Watching Simpsons

Yes. More free press for Burger King. At least, however, they’re keeping the characters in line with acceptable Simpsons reality. Here’s humor trying and failing to do a Burger King comercial….

At least these are hilarious. This one has Krusty and his “Krusty Burgers” as a business rival of Burger King. And Krusty doesn’t like it all too much:

Ricky Gervais, star of the original version of the office, has an ardent supporter in Matt Groening, who wants Gervais to do another guest spot on The Simpsons. Last year, Gervais guest starred and penned the episode where Homer and Marge take part in a reality show wife swap. Homer ended up with a stiff lipped New England socialite, and Marge ended up with her British husband, who instantly fell in love with her. The husband, Charles Heathbar, seemed like an animated version of Gervais’ character in “The Office.” Whether the character returns, or Gervais creats something new in unimportant to Groening (via buddytv.com):

“We loved having him on the show. Whatever he wants to do - we’d love to have his character return. Or he could do something completely new,” Groening said. “It was such a thrill for us to have him - the main reason we have guests on is because we’re fans.”

According to Forbes, there will be more to come from the Simpsons once the movie hoopla dies down. The new season is coming, and among many things, good things are coming:

Fans can expect the return of Sideshow Bob, with guest stars John Mahoney as his father and David Hyde Pierce as his brother, said head writer Al Jean. Sideshow Bob will also be part of the new Simpsons ride, set to open in spring 2008 at Universal Studios in Orlando and Universal City, Calif.

A new comic-book store will be coming to Springfield, said “Simpsons” writer-producer Matt Selman. The shop owner will be voiced by Jack Black, with guest stars including Art Spiegelman, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning “Maus”; and “recluse wizard genius” Alan Moore, the writer behind “V For Vendetta” and “Watchmen.”

The show is already planning for the presidential elections:

Springfield will also become the unlikely site of the first presidential primary in the nation, said writer-producer Michael Price. Jon Stewart and “another giant ‘Simpsons’ nerd, Dan Rather,” lend their voices to the candidates. Springfield residents, tired of the politicking, submit a protest vote.

“They decide to write in the most ridiculous, insane, stupid protest candidate they can think of, which is Ralph Wiggam,” Price said. “But of course it’s taken seriously and Ralph Wiggam becomes the front-runner of the presidential nomination for both parties.”

While that sounds hilarious, I find myself wishing, in the name of the good presidetial satire The Simpsons had for Bill Clinton versus Bob Dole, that Kane and Kodos make an appearance. I doubt it. After all, repeating something funny ad infinitum kills a joke.

If anybody ever needed proof that Itchy and Scratchy is fairly sick, they below is it. That said, I’m really glad Mat Groening and Fox has not tried to spin Itchy and Scratchy of into a show of it’s own. The duo is hilarious, but only in small doses.

Okay, so this blog is shilling for Burger King. But, you know, it does have Kane and Kodos in it! And no matter my own fast food preference, it’s still funny!

Sometimes, it’s hard to remember that the Simpsons are almost twenty years old and a cultural institution unto itself. Back in the early days, it was Bart, not Homer, that was thought to be the star of the show. This is something that even the show once self-parodied, as there was a massive marketing blitz that put Bart’s face on just about anything. And, just like any big media push, there was a little bit of a backlash, but at least the show survived it. Anyhow, if there was anything that signified the Bart craze of long, long ago, it was Bart’s rap video:

Of all the ways to promote a movie, 7-11 has cashed in by turning some of their stores in real life versions of Apu’s Kwik E Mart. These remodeled 7-11’s among other tings, Squishees, instead of their trade-marked “Slurpees.” According to ABCnews.com, business has been brisk:

While the Simpsons might be a fictional family, the very real cereal, soda and doughnuts from their cartoon world are flying off real-world shelves.

For the past three weeks, 7-Eleven has transformed 12 of its convenience stores into caricatures of the Kwik-E-Mart widely recognized as a staple of the cartoon family’s fictional town, as part of a promotion for the soon-to-be-released “The Simpsons Movie.”

One item didn’t make the transition from animation to real life:

Though one key Simpsons beverage, Duff Beer, did not make it to the shelves, fans of the hit TV show seem to be jumping at the chance to buy the other once-fictional products. The number of customers to walk through the doors at these special stores has roughly doubled, as have have sales, according to the company.

The Washington Post has a preview of an interview Mat Groening has given The New York times. Among the many tid bits available, Groening reveals what inspired him, in terms of Marge’s distinctive blue hair:

The “Simpsons” matriarch’s impressive hair was inspired by “The Bride of Frankenstein” and by his own mother’s hairdo from the 1960s, the series’ creator told The New York Times Magazine in an interview published Sunday.

In the name of not competing with the juggernaut that is JK Rowling, here’s another Simpson take on Potter-mania.

On the Burlington Free Press’ website, there’s an article stating that Ben and Jerry’s will be taking part in the movie festivities, given that Springfield, Vermont was chosen to host the Simpsons Movie premiere:

Ben & Jerry’s Homer homage is called “Duff & D’oh-Nuts,” and according to a news release from the ice-cream maker is an “extremely limited, one-time and one-day-only flavor” that’s “a combination of chocolate and cream stout ice creams with glazed chocolate donuts.” Duff is the brand of beer featured in “The Simpsons” television series, and doughnuts are Homer’s culinary raison d’etre.

In another nod to Homer, Ben & Jerry’s will for one day rename its Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough flavor “Chocolate Chip Cookie D’oh!” in reference to Homer’s famous exclamation.

Of the Simpsons minor characters, why is it that the hobbled old Moleman is always the target of abuse, both of a psychological and physical nature?

According to Entertainment Weekly, the producers of the Simpsons Movie wanted an “all star cast” of writers from various times in the show’s history. The compiled a list of writers to invite, but one high profile name was left off, on the account of his success: Conan O’Brien. Sure, it makes sense, as O’Brien has a responsibility of taping a nightly talk show. And of the Simpsons writers, he has unquestionably moved on to shape a highly successful career in front of the camera. He left on good terms, and he has had no problem receiving Simpson voice acting talent on his show, as this blog as featured. Still, even if he’s joking, one gets the sense that secretly, he would have loved to return to the Simpson’s creative team:

“I cleared my talk show schedule for a year at great financial cost to myself, got an apartment right outside the Fox lot, and told them I was ready to report to work. All I heard back was that they were having trouble finding me a parking space, and then they stopped returning my calls altogether. I am stunned and disappointed…. Truth be told, I worry that the Simpsons-writing portion of my brain has been destroyed after 14 years of talking to Lindsay Lohan and that guy from One Tree Hill, so maybe it’s all for the best.”

If one thinks about it, The Simpsons have been around so long, the family actually straddles different historical eras. Whether it was the early days of the show, or the precursor days, when Tracy Ullman ran Simpson shorts, the family has lived during the time of the Cold War. Of course, the Soviet Union no longer exists, and terrorism has overtaken the red menace of Soviet styled Communism, but the threat, back then, was a little more deeply felt than today. Sure, the country has endured the horrors of 911, but that, so far was a single event. For decades, America lived with the fact the Russians were armed with a packed arsenal of nuclear missles, and they were all pointed at the USA. Fear of nuclear war, from the Dwight Eisenhower years to Ronald Reagan’s two terms, was always a very real and present anxiety. That’s something that following old, old Ullman/Simpsons clip fully exploits:

Bart and Lisa have very few uncles, as it is. There’s Herb, Homer’s brother, as voiced by Bruce Willis, and then, there’s Hubert. Who the heck is Hubert? For one, he was featured on the Simpsons back before there was even a regular show, back when Tracy Ullman ran Simpson shorts on her show. Since then, this character has never returned, but that’s really — if one thinks about it — outside the standard Simpsons continuity. As one can clearly see, the drawing style, back in the early days was a little bit rougher, and Homer’s voice is decidedly different. So who is Hubert? If we can piece anything together, we know that he was “elderly” or old. So, in this case, if he fits into the Simpsons pantheon, he’s likely either Homer or Marge’s Uncle. We tend to know a lot more about Homer’s extended family, partly because Grandpa Simpson is regular. So, for the sake of ease, my guess is that Hubert comes from Marge’s side of the family.