The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History

In 2007, John Ortved wrote an article for Vanity Fair titled "Simpson Family Values". It was an oral history of The Simpsons, featuring interviews with several of the crew and cast members.[5] According to Ortved, the producers of The Simpsons decided not to cooperate and be interviewed for the project because they had heard that he was asking questions about Sam Simon. Simon, one of the first executive producers of the show, had left after the fourth season after clashing with creator Matt Groening and executive producer James L. Brooks.[4] Ortved believes that the producers "were upset [that] the myth of The Simpsons would be challenged."[4] He still wrote the story, without the approval of the Simpsons producers.[6]

Shortly after the article was published, an agent suggested that Ortved write a full book.[7] They put together a proposal and shopped it to several publishers, before being signed by Faber and Faber.[7] According to Ortved, "When word of this got out, Brooks sent a letter to every current Simpsons employee, and all the former ones he thought mattered, asking them not to speak to me. The writers’ agents sent denial after denial for interview requests and eventually stopped responding altogether."[6] He added, "There was one 'D'oh!' in James L. Brooks and the Gracie Films master plan: Many people don’t like James L. Brooks. [...] The book I ended up writing quotes more than 75 sources—some of them Simpsons staffers, former and current, who opened up because they considered his and Matt Groening’s attempt to stomp on my project very 'un-Simpsons.'"[6]

Ortved decided to write the book as an oral history because he found that every person interviewed had a different perspective on the events. His decision was "reinforced" when he found out that the producers of the show would not cooperate.[7]

According to National Public Radio reviewer Linda Holmes, "Ortved's thesis, essentially, is that lots of people are responsible for the success of The Simpsons, and their creator, Matt Groening, has too often been viewed as the sole source to the detriment of others who also deserve to be praised."[3] The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History is an oral history of the show, examining its beginnings, rise to success, impact on pop culture, as well as the people behind the show, including the animators, writers and producers. The content consists mostly of quotations from various figures, which are tied together by comments from Ortved. The book includes entire chapters devoted to key figures such as Matt Groening, James L. Brooks, Sam Simon and Conan O'Brien.[9] The book's foreword was written by Canadian author Douglas Coupland.[10] The final chapters of the book consist mostly of commentary from Ortved, in which he states that he believes that quality of the show has declined since its early years.[11]

Reviews of the book were mostly positive. Linda Holmes of National Public Radio felt that "most of Ortved's work provides a solid basic history."[3] Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly gave the book a "B+", writing, "you have to admire all the work that went into this unauthorized history." He noted that he "felt a little bad afterward for the central players who got sucker punched. [...] The subsequent testimony about the empire Groening created is contentious and mesmerizing. It's also conflicting and compromised, since some of the biggest fishies of all did not talk to Ortved. [...] The reader should be wary when sources assert that Groening is little more than an affable frontman for the show or that Brooks sometimes wielded his power imperiously: The guys aren't there to defend themselves. In most cases, though, Ortved amasses quotes from many sources to establish such points, so the negative stuff doesn't seem gratuitous."[16] Michael C. Lorah of Newsarama described the book as a "very effective, very worthwhile read" but felt that Ortved's "editorializing" was "probably the most distracting element of the book."[17] Michael Hingston of See Magazine called the book "a well-told patchwork that shines formidable light on the show" and gave it three and a half stars. However, he felt the book was released prematurely and should have been published after the end of the show, also criticizing Ortved's narration and the lack of quotes from Matt Groening or James L. Brooks.[18] Kyle Ryan of The A.V. Club pointed out that the book has "numerous factual errors" that "may only trip the alarms of hardcore fans, but even casual readers may be put off by the book's redundancy." He concluded that despite flaws, the "insight into its routines and eccentric personalities can't help but fascinate."[19]

Ryan Bigge of The Toronto Star felt that Ortved's "diligence and research is faultless, and [he] has worked hard to avoid writing another insider-y true-fans-only look at the show. Still, certain chunks of the book are unlikely to appeal to casual Simpsons viewers. [..] By mixing journalism about yellow people with a bit of yellow journalism, Ortved provides a tough, necessary look at Homer Simpson's odyssey that would make Kent Brockman proud."[20]

Bryan Appleyard of The Sunday Times criticized the format of the book, writing that it was "alternately engrossing and infuriating book [...] It is infuriating because of a fatal structural decision taken by the author and/or his publisher to include long quotations from interviewees as breaks in the text. This destroys narrative coherence and, for much of the time, makes reading a chore." Appleyard concluded that it is "an important and controversial contribution to the ever-expanding scope of Simpsons studies."[21]

Several critics felt that the final chapters, in which Ortved gives his opinion of the current state of the show, were out of place when compared with the rest of the book.[3] Ken Tucker felt Ortved's "complaints aren't original or illuminating."[16] Linda Holmes wrote that "After spending most of the book using actual reporting to flesh out the facts, Ortved largely turns the floor over to himself for the part of the book in which he describes the creative decline of the show and tries to figure out whose fault it is by not infrequently simply declaring, among other things, which episodes are good and which are bad, sometimes without explaining himself at all."[3] Michael C. Lorah felt that Ortved's criticism of the later seasons was "disconcerting", noting that "It's not that he's wrong, but it seems unnecessary and at times even petty when cast against his own fawning over the undeniably massive influence of the show on current pop culture and comedy."[17]

• Ortved, John (2009). The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History. Greystone Books. pp. 248–250. ISBN 978-1-55365-503-9.

• An Uncensored, Unauthorized History at Macmillan.com