Watching Simpsons

It seemed, back when The Simpsons Game came out, people enjoyed the satire, but the game play didn’t satify a lot of gaming critics. On the other hand, the satire itself proved funny — so much so that the game itself has been honored recently. The Writers Guild has chosen to recognize excellence in video games. It should be noted, however, that the award goes strictly to the writing, not the over all quality of the game. So, for example, the age old Pong or Pac Man or Donkey Kong might be fun and addictive, but it’s not necessarily a well written game. More info, via Gamasutra:

Representatives of the East and West chapters of the Writer’s Guild of America have announced the winners of their inaugural Videogame Writing Award, giving top honors to games including The Simpsons Game, World in Conflict, and The Witcher.

The Guild says the award honors “outstanding achievement in videogame writing during 2007″ and was created to “encourage storytelling excellence in videogames, improve the status of writers, and foster uniform standards within the gaming industry.”

Writing credits for the game are:

THE SIMPSONS GAME, Lead Writer Matt Selman, Written by Tim Long and Matt Warburton, Dialogue by Jeff Poliquin, Electronic Arts

The Simpsons, The Simpsons Game, The Writers Guild, The Writers Guild Awards

The Simpsons and politics always goes together, partly because politics, as subject matter, is ripe for satire. Whether it’s Tony Blair appearing on the Simpsons, or Kang and Kodos subverting the Clinton/Dole election of 1996, there’s always fun to be had.

Currently, the race for the presidency is about to heat up, as Iowa will kick off the primary voting season. For anybody watching the news, it would be interesting to watch the field narrow a bit. After all, there are many, many democrats and republicans vying for their party’s nomination. So much so, there’s already, for some, a sense of fatigue setting in. It’s going to be interesting, though, to see this reflected on The Simpsons.

There’s an upcoming episode that tackles the subject matter head on. Basically, Springfield will cast their ballots, and the result is bound to be hilarious. Instead of endorsing a candidate – which the show has never done, and will likely never do – The Simpsons will feature the rise of an independent, dark horse candidate. His name is … wait for it … Ralph Wiggum! Via TVsquad.com:

Ralph will announce his candidacy on the January 6th episode of The Simpsons. Actually, he isn’t the one who announces it; rather, the voters of Springfield, who reject all of the other candidates in their first primary, write the young Wiggum in as a candidate. He quickly becomes an independent presidential front-runner that party leaders for both the Republicans and the Democrats want to have in their court.

As usual, The Simpsons will air this Sunday at 8:00 pm. Guest voices include Jon Stewart (hopefully utilized a bit better than pal Stephen Colbert) and Dan Rather, who descend upon Springfield to cover the primary debates.

Wiggum seems like a apt choice, in many respects. In a current culture of 24 hour news cycles, as well as Gotcha! Journalism, it’s easy to mistake a number of candidates as a bunch of inept boobs, sometimes. Ralph just fits that to a tee, and much more. Plus, it should be funny to watch Ralph debate. After all, he’s the type of kid who has given the TV watching public such memorable lines as “My Cat’s mouth smells like cat food!” And, as the above block quote states, it would be nice to see Jon Stewart appear as himself, and not as a “character” – which is what happened to Stephen Colbert.

Ralph’s platform can be seen, once it’s up, here.

The Simpsons, Ralph Wiggum, Politics, Elections

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.

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 votes have been tallied, and Springfield, Vermont has won the right to host the premiere of the Simpson’s movie. The contest, hosted by USAToday.com, featured competing videos from Springfields across the nation. Vermont’s winning entry featured a chubby man — like Homer — chasing a large rolling donut across town, causing mayhem. According to Reuters, one of Vermont’s prominent politicians expressed congratulations to the winners:

“After 18 years, it’s good to finally welcome the Simpsons home. Vermonters love The Simpsons,” Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont said in a statement.

“Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie will look great on that yellow carpet with the green mountains as a backdrop.”

The Vermont town beat Springfields in Oregon, Colorado, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida and Louisiana in the video contest to best portray the “Simpsons’ spirit.”

Vermont won by less than a 1000 votes:

It landed 15,367 votes of 109,582 votes cast. Springfield, Illinois, coming in second with 14,634 votes and Springfield, Oregon, ranked third at 13,894.

Many television shows, actors and directors will attest, are destroyed by the meddling of studio execs. Often, this comes by way of meddlesome “notes” that carry the weight — in terms of network authority — akin to an executive order or a regal fiat. It goes without saying that this cramps the creative process, to a large extent. In this regard, consider the following comment by Harry Shearer, as reported by Hollywood.com, the voice of Ned Flanders, Doctor Hibberd, Mr. Burns, Smithers, and many other Simpsons chacters:

The Simpsons star Harry Shearer insists the animated show is such a big hit because the company behind it is not allowed to interfere with the scripts.

That even goes for mogul Rupert Murdock, who is more then used to getting his way, politically and business-wise, across many continents:

He says, “Rupert can’t get involved. We had it written into our script that Fox weren’t allowed to meddle with our scripts.

“In fact, I’m pretty sure the reason we’ve been so successful is because no one’s been able to interfere.”

Of the many Simpsons promotional campaigns to come, one of the more interesting comes from 7-11, who decided to remodel 11 or so of it’s stores and rename them “Kwick-E Mart.” Sure, each store cannot feature an Apu, but the products sold are all unique to Springfield, whether it’s Buzz Cola, Duff Beer, or Blue Berry Squishees, according to E! News.

The convenience chain has joined forces with 20th Century Fox to convert a dozen of its top-selling stores into Kwik-E-Marts as part of a massive marketing blitz for The Simpsons Movie, which unspools in theaters worldwide July 27.

The Kwik-E makeover, which officially began Monday, not only includes the temporary replacement of 7-Eleven marquees but extends to store shelves, which will now be stocked with everything from Krusty O’s cereal and Buzz Cola to WooHoo! Blue Vanilla Squishee Slurpees and pink frosted Sprinklicious doughnuts.

“The Krusty O’s are flying off the shelves,” laughs 7-Eleven spokeswoman Margaret Chabris. “It’s sort of reverse product placement. We’re bringing the products to the people.”

Before anybody runs out the door, they should know that their local store is likely to NOT be one of the 11 coverted locations, one of which stands in Canada. A list of locations, from 7-11, is located here. Still that doesn’t mean that most of us have been excluded from the fun. Many of the products Bart and Homer would enjoy, will sit on 7-11’s shelves. This includes a special edition comic book from Bongo, the official, Groening-run publisher of Simpson’s books.

With The Simpsons Movie due the July 27th, one is glad that it’s not faced with huge amounts of box office competition. The next Harry Potter, for example, is nearly a week off, and thankfully, one doesn’t have to choose between the two in a conflicting opening week. With that in mind, here’s a clip where the Simpson’s animators take on the Harry Potterverse

Several different “Springfield’s” are currently competing for the right to host the premiere of the Simpsons Movie. The competition is limited to only real-life localities that share their town’s name with the animated show. Basically, to be considered as viable host, each town must submit a video pitch to be publicly voted on later.

The competition is set to be fierce, as producers are stopping at nothing, enlisting local personalities to double as Simpson’s characters. According to the Boston Globe, Springfield Massachusetts enlisted Senator Ted Kennedy to riff the word “chowdah!” Kennedy, for his part, must be demonstrating a good sense of humor. It’s obvious that Mayor Quimby is a parody of Kennedy family politicians. As for Springfield, Massachusetts, the town has opted for an interesting approach:

The three-minute clip takes on a television news show format laced with inside jokes to investigate how Matt Groening, “The Simpsons” creator, came here in the 1980s looking for inspiration to create a fictional Springfield as the home of Homer, Marge and Bart.

As the host of the made-up “Perfect Vision” puts it, Groening’s visit led to “the creation of the most popular cartoon series of all time and the ire of those whose lives he hijacked.”

To emphasize the evil, he bites into a frosted doughnut — Homer Simpson-style — and chews slowly.

What follows is a where-are-they-now look at some of “The Simpsons” characters. Homer and Marge are still sitting on the couch. Bart grew up to be a doctor. And Disco Stu, whose true name the video would have you believe is “Tony Discostu,” still sports an Afro. Proudly.

They all bemoan how a slick-styled Groening swooned into town 20 years ago in a fancy red car offering gifts and promises, only to leave residents in the City of Homes empty-handed.

Other Springfields have opted for other approaches. Springfield, Kentucky, according to the Courier Journal, has produced a courtroom short where the town confronts Matt Groening. They claim that he’s been secretly spying on them, using them as fodder for the show. While different, Springfield, Illinois, according to the State Journal Register, also claims to have the original characters; their segment is a newscast, complete with a local personality after the likes of Kent Brockman, and a local power company General Manager believed to be a “dead ringer” for Mr. Burns.

Time, however, is running out for the 14 Springfields around the nation. Most of the videos have already been submitted to 20th Century Fox. While the results are not up for a public vote yet, the videos should be up at USAToday.com by Monday. Whichever town wins will get the ultimate bragging rights and the “yellow carpet” event.

This Sunday, the 20th, we’ll get to see two Simpsons episodes, the latter of the two bringing The Simpsons to 400 episodes. Ludacris makes his cameo as Luda-Crest, and Keifer Sutherland contributes to the 24 spoof in 24 Minutes. Below are some links to videos provided by IESB.net.

You Kent Always Say What You Want
Clip- Luda-Crest attacks bacteris
Clip- Krusty does his version of Itchy and Scratchy

24 Minutes
Clip- Bart Prank calls Jack Bauer

InsideBayArea.com had a few things to say about this milestone in Simpson’s history as did Al Jean, the producer.

Those 400 episodes means 50 pages per script or 20,000 pages of material. Executive producer Al Jean, who has been with the series from the start, talks about how “The Simpsons” keeps it fresh year after year.

“Even I have to admit there were a couple of times I was doing DVD commentaries and I’d do an ‘Oh, my God, we just did that joke on an episode ten years later,’” Jean says in a phone interview. “It was the one where Homer was having a picnic with Marge and they were watching fireworks and he said, ‘Let’s make some fireworks of our own,’ …we did that joke in ‘Kamp Krusty’ and then in ‘Special Edna.’ We try to avoid that, but sometimes we forget.”

But that’s nit-picking a series that has given us such wonderful devices as the “freeze frame” jokes, from the intro scanning little Maggie with different things popping up on the price to quick jokes you only catch on a second or third viewing.

Have to pay attention

“We throw in things like that, smart and impossible to read in the time that you watch the show,” Jean says. “Because we know people are actually out there who are going to go back and catch it.”

Jean says he is most proud of how “The Simpsons” changed animation on television.

“I love animation,” Jean says. “And one of the best things about ‘The Simpsons’ is how much more animation and how much more adult animation, by which I mean intelligent, satirical animation, there is on TV (now).”

Well that’s it for me. This is my last post on Watching Simpsons. I’ll be passing on this responsibility to whomever 451 Press deems worthy. Hopefully they do a good job.

The Simpsons, 24, Jack Bauer, Simpsons 400th Episode

-Anna

As the 400th episode approaches (airs the 20th), many are reflecting on the unusually long-running sitcom and it torrid past. I have found numerous articles/editorials on the 400th episode and thought I share some links to these articles for your reading pleasure.

Article #1
This one is a well-crafted article that tracks the 18 seasons of the most dysfunctional family aired on American television. Check it out. Here’s a blurb.

If Seinfeld had lasted as long as The Simpsons has, its finale would have featured a graying foursome closing in on 55 (60 for Kramer), far nearer, of course, to that much-derided condo in Miami Beach or to those discounted movie tickets than their selfish, or childish, or birdbrained shenanigans would have you believe.

Article #2
This one is more of a news report, but the author speaks a bit with Matt Groening as he talks about his experiences over the years as The Simpsons and anything related to the Simpsons became insanely popular. Here’s a blurb.

It was a few years back, and he was stopped and searched while going through security at Los Angeles International Airport. “Suddenly, this kid walks by and shouts, ‘Heah! Heah!’ just like (schoolyard bully) Nelson Muntz would have,” Groening recalls.

Article #3
This one discusses just what exactly has help keep The Simpsons boat afloat this long. Apparently is has a lot to do with not changing anything about the characters. Interesting. Here’s a blurb.

For an overweight, doughnut-scarfing, beer-swilling, lazy idiot, Homer Simpson sure knows how to run a marathon. Of course, the residents of Springfield USA possess superpowers all their own. They’ve pulled off the unparalleled feat of remaining hip in the fickle world of pop culture with barely a tweak of the brush.

That’s about it. While there were more, they are fairly lackluster and so I did not included them. The 400th episode, a spoof on FOX’s 24, will air May 20th on FOX.

The Simpsons, Simpsons 400th episode, 24, Matt Groening

-Anna

That’s right, now you can drape yourself in Simpson apparrel. The Canadian Trio groups has secured rights to use Simpson images on their new line of Simpson clothing.

The apparel line would comprise T-shirts, pants, mainly knitted wear. This lounge wear would be among the first of the products under the Simpsons line to be brought to India and plans were afoot to bring other products as well.

Obviously these kinds of things are all over the U.S, but this new clothing line might be very different from what is currently available and so we might see, especially with The Simpsons Movie coming out, a new run on the Simpsons merchandise market as fans flock to get the latest in Simpson products.

In other news, we all know that the numerous towns in the U.S named Springfield have been praying that The Simpsons Movie premiere comes to their town, but it seems two Scottish towns named Springfield are hoping for the same privledge where the UK premiere is concerned.

According to BBCnews.com…

Officials in the Fife and South of Scotland towns said if they were approached by 20th Century Fox to stage the event they would be happy to do so. Despite not having a cinema and a population of less than 1,000, officials at Fife Council said they would jump at the chance to play host to the UK event.
Local authority event co-ordinator Linda Thomson said: “We think the most obvious location to host the UK premiere of the new Simpsons film is Springfield, Cupar, Fife. “Of course, neither Springfield nor Cupar actually have a cinema, but this would just give us the opportunity to create an American drive-in experience, in either the beautiful Haugh Park or Duffus Park, using our new top of the range outdoor projector.”

Well, I don’t think it will happen, but good luck to all of our Simpsons fans in the UK.

The Simpsons, The Simpsons Movie, Springfield, Simpsons merchandise

-Anna

You’d think that a show like the Simpsons were never be parodied simply because it is the show that does a parody of everything else. But Broadcaster.com has a video on their website that has a Simpsonized O.J. Simpson starring in an episode titled, “If I Did It…”
If you’ve been alive at all in the last year or so, you’ll remember when O.J. Simpson’s book “If I Did It..” came out where he speculates, in a huge amount of graphic detail, how he would have killed his wife. FOX is now demanding that the video be taken off the web.
AllHeadlineNews.com reports that…

Fox has ordered video sharing website broadcaster.com to remove the three “The O.J. Simpsons” clips, claiming they infringe on the studio’s copyright.
The shorts use a similar style to the long-running cartoon and feature O.J. looking a lot like Homer Simpson. O.J.’s two kids, Sydney and Justin, are made to resemble Homer’s children Bart and Lisa.
The clips open with a sequence similar to “The Simpsons” opening credits. The only notable difference is the family’s car is replaced by a white Bronco being chased by police cars.
Of the three clips, the first clip refers to O.J.’s book “If I Did It,” which News Corporation recently prevented from being published, while the third sees O.J. take a fictional family vacation to Iraq entitled “Warzone.”

For now the videos are still available at such places like Broadcaster.com and Youtube.com. The makers of the clips contest that making a parody out of copyrighted material is not against the law. The makers do make sure that the videos end with a note that nothing presented has anything to do with Matt Groening or anyone at The Simpsons. I don’t think that will appease anyone though.

No word yet on what the real O.J Simpson thinks about the videos.

Here is a clip of one of the parodies.

The Simpsons, Simpsons parody, O.J. Simpson, FOX

-Anna

We start of this week’s episode with the Simpson’s visiting a Harvest Festival. They mistakenly get lost in a rather large and, for some reason, electrified corn maze. The family splits up and Homer is the only one that doesn’t get out. They send in the Simpsons dog, Santa’s Little Helper, to get Homer out. Bart gets the idea that Santa’s Little Helper should be a police dog. Santa’s Little Helper enrolls in Police Dog School and soon graduates.

Bart now feels lonely without his dog to play with all day. After a disturbing day being a police dog, Santa’s Little Helper comes home in a bad mood and takes it out on Bart by biting his leg. Realizing that his dog is not the same, Bart gets a new pets, a snake. The snake rather enjoys strangling Homer.
Here are some clips of the aforementioned events…

Bart takes his new snake to school with him much to the dismay of his teachers. The snake escapes however and everyone is sent screaming from the building. The snake wonders into the chemistry lab and accidently mixes two chemicals together to form a gas cloud of death. The police, who went in after the snake, come out screaming about a gas cloud. Horror-stricken, Bart runs in to save his snake but is subdued by the gas cloud. Santa’s Little Helper runs to the rescue. Both the snake and the dog find Bart at the same time and now Bart has to choose between to two.
Bart ends up choosing his long-time friend Santa’s Little Helper. The snake is visibly put out, but secretly knows that he’ll always be there for Bart in the end.

Now for some of my favorite quotes from this episode.

In the corn maze…

Marge: Maybe we should split up.
Homer: Split up?! Marge, no! We can fix this marriage!
Marge: No, no ,no, I didn’t mean…
Homer: Fine! You want out? Then go, I can make it on my own. Before I met you, I had friends and dreams.
Marge: I was talking about…
Homer: Oh, please take me back! The dating scene is a nightmare. (Sobbing) I’m begging you!
Marge: I just meant that we should split up to get out of this corn maze.
Homer: Deep down, I guess I knew that.
Marge: Now, there must be a way out.
Homer: Of our marriage? (Sobbing) Oh, I don’t want to live. (Runs off into the maze.)

Still in the maze and having just been electricuted by the maze…
Homer: “How come things that happen to stupid people keep happening to me!!!

At the Harvest Festival…
Farmer (making a wagon wheel): Wagon wheels were the Internet of the 19th century!
Bart: Really?
Farmer: No.

Barts gets a python…
Bart: (About his new python) He is so awesome I already love him more than Lisa!

The Simpsons, Stop Or My Dog Will Shoot, FOX

-Anna

The fairly popular rock band Green Day will be performing on The Simpsons Movie according to TeenMusic.com.
But by doing so, Green Day will subject themselves to The Simpsons way of life, meaning that it is more than likely that the band will be the but of a few jokes or they be made fun of is some fashion.

“They’re really good sports and I think we both honour them and Simpson-ise them. You can take that however you want. They’re really nice guys,” says Matt Groening.

Hank Azaria, who voices numerous Simpsons characters including bar owner Moe Szyslak, adds, “I know that Moe yells out obnoxious stuff to Green Day while they’re performing. That I remember. He yells out stupid stuff to Green Day.”

“(They don’t play) at Moe’s Tavern. They perform elsewhere in the movie; they’re outside. And the whole crowd turns on them.”

I find it interesting that the movie is coming out in about 2 months and they are still announcing who will be in it.

In other news…
For all you gamers out there who were excited by the fact that a new Simpsons Game will be hitting shelves this fall might also be excited that you could play this new game on a limited edition Simpson style XBox 360. TechShout.com explains…

The Xbox 360 maker [Microsoft] has announced that they have entered into a partnership with FOX to offer fans a chance to win one of the 100 limited-edition ‘The Simpsons’ Xbox 360 Pro consoles.

The limited edition ‘The Simpsons’ consoles will be available through a series of special events and promotions. Do keep in mind that the ‘Simpsons’ consoles will NOT be sold in retail. So, you got to stay tuned if you wish to get your hands on one of these pleasantly yellow Xbox 360s.

Details about how exactly anyone wins these Simpsonized XBoxes have not been released yet, so if you’re hankering for one these things, you’ll have to pay special attention to gaming sites.

The Simpsons, The Simpsons Movie, Green Day, XBox 360, Microsoft, FOX

-Anna