Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Simpsons  By  cover art

The Simpsons

By: John Ortved
Narrated by: John Allen Nelson, Justine Eyre
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $17.62

Buy for $17.62

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Editorial reviews

One of the most beloved and successful shows in the history of television, The Simpsons has evolved from a controversial reflection of our lives to a mainstream source of pop culture. John Ortved reveals the events behind the scenes, taking an unflinching look at the betrayal, ambition, and comedy that marked the show's history. Narrators John Allen Nelson and the award-winning Justine Eyre perform the anecdotes from sources such as former Simpsons writer Conan O'Brien, actor Hank Azaria, and media magnate Rupert Murdoch with gusto and believability. Eyre and Nelson capture the nostalgic tone of the oral histories, their vocal stresses and hesitations hinting at both good and bad memories.

Publisher's summary

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)

What listeners say about The Simpsons

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    53
  • 4 Stars
    56
  • 3 Stars
    28
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    4
Performance
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    30
  • 4 Stars
    29
  • 3 Stars
    22
  • 2 Stars
    12
  • 1 Stars
    7
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    44
  • 4 Stars
    31
  • 3 Stars
    20
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Great Content, Awful Reading

I stopped listening at the 30 minute mark because the reader is so monotone and monotonous I couldn't take it anymore. Be sure to listen to the sound sample several times in a row to see if you can handle it.

That said, the content is great. I just couldn't get past the narration.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

A treat for Simpsons' fans

First and foremost this is a thoroughly researched, well written, very detailed account of the how The Simpsons came to be on TV. Beyond that Ortveld clearly has a deep seated belief that:

1) The Simpsons is the greatest show ever seen on TV
2) For the first 9 years
3) And terrible since then

Of course it's the "why" that makes the book enjoyable to listen to. The author's own ruminations on what makes the show so important to pop culture borders on religious fervor at times. In between those thoughts we get detailed accounts of all the back stabbings, broken promises, out of control egos, strikes, walk-outs, epic temper tantrums and sheer creative nutiness that happened behind the scenes. Honestly, some of it was really quite fascinating. Just to hear Conan O'Brian recount jumping around the writer's room like a "trained monkey" shouting "Jub, jub, jub, jub!" was worth the cost alone.
In the end it'd be hard to see how this book would appeal to anyone beyond the show's fans. But if you are a fan, lapsed or otherwise, jump in. I think you'll like it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

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.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Stopped listening just short of the half hour mark

Once again, a narrator who presents the book's content like a 1950's film strip. No emotion, barely any inflection or change in tone, and little to no understanding of what he was presenting. And Unlistenable to me, and I had high hopes for this one.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

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

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Dough?

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

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

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.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Seedy under belly of the Simpsons.

I was expecting such a hilarious subject matter to be so glib. It's interesting enough to find that the life of a sitcom writer is hell on earth but so much of the industry being mean and cruel was quite the bummer. When it does get into the jokes of the show it often repeats itself. Yes yes we all know George Bush Hates the Simpsons. Further more the narrator mis pronounces several names. I'd say fanatics only but fanatics all ready know this stuff.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

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.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

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

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!