The Simpsons: Then and Now

� Ah, yes. The Simpsons. A great show with great tastes

You may hear some people say, "WHAT? Family Guy has been around longer than The Simpsons!" Wrong. As most Simpsons fans know, The Simpsons began back in 1987 on, "The Tracy Ullman Show", as a small skit between the show and the commercials. There were many changes throughout the years...

1987-1992
During these years, the Simpsons began to rise in popularity. Many years went by, and the Simpsons just grew and grew. They were on everyday products like beach towels, board games, video game covers, magazines, even candy! The Simpsons has it all. But, the Simpsons you see now is different from these six years. During that time, The Simpsons had different personalities. Homer was angrier, and more stern. Plus is voice was deeper.� Bart was more wimpy, and not much of a daredevil. (Except in the episode, "Bart the Daredevil".) Lisa hasn't really changed except she used to not fight as much with Bart. Marge's voice was more scratchy back then, and is now more careless. Maggie...well...there's not much of a change to her other than her clothing color changes. (From white, to purple, to blue.) There are many episodes that show these, like, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", "The Telltale Head", and, "Some Enchanted Evening". But especially, "The Telltale Head". Yet, Homer's voice began to pick up around, "Life on the Fast Lane". But Marge's voice didn't change for a while. Around mid Season 2 it began to change.

� The Simpsons has changed now, and the next section will say why.

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1993-Present
So, now that we're out of the, "old school" Simpsons, it's time to take a step forward to the advanced Simpsons.

Around the early to mid 1993 year, The Simpsons went through a huge change. Homer became stupider, and more careless. Like on, "Stealing First Base", with Homer and the GPS. Bart warned Homer they were about to turn into a construction site. But Homer didn't listen, and just drove in there. Bart became more fearless and stronger, like in, "Kamp Krusty". Even in, "The Simpsons Movie", Bart laughed as he fell off the roof and hung by the gutters. Lisa's fighting change began in, "Lisa the Beauty Queen", when she joined that Little Miss Springfield pagent. She and Bart still fought, but not as often. Marge's voice began to pick up in Season 2, like the episode, "Simpson and Delilah". Maggie's change began in mid Season 1, around the, "The Telltale Head" period. Let's not forget the rest of the Simpson characters as well. Apu was more stern, but quickly changed in, "Krust Gets Busted", when he says, "Okay, okay. I know the procedure for armed robbery. I have been robbed many, many times." And Krusty himself! In Season 1 on, "The Telltale Head", his voice was much different, and very deep.

Around this time is when the Sideshow Bob problems kicked in. His last two crimes, framing Krusty, and attempting to murder Selma, both failed miserably, so he went at it again with his first serious Bart Simpson crime. He tried to kill Bart in the episode, "Cape Feare". The Simpsons had to move away from Springfield in fear of Bob trying to kill Bart. That was his BIG change. He was mainly focused on Bart until he went at it again and tried to kill both Bart and Krusty in a kamokazie mission. And in an upcoming episode, Bob actually moves next to the Simpsons! But what will he have in store for our little Simpson? You'll have to stay tuned on FOX to find out!

Finally, Itchy and Scratchy. Back then, the two cat and mouse characters weren't as popular as, "The Happy Little Elves", but that quickly changed in Season 4! The four episodes they were a big part of were, "The Front", "Itchy and Scratchy Land, "The Day the Violence Died", and, "Itchy and Scratchy: The Movie". Now, they're not used as much, but their last appearence was on Sunday's episode with Scratchy's head falling off the cliff. So much blood.

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So, The Simpsons have changed over the years, from voices, to clothing, to fights, to crimes, to sternness. But what if Matt Groening decides to chang them yet again? Will Dan Castellaneta still voice Homer? How about Nancy Cartwright? Kelsy Grammar? And who knows about Itchy and Scratchy? What will happen to the show itslef? Only time will tell!

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