The essential Matt Groening: The best of The Simpsons, Futurama and other creations

Before he got into the world of television, Groening was just an underground cartoonist. He started drawing the comic strip “Life in Hell” in the late ‘70s, and it soon became a cult hit around Los Angeles. One of the people who became a fan of “Life in Hell?” James L. Brooks, who was looking for somebody to create little animated bumpers for “The Tracey Ullman Show.” The rest is history.

Groening didn’t want to give up the rights to his “Life in Hell” characters (he drew the comic all the way until 2012), so he quickly came up with a dysfunctional family and sold it to “The Tracey Ullman Show.” Thus, the Simpsons were born. The shorts, which look extremely crude by modern standards, gave us our first look at Homer, Bart, Marge, Lisa and some other folks around town. Nobody remembers anything about Ullman’s show save for the cartoon shorts.

The Simpson family couldn’t be contained by Ullman’s variety program. Prime-time cartoons for adults were way out of fashion when “The Simpsons” debuted on FOX at the end of 1989 with the Christmas episode “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire.” Then the show ended up changing television. It became the greatest show, perhaps even mankind’s greatest achievement, of all time. Not only did it have a great peak, but it also had insane longevity, as it’s now been on for over three decades.

Just creating “The Simpsons” would have been enough, but Groening did not rest on his laurels. He paired with “Simpsons” writer David X. Cohen to create “Futurama,” a science fiction animated show that debuted on FOX in 1999. While it didn’t have the lifespan or acclaim of Groening’s first TV creation, it was a brilliant show that simply will not die.

It feels like Netflix is happy to hand out deals to anybody who has ever made a mark in television or film, so naturally Groening would end up with a show on the streaming platform as well. This time he and his crew are tackling the fantasy genre, which has become increasingly popular in the last decade or so. While “Disenchantment” didn’t hit it out of the park right off the bat like “The Simpsons” or “Futurama,” its now a few seasons strong.

While Groening is credited with creating “The Simpsons,” which he very much did, his name isn’t actually on many episodes as a writer. “Colonel Homer” is one of those, though, and it’s the best of the bunch. In this classic episode, Homer becomes the manager for a rising country music star named Lurleen Lumpkin. It proved that Groening had more than just drawing chops.

Given the popularity of “The Simpsons,” a movie seemed inevitable. However, it ended up taking a while before it actually happened. “The Simpsons Movie,” which was created by a who’s who of legendary writers from the show, finally came out in 2007. Living up to expectations was nearly impossible but it was a good movie, and it made over $570 million at the box office. Plus, it gave us Spider-Pig.

“22 Short Films About Springfield” was an experimental episode where several different writers penned short vignettes featuring the residents of the most iconic city in television history. It’s not known which segment Groening wrote, but it’s the most beloved episode he’s ever contributed to (although that’s largely due to a segment that was written by Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein, which we will delve into later).

Groening got his start in comics, so it’s fitting that he used his success to start his own comics company. Bongo, which is named for a character from “Life in Hell,” primarily puts out comics based on characters from “The Simpsons” and “Futurama.” However, they have put out some other things as well over the years. For “Simpsons” fans who can’t get enough of their favorite family, any content featuring them is welcome.

Unlike “The Simpsons,” “Futurama” didn’t get to live forever. After 72 largely great episodes on FOX, the show was canceled. It wouldn’t stay dead, though. The creators were able to bring it back for not one, but four direct-to-DVD movies. They weren’t all great — “Bender’s Game” is in particular a little rough — but they were largely good and a welcome return for fans of the show.

When you are on for over 30 years, you start to set records. “The Simpsons” has picked up TV records in spades. It doesn’t just have animation records, though. “The Simpsons” first became the longest-running sitcom of al -time, and now that it has hit 750 episodes, it’s the longest-running scripted prime-time show in terms of episodes and seasons.

“The Simpsons” has a history of drawing writers into the show as background characters, including Groening. However, the show’s creator has gotten even more screen time. He’s had a speaking role, as himself, in “The Simpsons.” Of course, he also appeared as a head in a jar in “Futurama.”

“Who Shot Mr. Burns?” isn’t the best “Simpsons” episode, or episodes, as it were, but it’s a memorable TV achievement. It’s the only two-parter in the show’s history, and it was built around a mystery. The first part was a cliffhanger at the end of the sixth season, and there was even a contest for viewers to predict who shot Mr. Burns. It turned out it was Maggie.

When Jay Sherman, the main character from “The Critic,” appeared in a crossover episode of “The Simpsons,” Groening was so irritated by it that he took his name off the episode. The same thing didn’t occur when the characters from “Futurama” appeared in a “Simpsons” episode. Groening got to have his two creations come together, and it was pretty fun.

Springfield is a fake city, but many of us know it better than our own cities. The landmarks around town are strikingly familiar. That’s how Universal Studios in Florida and California both came to create areas of their parks filled with “Simpsons” stuff. In addition to a ride based on the show — there are two in the park in Orlando — there are also fake Kwik-E-Marts, Krusty Burgers, Lard Lad Donuts and more. If you love Springfield, it’s a must visit.

Groening likes to think of himself as a counterculture figure. As such, he was probably over the moon when George H.W. Bush, then president of the United States, called out “The Simpsons” by name. He said that families in America needed to be more like the Waltons and less like the Simpsons. It got Bush a fair amount of derision, and eventually the show would have the then-former president move in across the street from Homer and Co. It did not go well for him.

Once “The Simpsons” got popular, getting celebrities to voice characters, or themselves, became commonplace. Perhaps the most famous of those instances is “Homer at the Bat,” where Mr. Burns gets several actual MLB players to join his softball team as ringers. This episode became so beloved that Homer has actually been “elected” into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Groening hails from Portland, and actually a lot of characters are named for streets in the city. Naturally, eventually he had to show up on Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein’s Portland-based sketch show “Portlandia.” Groening plays himself in an episode that pokes fun at the proliferation of bootleg Bart Simpson merchandise that flooded the market in the '90s.

“The Simpsons” and Halloween go hand in hand, and we can thank the “Treehouse of Horror” episodes for that. Every season since the second, the show has done an episode for Halloween featuring three stories, usually of a spooky or horror-tinged variety. Some of them have been great. Some have, admittedly, been bad. In the end, though “Treehouse of Horror” is almost as memorable as the show as a whole at this point.

Of course there have been “Simpsons” video games! There have been dozens of them over the years. Its arcade game was quite good, and there were a couple of really enjoyable games that came out for the GameCube: “Road Rage” and “Hit and Run.” There was also a wrestling game that was awful, but even that was fascinating in its own way.

After the success of the “Futurama” movies and also the success of reruns on channels like Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, Comedy Central decided to bring back the show for a run of original episodes. “Futurama” lasted for a couple of more seasons, and they weren’t quite on par with the FOX run, but this time the show got a true series finale...or did they?

OK, let’s talk steamed hams. The concept of “steamed hams” comes from a Principal Skinner and Superintendent Chalmers story in “22 Short Films About Springfield.” Somehow, several years later, it took the internet by storm, getting memed left and right. That’s not the only Simpsons meme out there. In fact, the GIF of Homer receding back into a shrub was recently used in an actual episode of “The Simpsons.” Yes, “Simpsons” memes are in the actual show now.

Many publications have named “The Simpsons” the best show of all time. It has won 30 Annie Awards, which is an animation award show, and one Peabody. Then, of course, there are the Emmys. The show has won 31 of those. That’s all incredibly impressive. Perhaps the greatest achievement of them all? The word “d’oh” is in the dictionary!

Look, we can’t talk about “The Simpsons” and “Futurama” without mentioning some our favorite episodes. How about “Marge vs. the Monorail,” which was written by Conan O’Brien. “Entertainment Weekly” called “Last Exit to Springfield” the best episode of the show. “Homer’s Enemy” was controversial, but some people swear by it. There have been great “Futurama” episodes as well. Many people particularly love “The Devil’s Hands are Idle Playthings,” the final episode that aired on FOX. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. We could literally list dozens.

It’s not like Groening is retiring or his creations are going anywhere. “The Simpsons” is still airing new episodes, with no end in sight. In addition to "Disenchantment," "Futurama" has returned yet again. This time, on Hulu. Perhaps he even has another idea up his sleeve. Even if he doesn’t, Groening’s career is profoundly enviable. And it all started with some rabbit characters leading to a crudely drawn family on a forgotten variety show.