The Simpsons

The Simpsons are a family who live in at 742 Evergreen Terrace in the town of Springfield in the United States (Location Unknown). Homer, the father, works as a safety inspector at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, a position at odds with his careless, buffoonish personality. He is married to Marge Simpson, a stereotypical American housewife and mother. They have three children: Bart, a ten-year-old troublemaker; Lisa, a precocious eight-year-old activist; and Maggie, a baby who rarely speaks, but communicates by sucking on a pacifier. The family owns a dog, Santa's Little Helper, and a cat, Snowball V. Both pets have had starring roles in several episodes. Despite the passing of yearly milestones such as holidays or birthdays, the Simpsons do not physically age and still appear just as they did at the end of the 1980s. Although the family is dysfunctional, many episodes examine their relationships and bonds with each other and they are often shown to care about one another.

Homer Simpson

Homer Jay Simpson is the father of the Simpson family. He embodies several American working class stereotypes: he is crude, overweight, incompetent, clumsy, thoughtless and a borderline alcoholic. He has occasionally displayed flashes of great intellect and fitness whenever the situation calls for it, and an integrity reflecting his own values, including a fierce devotion to and protectiveness of his family. Homer has since become one of the most influential fictional characters and has been described by the UK newspaper The Sunday Times as the greatest comedic creation of modern time. He has inspired an entire line of merchandise and his catchphrase, the annoyed grunt "D'oh!", has been included in the Oxford English Dictionary.

Marge Simpson

Marjorie "Marge" Simpson (née Bouvier), is the well-meaning and extremely patient wife of Homer and mother of Bart, Lisa and Maggie. She often acts as the voice of reason, but displays exaggerated behavior traits of stereotypical mothers and takes the blatant dysfunctional of her family for granted, unlike the other family members, who are aware that they are eccentric. Her most notable physical feature is her blue hair, styled into an improbably high beehive. In 2008, City News published an article entitled "Top 10 Greatest TV Moms of All Time", and placed Marge in eighth spot.

Bart Simpson

Bartholomew "Bart" JoJo Simpson, is the eldest child in the family -- at age 10. Bart's most prominent character traits are his mischievousness, rebelliousness, disrespect for authority and sharp wit. During the first two seasons of The Simpsons, Bart was the show's main character. The name "Bart" is an anagram of the word "brat". Bart's catchphrase was "Eat My Shorts". In 1998, Time magazine selected Bart as 46th of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century, and the only fictional character to make the list. He had previously appeared on the cover of the December 31, 1990 edition. Bart is rebellious and frequently escapes without punishment, which lead some parents' groups and conservative spokespeople to believe he provided a poor role model for children. This prompted George H. W. Bush to rally, "We're going to keep trying to strengthen the American family. To make them more like the Waltons and less like the Simpsons."Bart, and other Simpsons characters, have appeared in numerous television commercials for Nestlé's Butterfinger candy bars from 1990-2001, with the slogan "Nobody better lay a finger on my Butterfinger!"

Lisa Simpson

Lisa Marie Simpson, is the eldest daughter and middle child of the family. She is an extremely intelligent eight year old girl, one of the most intelligent characters on the show. Lisa's political convictions are generally socially liberal. She is a vegetarian, and a supporter of the Free Tibet movement,[37] and while still supportive of the Christian church in which she was raised, Lisa became a practicing Buddhist following her decision to follow the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Tracey Ullman Show shorts, Lisa was more of a "female Bart" and was equally mischievous. As the series progressed, Lisa began to develop into a more intelligent and more emotional character with "Krusty Gets Busted" being one of the first episodes where her true intelligence is fully shown. Many episodes focusing on Lisa have an emotional nature, the first one being "Moaning Lisa". The idea for the episode was pitched by James L. Brooks, who had wanted to do an emotional episode where Lisa is sad because the show had done a lot of "jokey episodes". In 2001 Lisa received a special "Board of Directors Ongoing Commitment Award" at the Environmental Media Awards. "Lisa the Vegetarian", an episode from the seventh season, won both an Environmental Media Award for "Best Television Episodic Comedy" and a Genesis Award for "Best Television Comedy Series, Ongoing Commitment". In Japan, the broadcasters of the series found they were able to turn the apparent viewer dislike of the series around by focusing marketing attention on Lisa. Lisa's well-intended but ill-fated struggles to be a voice of reason and a force of good in her family and city struck a chord with the Japanese

Maggie Simpson

Margaret "Maggie" Simpson, is the youngest of the five main family members and is almost always seen as a baby. She was quite prominent in the Tracey Ullman Show shorts, often being featured alongside Bart and Lisa but has since become the least seen and heard of the five main Simpsons. It has been revealed that Maggie has outstanding artistic abilities. Maggie rarely speaks

Awards

This is a list of notable awards won by the The Simpsons and The Simpsons Movie. The Simpsons, an animated American sitcom, is the longest running prime time animated series in the United States. It has won many different awards, including 24 Emmy awards and 10 in the Outstanding Animated Program (for programming one hour or less) category. However, The Simpsons has never been nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series, although the show was submitted in the category in 1993 and 1994. James L. Brooks, an executive producer on the show, won ten Emmys for The Simpsons as well as ten for other shows and holds the record for most Primetime Emmys won by a single person, with 20. The Simpsons was the first animated series to be given a Peabody Award, and in 2000 the Simpson family was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Simpsons Movie, released in 2007, was nominated for several major awards, including a Golden Globe Award.

The Simpsons also holds two world records from the Guinness Book of World Records: Longest-Running Primetime Animated Television Series and Most Guest Stars Featured in a Television Series.