The Simpsons

An Uncensored, Unauthorized History

By: John Ortved

Narrated by: John Allen Nelson, Justine Eyre

The Simpsons is one of the most successful shows in the history of television. From its first moment on air, the series' rich characters, subversive themes, and layered humor have resounded deeply with audiences, both young and old, who wanted more from their entertainment than what was being meted out at the time by the likes of Full House, Growing Pains, and Family Matters.

Spawned as an animated short on The Tracy Ullman Show - mere filler on the way to commercial breaks - the series grew from a controversial cult favorite to a mainstream powerhouse, and after 19 years, the residents of Springfield no longer simply hold up a mirror to our way of life; they have ingrained themselves into it.

John Ortved's oral history is the first-ever look behind the scenes at the creation and day-to-day running of The Simpsons, as told by many of the people who make it, including writers, animators, producers, and network executives. It's an intriguing yet hilarious tale, full of betrayal, ambition, and love. Like the family it depicts, the show's creative forces have been riven by dysfunction from the get-go - outsize egos clashing with studio executives and one another over credit for and control of a pop-culture institution.

Contrary to popular belief, The Simpsons did not spring from one man's brain, fully formed, like a hilarious Athena. Its inception was a process, with many parents, and this book tells the story.

©2009 John Ortved; 2009 Tantor

Critic reviews

"You have to admire all the work that went into this unauthorized history. It's the labor of a disenchanted fan, but a smart, loving fan nonetheless." ( Entertainment Weekly)
"As tasty as a pink-glazed donut with sprinkles, as refreshing as a Duff beer and as piquant as a curry slushy from Kwik-E Mart." ( The Washington Post)

Terrible Narration

Would you consider the audio edition of The Simpsons to be better than the print version?

Read, don't listen, to this book. Many books are enhanced by listening to it, this one is not. The narrator sounds bored as he reads the material and pronounces names incorrectly. He repeatedly pronounces Cartman as "Cart-man" and even calls Millhouse, MOllhouse.

Any additional comments?

The author inserts his opinion far too much. Quite honestly, I don't think I necessarily disagreed with him, but I when listening to a book about the ins and outs of a show/industry, I don't need to hear their personal opinion. This caused the book to lose credibility to me. Now I can only wonder what things were cherry-picked or taken out of context to support his opinions.

Dough?

The $impsons book's a good repeat, making time for the predictable. Do the Bart man

Doing the Bartman justice

great insight into the series that defined much of the 90s. most of the story is taken from public sources/interviews and well compiled to reflect how the Simpsons became the phenomena that it did

Story was fascinating, narration lackluster

I found everything about it fascinating. Sure I disagree with the whole anything after season 9 is bad mentality

But my biggest issue is with the narrator from mispronounceing names to just sounding disinterested. If I wasn't already super into the simpsons I wouldn't have listened to it all the way through

Tell Me More

John Ortved's book is filled with trenchant insights and a significant amount of bon mot. I enjoyed it immensely. Thanks.