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Tag Archives | The Simpsons
Matt Groening Reveals the Location of the Real Springfield
Claudia De La Roca reveals this life-changer in a lengthy interview with the creator of “The Simpsons,” in the Smithsonian magazine:
OK, why do the Simpsons live in a town called Springfield? Isn’t that a little generic?
Springfield was named after Springfield, Oregon. The only reason is that when I was a kid, the TV show “Father Knows Best” took place in the town of Springfield, and I was thrilled because I imagined that it was the town next to Portland, my hometown. When I grew up, I realized it was just a fictitious name. I also figured out that Springfield was one of the most common names for a city in the U.S. In anticipation of the success of the show, I thought, “This will be cool; everyone will think it’s their Springfield.” And they do.
Mitt Romney Versus Mr. Burns
The 2012 Republican primary seems like one of those instances in which life is best understood by viewing everyone as corresponding to Simpsons characters. Mitt Romney’s and Mr. Burns’ attempts to connect with the “common man”, from Mad Magazine’s The Idiotical blog:
Episodes Of ‘The Simpsons’ To Be Edited Following Japanese Nuclear Crisis
Via Entertainment Weekly:
Japan’s nuclear power plant crisis is no laughing matter in Springfield: Networks in several European countries are reportedly reviewing episodes of “The Simpsons” for any “unsuitable” references to nuclear disaster.
An Austrian network has apparently pulled two eps, 1992′s “Marge Gets a Job” and 2005′s “On a Clear Day I Can’t See My Sister,” which include jokes about radiation poisoning and nuclear meltdowns, respectively.
Al Jean — exec producer of the animated Fox comedy featuring inept family man/nuclear power plant worker Homer Simpson — tells EW that he can appreciate the concern.
“We have 480 episodes, and if there are a few that they don’t want to air for awhile in light of the terrible thing going on, I completely understand that,” says Jean, citing the previous example of the 1997 episode “Homer Versus the City of New York” that was pulled after 9/11 because it included key scenes at the World Trade Center.
Merry Christmas From Fox News… But No Other Holidays
Thanks to Tim Molloy at The Wrap for noticing yet another dig at Fox News Channel by the producers of The Simpsons:
Two weeks after “Simpsons” executive producer said the show would lay off Fox News for a while, the Fox News helicopter made another appearance on the show — this time with the words, “Merry Christmas from Fox News… but no other holidays.”
The copter flew over Springfield for the Nov. 21 episode with the slogan, “”Not Racist, But #1 With Racists,” and returned the next week with the slogan changed to “Unsuitable for Viewers Under 75.”
In an interview with TheWrap, Jean said the day after the copter’s second appearance that the show would leave Fox News alone for awhile. His comments came after a Fox News insider laughed off the jokes, saying at least “The Simpsons” was funny…
[continues at The Wrap]… Read the rest
Simpsons: Fox News ‘Not Racist, But #1 With Racists’
The boundary-pushing Simpsons team risk the wrath of Rupert Murdoch and his News Corp minions by bashing Fox News Channel (remember that the Fox network carries The Simpsons). As well as having a dig at FNC, the gang also suggest there’s a mainstream media conspiracy to create one crisis or another to take our minds off what’s “really” happening (as if!, right?). Check it out:
Mexican Police Seize 121 Tons Of Marijuana In History’s Largest Drug Bust
In what is assumed to be the largest drug bust in history, authorities seized a staggering 121 tons of marijuana, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, from a drug cartel in Tijuana. The haul was then destroyed in a massive controlled bonfire. The sheer quantity of pot involved is surreal, made slightly surreal-er by being packed with labels adorned with Homer Simpson. Via Asylum:
Homer Simpson Is Catholic
Jill Serjeant reports for Reuters via Yahoo News:
“The Simpsons” just got a blessing from the Vatican.
The official Vatican newspaper has declared that beer-swilling, doughnut-loving Homer Simpson and son Bart are Catholics — and what’s more, it says that parents should not be afraid to let their children watch “the adventures of the little guys in yellow.”
“Few people know it, and he does everything to hide it. But it’s true: Homer J. Simpson is Catholic”, the Osservatore Romano newspaper said in an article on Sunday headlined “Homer and Bart are Catholics.”
The newspaper cited a study by a Jesuit priest of a 2005 episode of the show…
Bad News for Super-Villains: Blotting Out The Sun May Soon Be Banned
Mr. Burns: Smithers, have The Rolling Stones killed.
Smithers: But sir, the UN is responsible…
Burns: Do as I say!
Bad news for super-villains everywhere. Tim Wall writes in Discovery News:
Blotting out the sun has been the dream of many arch-villains, including The Simpson‘s Mr. Burns. Their schemes may soon be foiled by the United Nations’ Convention on Biological Diversity.
Super villains aren’t the only ones who want to shade the Earth from the sun. Blocking some of the sun’s rays could slow climate change by reducing the amount of sunlight warming the Earth, say some researchers, such as Roger Angel of the University of Arizona.
The Convention may consider banning or limiting research into space sunshades. Some question their wisdom. A space sunshade would have a rapid effect on global warming and provide time to develop more permanent measures, they say. The technique has already received serious attention from NASA and other organizations.
Banksy, Fox and The Simpsons Video
Thanks to Alexia Tsotsis at TechCrunch [go there for full commentary] for showing us how megamedia corporations are conveniently using copyright law to promote their intellectual property:
In case you haven’t been reading Twitter at all in the past day or so, last night “Banksy” was both the sixth search term on Google Trends and the number six trending topic on Twitter (where it remains to this morning), all because of the elusive street artist’s unbelievably dark and meta storyboarding of the animated series’ infamous intro, which Fox just removed from YouTube for copyright violations.
Before Fox pulled it down, the YouTube video had currently amassed 42,305 views, and it’d be safe to say that almost none of us actually watched it on TV…
