There is no doubt in my mind that anybody who is reading this book review column has at least heard of The Simpsons or at the very least, watched an episode of the popular TV program. The author of this book, John Orived, takes the readers through the history of the longest running animated program in television history.
The book begins with three chapters dedicated to the men considered to be the “godfathers” of The Simpsons, creator Matt Groening, producer Jim Brooks and producer Sam Simon. The three chapters discussing the lives of these three men up until the time when they became part of The Simpsons is very informative and worth reading without the rest of the book.
Author John Orived takes the reader deep into the creative process of The Simpsons, from the first step in creating an episode all the way through its airing on television. The true gem in this book lies in the authors details of what occurs in the famed writing room for The Simpsons, discussing the relationships between the room runners, head writers and other members of the staff.
The book talks about the formula that made The Simpsons a successful show, talking about how the writers used real life emotions and circumstances, applying them to a cartoon, and how that drew in the massive amounts of viewers the show did. Author John Orived goes into awesome detail about the success of the show during the so called “golden years” of the program.
As much praise as the author gives for the shows “golden years”, the book also goes into detail about how far the show has fallen in the past decade. Mainly discussing the failures of Al Jean, who many credit, along with Mike Scully, for destroying the formula that made the program so captivating when it all started over two decades prior.
One of the better chapters in this book is about all of the celebrities who appeared on the program since its start in the late 1980’s. Such celebrities as Michael Jackson, Albert Brooks, Drew Barrymore, Bob Hope, Phil Hartman, Kelsey Grammer, Kim Basinger, Alec Baldwin and a plethora of others had passed through the town of Springfield at some point in the shows history.
Besides the television show itself, the long anticipated feature film, The Simpsons Movie, was discussed in the book as well. The author notes how the all-star cast of writers that took care of the movie had enormous issues with the film and how chaotic it was until the movie finally hit theaters. The author also dissects how the film itself demonstrates how far The Simpsons have fallen since the show began many years earlier.
This book also features interviews and comments from the likes of Matt Groening, Sam Simon, Jim Brooks, Hank Azaria, Rupert Murdock, Conan O’Brien, Deborah Groening, Cameron Crowe, Brad Bird, Barry Diller and just about everyone else involved in the program. The only complaint I have about the interviews in the book is that the voice actors are barely interviewed in the book, which is a true shame.
Overall, this book is a must read for any fan of The Simpsons and for anybody who wonders what kind of work happens behind the scenes to make the show so successful.
You can buy this book at the PWInsider Amazon Store for only $17.82!
You can contact David Tees at bigtees360@yahoo.com
