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30 years since Simpsons’ debut

April 19 2017 marks 30 years since The Simpsons first debuted on The Tracey Ullman Show.

April 19 2017 marks 30 years since The Simpsons first debuted on American television, on The Tracey Ullman Show.

Created on the spot by Matt Groening as he waited one hour to meet Tracey Ullman Show producer James Brooks, the animated skits became a half-h was named after the town in 1950s TV show Father Knows Best, which Groening imagined was the town “next to Portland, my hometown. When I grew up, I realised it was a fictitious name. I also figured it was one of the most common names for a US city. In anticipation of the show’s success, I thought, “This will be cool; everyone will think it’s their Springfield.”

“I wrote them with Homer being angry and Bart being a clueless little jerk, driven in some weird way to cause trouble,” Groening also explained. “I knew from the moment we decided to turn the shorts into a TV show that Homer was going to be the star. There are more consequences to him being an idiot.”

Source: News Corp

3 Responses

  1. I remember in 1990 when Neil Mitchell was trying to ban the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles someone rang up and said in America no one was watching the Turtles any more the latest rage was a ‘wholesome’ family comedy called The Simpsons.

    1. I also remember hearing Age critic Ross Warneke & Neil Mitchell criticising a new cartoon that set bad parenting examples to kids. It infuriated me at the time because the show was not pitched at kids and whatever ineptness Homer had, he has unconditional love for his kids. Really liked the late Ross Warneke’s work but this one got me riled.

  2. I well remember watching it as part of ‘The Tracy Ullman Show’ on 2 all those years back-a mighty cultural icon grew from the smallest of acorns!

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