The Simpsons shorts

The Simpson family as they originally appeared in shorts from the The Tracey Ullman Show as their television debut in 1987.

The Simpsons shorts were a series of 48 one-minute shorts that ran on the variety television program The Tracey Ullman Show for three seasons, before the characters spun off into The Simpsons, their own half-hour prime time show. It features Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The series was created by Matt Groening, who designed the Simpson family and wrote many of the shorts. The shorts first aired on April 19, 1987 starting with "Good Night". The final short to air was "TV Simpsons", originally airing on May 14, 1989. The Simpsons later debuted on December 17, 1989, as an independent series with the Christmas special "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire".[1]

One marketing study found that only 14 percent of Americans were familiar with the shorts, compared to 85 percent in November 1990 who were familiar with the Simpsons family, 11 months after the full-length show began airing.[2]

Only a few of these shorts have been released on DVD. "Good Night" was included on The Simpsons Season 1 DVD. Five of these shorts were later used in the clip show episode "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular" on the half-hour show, which was released on the Season 7 DVD. These five shorts were "Good Night", which was featured in its entirety, and portions of "The Perfect Crime", "Space Patrol", "World War III", and "Bathtime".[3] In "You Kent Always Say What You Want", the short "Family Portrait" replaces the entire opening sequence in celebration of the 400th episode. In June 2013, it was reported that FXX is trying to acquire the shorts for an October Simpsons app, "Simpsons World".[4]

The version of The Simpson family from the shorts was depicted as ghosts haunting The Simpsons house in the season twenty six episode "Treehouse of Horror XXV".[5]

Development

When producer James L. Brooks was working on the television variety show The Tracey Ullman Show, he decided that he wanted to include small animated sketches before and after the commercial breaks. Having seen one of cartoonist Matt Groening's Life in Hell comic strips, Brooks asked Groening to pitch an idea for a series of animated shorts, which Groening initially intended to present as his Life in Hell series.[6] Groening later realized that animating Life in Hell would require the rescinding of publication rights for his life's work. He therefore chose another approach while waiting in the lobby of Brooks's office for the pitch meeting, hurriedly formulating his version of a dysfunctional family that became the Simpsons.[6][7] He named the characters after his own family members, substituting "Bart" for his own name.[6] Bart was modeled after Groening's older brother, Mark, but given a different name which was chosen as an anagram of "brat".[8] The stories were written and storyboarded by Matt Groening.[9] The family was crudely drawn, because Groening had submitted basic sketches to the animators, assuming they would clean them up; instead they just traced over his drawings.[6] The animation was produced domestically at Klasky Csupo,[10] with Wesley Archer, David Silverman, and Bill Kopp being animators for the first season. After season one, it would be animated by Archer and Silverman thereafter.[9] Georgie Peluse was the colorist and the person who decided to make the characters yellow.[9]

The actors who voiced the characters later reprised their roles in The Simpsons. Dan Castellaneta performed the voices of Homer Simpson, Grampa Simpson, and Krusty the Clown.[11] Homer's voice sounds different in the shorts compared to most episodes of the half-hour show, as Castellaneta originally tried to impersonate Walter Matthau. Although he would retain this characteristic through the early episodes of the regular series, it was gradually dropped as Homer's personality evolved away from that of a stereotypical sitcom father.[12] The producers of the show were in need of someone to do voiceovers, so rather than hire actors, they asked Castellaneta (who had already done some voice work) and Julie Kavner, both members of the Ullman Show cast, to do it.[13][14] The kids still needed voices, and Nancy Cartwright, a journeyman voice actress, came in to audition. She recalled that "I was already doing voicework for eight different shows at the time and thought this would just be another job. They originally wanted me for Lisa's voice, but I thought 'Nah, I don't want to be the boring middle child, I want to be a bratty 10-year old boy.' So as soon as I gave a demonstration, [Brooks and Groening] hired me on the spot." Some time later, Yeardley Smith, a 22-year-old B-movie actress whose most notable accomplishment to date was featuring in the notorious 1986 Stephen King film Maximum Overdrive, was brought in to do Lisa's voice. [11] The recording of the shorts was often primitive; according to Cartwright, the dialogue for the Ullman shorts was recorded on a portable tape deck in a makeshift studio, which consisted of the video engineer suite, above the bleachers on the Ullman show set.[15] While most of the characters' personalities are similar to what they are in the series, Lisa is simply a clone of Bart and did not have a distinct personality until a few episodes into the regular series.

The shorts were featured on the first three seasons on The Tracey Ullman Show. By the fourth and last season of The Tracey Ullman Show the first season of the half-hour show was on the air. In the two first seasons the shorts were divided into three or four parts,[16] but in the third season they were played as a single story.[16] Tracey Ullman later filed a lawsuit, claiming that her show was the source of The Simpsons' success and therefore should receive a share of the show's profit. Eventually the courts ruled in favor of the network.[17]

Shorts

From series 1 (1987)

Short
No.		 No.
from
series		 Title Released during
(The Tracey Ullman Show episode)		 Original air date
11"Good Night"
"Good Night Simpsons"		Series 1, Episode 319 April 1987
Marge and Homer say goodnight to their children. As they do, Bart ponders the nature of the mind, Lisa develops a fear of bedbugs, and Maggie has a nightmare about "Rock-a-bye Baby". All three of the kids end up crowding Homer and Marge's bed.
22"Watching TV"Series 1, Episode 53 May 1987
Bart and Lisa fight while watching TV. They eventually find something they agree on: stopping Maggie from changing the channel.
33"Jumping Bart"Series 1, Episode 610 May 1987
Homer has Bart attempt to jump off a table and into his arms. Each time Bart jumps, Homer is distracted and fails to catch him.
44"Babysitting Maggie"Series 1, Episode 831 May 1987
Marge puts Bart and Lisa in charge of babysitting Maggie; however, they end up ignoring her.
55"The Pacifier"Series 1, Episode 1021 June 1987
Bart and Lisa take Maggie's pacifier away to stop her from sucking on it, but Maggie refuses to kick the habit. Bart and Lisa eventually learn if they cannot get Maggie to quit sucking on pacifiers, it is better to join in.
66"Burping Contest"Series 1, Episode 1128 June 1987
Bart and Lisa compete in a contest, while Maggie watches, to see who can make the most disgusting burp. Marge objects several times, but to no avail. Homer does not help matters when he joins in on the kids' burp contest to Marge's disgust.
77"Dinnertime"Series 1, Episode 1212 July 1987
Marge makes dinner and the family sits down for the meal. She insists that everyone should have table manners, but the family's crude eating habits are hard to stop.

From series 2 (1987/88)

Short
No.		 No.
from
series		 Title Released during
(The Tracey Ullman Show episode)		 Original air date
81"Making Faces"Series 2, Episode 122 September 1987
Marge warns the kids that if they make scary faces, their faces will freeze in place forever. Bart, Lisa, and Maggie ignore her--until Marge gives them a scare with a mirror.
92"The Funeral"Series 2, Episode 24 October 1987
The family attends the funeral of Uncle Hubert. Bart and Lisa both prove to be disruptive and Homer swears to never take them to another funeral, much to their dismay.
103"Maggie's Brain"Series 2, Episode 311 October 1987
Bart and Lisa wonder what is inside Maggie's mind when looking at her in her crib. The audience sees her imagination: she is a giant, and she is tickling baby-sized versions of Bart and Lisa.
114"Football"Series 2, Episode 418 October 1987
Homer promises the kids chocolate milkshakes if Bart can catch one of his long football passes. Unfortunately, there are many obstacles to overcome, like falling down a cliff, but Bart finally manages to catch the football — with his mouth.
125"House of Cards"Series 2, Episode 525 October 1987
Bart tries to make a house of cards, but Lisa and Maggie make noises that cause the house to fall every time.
136"Bart and Dad Eat Dinner"Series 2, Episode 61 November 1987
Marge takes the girls out to watch a ballet, leaving Homer in charge of dinner. Bart cannot stomach it when he is forced to eat a mix of fish nuggets and pork-a-roni.
147"Space Patrol"Series 2, Episode 78 November 1987
Bart, Lisa and Maggie play a game of "Space Patrol" while Homer and Marge are out. Lisa plays a superhero with Maggie as her sidekick, while Bart puts a jug on his head with the pretense of it being the helmet of an alien warlord. However, his head gets stuck in the jug and Lisa "frees" Bart using a croquet mallet.
158"Bart's Haircut"Series 2, Episode 815 November 1987
When Bart's hair grows too long, Homer and Marge order him to get it cut. The barber ends up shaving Bart's entire head, and he attempts to disguise his scalp using glue, his old hair, and eventually a paper bag. The family promises not to laugh if he shows them the haircut, but fail to keep their vow when they see how ridiculous Bart looks.
169"World War III"Series 2, Episode 922 November 1987
Homer wakes up the family in the middle of the night to test their readiness for a nuclear war. They manage to escape to a bunker in the basement in 18 seconds, but Homer says that this is too slow. After two more drills, the exhausted family members trick Homer into racing into the bunker alone and lock him inside. Bart asks Marge if this is a good thing to do; she ignores the question and says they'll let him out in the morning.
1710"The Perfect Crime"Series 2, Episode 1013 December 1987
When Marge makes a batch of chocolate chip cookies, Bart becomes obsessed with pulling off "the perfect crime" and stealing them all. His various attempts are foiled by the heat of the cookies and Maggie, but eventually, all of the treats vanish from the tray. Maggie takes Homer and Marge along a trail of cookie crumbs that leads to Bart's bedroom, where he is lying with a bloated stomach and complaining that the "perfect crime" is impossible.
1811"Scary Stories"Series 2, Episode 1120 December 1987
Bart tells Lisa and Maggie a series of scary stories in the dark, only to believe they're coming true.
1912"Grampa and the Kids"Series 2, Episode 1210 January 1988
Grampa tells the kids stories from the good old days. When the kids stop listening to him, he feigns his own death to recapture their attention.
This marks the first speaking appearance of Grampa Simpson.
2013"Gone Fishin'"Series 2, Episode 1324 January 1988
Bart and Homer go on a fishing trip. Homer asks Bart for a bologna sandwich, but Bart forgot the bologna. He puts the bait on the sandwich instead. When they get the boat in the water, they hit rapids and later fall off of a waterfall.
2114"Skateboarding"Series 2, Episode 147 February 1988
Bart teaches his sisters how to skateboard, but is outdone every time he tries to show off.
2215"The Pagans"Series 2, Episode 1514 February 1988
When the family is on their way to church, the kids declares themselves pagans. After the car breaks down, the kids start acting like pagans, much to Homer's dismay.
2316"Closeted"Series 2, Episode 1621 February 1988
When Bart hears Homer calling him, he fears that his father will make him do chores. He hides in a closet, only to accidentally lock himself in. After a failed attempt to get Maggie to help him, Bart breaks down the door and decides to do his chores--only to discover a note explaining that the whole family has left to get chocolate milkshakes.
2417"The Aquarium"Series 2, Episode 1728 February 1988
Homer takes Bart, Lisa and Maggie to the aquarium. Bart finds a way to get into the shark tank and swims with a shark. When Homer finds out, he threatens him, prompting Bart to stay in the tank--it's safer than dealing with his father's anger.
2518"Family Portrait"Series 2, Episode 186 March 1988
Homer has trouble taking a normal family portrait. Every time they are close to a good picture, the family sabotages the shot.
Features the first time Homer says Why You Little!.
2619"Bart's Hiccups"Series 2, Episode 1913 March 1988
Lisa and Maggie try to cure Bart's hiccups using some rather unorthodox methods.
2720"The Money Jar"Series 2, Episode 2020 May 1988
Marge warns the kids that they shouldn't steal from the money jar. Lisa and Maggie's consciences appear to prevent them from taking the jar's contents, but Bart's conscience encourages him to help himself to the cash. However, the money jar only contains a dollar, prompting Bart to remark "You can't even trust your own mother."
2821"The Art Museum"Series 2, Episode 211 May 1988
The Simpsons go to an art museum. Bart stares at a nude painting and Lisa plays with an ancient vase. Marge realizes that the kids are too young to appreciate fine arts. However, Bart decides to become a collector by stealing an art piece. This action embarrasses Homer.
2922"Zoo Story"Series 2, Episode 228 May 1988
Homer takes Marge and the kids on an outing to the zoo. While there, he points out how stupid a family of chimpanzees look--and fails to realize that the chimps look identical to his own brood. Homer then teases the monkeys by taunting them with peanuts, only to have them throw excrement in his face. On the ride home, the family discovers that Bart has switched places with his chimpanzee lookalike, while he is fed bananas by his new family.

From series 3 (1988/89)

Short
No.		 No.
from
series		 Title Released during
(The Tracey Ullman Show episode)		 Original air date
301"Shut Up, Simpsons"Series 3, Episode 16 November 1988
Maggie squeaks her toy, which causes a chain reaction of anger in the family--Lisa attacks Maggie for making noise, Bart attacks Lisa for yelling at a baby, Homer attacks Bart for hitting a girl, and Grampa attacks Homer for attacking his children. Bart then encourages the family to make up, only to sabotage his own good deed by insulting Homer. Lisa and Maggie discover they're more Bouvier than Simpson, especially when they see Homer, Bart and Grampa locked in a strangle match with each other.
312"Shell Game"Series 3, Episode 213 November 1988
Bart tries to hide one of the cookies he stole from the jar by distracting his parents with the shell game. Although his plan seems to succeed, he is busted by Maggie, who then eats the cookie.
323"The Bart Simpson Show"Series 3, Episode 320 November 1988
The kids are watching TV and Homer tells them to stop watching The Itchy & Scratchy Show because it's "too violent". Unable to watch cartoons, Bart puts on his own show, which eventually angers Homer even more because Bart removed the TV's components to appear "on screen."
First appearance of The Itchy & Scratchy Show.
334"Punching Bag"Series 3, Episode 427 November 1988
Marge and Homer throw the kids into their toy room and tell them to "play nice." A frustrated Bart takes out his anger on a punching bag; Lisa then takes a turn and adds motivation by drawing Homer's face on the bag. Homer, trying to nap, rudely commands Marge to make the kids stop; when the noise suddenly gets louder, he discovers Marge punching the bag. Homer then attempts to break the bag, only to be hit in the face and knocked unconscious.
Features the first time Homer says D'oh.
345"Simpson Christmas"Series 3, Episode 518 December 1988
Bart tells a story of Christmas with the Simpson family in the style of The Night Before Christmas.
356"The Krusty the Clown Show"Series 3, Episode 715 January 1989
The kids get to see Krusty the Clown's show live for the first time. Bart believes Krusty is an impostor and exposes it on television, much to his parents' dismay.
First appearance of Krusty the Clown.
367"Bart the Hero"Series 3, Episode 829 January 1989
When Bart is sent outside to exercise his legs by Homer's orders, he gets handsomely rewarded for stopping a burglar from robbing a candy store. But he asks for the reward to be in candy bars, much to Homer's dismay.
378"Bart's Little Fantasy"Series 3, Episode 95 February 1989
After the kids are ordered to clean their room by Homer and Marge, Bart forces his sisters to do all the work while he tells a story about a parallel world where large kids are the bosses of their small parents, who are made to do chores. However, Bart is caught red-handed by Marge and Homer makes him mow the lawn for his lack of involvement. Lisa ends his story with her and Maggie living happily ever after, while Bart watches them from outside in dismay.
389"Scary Movie"Series 3, Episode 1012 February 1989
Bart, Lisa and Maggie go to the movie to see "The Return of the Happy Little Elves", but Bart convinces the girls to see "Revenge of the Space Mutants" instead. However, Bart ends up being scared by it because one of the space mutants looks like himself. As he screams, Lisa and Maggie try to comfort him.
3910"Home Hypnotism"Series 3, Episode 1119 February 1989
When Homer sees Bart, Lisa and Maggie going crazy and bouncing off the walls, he and Marge try using hypnotism to tame the kids. They pretend to become mindless zombies, and a repentant Homer and Marge vow to never hypnotize them again--that is, until Bart hits his father in the stomach with a toy ball.
4011"Shoplifting"Series 3, Episode 1226 February 1989
Bart, hungry for chocolate bars, steals some from the supermarket, despite Lisa's warnings. He is quickly caught by security, but when the guard leaves the room to talk to his boss, he sneakily eats the candy and claims the cops have "no evidence." However, he is caught red handed thanks to the guard looking at the mirror and his face covered in chocolate. A furious Homer and Marge scold him on the ride back to the house. However, he is nonchalant, pointing out that his parents are still driving him around. They force Bart from the car and drive away, leaving him to walk home.
4112"Echo Canyon"Series 3, Episode 1312 March 1989
The family drives to Echo Canyon and take turns making echoes. However, Bart is very disruptive and leads Homer to chase after him.
4213"Bathtime"Series 3, Episode 1419 March 1989
Homer makes Bart take his "Sunday Night Bath", but he ends up flooding the bathroom.
4314"Bart's Nightmare"Series 3, Episode 1526 March 1989
The family discovers that someone has eaten every last cookie in the cookie jar. The culprit turns out to be Bart, who regrets gorging on the snack, especially when he has a terrible nightmare in which he is only an inch tall and nearly crushed by giant cookies in the kitchen. Lisa then awakens Bart, who is relieved that his experience was only a dream--but he seems to have developed a severe cookie phobia as a result.
4415"Bart of the Jungle"Series 3, Episode 1716 April 1989
The kids swing from the trees using Homer's neckties, and Homer, who is angered by this, ends up being caught in their trap.
4516"Family Therapy"Series 3, Episode 1823 April 1989
Homer takes the family to a psychologist because he claims they cannot laugh anymore. The psychologist tries to remain calm, but the disruptions caused by the Simpsons eventually drive him over the edge, and he kicks them out of his office. This turns out to be the cure the family needed, and they laugh all the way home.
4617"Maggie In Peril: Episode 1"Series 3, Episode 1930 April 1989
After Maggie accidentally kicks her ball on Bart's face, he kicks it out of sight and she takes off to retrieve it. She ends up being caught on a branch... and the story is to be continued.
4718"Maggie In Peril: Episode 2"Series 3, Episode 207 May 1989
Sequel to "Maggie In Peril", Maggie floats in the air hanging on to balloons and lands safely back in her playpen.
4819"TV Simpsons"Series 3, Episode 2114 May 1989
While Homer is watching his TV show, Bart flies a kite outside with Maggie and Lisa. The wind suddenly blows and the kite gets stuck on the TV antenna, which messes up the reception. Homer gets a ladder, climbs on the roof and he struggles to get the kite out of the antenna. He eventually becomes furious and shreds the kite into pieces, causing him to lose his balance and fall off the roof, while Bart and Lisa laugh at their show, unaware of what just happened.

See also

References

General
Specific
  1. ↑ Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". BBC. Retrieved 2007-11-22.
  2. ↑ http://articles.latimes.com/1991-04-19/entertainment/ca-419_1_tracey-ullman-show
  3. ↑ Richmond & Coffman 1997, p. 191.
  4. ↑ Jason Lynch (2014). "Here's how the new Simpsons app will change your life". Quartz. Retrieved 2014-07-22.
  5. ↑ A 'Simpsons' crossover with... 'The Simpsons'?
  6. 1 2 3 4 The Simpsons: America's First Family (television documentary). BBC. 2000.
  7. ↑ Groening, Matt (2003-02-14). Fresh Air. Interview with David Bianculli. National Public Radio. WHYY. Philadelphia. Retrieved 2007-08-08.
  8. ↑ Paul, Alan (1987-09-30). "Matt Groening" (Interview). Flux Magazine Issue #6.
  9. 1 2 3 Cagle, Daryl. "The David Silverman Interview". MSNBC. Archived from the original on December 7, 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-29.
  10. ↑ Deneroff, Harvey (January 2000). "Matt Groening's Baby Turns 10". Animation Magazine, Vol. 14, #1. pp. 10, 12.
  11. 1 2 Richmond & Coffman 1997, p. 178.
  12. ↑ Brownfield, Paul (1999-07-06). "He's Homer, but This Odyssey Is His Own". Los Angeles Times.
  13. ↑ Lee, Luaine (2003-02-27). "D'oh, you're the voices". The Age. Retrieved 2007-08-18.
  14. ↑ Elber, Lynn (2007-08-18). "D'oh!: The Voice of Homer Is Deceivingly Deadpan". Associated Press. Retrieved 2007-07-29.
  15. ↑ Cartwight, Nancy (2000). My Life as a Ten Year Old Boy. Bloomsbury. pp. 43–46. ISBN 0-7475-4748-3.
  16. 1 2 Richmond & Coffman 1997, pp. 14–15.
  17. ↑ Spotnitz, Frank (1992-10-23). "Eat my shorts!". Entertainment Weekly. p. 8(1).

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