The Simpsons is the most successful animated TV show ever, and one of the most successful TV shows in history.  The Simpsons characters were created by Matt Groening and originally debuted on the Tracy Ullman show. The satirical parody of middle class life in America proved so popular that the characters were spun off into their own show.  In addition to the TV show there have been several Simpsons movies, CDs, and wildly popular Simpsons Halloween Specials which have their own cult of devoted fans. 

The Simpsons are a middle class family living in Springfield.  It’s never mentioned which state Springfield is in, so there have been many attempts to guess over the years.  Father Homer Simpson is a lazy but loveable worker at the local nuclear power plant owned by Mr. Burns.  His wife, Marge Simpson, is known mostly for her towering head of blue hair. Marge is a stay at home wife and mother who manages the household, takes care of Homer and keeps their three children Maggie, Bart and Lisa on track.  Maggie is the youngest and is rarely seen without a pacifier in her mouth.  In the infamous Who Shot Mr. Burns storyline Maggie was revealed to be the shooter, although she shot Mr. Burns totally by accident.  Lisa, the middle child, is super smart and savvy and a little nerdy.  She wants to be more popular but also enjoys being the smart one in the family. Bart is the oldest. Bart is trouble with a capital T but like Homer he’s loveable and that gets him out of a lot of tough situations. Bart means well, usually, but ends up in situations where he learns a lot about morality, truth, justice, and empathy.

Other important residents of Springfield include Smithers who is the personal assistant to Mr. Burns, Ned Flanders who is the Simpsons next door neighbor and the voice of morality due to his extreme religiousness and Apu, who runs the local Kwik E Mart.  Krusty the Klown, a children’s show character and comedian who features prominently in Bart and Lisa’s world is also a major recurring character. So is Millhouse, Bart’s best friend and Santa’s Little Helper who is Bart’s dog.  Marge’s sisters Patty and Selma, who are chain smoking old maids who disapprove of Homer and encourage Marge to leave him, also appear regularly.

Throughout the twenty years that the Simpsons have been on the air many guest stars have come through and voiced characters.  Some of the most famous Simpsons guest stars have been James Earl Jones, Phil Hartman, George Takei, all of the members of Aerosmith, Sting, Adam West, Liz Taylor, Barry White and Meryl Streep. Even though many of the celebrities that have appeared on The Simpsons are well known film actors who don’t work in TV it’s considered an honor to be a guest star on The Simpsons. Dressing up as a character from The Simpsons is a rite of passage for many kids as they grow up, and many parents today dress their little kids up as the same Simpsons characters they dressed as for Halloween.