THE SIMPSONS: AN UNCENSORED, UNAUTHORIZED HISTORY PDF, EPUB, EBOOK John Ortved | 332 pages | 12 Oct 2010 | FABER & FABER | 9780865479395 | English | New York, NY, United States The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History PDF Book The Overall interesting and fun to read. Jan 07, William rated it it was ok. Namespaces Article Talk. For all the reader knows, the words could have been uttered by the speakers ten minutes or ten years apart. Far from detracting from the series being produced now, the book gave me a new appreciation about the best programme ever made. The most apt analogy about the series is made towards the end of the book and one that I'll repeat here. Get A Copy. The lack of cooperation also frees Ortved from having to be objective in his writing, allowing others to present only one side of the story. Brooks refused to cooperate with him for the book: Brooks sent a letter to every current Simpsons employee, and all the former ones he thought mattered, asking them not to speak to me. View 2 comments. His writing is also simply awkward or difficult to understand at times. All rights reserved. Spawned as an animated short on The Tracy Ullman Show —mere filler on the way to commercial breaks—the series grew from a controversial cult favorite to a mainstream powerhouse, and after nineteen years the residents of Springfield no longer simply hold up a mirror to our way of life: they have ingrained themselves into it. American cover art. What you hear will likely be out of context, sometimes probably even incorrect, contradictory. Original Title. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Shortly after the article was published, an agent suggested that Ortved write a full book. Mar 26, Soph rated it really liked it. Egregious typos and factual errors were rampant; some people's names were spelled in two different ways in the same paragraph--in the same sentence in one case. And any good journalist should know better than to try to get away with that kind of sloppy subjectivity. This short story provided inspiration for his novel Microserfs. Also, as an aside, John Swartzwelder, the reclusive writer who left the show to write humor novellas, only gets about seven pages devoted to him but he's easily the most fascinating, mysterious and funniest guy profiled. Contrary to popular belief, The Simpsons did not spring out of one man's brain, fully formed, like a hilarious Athena. Still, it's great to read eyewitness accounts about the genesis and continuation of what is undeniably a cornerstone of pop culture for the last twenty years. The ESPN one did a much better job at telling a complete story. They did not interview hardly any of the cast members, I think most noticeably missing is Dan Castellaneta. The only time they quote him is from sporadic interviews here and there. They looked the same, acted plenty the same, but they weren't there any more, not really, and it broke your heart. As a result he has created an unauthorized history of our favorite family, pulled together from what seems to be extensive sets of interviews with many key people in and around the Simpsons universe as well as pu Amazingly, considering that The Simpsons has been on the air for 20 years now, there has been no official, or authorized, history of the show written. There is no way to know. And I said, 'John, what would you do if you had all the money that you could spend? It's almost like being at a friend's house while her family is arguing-- you know it's none of your business, you don't want this discussion to taint your view of certain members of the family, but for some reason you just can't tune them out. Ortved did interview a number of sources for the book, including Hank Azaria , a cast member of the show since the second season, Fox Broadcasting Company owner Rupert Murdoch and former writer Conan O'Brien. I hear Matt Groening did not like this book and I can't blame him. I liked the "oral history" format and how the book was put together. Dramatis Personae. You see, no one of importance would speak to Ortved for this book, and he is here to spend pp. Download as PDF Printable version. October [1]. Want to Read saving…. This is an almost inevitable byproduct of writing a book about a studio or show that is still in progress. John Ortved. I can see why people wouldn't love this - not the best written book you will ever read and aside from the bunches of loosely strung together second hand quotes, John Ortved comes across as quite nasty, taking not-so-subtle swipes at those he feels are responsible for not producing gold all the time or those who have perhaps fallen out with his favourites. And I thought, Man, I'm just gonna ask John Swartzwelder a random question and see what he says in return. With it's influence and early and consistent quality, The Simpsons can be compared to The Beatles. I love all three. The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History Writer I have read books before where it was primarily interviews telling the story. Want to Read Currently Reading Read. Close View image. As a result he has created an unauthorized history of our favorite family, pulled together from what seems to be extensive sets of interviews with many key people in and around the Simpsons universe as well as pulled from various printed interviews and articles by others who may not have been willing to participate. Perhaps most striking about the subjectivity in this book is the degree to which the author overtly dislikes Matt Groening. May 10, Steven Yenzer rated it liked it. Your membership will help us continue to deliver the stories that are important to you. The book includes entire chapters devoted to key figures such as creator Matt Groening and James L. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. It's an intriguing yet hilarious tale, full of betrayal, ambition, and love. Meanwhile, George Meyer and others get scads of attention. Every book, t-shirt or doodad I saw, I began to purchase. On top of the the book can move slow and feel more like a college lecture on tv history. If I insist on logical, definable criteria from my friends, you better believe I demand them from journalists. Even if you are mostly trying to focus on the golden years, those are some important people to talk to. Escape the Present with These 24 Historical Romances. A few moments of tension and drama but nothing like the out- and-out Machiavellian backstabbing found in 'Hatching Twitter' punctuate what is otherwise a pleasantly collaborative and seemingly joyful tale. This was long after the fad of The Simpsons had faded and merchandising, while still plentiful in certain areas, had subsided to a large degree. It lost its soul and went from being about an idiot who loves his family even though he's an idiot to being about an idiot who is an idiot and does things that are idiotic irrespective of his family. Often, it felt more like overhearing gossip as opposed to dissecting the history of what happened, as some people's quotes seemed to be partially about settling scores from the past. Italiano Edit links. Brooks refused to cooperate with him for the book:. The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History Reviews Ortved is talking about how the actors get paid and he makes reference to Ray Romano's show, which he describes as "the most ironically named sitcom of all time, Everybody Loves Raymond. Definitely recommended for any casual fan. Oct 22, Timothy rated it did not like it Shelves: The unauthorized portion of the article comes from the fact that next to no one currently working on the show, including heavy hitters like Matt Groening and James Brooks cooperated with Ortved. I took my time with this, reading it in This was a challenging book to read because most of it wasn't in the author's voice although there were passages in it that were his , but rather quotes from the various personalities involved with The Simpsons TV show. Dec 06, Jinny Chung rated it liked it. Would definitely recommend for any fans of the Simpsons or animation history. Dec 31, Sam rated it really liked it. So much of this is about the backstage jockeying -- or credit, for money -- and not the actual show. In most cases, though, Ortved amasses quotes from many sources to establish such points, so the negative stuff doesn't seem gratuitous. It seems Ortved is a self- ordained expert on which writers, showrunners, etc. He soon started work on his first novel Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture which was published in John Ortved. Oct 27, Sean rated it it was ok. This generation was termed "Global Teens". I hear Matt Groening did not like this book and I can't blame him. The subsequent testimony about the empire Groening created is contentious and mesmerizing. That's the Empire State Building! That may have helped. I had always been a big Simpsons fan since they were first on Tracey Ullman. Once the show went into syndication and I was a freshman or sophomore in high school, they figured that there wasn't anything I could hear and repeat in a sing-song voice at school that was any worse than what the show would say.