FAQ for
"The Simpsons" (1989)

Quite simply, voices for cartoons almost always evolve over time as certain aspects of the voice are kept, new ones are added, and others are dropped. Homer has always been voiced by Dan Castellaneta, who has said his original Homer voice was based on Walter Matthau and didn't allow for much emotional movement, hence he slowly became more high-pitched and "girlish" and evolved into his own unique voice and not just an impersonation.

In the first run of "The Simpsons: Behind the Laughter (#11.22)" it is stated that the Simpsons are a "northern Kentucky family." However in re-runs of this episode it is stated that they are a "Southern Missouri" family. Either way there are many hints throughout the shows run to suggest that Springfield is somewhere in the Southern or Midwestern United States.

It is also thought that it could be Springfield, OR as Matt Groening was born there and grew up in Portland. Other evidence of this are the names of the characters Montgomery Burns (referring to the Montgomery building burning down) and Reverend Lovejoy (Lovejoy is a street in Portland).

In a deleted scene of the Simpsons movie it was stated by Cargill that Springfield was in Kansas, however this might just be a gag. This scene will be shown on the simpsons movie dvd

Marge and Homer are Matt Groening's parents names. Lisa and Maggie are his sisters names. "Bart" is an anagram of "brat."

Opposite of The Beatles (B-Dulls). As well as this there is also the musical joke of there being no note called B Sharp (B#). This connotes that the group themselves are supposedly out of tune (Despite the reasonable vocals in the episode).

Mayor Diamond Joe Quimby - President John F. Kennedy

Chief Clancy Wiggum - the late American film actor Edward G. Robinson

Professor John Frink - American comic/actor Jerry Lewis (the name John Frink comes from a member of the show's crew)

Ranier Wolfcastle - expatriate Austrian actor/bodybuilder, now governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Calif.)

The Capital City Goofball - legendary major league baseball mascot The Phillie Phanatic

Dredrick Tatum - Former Heavy Weight Champion Mike Tyson

Charles Montgomery Burns - amalgam of public perceptions of 19th-20th century American business tycoons John Pierpont Morgan, William Randolph Hearst, John Paul Getty, John D. Rockefeller and various others known for building their enormous fortunes without the slightest regard for the well-being of others or the preservation of natural resources, and often at the expense of the public. His looks , however, are based on the Norwegian investor Fredrik Olsen (a comparison picture is available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Fred.olsen.and.mr.burns.jpg), who was a lot in the news during the development of the character because of disagreements with his workers at Timex.

"The Simpsons: Two Bad Neighbors (#7.13)" was inspired by a speech made by George Bush at the National Religious Broadcasters Convetion in which he commented "The nation needs to be closer to The Waltons than The Simpsons". This speech featured in "The Simpsons: Stark Raving Dad (#3.1)" where Bart comments 'We're just like the Waltons, we're all praying for an end to the depression'.

Barbara Bush had previously called The Simpsons "the dumbest thing I've ever seen", which led to producers writing her a letter supposedly from Marge Simpson in protest. Barbara replied with an apology for her 'loose tongue'.

The Simpsons' producers finally took their most effective revenge by having George and Barbara star in their very own episode, "The Simpsons: Two Bad Neighbors (#7.13)", in which the couple move into Evergreen Terrace. The former president is harrassed by Bart and Homer after he spanks Bart for destroying his memoirs, and eventually the Bushes move out, to be replaced by Gerald Ford.

Apart from Grandpa's intermittent paranoid obsession with "Dea-ea-eathhhhhh!!!!", the first of life's two inevitabilities has affected the series in many ways, both in real life and within the context of the show.

-Although no screen time was ever devoted to it, recurring character Dr. Marvin Monroe, Ph.D., met his demise in season 7. He reappeared several years later in 'Diatribe of a Mad Housewife' claiming that he was "very sick". The character was retired as it placed a strain on Harry Shearer's voice.

-Blues/jazz saxophonist "Bleeding Gums" Murphy died in season 6, in an episode entitled "'Round Springfield" (a play on the 1986 film "'Round Midnight" about the gradual demise of a once-great jazz musician). His passing was really the primary plotline of the episode, with his appearance in a bed at Springfield General sparked by Bart's winding up at the same hospital after swallowing a jagged metal Krusty-O.

-Frank Grimes, a one-time character to whom Homer was his greatest nemesis, prevented Homer from falling to fatal mistakes several times during the episode and then, ironically, died while performing a mocking impression of Homer and grabbing two electrical nodes, completing the circuit and electrocuting himself.

-Repressed teetotaller Maude Flanders, wife of Ned, mother of Rod and Todd, met probably the most high-profile death in the show's history, with an entire episode devoted to her passing (she was knocked out of the top row of a racetrack bleachers onto the concrete pavement below by a ballistic t-shirt) and Ned's struggle to cope with the loss. It is generally considered to be one of the most poignant of the show's episodes, as well as one frequently cited in real-life church sermons by clergymen attempting to relate to parishioners' pop culture sensibilities.

-Phil Hartman voiced legendary recurring characters Troy McClure ("You may remember me from such {plural media format} as....") and Lionel Hutz, Attorney-at-Law, the worst attorney (and real estate salesman) in Springfield. In 1997, his mentally ill wife Brynn shot and killed him and then herself at their home in Encino, Calif. As a result, the characters simply ceased to exist among the Springfield populace, although no mention of either of their deaths was ever made.

-Veteran script supervisor-turned-voiceover actress Doris Grau voiced several different characters over the show's first seven seasons, most notably recurring character Lunchlady Doris. She died of an illness in late1995 at the age of 71.

-The character of Hans Moleman, the short, bald, eyeglass-wearing senior citizen, is never actually seen dying on-screen, but he has the tendency to end up in situations where survival seems next to impossible (e.g. crushed under a pile of burning cars). However, he always returns after some episodes without explanation (but it should be noted that the series is not known for its strict sense of continuity).

-Some of the most violent deaths in the series can be ascribed to Itchy and Scratchy, but they are supposed to be animated characters (The Simpsons being an animated series itself notwithstanding).

-The character of Dr Nick Riviera was impaled by a large shard of glass in The Simpson Movie, but it is unknown if this has consequences for his appearance in the series.

-Of course, no discussion of death's impact on "The Simpsons" would be complete without mentioning the various ways in which the show's characters, and the world at large, bought it in the various "Treehouse of Horrors" Halloween episodes. However the segments are non-canonical to the core Simpsons chronology.

Funnily enough, it stands for Jay

After over 18 years, The Simpsons is still on air because, to this day, in is quite possibly FOX's biggest money generator, the Executives on the show and bosses at FOX still believe it to be a successful show (Regardless of some fans stating it jump the shark after the eighth season), and the Executives on The Simpsons believe it still has many more storylines to go before it's considered outdated/unfunny/etc.

Yes, it's true. Nancy Cartwright has voiced Bart all the way throughout the show.

With the show running almost 20 years and over 400 episodes, the amount of inconsistencies has piled up quite high. An obvious example: with the show being quite up to date in depicting current political events and popular culture, it is quite clear that quite some time has passed in the series as well. Yet Bart, Lisa and Maggie don't age a day.

So how are such inconsistencies explained? They are not, and no attempt should be made to do so.

There is a reason that large inconsistencies are not accepted into the Goofs section of IMDb's The Simpsons series page. The show's creators themselves even joke about the many things in the series that simply don't make sense. Keeping up the flow of ingenious stories and hilarious jokes just necessitates a large degree of artistic and narrative licence. It is also within the show's satiric nature to poke fun at itself from time to time.