The Simpsons (franchise)

The Simpsons is an American animated television series and multimedia franchise created by Matt Groening for .
The sitcom focuses on the titular, dysfunctional American family, consisting of the dimwitted father Homer, his ever-exasperated wife Marge, and their three children, the mischievous Bart, the gifted prodigy Lisa, and the voiceless infant Maggie, as they attempt to navigate daily life in their hometown of Springfield, inhabited by a sizeable extended cast of eccentric characters.
The family originally began life in 1987 through a series of animated shorts on the American variety show, , with their popularity leading to the creation of a fully fledged television series.
The show's first full episode, , premiered in the United States on 17 December 1989, a mere week and a half after Doctor Whos classic run concluded on UK television.
The show's run lasted the entirety of the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s; Doctor Who returned to British television during The Simpsons , and the 2023 specials aired during the . It is the longest-running American animated series, the longest-running American sitcom, and the longest-running American scripted primetime television series. It is the thirty-fourth longest-running television series of all time , coming in six places and ten years behind the combined classic and modern eras of Doctor Who.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_longest-running_television_shows_by_category
== Crossovers ==
The DWU officially crossed over with the series in the massive crossover toys-to-life video game, LEGO Dimensions, with the two franchises being one of the many to be represented in the game from launch.Homer Simpson, Bart Simpson, and Krusty the Clown appear as playable characters, allowing them to be used while playing through the A Dalektable Adventure and Dalek Extermination of Earth levels, to explore the Doctor Who-themed adventure world, and to ride K9 and the TARDIS.
In turn, this allowed the player to play as the Doctor and the Cyberman during the Meltdown at Sector 7-G and The Mysterious Voyage of Homer levels.
Homer and Krusty's dialogue throughout the game consists entirely of archival recordings from the show, as originally provided by their voice actor, Dan Castellaneta. Homer's exclusive voice clip that is activated when paired with the Doctor during gameplay is "Who are you?", lifted from the episode, .
The Doctor, if in his Twelfth incarnation, also has an exclusive voice clip when paired with Homer, newly recorded by Peter Capaldi: "I'd offer you a jelly baby, but, you'll take the whole bag".
The Cyberman also has a unique voice clip when paired with Homer, newly recorded by Nicholas Briggs: "You are incompatible for upgrade. We do not stock Cyber-armour in your size".
In promotional material for the game, further crossovers between the two franchises occur. In Endless Awesome, the Twelfth Doctor exits the TARDIS and Homer Simpson pops out of a donut. Later, in the Meet That Hero! story Supergirl Meets E.T., which features the Twelfth Doctor and the TARDIS, part of the gameplay footage featured as part of the narrative shows E.T. running through Springfield.
== References in the DWU ==
The show's first reference within the DWU came within the pages of the 1991 Doctor Who Magazine comic strip, Party Animals where, among the guests to attend Bonjaxx's birthday party on Maruthea was an individual who greatly resembled Bart Simpson.
The 1996 novel, GodEngine, contained a less explicit nod to the show, in the form of the two 23rd century Martian colonies of Springfield and Shelbyville, in reference to the family's hometown and its neighbouring town with which it has a fierce rivalry.
The 1997 novel, Vampire Science, contained two references, both coming courtesy of Sam Jones. At one point, Sam tells her teacher that her role model is Lisa Simpson. At another point, a confrontation with a vampire prompts Sam to utter the exclamation first coined and popularised by Homer Simpson: "D'oh!"
In the 2004 novel, The Tomorrow Windows, Martin and Trix MacMillan were said to have drank tea from Simpsons mugs.
Three stories released in 2008 contained nods to catchphrases famously spoken by the show's characters: in the audio story, Cuddlesome, the titular toys could be heard uttering two phrases commonly attributed to Bart Simpson: "¡Ay, caramba!" and "Eat my shorts!" A month later, the television story, Planet of the Ood, saw another utterance of Homer Simpson's famous "D'oh!" exclamation, as a voice setting for one of the Ood sold by Ood Operations. Later in the same series, The Doctor's Daughter has Martha Jones introduce herself to the Hath in the same way that Bart Simpson used to: "I'm Martha Jones, who the hell are you?".
Also in 2008, The Sarah Jane Adventures story, The Day of the Clown, features a child yelling at Odd Bob to "Take a hike, Krusty!", a reference to the character, Krusty the Clown.
In the second part of the Tenth Doctor's last TV story, The End of Time, as Rossiter and Addams rescue the Doctor by hastily rolling him away in the stretcher he's strapped to, the Doctor frustratedly pleads for them to stop and undo his restraints and, after being bumpily rolled down a flight of stairs, exclaims, "Worst. Rescue. EVER!", a reference to the catchphrase famously coined by Comic Book Guy, used when declaring something to be the "worst ever".
Twenty-four years after the instance in Party Animals, another DWM strip, Space Invaders!, saw the appearance of another Bart Simpson lookalike being eaten by Rigellan Hyper-Kraken.
== DWU references on The Simpsons ==
=== Television ===
In the episode, , the Fourth Doctor (or perhaps Tom Baker in costume) appears as a member of the "esteemed representatives of television".
A number of references throughout the series come curtesy of the reoccurring character referred to as "Comic Book Guy", such as in the episode , also from season 7, where he makes reference to a "Doctor Who [episode watching] marathon".
In the episode, , the family go to a science fiction convention at which a Doctor Who table can be seen, with a costumed Tom Baker giving autographs while sitting beside the TARDIS.
In the show's tenth annual - a part of the - in the middle segment, "Desperately Xeeking Xena", Comic Book Guy, under the supervillainous guise of "The Collector", has a lair in which the Fourth Doctor and other famous sci-fi and fantasy-related individuals are concealed in giant plastic bags. The Collector refers to him as "Doctor Who".
In the episode, , two Daleks make a brief background cameo in the new Cosmic Wars (a parody of Star Wars) film that the family go to see.
Also in the fifteenth season, a Doctor Who table not unlike the one mentioned above can be seen at a convention in the episode, , although this instance comes with a discoloured TARDIS.
In the episode, , Homer calls a character voiced by "Doctor Who".
In the episode, , a futuristic London is patrolled by bobby-wearing Daleks.
In the episode, , an outline of a Dalek can be seen in the bottom of T-Rex's drawer.
Also in the twenthy-fourth season, in , Alfred Hitchcock is seen piloting the TARDIS in a British movie.
In the episode, , the episode's titular character has an arm cast that he had signed himself with various famous and fictional names, two of which are "The TARDIS" and "Dalek #7".
The twenty-fifth annual - part of -in the middle segment, "A Clockwork Yellow" (a parody of the film ) one of the "nasties" put into a hat is to "tell each "Doctor Who" they're the worst".
In the season 29 episode Springfield Splendor, the Doctor's TARDIS can be seen among other pop culture references at Bi-Mon-Sci-Fi-Con.
In the episode , Homer's temporary step brother Calvin has a picture of a TARDIS on his pajamas.
In the season 35 episode Murder, She Boat, people dressed as the First, Thirteenth, Tenth, and Eleventh Doctors appear playing "pickleball".
Simpsonstombaker.jpg|The Fourth Doctor. ()
DW the simpsons 10x09 mayored to the mob.jpg|Doctor Who at a science fiction convention. ()
Treehouse of Horror X Dr Who.png|The Fourth Doctor held captive in the Collector's Lair. ()
Daleks (Co-Dependents Day).png|A pair of Daleks in Cosmic Wars: The Gathering Shadow. (Co-Dependents Day)
Simpsons My Big Fat Geek Wedding Dr Who.png|The Fourth Doctor and the TARDIS, among others, at a convention. (My Big Fat Geek Wedding)
Simpsons police Daleks.png|Dalek-like police robots in London. (Holidays of Future Passed)
Simpsons Hitchcock Tardis.jpg|Alfred Hitchcock exiting the TARDIS. ()
Diggs arm cast.png|Diggs' arm cast, featuring signatures reading "the TARDIS" and "Dalek #7". (Diggs)
Tell Each Doctor Who They're the Worst.png|A note in a hat reading "TELL EACH "DOCTOR WHO" THEY'RE THE WORST". (Treehouse of Horror XXV)
Springfield Splendor TARDIS.png|The Doctor's TARDIS at Bi-Mon-Sci-Fi-Con. (Springfield Splendor)
Calvin TARDIS pajamas.png|Calvin wearing pyjamas depicting the Doctor's TARDIS. (Step Brother from the Same Planet)
Murder, She Boat - Doctor Who.png|The Thirteenth, First, Tenth, and Eleventh Doctors play pickleball. (Murder, She Boat)
===Comics===
In "Sense and Censorability" (Simpsons Comics #39), Comic Book Guy, after ending up in court, delivers an opening statement that includes, among other geeky references, a mention of the Draconian Empire.
In "Hail to the Cat" (Simpsons Comics #87), Springfield finds itself at the centre of a British invasion consisting of a mob of many famous British figures, both real and fictional, including the Fourth Doctor.
In "The Town That Time Forgot" (Simpsons Comics #121), when Springfield abolishes daylight savings time, Comic Book Guy notices a loophole in the new law that allows one to set their clock any way they want to, prompting him to remark, "Like Dr. Who, time is no longer my master!"
In "Snake's Kin" (Simpsons Comics #167), Comic Book Guy states that he just has "a dozen "Doctor Who" DVDs and an economy-sized roll of fried dough".
In "One Flu Over Springfield" (The Simpsons Winter Wingding #5), Comic Book Guy, once again, takes a plane to get away from a flu epidemic in Springfield. On the flight, he promises his seatmate that he'll try to refrain from reciting dialogue from the Doctor Who episodes he'll be watching for the duration.
The graphic novel compilation, The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Hoodoo Voodoo Brouhaha, contains a series of original pages under the title, "Comic Book Guy's Best Costumes Ever", in which he showcases some of his old costumes from past conventions and events. One of the costumes featured is "Composite Dr. Who", a costume consisting of different items of clothing from the first seven Doctors, worn to Who-Con 1993.
In "Small-Time Travellers" (Simpsons Comics #225), Lisa remarks that Bart's apparent time machine is as big as a house, as Bart wields a "sonic laser gun", referencing the TARDIS and sonic screwdriver respectively. Later in the story, Professor Frink's Frinkomatic Chrono-Corrector also acts as a parody of the TARDIS.
In "The Once and Future Bartman Part Three: Together Again for the First Time" (Bartman Spectacularly Super Secret Saga #3), Bartman and Houseboy (superhero alter-egos of Bart and Milhouse) travel through time via a Time Vortex-like wormhole in which the Doctor's TARDIS can be clearly seen.
In "Future Cop!" (Chief Wiggum's Felonious Funnies one-shot), Chief Wiggum acts as a cop in the future, where he is called to put an end to a riot at a space jail, in which one of the inmates is a Dalek.
Comic Book Guy Draconian Empire reference.png|Comic Book Guy references the Draconian Empire, among other pop culture references. (Sense and Censorability)
Dr. Who Simpsons Hail to the Cat.png|The Fourth Doctor invades Springfield. (Hail to the Cat)
Time Is No Longer My Master.png|Comic Book Guy references Dr. Who. (The Town That Time Forgot)
Snake's Kin Doctor Who.png|Comic Book Guy mentions Doctor Who. (Snake's Kin)
One Flu Over Springfield Doctor Who reference.png|Comic Book Guy states that he'll try to refrain from reciting quotes from Doctor Who episodes he'll be watching. (One Flu Over Springfield)
Composite Dr. Who Comic Book Guy.png|Comic Book Guy dressed as a "Composite Dr. Who". (Comic Book Guy's Best Costumes Ever - Part 1)
Small-Time Travelers Doctor Who.png|Several references to the Doctor Who series in Small-Time Travellers.
Simpsons Comics TARDIS.jpg|The Doctor's TARDIS. (The Once and Future Bartman Part Three: Together Again for the First Time)
Simpsons Comic Dalek.jpg|A Dalek inmate in a space prison. (Future Cop!)
===Books===
In Comic Book Guy's Book of Pop Culture, the titular character has a dress mannequin adorned with props and costume pieces from different superhero and sci-fi franchises, including the Fourth Doctor's scarf.
In Flanders' Book of Faith, one of the entries in the "Ned-Approved Family-Safe TV Viewing Log" is a show called Reverend Who, with the description; "the Reverend travels 5,000 years into the past to help early humans survive a dinosaur attack."[[File:Table of Geeky Delights.jpg|thumb|left|Lisa Simpson's "Table of Geeky Delights", featuring several references to elements of Doctor Who. (Lisa Simpson's Guide to Geek Chic)]]Lisa Simpson's Guide to Geek Chic contains a "Table of Geeky Delights", set out like the periodic table. Three of the elements are The Doctor (Dc), Gallifrey (Gf), and TARDIS (Td). The Doctor's TARDIS also appears in the background of the page.
===The Simpsons: Tapped Out===
[[File:Gaaah! By Dr. Who's Tardis, I'm back!.png|thumb|Database mentions Dr. Who's TARDIS. (The Simpsons: Tapped Out)]]
 is a freemium mobile game which allows the player to create their own version of Springfield. Doctor Who references have appeared in in-game dialogue.
When the character, Database, is unlocked, the first thing he says is, "Gaaah! By Dr. Who's Tardis, I'm back!"
[[File:Tapped Out Comic Book Guy Dr. Who's sonic screwdriver.png|left|thumb|Comic Book Guy mentions his "Dr. Who sonic screwdriver". (The Simpsons: Tapped Out)]]
In the game's Superhero update, Comic Book Guy, when dressed as the Collector (from the aformentioned Treehouse of Horror episode), mentions his "Dr. Who sonic screwdriver".
In the Thanksgiving 2018 update, Homer mentions how he tried using the event's collectable gold tokens on a payphone to see if he could travel back in time "like Bill & Ted", but ended up travelling back in time like "stupid Doctor Who".
== Connections ==
===Regular actors===
Dan Castellaneta, who reprised his roles of Homer and Krusty in LEGO Dimensions, is among the show's five regular cast members, having appeared in every episode not just as the aforementioned two, but an extensive variety of other characters including, but nowhere near limited to, Abraham "Grandpa" Simpson, Mayor Quimby, Groundskeeper Willie, Sideshow Mel, and Barney Gumble.
Prolific American voice actor, Frank Welker, the voice of such LEGO Dimensions characters as Scooby-Doo and Slimer, provided the vocalisations of various animal characters during the show's first thirteen seasons, including those of the Simpson family pets, Santa's Little Helper and Snowball II.
===Guest stars===
Neil Patrick Harris, who played the Toymaker in the 60th Anniversary special The Giggle, voiced himself (as a reenactment of Bart Simpson on the family's TV) in the episode, .
Stephen Hawking, who was interviewed for Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor, was a reoccurring guest voice on the series, beginning with the episode, .
Britney Spears, who played herself in Looking for Pudsey, appeared, also as herself, in the episode, .
Ian McKellen, who voiced the Great Intelligence in The Snowmen, appeared as himself in the episode, .
Simon Cowell, who appeared as himself in Looking for Pudsey, appeared as Henry in the season 15 episode, , and as himself in the episode, .
John DiMaggio, who voiced Jake the Dog in LEGO Dimensions, reprised his role as Bender from Futurama in the episode, , and in the episode, .
Ricky Gervais, who both wrote and starred in Extras: The Special, also wrote and starred in episode , and also appeared in the episode, .
Russell Brand, who appeared as himself in 2020: The Movie, also appeared in the aforementioned Angry Dad: The Movie, again, as himself.
Neil Gaiman, a writer of various Doctor Who related fiction beginning with series 6's The Doctor's Wife, appeared as himself in the episode and as Snowball II in the episode .
Benedict Cumberbatch, who played various roles in Big Finish audios, appeared as the Prime Minister and Severus Snape in the episode , and as Quilloughby in the episode, .
Richard Dawkins, who appeared as himself in The Stolen Earth, appeared, also as himself, in the episode, .
Christopher Lloyd, who voiced Doc Brown in Doctor, Doctor, Doctor, appeared as in the episode .
Michael Sheen, who provided the voice of House in The Doctor's Wife, voiced in season , .
Jennifer Saunders, who played a Silurian in the skit, The Silurian Disruption, voiced Phoebe Pratt in the season 28 episode, .
Eugene Mirman, who was an interview subject on various BBC America documentaries, voiced his character, Gene Belcher, in a crossover appearance in the opening couch gag of the episode, .
Peter Serafinowicz, who voiced the Fisher King in Before the Flood, voiced a CEO in the season 30 episode, .
Michael Palin, who was the Voice in the Torchwood audio story Tropical Beach Sounds and Other Relaxing Seascapes 4, voiced a museum curator in episode, .
Olivia Colman, who played the mother and Prisoner Zero in The Eleventh Hour, voiced Lily in the season 32 episode, .
Stephen Fry, who voiced the Minister of Chance in Death Comes to Time, and played C in Spyfall Part One, voiced various characters in the season 32 episode, .
Alan Cumming, who played James I in The Witchfinders appeared as in the episode, 
Brian Cox, who played Sydney Newman in An Adventure in Space and Time, and provided the voice of the Ood Elder in The End of Time Part One, voiced Kostas Becker in the two-part season 33 episode, .
Elizabeth Banks, who played Wyldstyle in LEGO Dimensions, voiced Persephone Odair in episode .
Peter Jackson, who appeared as himself in The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot, also appeared in the aforementioned Thirst Trap: A Corporate Love Story, again, as himself.
David Tennant, who played the Tenth Doctor and Fourteenth Doctor, and Karen Gillan, who played Amy Pond, voiced Pa and Maisie MacWeldon respectively in the season 35 episode . Tennant and Gillan are the first Doctor Who regulars to appear on the show.
===Television channels===
In its native United States, The Simpsons airs on the Fox network. In 1996, the Doctor Who television movie had its US premiere on the network, five days before the conclusion of The Simpsons' .
In the United Kingdom, after seven years of only being viewable on cable and satellite television, the BBC obtained the terrestrial broadcasting rights to The Simpsons in 1996. It began airing on BBC One on Saturday, 23 November of that year (incidentally, Doctor Whos 33rd anniversary), with said terrestrial premiere being the main cover story of the 3800th issue of Radio Times.https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/f4f5a21499ec407a916366e6ddd9724f It moved to BBC Two just a few months later, were it became a popular mainstay, so much so that it received its own dedicated "Simpsons Night" in June 2000, not unlike Doctor Whos own dedicated night on the channel seven months prior. The show remained on the channel until the BBC relinquished the rights to Channel 4 in 2004.
Overall, the BBC aired the show's first eleven seasons during its time as broadcaster, including the Doctor Who references depicted in , , , and . The Simpsons universe briefly returned to BBC Two on 5 July 2015 with the UK premiere of the crossover episode, .
, the American variety television series on which the Simpsons originated via animated shorts was, itself, broadcast on BBC Two in the years prior, ironically, with the shorts removed. According to , the BBC believed "[the shorts] would never catch on".https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/films/107675/Brit-comedienne-Tracey-Ullman-can-t-crack-the-UK
In Australia, Network Ten originally aired the series, beginning in 1991, and lasting until they lost the rights in 2014, meaning it shared the channel with the first two series of Torchwood and, possibly, some episodes of K9.
In New Zealand, the show currently airs on TVNZ 2, where Doctor Who itself was also broadcast from 2018 to 2020.
Past seasons of the show are also streamed worldwide on Disney+, a platform it currently shares with Doctor Who outside of the UK and Republic of Ireland.
===Simpsons Comics===
A comic book series titled Simpsons Comics ran from 1993 to 2018. Originally published in the United States, it was also exported to other territories, including the United Kingdom, where it is published by Titan Publishing Group. This UK iteration continues to run, though only reprinting older strips, due to the ending of its US counterpart. As shown above, the comics have also contained several references to Doctor Who.
Andrew Pepoy, who illustrated the Second Doctor's prologue to Supremacy of the Cybermen, drew multiple stories for the series.
The original American incarnation also took part in the annual Free Comic Book Day event.
===Miscellaneous===
Hans Zimmer, who contributed to the charity record, Doctor in Distress, composed the soundtrack to , and the theatrical short film, . He was also a co-composer on . Following the dismissal of longtime composer Alf Clausen, Zimmer was credited as the producer of the regular series' score by .
The aforementioned 3800th issue of Radio Times was the first in a handful of issues in subsequent years to promote The Simpsons on their covers. One other notable instance was the cover to issue 4281https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/5b978ceb431c44d89e6fdda7c3f53e84, with a cover illustration promoting the British broadcast of the episode, , sharing space with an additional cover tagline that promoted that week's broadcast of Tooth and Claw.
==External links==
*Doctor Who at Wikisimpsons
==Footnotes==
Category:Real world series with DWU connections
Category:Television overviews
Category:Comic overviews
Category:Prose fiction overviews