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In television industry parlance, "showrunners" are the people, working either independently or as part of a small team, responsible for a television series as a whole.

Compared to movies, in which a single director has significant control over the filming of a single story, usually working with a small group of primary characters played by experienced actors, television is a bit more complicated. Each episode of a given television series might be scripted by a different writer, shot by a different director, and is more likely to be acted out by a broader cast with less experience under their belts. Despite all of this, viewers expect shows to exhibit a more or less consistent tone and artistic posture, and in the case of dramatic shows, to develop plots and themes which last several episodes, if not seasons. It's the job of a showrunner to make that happen.

Showrunners, experienced television writers with a feel for good scripting, might be brought on board by a production company looking for a steady hand at the tiller of their latest project, or they might get the position when one of their ideas is picked up for production. On the job, showrunners are their series' gods. They head up a show's writing team, coordinate story threads, polish staffers' scripts, write a few of their own, and massage the collective result into a coherent style. They're often responsible for creating and maintaining the series "bible", the master collection of series background and guidelines for writers to work from. Showrunners have significant control, either directly or through delegates, over casting, location selection, and even directorial tasks such as visual style and character interpretation. Though usually writers first, some showrunners may direct episodes of their shows, and in cases like sitcoms focused around a standup comedian, might be actors themselves. For all this work, showrunners are usually credited as "executive producer". Not all executive producers, however, are actually showrunners; some are closer in job description to film producers, concentrating on the funding, legal, and business end of the operation.

When a showrunner does his job, you get decent television. When he does it well, you get series that win critical praise and high ratings, bringing in the dough for their production companies and broadcasting channels. Though you might not remember the name of your favorite series' showrunners off the top of your head, you'd probably recognize some notable ones – Aaron Spelling, David E. Kelley, or Joss Whedon, for example. These showrunners occupy roughly the same place in television cosmology as famous directors like James Cameron, Stephen Spielberg, or Quentin Tarantino do in its movie equivalent, able to make or break a deal by their name and reputation alone, trusted by studios and viewers alike to deliver a product they can depend on.

"I would die a happy man if I could prove to you that Homer Simpson has the intelligence of a six-year-old." - Frank Grimes, The Simpsons

Frank "Grimey" Grimes was Homer Simpson's self-proclaimed enemy on TV's The Simpsons until his rage and bitterness led him to accidentially take his own life. During his life he earned everything the hard way and never let adversity get him down. Abandoned by his parents at age four, Frank never went to school. He spent his childhood years as a delivery boy, delivering toys to more fortunate children. Then, on his eighteenth birthday, he was blown up in a silo explosion. During his long recuperation he taught himself himself to hear and to feel pain again. As the years passed, he used his few leisure moments each day to study science by mail. At some point his love of prostitutes resulted in the birth of at least one child, Frank Grimes, Jr.. In 1997 he received his correspondence school diploma in nuclear physics (with a minor in determination). Springfield Nuclear Power Plant owner Charles Montgomery Burns saw Frank's story on the "Kent's People" segment of the evening news and hired him to work in Sector 7G next to safety inspector Homer Simpson (after being passed-over for the position of executive vice present in favor of a heroic dog). Unfortunately, Frank's straight-laced professional attitude and Homer's goof-offish lack of work ethic didn't mix well and the personality clash between the two of them set off a series of events that ended in Frank's death.

Homer was oblivious to it all, but Frank was jealous of Homer's large home, lobster dinners, loving family, nice clothes, and ability to keep his job despite a history of massive errors and a slacker attitude. Frank, a man who had to struggle for everything he had, saw Homer as an example of what is wrong with America: while Homer lazes through life and comes out on top, Frank works hard and can only afford to live in a one bedroom apartment above a bowling alley and below another bowling alley. Frank's jealousy turned to outright rage when he was unable to convince those around him that Homer was not the kind of man who should have any measure of success. Eventually he tricked Homer into entering a model-building contest for children, although Homer still came out on top and won the contest. Finally, in a final blaze of anger and frustration, Frank went on a mini-rampage at the office, berating Homer over and over by mimicing his habits and mannerisms and eventually electrocuted himself by grabbing a pair of bare high voltage cables. He was buried at the local cemetary, his grave marked by a poor quality headstone. His son would later try to avenge his death by attempting to murder Homer Simpson.

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References:
http://www.snpp.com

"Lousy Smarch weather!" - Homer Simpson, The Simpsons

It seems to be human nature to want more time. We want to live longer, have more time for fun activities, more time with loved ones, an extra day off, or a month dedicated to an extended 31-day orgasm. Unless the Earth changes its rate of rotation and/or revolution or we change the rate at which we measure the passage of time we aren't likely to get that extra time, but in the world of animation gaining an extra day, week, or month isn't all that uncommon.

The example of this occurance that is most often cited is the "Treehouse of Horror VI" episode of The Simpsons in which Marge Simpson introduces a flashback that takes place "... on the thirteenth hour of the thirteenth day of the thirteenth month," the thirteenth month being "Smarch", a twenty-eight day month that supposedly came into being as a result of a printing error on new Springfield Elementary School calendars. This moment is played more for laughs than it is a crucial part of the plot, however, and it is unlikely that an extra month was actually added to Springfield's reality. A similar gag occurs in the "If I'm Dyin', I'm Lyin'" episode of Family Guy in which Lois Griffin mentions a Dateline: Katilsday edition of the NBC news magazine show, adding that NBC invented an extra day - "Katilsday" - in which to add another night of Dateline to the schedule. Again, this is played for laughs and does not impact the plot of the show, although unlike the Smarch example it is implied that an extra day in each week now exists thanks to NBC.

Shifting behind the scenes to Futurama brings to mind the story of how, in the show's early days, the animation and production crew was running short of time to complete the first season's worth of episodes. Producer David X. Cohen had taken to printing up weekly production schedules and one day as a joke he added an eighth day to the week's schedule - "Blernsday" - which would allow for extra time to finish the show. This joke eventually gave rise to the name of the year 3000's favorite Earthican sport, Blernsball, and eventually worked its way into the show itself in Season Four's "Bender Should Not Be Allowed On TV" in which a Blernsday Night Blernsball in mentioned as being a weekly televised sports event. Also consider an episodic example of added time for Futurama: the events in Season Four's "Crimes of the Hot" in which Professor Farnsworth changes the distance between the Earth and the sun, resulting in an extra week in each year and cooler climates on Earth. President Richard Nixon proclaims the extra time "Robot Party Week", incidentially.

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References:
Futurama Season One DVD

"Nobody snuggles with Max Power. You strap yourself in and feel the 'G's!" " - Max Power (aka Homer Simpson) to Marge Simpson, "Homer to the Max"

When the new TV series Police Cops went on the air in 1999 Springfield resident and television junkie Homer Simpson was elated to see that the show's suave police officer hero shared the same name as his own. TV's Homer Simpson was a Don Johnson/Miami Vice kind of man, wearing kicky white scarfs and tossing bullets at criminals with enough force to act as a gunshot. The real Homer briefly enjoyed the fame that came with a celebrity moniker, but after the pilot episode of the series the creators changed the Simpson character into an overweight comic buffoon. Mocked by the public, the real Homer appealed to the show to change the character back, but his request was refused. Seeing no other way to rectify the situation, Homer went before Judge Snyder and sought a name change. After being denied the names Rembrandt Q. Einstein, Handsome B. Wonderful, and Hercules Rockefeller, Homer was given the only name on his wish list that he spelled correctly: Max Power (which he took from a hairdryer).

As Homer Simpson our hero was just an average guy, but as Max Power he became dynamic, decisive, magnetic, and uncompromising. He befriended local dynamo Trent Steele (a man who owns a company that makes computers... or it could be a computer that makes companies), took a liking to Thai food, began wearing shirts with his name monogrammed above the front pocket (his entire name along with some exclamation points and a pirate flag, not just initials), and even his boss started to remember his name. Before too long Max/Homer had hooked up with the local celebrity protest group in Springfield and after hobnobbing with Bill Clinton, Ed Begley, Jr., and Lorne Michaels, Max wound up at a "save the trees" rally where he accidentially cut down a cherished redwood while fleeing the police. Now that the name "Max Power" had come to be reviled by all, he had his name changed back to Homer Simpson, a name that turned out to be not so bad after all.

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References:
http://www.snpp.com

The David Steinberg Show is a long forgotten, short-lived TV show that aired briefly in 1972 on CBS as summer replacement series. Although short lived, it was an incubator for much of the comedic talent that transformed TV and movies in the '80s and '90s.

Tell me if this doesn't sound familiar: comedian David Steinberg plays a talk show host named David Steinberg. The story weaves the talk show format with behind the scenes stories. Yeah very Larry Sanders but remember this show came out in 1972. A reading of the cast lists reads like a Who's Who of comedy giants: John Candy, Martin Short, Joe Flaherty, Dave Thomas, Andrea Martin, and even Bill Saluga (who? More about him later).

A lot of the characters featured on The David Steinberg Show later appeared in slightly altered forms on SCTV, SNL, and movies. For example, on The David Steinberg Show Martin Short played a character named Johnny Del Bravo. Del Bravo was highly similar to Short's SNL character Jackie Rogers, Jr.

Bill Saluga, who would later get his 15 minutes as the " You can call me Ray" guy, actually played a character named Raymond J. Johnson, Jr. On The David Steinberg Show if someone referred to him as "Mr. Johnson" he respond with his lengthy "Now, you can call me Ray, and you can call me Ray J..." shtick.

David Steinberg himself went on to direct such TV shows as Newhart, The Golden Girls, Seinfeld, Mad About You, Friends, and Designing Women.

Who knew?