UK: “Imagine a world without The Simpsons, which next week celebrates its 300th edition, its birthday presents including a movie deal announced yesterday. But the most profitable and probably the greatest TV series ever was originally kicked into being only by the greediness of television copyright lawyers. Cartoonist Matt Groening was meeting network executives to discuss some scribbles for a Tracy Ullman TV series. He planned to recycle characters he had established in a newspaper strip but discovered just before he went in that such a move would involve mortgaging his drawings to the studio. Forced to invent some unknowns to sell them, he scratched on a pad a family which, in haste, he gave the names of his own parents and siblings: Homer, Marge, Bart and so on.” Read More >>>
