The show includes an array of quirky characters: co-workers, teachers, family friends, extended relatives, and local celebrities. The creators originally intended many of these characters as one-time jokesters or for fulfilling needed functions in the town.
The Simpsons is a multi genre show. It is by mixing several established genres. In addition to being considered a prime-time animated sit-com, The Simpsons also shows flashes of drama, mystery, action/adventure, romance, and musicals, often all in the same half-hour. In effect, The Simpsons defies ordinary genre classification because of its mixture of so many varieties of programs.
Another unique characteristic of the show is that it mixes different types of genres in the form of a cartoon. Everything from drug use, censorship, racism, violence, and hatred to contemporary social movements, pop culture, and politics has been etched in celluloid by individuals. Despite its animated form, The Simpsons takes several different genres of television and blends them together to produce one of the most stylistically varied programs
VISUAL AND AUDIO ELEMENTS
The Simpsons' opening sequence is one of the show's most memorable hallmarks. All episodes open with the camera zooming through the show's title towards the town of Springfield. The camera then follows the members of the family on their way home. Upon entering their house, the Simpsons settle down on their couch to watch television. The opening was created by David Silverman, the first task he did when production began on the show. The series' distinctive theme song was composed by musician Danny Elfman in 1989, after Groening approached him requesting a retro style piece. This piece, which took two days to create, has been noted by Elfman as the most popular of his career.
One of the most distinctive aspects of the opening is that several segments are changed from episode to episode. Bart writes something different on the school chalkboard, Lisa may play a different solo on her saxophone, and a different visual gag accompanies the family as they enter their living room to sit on the couch.
In the opening of the show the usage of colour, sounds and graphics is done very well. The show portrays Springfield as a happy town where everyone gets along. To portray this the directors have used very bright colours such as orange and yellow to portray all the character in the sitcom. Also a very fast music tone is used in the starting of the show to show the hurry in which the family are in to get home and sit on their couch.
AUDIENCE AND TEXTS
In the beginning of its syndication run, Twentieth Television was faced with the dilemma of choosing a target audience in strategically marketing The Simpsons. Twentieth ended up emphasizing the adult appeal of The Simpsons to target 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. access periods. Competitors contended that because the cartoon is not a classic adult situation comedy, it should be targeted to children.
Twentieth executives supported their decision and countered criticism by citing that The Simpsons regularly beat or tied The Cosby Show during its Thursday 8 p.m. airing years earlier. The decision to make adults the target audience was a difficult one to make because there was no precedent of an animated series airing in prime access, where stations can determine if it has the straight adult appeal of a live-action situation comedy.
After being aired as a successful Christmas special in 1989, the show consistently scored high ratings in its prime-time slot on Sunday evenings. Since The Simpsons was a success from the outset, it cannot be said that the show suffered with cancellations or the like, as is common to many of the quality prime-time dramas. In fact, for a time, it was stacked up against the extremely successful The Cosby Show, and Twentieth Television executives noted it often beat out Cosby head-to-head in the ratings.
