were the showrunners. Under Mirkin, the show began to focus more and more on social satire, as well as shifting focus away from young Bart to Homer.
In contrast, seasons 9–12 and the appointment of Mike Scully as showrunner are often considered to be the show's lowest point creatively. While many fans feel Scully's first two seasons, seasons 9-10 weren't terrible, it is believed that season 11 is where the show began to deteriorate significantly, with the show beginning to focus on more supporting characters for shifting attention away from the Simpsons, with the exception of Homer. The show also became heavily reliant on celebrity guest stars (who almost always were cast to play themselves) and often episodes bent the rules of realism in order to justify these types of episodes. Fans also criticize more recent episodes for being boring and having a lack of plot and innovation that the earlier episodes had. Others point out the fact that many of the recent episodes (particularly those in seasons 14, 15, and the current 16th season) focus more on Marge and Homer's strained relationship, noting that the plotline "Marge and Homer fight, Marge and Homer nearly get divorced, Marge and Homer barely reconcile" is being used far too often. Simpsons writer Mike Reiss had this to say: "much of the humanity has leached out of the show over the years....It hurts to watch it, even if I helped do it."[http://slate.msn.com/id/2078501/]
The biggest controversy is on the change in Homer's personality. Some fans believe that under Scully, the character of Homer became unrealistically stupid and uncaring in most episodes, while inexplicably contradicting his own political and moral beliefs in others. This reinvention, referred to as "Jerkass Homer" by online fans, caused a large backlash from many longtime fans of the series, who felt the show had jumped the shark. The episode where Homer is raped by a panda is one low point they continually cite. Many such fans welcomed the return of Al Jean as showrunner, calling it a return to the show's roots. However, to some people the more stupid Homer became the funnier, which has caused them to say that the show is getting better every season. Some feel the complete opposite in it that the series has entered an irreversible decline, and should be cancelled (they feel that the show could tarnish its own legacy if it continues at this pace). Others feel that The Simpsons has become almost a part of their life and without it, TV will never be the same.
Some other changes the created criticism were giving the character of Apu a wife and octuplets and having town drunk Barney Gumble, quit drinking, although he appears on again and off again as drunk currently.
While some argue that The Simpsons is past its prime, the show remains an important aspect of pop culture, and is particularly influential among teenagers. Its popularity has earned it numerous awards and appearances on magazines such as TV Guide. And most fans argue that the constant changes in the American culture and psyche make it impossible for The Simpsons to pass its prime.
Academia
Serious academic work has been done on the show. Simpsons-related publications include:
- Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation by Chris Turner ISBN 0679313184
- Leaving Springfield: The Simpsons and the Possibility of Oppositional Culture (Contemporary Film and Television Series) by John Alberti ISBN 0814328490
- The Simpsons And Society: An Analysis Of Our Favorite Family And Its Influence In Contemporary Society by Steven Keslowitz ISBN 1587362538
- The Gospel According to the Simpsons: Leaders Guide for Group Study by Mark I. Pinsky, Samuel F. Parvin ISBN 066422590X
- The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer by William Irwin (Editor), Mark T. Conard (Editor), Aeon Skoble (Editor) ISBN 0812694333
- The Gospel According to The Simpsons: The Spiritual Life of the World's Most Animated Family by Mark I. Pinsky ISBN 0664224199
- The Gospel According to Bart: Examining the Religious Elements of The Simpsons by Beth L. Keller
Simpsons publications
TV Guide
Numerous different Simpsons-related comic book series have been published by Bongo Comics since 1993. The Simpsons, Futurama, and Bart Simpson comics are also reprinted in the UK, 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 prominently featured in The Simpsons, with virtually all members of the cast breaking into song at least once during the course of the series. Perhaps the best known song is "Do The Bartman", which was released as a single and became an international success. The Simpsons Sing the Blues and The Yellow Album contained cover versions of songs, as well as some originals (including "Do The Bartman"). Songs in the Key of Springfield and Go Simpsonic with The Simpsons are CD collections of original music featured in the TV series.
With the incredible popularity of The Simpsons, especially amongst children, it was only natural for the video game industry to turn to the characters and world of Springfield. While there have always been flops, the majority of Simpsons games did very well commercially and some (such as The Simpsons: The Arcade Game and Bart vs. the Space Mutants) are considered minor video game classics in their own right.
DVDs
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) [http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=2338]. The seven DVD volumes rank as the best-selling television DVD series of all time. In particular, these DVDs have been released in North America (Region 1), Europe (Region 2) and Australia/New Zealand/Latin America ( | | |
