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.

Oral History of The Simpsons

I really like these types of “oral history / behind-the-scenes” books and found this one interesting.

The trouble is: there is no cast to interview so at times it just felt like the biography of the creators as opposed to a more dishy book about The Show.

Ok book but odd choice of narrator

The book was an oral history and the insights were interesting however the narrator pronounced names and catchphrases as if he had never heard them before. For a book about how the Simpsons catchphrases have become part of our vernacular and the characters iconic in global culture it was jarring to have the narrator mispronounce character names and use wrong inflections.

Worst. Narration. Ever.

What did you love best about The Simpsons?

The author did a great job of selecting quotes and linking them together to form his narrative.

Would you be willing to try another one of John Allen Nelson and Justine Eyre ’s performances?

Absolutely not. Justine was fine, but Mr. Nelson really needs to find another line of work. He's a fine actor on screen, but he seems like a different person here. I just went through my wish list to make sure that I did not have any other selections narrated by Mr. Allen.

Any additional comments?

How did they find the one American who has never seen The Simpsons and has little clue about pop culture to narrate this book? Who doesn't know how to pronounce "D'oh," Homer Simpsons exclamation that's so famous it made the dictionary? He mispronounced South Park's Cartman as CartMAN, like he was a superhero. U2's Bono sounded like Sonny Bono's last name. On top of that, his cadence was very off-putting and the whole performance was dry. Sorry, Mr. Nelson. This just ain't your bag.

Dough?

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