Watching Simpsons

If one is expecting, someday, for Matt Groening and producers to resolve the Fry and Leela love drama, don’t get your hopes up when it comes to the new Futurama DVD, “The Beast With A Billion Backs.”

The feature length episode treats a number of story arcs with the same theme: love. In the previous straight to DVD release, Bender’s Big Score, the issue of Fry and Leela came off with the standard science fiction time travel complexity. Basically, Leela falls for an older, balder man named Lars. But, as it turns out, Lars was just an older, more mature version of Phillip – the complexity of constant time travel caused for there to be a number of “clones,” each of which were “doomed” in the name of the Universe righting itself.

“The Best With A Billion Backs” basically starts where the previous DVD left off – there’s a tear and the space time continuum, but it abandons it for awhile. Phillip is in a relationship with a new woman, but the new gal pal actually lives with a bunch of other guys that she considers her “boyfriend.” In the end, Fry is crushed, and he decides to end it all by exploring the tear in space. On the other side, he finds an alternate universe, populated by a planet sized being with tentacles. Here’s where it gets a little goofy and convoluted. The being is romantically interested in humanity. And after a couple of “dates” with every member of humanity, the human race is likewise interested. Sound nefarious? Imagine of Lovecraft’s elder gods were actually hen-pecked nerds that used words like “honey-poo.” The rest can be left up for a viewer to decide and/or watch. Lets just that Bender gets jealous from the lack of attention people give him and tries to wreck the relationship.

On the whole: it’s funny, and it’s a new Futurama disc. Realistically speaking, it’s not as good as “Bender’s Big Score” or the episodes that were written towards the end of Futurama’s run. On a more positive note, one doesn’t have to wait a whole year for the third feature to be released.

Futurama, Leela, Fry, Matt Groening

One of the never ending debates, these days, is usually The Family Guy versus The Simpsons. The shows are very similar, and the creative staffs have certainly been competitive, even to the point where the animation of both shows have included both verbal and visual smack downs, Sometimes, the debate online can be ripe – but one thing can be said for Seth McFarlane and his creation: derivative or not, it does bare McFarlane’s unique stamp. For that, The Family Guy has been a rousing success since it was brought back from cancellation – although McFarlane’s other creation, American Dad, hasn’t had close to the level of success.

What’s interesting, however, is that McFarlane has parlayed his current achievements into a new project. McFarlane is going online with a series of animated shorts, and this is all meant as internet-exclusive material under the name Seth McFarlane’s Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy. There are about 50 clips to be distributed to a variety of sites. (It should be noted that, if successful, there probably will be DVDs later).

So what does this have to do with Groening or The Simpsons? In the above linked Wall Street Journal article, there’s further proof that whatever the competition between the two shows, Groening holds nothing personal against McFarlane and actually respects the guy. The following comes from The Wall Street Journal:

Cartoonist Matt Groening, creator of “The Simpsons,” says, “He’s laid the groundwork with this smash hit show and now, with new media opening up and Seth’s specific kind of rapid-fire visual humor, how to exploit it just depends on how ambitious he wants to be.”

At any rate, one does kind of wish that Groening would follow McFarlane online with his own set of clips. Can one imagine a fresh slate of Life In Hell, as internet cartoons? Or fresh Futurama content? Or something completely new? If Groening did, however, I kind of hope it wouldn’t be Simpsons material. There’s enough of that already, and the internet could be a great place for experimentation. At any arate, even if I do like Groening’s material better than McFarlane’s, I still hope the guy succeeds with “Cavalcade.”

Matt Groening, The Simpsons, Internet, Web Cartoons, The Family Guy, Seth McFarlane

As has been pointed out on this blog many of times, The Simpsons is two decades old, especially if one factors in the original shorts on The Tracy Ullman Show. The show is hitting another huge milestone. The Simpsons, as a Fox show, is entering into it’s twentieth season. Basically, somebody born during the first season is in adulthood, now. Still, one wonders what Groening and the other producers have in store.

According to IGN.com, there are a few huge guest spots on the horizon. Jodie Foster is set to make her Springfield debut. Foster’s turn is going to be a huge one – she’s set to be the voice of Maggie. Only Elizabeth Taylor has voiced the toddler, and Foster’s prospective episode will return to the Springfield of the future, where Lisa, Bart, and Maggie have all grown into adulthood. In one similar type of episode, Maggie was shown, but she never got a word in edgewise, as it became a running gag.

Anne Hathaway is also scheduled to make an appearance. Again, according to IGN.com, Hathaway will join a long list of actresses who’ve voiced Bart’s romantic interests. The list is rather long when you realize that boys, at Bart’s age, typically think girls are filled with cooties. The potential episode will have Bart trying to behave himself, so that he can win Hathaway’s character’s affections. Naturally, something will happen to screw that up, but there’s always potential.

Hopefully, there will be other surprises in store. There will be, likely. After 19 seasons so far, Groening and company have mostly succeeded. The show still wouldn’t be going if they hadn’t.

The Simpsons, Maggie Simpson, Anne Hathaway, Jodie Foster

Due to the vagaries in international law, sometimes interesting conflicts come up. For example, for years the world had two separate Budweisers. There was the American brand, and one that existed in the former Czechoslovakia (which is now the Czech Republic). Of course, the Czech beer was the better Budweiser, and the people at Anheuser-Busch knew it. After all, Pilsner styled beer was created in Czech republic, in a town called Pilzen. Anheuser-Busch spent years trying to buy out the company. When exported, the beer went under the name Bud-var. Of course, Anheuser-Busch beers in general are usually not of great quality, especially if you compare them to microbrews in places like Denver.

So what does this possibly have to do with The Simpsons, you ask? The vagaries of international law have lead a real Duff Beer. Minerva Brewing, in Mexico, has tried to create such a brand. By doing so, it taps into the global phenomenon that is The Simpsons media empire. Whether on TV, DVD, or in Comic books, Homer drinks a lot of Duff Beer. Sure, one might say that in a work of satire, Duff is really a stand in for all American beer, but in Springfield, it is the dominant brand. As for Minerva, they have planned the usual varieties, like “Lite” – but none of the actual special names used in the Simpsons episodes. The only similarity, really, with the Groening “Duff Beer” is in name only. However, according to some news sources, Minerva has had conversations about paying a royalty and marketing Duff Beer in the United States. However, the Brewery has conceded that is too far out of their scope – the Mexican marketplace being a tough place on it’s own. This sort of publicity stunt is not new, however. More recently, long after their crack at Duff Beer, Minerva tried naming a beer after an infamous narco trafficker.

Beer, Bud-var, Budweiser, Duff Beer, The Simpsons, Moe’s Tavern, Homer Simpson, Barney

Lets see, the possibilities here are both interesting and hard to imagine. David Duchovny, of X-Files fame, hoped that the show would do a cross over with The Simpsons. It’s interesting, because Duchovny’s ambition could not have been ratings motivated – both The Simpsons and The X-Files have – or had, in the case of the X-Files – solid ratings and solid followings. Duchovny thought that resulting episode could have been a “Roger Rabbitt” styles mixture of animation and live action. I’m sure, given the quality of writers both shows have had, over the years, that somebody could have hashed out a fairly credible X-Files script.

Still, as of this writing, it’s kind of hard to think about how exactly such an episode could be pulled off. After all, it’s much easier to animate Mulder and Scully and have them visit Springfield. There are the usual plot devices that could have been used, such as either the episode as a dream sequence or a drug induced fantasy. But then again, that would just be cliché. For the resulting episode to work in an X-File sense, there would have to be some deterioration of the boundaries between dimensional realities. But then again, even that has been done a lot. Plus, the biggest problem, in a proposed cross over, would have been the mismatch in tones. Basically, The Simpsons would, by the very nature of the characters, would have dampened the usual seriousness hanging over Scully and Mulder. So, as has been pointed out, writing such an episode would be a tough challenge. At any rate, it’s purely in the realm of what if, now. Lately, The X-Files had a highly anticipated movie, but there’s no way that the show will make a comeback on TV.

X-Files, The Simpsons, Crossovers, Television, Fox

Just about everybody, at one point in time, has had a boss that they really didn’t like, and perhaps that’s putting it mildly. Let me try another way of phrasing it: I’d like to think that, throughout the span of one’s life, they’ve worked for an unbearable person that they’ve loathed. I certainly had, a number of times. Once, roughly a little more than 10 years ago, I worked in a steak house. The boss really was a creep: in his sixties, he saw no problem with hitting on the 16 year old wait staff. I washed dishes at the time, and one day, he had me on garbage duty. It was Mothers Day, and the dumpster was overflowing. He had me – I kid you not – climb into the dumpster with a push broom and “beat down the trash to make more space.”

At least, one can say, employers like the one mentioned above are not as unbearable on TV. Redorbit.com has a tiny list of some of the most offending bosses on TV. Ricky Gervais, in the original version of The Office, not the NBC Remake, tops the list. Others mentioned include Gordon Ramsey, the hilariously mean Brit on “Hell’s Kitchen.” Since the list is likely of British origin, one of the names would seem obscure to American readers. However, the sole remaining, however, knows no boundaries. Montgomery Burns has always been wonderfully megalomaniacal, and his list of evil doing stretches back over the centuries. Still, Mr. Burns is deliciously evil. In real life, however, bad bosses are just jerks. Plus, given the list’s recent posting date, it’s interesting that Dr. Gregory House didn’t make the cut.

Mr. Burns, The Office, House, Gordon Ramsey, The Simpsons, Bosses, Televsion

photo from Reuters

One can really gauge the cultural clout of something by the amount of fan art it inspires. Look, for example, at Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Star Trek. On the internet, there’s plenty of fan fiction based on one of those three. Plus, the there’s always homemade skits and tributes that make it onto YouTube. The Simpsons has seen a little bit that too, especially with the live action version of the intro, or even an Indian clip about “The Singhsons.” The last bit also speaks to the global reach of the show. However, there are some truly wacky things out there. In England, there’s always the neo-pagan chalk outline of Homer in his underpants, holding a donut aloft.

Recently, something just as crafty surfaced in Spain, and it involves counterfeiting money. According to Reuters, a shop keeper recently found a fake Euro coin in his cash register. One side of the coin features something close to the likeness of Homer Simpson’s head, grinning. The original coins, as pictured above, features the face of King Juan Carlos. Usually, when currency features a monarch or head of state, the expression is either somber, serious, or unemotional. In the case of King Juan Carlos, the demeanor is serious.

Of course, pranks such as these are nothing new. If you stick “Bill Clinton” and “Fake dollar” into Google’s image search, you come up with a number of interesting results. Somebody has made a “Hillary Dollar” – not to mention fakes that feature, Gore, Bush, and Bill Clinton. There have always been stories of people trying to spend the fakes too. And while that may be a funny thought, it’s actually a very serious and punishable crime.

The Simpsons, Homer Simpson, Money, Euro, Dollar, Fake Money

There’s a couple of reasons why The Simpsons has likely survived all these years on television. Compelling, memorable characters is probably first and foremost – Bart, Lisa, Marge, Maggie, and Homer are now iconic figures in American pop-culture. Also, one can make a case that’s it’s even has some cultural clout in other countries too. After all, the characters have been tapped to sell French cars after all. Or, even a bit of creep into the art scene. Still, even with interesting characters, the show would be nothing without good writing.

Some may argue that the show is in a decline, but that’s beside the point. Compared to a lot of what’s on TV, The Simpsons remain relevant, partly because the writing keeps the show current every season or so. Still, it’s sometimes interesting to see where some of the Show’s writers go, after their stint comes to an end. Take Larry Doyle, for instance.

Doyle wrote seven episodes between 1999 and 2001. He’s also racked up credits writing a Looney Tunes movie as well as the hit MTV cartoon Beavis and Butthead. According to IMDb.com, he takes credit for “Simpsons Bible Stories,” “Worst Episode Ever,” and a few others. Recently, Doyle has come into new acclaim and accolades. The Baltimore Sun reports that his book, I Love You, Beth Cooper recently nominated for the Thurber Prize for American Humor. Prior winners include: Jon Stewart, the staff at The Onion, David Sedaris, and a many others. This year, Doyle’s competition consists of Patricia Marx and Simon Rich. The eventual winner will receive a commemorative crystal, as well as a check for $5000. More importantly, however, it places the winner in the pantheon of humorists of the written word. After all, as a writer, James Thurber was no slouch.

The Simpsons, James Thurber, Thurber Prize, Humor, Awards, Writing

As has been noted elsewhere on this blog, and in the 451 Network, there’ s been an ongoing feud between The Family Guy and The Simpsons. Quite often, this comes in the form of pointed barbs that make it onto the show. In one Treehouse of Horror episode, for example, there’s veritable sea of Homer clones, and in the middle of all of them, the writers and animators stuck Peter. Of course, The Family Guy has had it’s share of references too. On the surface, it might appear that creators Matt Groening and Seth McFarlane have it in for each other. However, if one is looking for a hip-hop style “beef” feud, one will likely be disappointed. Sure, the two and their creative teams quite often rib each other, but it’s not much different than they way that friendly comedians like to publicly poke each other – as in Comedy Central’s Roasts, for example.

So, it’s no surprise that when Groening and McFarlane show up to a Television Critics Association function, the verbal jabs fly, but beneath it, there’s a sense of mutual respect. Care of the Vancouver Sun:

“Wow,” Groening said, with a straight face. “Wow. You know, we love Seth. If we weren’t so rich, we would be very depressed.”
“Matt and I get along very well,” MacFarlane said. “People want us to hate each other. We get along extremely well. He’s a wonderful guy. Seriously.”
“Seth and me, on the other hand,” Jean quipped, “not so much.”
The mutual admiration is genuine: MacFarlane is quick to cite The Simpsons as an early inspiration for Family Guy.
“I wouldn’t be sitting here if it wasn’t for The Simpsons,” MacFarlane said.
“It’s so rare that something comes along that completely catches you off-guard. When you think back, The Flintstones was the last really big successful prime time animated show. And then The Simpsons came along and single-handedly reopened that door. I was instantly taken with that show, and still am. It doesn’t hold a candle to any live-action comedy that’s on the air - or is it the reverse?”
“Wait a minute,” Groening dove in. “You just snuck that in there. What he’s saying, that’s how I felt about Huckleberry Hound.”

Even if McFarlane wasn’t being genuine, he’d still have to concede to the pioneering history of The Simpsons. I would also throw in South Park, which wasn’t mentioned. South Park has brought fierce, daring satire to cable television, going much farther then The Simpsons ever would. The Family Guy has benefited from that predecessor too. Sometimes, Peter strikes me as a mixture between equal parts Homer and equal parts Cartman.

The Simpsons, The Family Guy, South Park, Cartman, Matt Groening, Seth McFarlane, Homer, Homer Simpson, Cartoons, Animation

For some, The Simpsons has been dying a slow death by becoming a mere shadow of what it once was. For others, myself included, that’s a load of bull. I tend to think that some people – my parents included – go through a Simpsons “phase” they watch the show for a couple of seasons, and then for whatever reason, they just stop watching. Somehow, the show has either stopped appealing to them, or they’ve outgrown it. On the other hand, faithful viewers see the same rich characters week in and week out in new social situations. The characters, after all, make the show, but then again, as with a lot of satire, the level of relevance also depends on what’s happening in society. I think that’s what’s kept the show around for so long – it continually adapts it’s satire.

I write this because one wonders – for a show that’s been around for nearly twenty years, will it ever come to an end? The answer to that came recently at Comic-Con, where Matt Groening and Al Jean made an appearance and addresses the state of Springfield. Alynda Wheat, of the Pop Watch Blog, writes:

Groening fans were also given two nuggets of info: First, the team has “no intention” of wrapping up The Simpsons anytime soon — certainly not as long as “the ratings keep up,” added Jean, “and they have.” Also, Groening was asked if he’d ever considered turning his newspaper comic strip Life in Hell into an animated series. Not really, he said, before launching into a castigation of the San Diego Reader, which no longer carries the strip, noting that he needles the paper every time he comes to Comic-Con.

That’s a shame about Life In Hell. Wheat, in her blog, also has a few other good nuggets of information. The mostly have to deal with who is slated to do guest spots on the show:

Upcoming guests include Julia-Louis Dreyfus, Joe Mantegna, and Robert Forster — all of them are in the season opener alone. In the second episode, Homer finds guest Denis Leary’s cell phone, and starts dialing. One of the calls goes to Leary’s agent, setting up Leary to star in Everybody Poops: The Movie. For Seth Rogen fans, your wait will be a little longer — his guest spot isn’t slated to air till 2009.

As for Julia-Louis Dreyfus, I hope she’s in character, and her appearance has nothing to do with Seinfeld – that show is so old news by now, and she’s gone on to great things herself. The Denis Leary episode sounds absolutely hilarious. Sounds like a good change of pace for Leary, and an interesting, albeit short, break from Rescue Me.

Matt Groening, The Simpsons, Homer Simpson, Comic-Con, Rescue Me, Denis Leary

I guess I have a confession to make: I didn’t become a fan of Matt Groening’s other cartoon until after the series had been cancelled. I’m not sure why, though. For some reason, the first couple episodes failed to grab me, but then again, Fox preempting Futurama for sports didn’t help the show either. Sometimes, it just didn’t seem regular, enough.

But then, a while back, I saw the DVDs in Wal Mart for like twenty dollars a box set – so, I gave it a go. Basically, I can say that Futurama ate up a week of my life. It was the only thing I watched. And towards the end of the week, I didn’t want to watch anymore, not because I didn’t like it, but more because I knew I only had four episodes left. I didn’t want the fun to end, because since the show got cancelled, there’d be no more.

Then, Fox and Groening got together and hashed out a deal for four new direct to DVD movies. Many, many months ago, Bender’s Big Score came out (ramdom blog snippets about it can be read here). And now, we have The Beast with a Billion Backs. According to Amazon.com, it’s set for release in a week or so, on June 24. I. Can’t. Wait. There will be two more movies to come after this, but for a now confirmed addict, that’s not nearly enough. If I had my way, I’d have regular episodes back on television. But then again, I guess I’ll take whatever I can get.

Futurama, Bender, Matt Groening, DVD, Features, Animation, Cartoons, Sci Fi, Science Fiction, Television

Well, The Simpsons Movie has come and gone, and there’s been a multitude of hilarious and strange marketing techniques, whether it’s the Spiderpig balloon, or the Kwik-E Marts that took the place of 7-11 retailers across the country. Somehow, in all of that, I missed this:

Simpsons, Homer, Pagan, Crop Circles, Chalk outlines

Universal Studios Hollywood Debuts their new Simpsons themed ride on May 17. As it may well have been mentioned earlier, the new rollercoaster replaces a well-like “Back to the Future” attraction. Basically, the new attraction could have completely erased “Back to the Future,” but the new ride will have a few acknowledgements of its predecessor. Basically, Doc Brown, voiced by Christopher Lloyd, will make his Springfield debut. Brown was Marty McFly’s crazy scientist friend who invented the time traveling De Lorean car. Brown will also appear with an aptly placed Professor Frink (Hank Azaria). The De Lorean also will be incorporated as part of the new attraction as well. In the end, the ride itself cost Universal Studios roughly 40 million dollars. Also, it’s a simulator, not the more traditional Coney Island styled roller coaster.

There are many things to love about Bender, but irreverence is probably the best. But then again, it’s interesting to step back about, and compare Futurama with it’s sister program, The Simpsons. One cannot remotely compare any of the main characters from one show with the other. There’s only one Zoidberg, Fry, Leela, Hermes, Bender or Professor, just like there’s only one Homer, Bart, Marge, Lisa and Maggie. Good writing and show development is certainly key, but one can also make the case that it’s the voice actor’s personality that also plays a dominating, shaping role.

With that in mind, the BBC has a quick interview with Joe DiMaggio, the man responsible for Bender’s distinctive voice, as well as other characters. He deflects most hard news questions about the forthcoming movies and their plots, but he does offer a few teasers, like this:

Yes but I’m not allowed to say the other plots. But Bender does get a little pirate-y. And there are various things that are gross. I don’t know if anyone remembers the episode with the Slurm Queen when she sucks her own tail? It’s along them lines. My father got disgusted by that. So there’s really gross stuff and it’s really funny.

He also goes on to talk about leaving rude answer machine messages “as” Bender, as well what his favorite Bender-ism might be.

Bender, Futurama, Cartoons, Comedy, Animation

Since I’ve been on a Futurama watching binge as of late, I’ve spent most of my internet time poking around, looking for any indication on whether there’s going to be any new individual episodes. (My secret wish, of course, it that Comedy Central will do more than air the straight to DVD features and will order new individual shows). So, I tried various keywords with Google and didn’t find anything really encouraging. Also, I took a cue off of an earlier post and clicked my way over to imdb.com to see if anything could unearthed there. The answer, of course, is no – perhaps I should just be glad that there are three more movies forthcoming?

At any rate, a lot of times looking for one thing leads to something completely different. Imdb.com, for Matt Groening, lists a good number of his Treehouse of Horror alias. You know, the “Nicknames” everybody in the credits get? This is what they had for Groening:

Matt Groening (Writer, The Simpsons Movie (2007))
aka “Mad Groening”
aka “Matt ”Mildly Frightening” Groening”
aka “Matt ”Scary Nickname” Groening”
birth name “Matthew Abram Groening”
aka “Matt ‘Merchandising’ Groening”
aka “Wotsa Matta U. Groening”
aka “Bat Groening”
aka “Malevolent Matt Groening”
aka “Mummified Matt Groening”
aka “Matt ‘El Monstro’ Groening”
aka “Mad Matt Groening”

And it’s the same for Sam Simon:

Sam Simon (I) (Writer, “The Drew Carey Show” (1995))
aka “Slithering Sam Simon”
aka “Sortirious Sam Simon”
aka “Scarifying Sam Simon”
aka “‘Supervisin’ Sam’ Simon”
aka “Sam ‘Sayonara’ Simon”
aka “Somewhat Shocking Sam Simon”
aka “Sort of Frightening Sam Simon”

James L. Brooks has a smaller number of AKA listings:

James L. Brooks (Producer, The Simpsons Movie (2007))
aka “James Hell Brooks”
aka “James ‘Bemused but Bloodthirsty’ Brooks

”

But then Hank Azaria has his included too:

Hank Azaria (Actor, The Simpsons Movie (2007))
aka “Hellacious Hank Azaria”
aka “Boo! Boo! Scare Ya Hank Azaria”
aka “Hack Azaria”
aka “Scare Ya’ Hank Azaria”
aka “The Shaws-Hank Azaria”
birth name “Henry Albert Azaria”
aka “Angst Azaria”

So, I’m guessing that the rest of the cast, as well as the production crew, likely have their aliases included on imdb.com. Maybe later I’ll dig up the rest.

The Simpsons, Matt Groening, Sam Simon, Hank Azaria, James L. Brooks