Watching Simpsons

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

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

While this clip is fairly long, it gives the viewer a sense of the game. I suggest turning the volume down, has the cell-phone-techno is a bit annoying. (I hope that’s not that actual game track, and if it is, it could be muted). It’s likely that the clip contains game spoilers, so be wary. While the clip was found on YouTube, it likely originates from Project Next.

The Simpsons, The Simpsons: Minutes to Meltdown, Mobile, Mobile Games, Games

Spoiler TV has the titles of the upcoming episodes, which are:

Episode 19.9 N is for Nerder
Episode 19.10 E. Pluribus Wiggum
Episode 19.11 Love, Springfieldian Style
Episode 19.12 The Debarted
Episode 19.13 Smoke on the Daughter
Episode 19.14 All About Lisa
Episode 19.15 Double, Double, Boy in Trouble
Episode 19.16 Lost Verizon
Episode 19.17 That 90’s Show

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

First up..

We all know that The Simpsons are known for having celebrities guest star on the famous cartoon. Many have joined the ranks of the jawless forms we call The Simpsons such as Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, and The Rolling Stones. Prince almost had the same coveted opportunity until his chauffeur got in the way.
PR-Inside explains…

PRINCE cancelled plans to appear in an episode of THE SIMPSONS, because creator Matt Groening wouldn’t agree to a script written by the pop star’s chauffeur. Groening tells the New York Daily News, “Prince wanted to do the show, so we wrote him a script. It didn’t work out, because his chauffeur had written a script too, and Prince wanted to use that one.”

Well, you can’t put a price on the sacred relationship between a pop star and his driver.

Next in the news, we have new The Simpsons Movie posters. Here are a few examples of the new posters. Thanks to CinemaBlend.com for the images.

And last but not least, TheSun.com came out with an article recently where experts claim that The Simpsons do a better job at educating kids about the danger of drugs than the schools do.

The TV cartoon gives a more accurate picture than “worthy” classroom lessons, according to Richard Ives.
And it holds children’s attention because it is funny, he said.
Mr Ives praised episodes where teenager Bart gets high on “an all-syrup Squishee”, mum Marge “drinks spiked water and trips” — and dad Homer takes dope.
And he added: “What characterises these drug references, apart from their humour, is their accuracy and level of detail.
“Any one of these would provide a fantastic starting point for class discussion about drugs.”

Mr. Ives also believed that lessons about drugs should be brought to those kids who are already using as well as those who have yet to experiment. He feels that while lessons on drugs don’t necessarily need to be spiced up, they do need to be approached from the same standpoint as The Simpsons, simply because kids will relate better and enjoy the lesson more.

Well, that is it for Simpsons news today. Don’t forget the new Simpsons episode on Sunday titled “Crook and Ladder.”

Here is the synopsis of that episode.

Maggie goes on a path of destruction in the Simpsons home after Marge follows advice in a parenting magazine and throws away her pacifier. Marge finally gives in and sends Homer to get Maggie a new pacifier, but when he cant find the right brand, Maggie comes up with her own substitute an especially squeaky dog toy. Homer cant sleep through the toys incessant squeaking and is driven to take sleeping pills, which turn him into a sleepwalker with a penchant for mischief. When one of Homers sleepwalking schemes leaves the entire Springfield Fire Department debilitated in the hospital, Homer and some of his fellow Springfieldians become volunteer firefighters. They extinguish several fires and are rewarded with gifts, but when the gifts stop coming, they seek other forms of compensation for their heroic acts.

The Simpsons, The Simpsons Movie, Prince, Crook and Ladder

-Anna

CanMag.com reported earlier this week that rap star Chris “Ludacris” Bridges will be making an appearance on an upcoming episode of The Simpsons, the 400th episode to be exact.

Imagine Ludacris with a Simpsons overbite. You’ll have to for now, because Bridges himself hasn’t even seen his Groening-esque visage yet. “I haven’t seen it yet. That was a crazy thing. I did a voice for the markup, but I haven’t seen the finish version. So, I’d be just as surprised as everybody else.”

“The Simpsons are also airing two episodes the night of May 20, including a 24 spoof with Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer. Bridges is simply playing Ludacris.”

Personally, I’m more interested in the 24 spoof simply because 24 is one of my favorite shows.

The Simpsons, Chris Ludacris Bridges, 24, Kiefer Sutherland, Jack Bauer

-Anna

Thanks to SimpsonsChannel.com for the preview.
“Stop Or My Dog Will Shoot” will be airing not this Sunday but the next Sunday May 6th. Here’s a short description of the episode.

Homer is upset when he realizes that Marge brought him and the family to a boring Harvest Fest instead of his much-anticipated day of debauchery at October Fest. Attempting to leave, Homer accidentally drags the family into a puzzling cornfield maze. When the whole family manages to escape except for Homer, they send out Santa’s Little Helper, who sniffs out Homer and rescues him. Santa’s Little Helper becomes a local hero and the Simpsons decide to enroll him in Police Dog Academy, where he’s teamed with a grizzled veteran cop named Lou and they become a crime-busting duo.

Also, did anyone catch American Idol last night? It was a supersized show where lots of different artists and actors make appearances to order to help raise money for poverty-stricken areas in our own country and in Africa. The Simpsons contributed as well with a skit where Homer, Marge, and Lisa critiqued Simon Cowell. It was rather humourous. As reported by TheSunOnline.com…

SIMON COWELL met his match when the Simpsons panned his attempt at singing The Pussycat Dolls’ hit Don’t Cha in a special TV charity show.
A cartoon version of Mr Nasty appeared in a Simpsons skit as an American Idol wannabe.
Homer gave his verdict on Cowell’s singing by saying “Lose the accent, Mary Poppins. This is American Idol.”

Here’s a clip of the skit.

The Simpsons, American Idol, Stop Or My Dog Will Shoot, FOX, spoilers

-Anna

I found a rather candid interview with the creators of The Simpsons, Matt Groening and Mel Brooks. They speak still very vaguely about the movie and even admit that some of the stuff they leaked was fake, so who knows if they’re telling the truth now. Here are some excerpts from that interview.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How concerned were you with making a movie that satisfies die-hards but still appeals to the uninitiated?
MATT GROENING: We’re trying to entertain ourselves. We figure that if we can surprise ourselves, we’ll surprise the fans. There’s certainly some attention paid to the idea of rewarding the die-hard fans for paying attention for all these years. At the same time, we want people who may not be die-hard fans to have a really enjoyable time.
JAMES L. BROOKS: There’s nothing where we do really basic exposition on who Homer is. I mean, if you’re gonna be surprised that he strangles his son a few minutes in, we’re gonna have a rough go with you. [They laugh.]

Why all the secrecy? What are you hiding?
BROOKS: First of all, what we’re calling secrecy is just keeping the work private until you’re ready to show it. But it started out as people wanting to know what it was about, and then we were having fun with it, putting out false story lines. We’ve revealed more with each successive trailer. We’ll continue to do that.
GROENING: Even though there are some very misleading things in the trailer.
BROOKS: We saw a trailer the other day, and somebody said 70 percent of the things in it — based on where we were eight weeks ago — are no longer in the movie, because we keep on fooling around.

You assembled an all-star team of current and former Simpsons producers and writers, as well as longtime director David Silverman, to work on the movie. What was that like?
BROOKS: It was a romantic notion and a good one to begin with: Just gather together anybody who was here at the very beginning or who ran the show.
GROENING: We have a shared vision, but everybody adds different kinds of jokes. And it’s not a chorus by any means.
BROOKS: No, we have arguments. And one of the good things about a table is that nothing gets in unless the table laughs.
GROENING: I’m just amazed that we were able to order from the same pizza place for so many weeks.
BROOKS: Occasionally, it was an angry discussion.
GROENING: You’re in a room with some of the most creative guys in the world, and they’re ordering from the same pizza place every night. Come on!

To read the rest of the interview, you can visit EW.com.

The Simpsons, The Simpsons Movie, Mel Brooks, Matt Groening, FOX, spoilers

-Anna

I came across a rather well-crafted article the other day concerning the ambiguous nature of the long-awaited Simpsons movie.
Let me quote some of this for you, because I really like the writing style.

In Geneva, 3,000 scientists are harnessing Cern’s vast computer network to understand the fundamental nature of matter. In terms of man hours and a driving desire to know the truth, the physicists are running a poor second to Simpsons fans trying to uncover the plot of this summer’s movie.
Despite the involvement of 11 writers, 17 actors, and a huge team of South Korean animators, as well as News Corp’s licensing, video, book and TV operations, the film’s shroud of secrecy is covered by a veil of ambiguity and further draped in a pall of enigma.

I know this post is supposed to about The Simpsons Movie, but I do have to take a moment and remark on how cool the intro to this article it. Hey, I’m a writer at heart. Okay, moving on with what this article had to say about the movie.

Apparently in a press junket a while back Matt Groening spilled a few beans about the movie before his publicist shut him up.

“The animation is more ambitious, and the story itself is an epic,” he began. “We’re trying to reward the fans who have been following the show from the very beginning, and we want to get new people into the theatre. So it’s a combination of gags and a story with some real emotion.” He was promptly shushed by a publicist and further movie questions were forbidden - although Groening made a sly reference to “Homer’s odyssey” before they carried him away.

The writer of this article, Stephen Armstrong, has tracked enough of the slim information given out about the movie and has come to the following conclusion about what exactly this movie is about.

In disposing of some pigswill Homer unwittingly places Springfield in jeopardy. The townsfolk storm his house, putting his family in mortal peril, so he embarks on an epic quest to find a buried idol and save the world. There is almost certainly a subplot involving a mysterious stranger aiming to assassinate the president, and practically everyone appears nude at some point.
Of course, this may all be hokum. The only thing News Corp has officially revealed is that it expects to make several hundred million dollars from the movie.

Your guess is as good as mine.

The Simpsons, The Simpsons Movie, Matt Groening, FOX, spoilers

-Anna

This is just a quick post for everyone. This week’s episode was a rerun that had Bart getting a license and almost getting married titled “Little Big Girl.”
A new episode, titled “Marge Gamer” will air on the 22nd.

Marge becomes a spectacle during a PTA meeting for not having an e-mail address, and she decides to take a chance on using the Internet. Amazed and delighted by all the Internet has to offer, Marge decides to join a popular role-playing fantasy game named “Earthland Realms.” To Marge’s dismay, the game has her interacting with practically the whole town of Springfield, including Bart, who happens to be the game’s most feared and destructive player. Meanwhile, Homer saves Lisa’s soccer game from cancellation after he volunteers to take the place of a referee who recently quit. However, Homer’s refereeing skills only exasperate Lisa, and her competitive streak gets the best of her.

The Simpsons, spoilers, Marge Gamer, FOX