The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History (2009)

Like so many others, I grew up with The Simpsons. The yellow family has always been there in my opinion (not surprising since the series had already been going on for a number of years before I was born) and I enjoyed watching the first roughly 15 seasons. Some time ago I came across this book by John Ortved and bought it for old times sake. 

However, it is an unofficial version of the facts and that means that there has been no cooperation from Matt Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon. These are three of the most important figures in the history of the Springfield family and their absence is not to be overlooked. Fortunately, Ortved manages to overcome this problem by using interviews that the men have given to other magazines (Groening apparently chatted with Playboy a lot). On the other hand, I do have my doubts about some of the statements because neither one could defend themselves. In addition, Ortved disproves some facts in the style of "and person x has claimed the opposite" but does not substantiate that information.

Ortved's style reads strangely, he summarizes something in a number of paragraphs and then adds short excerpts from interviews, and it took a while before I could appreciate the style. What is immediately striking is that there must be an enormous amount of time spent in creating this book. The research that Ortved and his colleagues have carried out is admirable, but their sources and footnotes are even more so. The book is actually only about 300 pages because it gives numerous notes and a short biography of each person appearing in the book after the last chapter.

Towards the end, Ortved somewhat goes overboard with his mentions of Family Guy, South Park and King of the Hill, but he provides a clear and structured picture of how one of the most famous series ever came about. Not from the mind of one person, but of an entire group. Interesting reading for the fan.

Writer: John Ortved
Subject: The Simpsons
Number of Pages: 352
Published by: Faber and Faber




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