Watching Simpsons

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

There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of hard news, recently, regarding The Simpsons. Any time one uses a fish related story for a blog, one gets that feeling. At any rate, somebody has put together another list of favorites. Over on myfoxcolorado.com, the staff writers put together a “Top-8” list of what they consider to be the best episodes of the show’s lengthy run. The resulting article, however, starts with the following disclaimer:

There is not one definitive list of the top episodes of the Simpsons. It would be impossible for fans and aficionados of the hit FOX television to agree on such a list.

Of the episodes chosen, one can’t argue. All of them were equally memorable and hilarious. There’s the time that Homer went into to space, but a green rod gets all the fame and glory from it. There’s also the one where Homer and Flanders actually become friends, with little hostility on Homer’s part. There are others too, but as for ranking, I agree more with the opening two sentences of the article. No list, I think, will ever win over every fan of the show.

The Simpsons, Television, Comedy, Sitcoms, Animation, Cartoons, Fox Television

You really can sort of measure the pop culture success of something by how much of it makes it into everyday speech. Shakespeare, for example, has given the English language a number of expressions that are still used today. So has The Simpsons. To be clear, however, I’m not necessarily equating the Bard with Groening’s creations. Beyond expressions and sayings, there’s also the ease for which people can use something, like The Simpsons, as a metaphor or explanation for something else. We’ve kind of seen it with The Taurus, recently. Now, however, it seems a Simpsons episode has made explaining Salmon issues a bit easier:

If you’re a Simpsons fan, you may remember an episode in which Lisa inadvertently releases an invasive lizard in the town that eats pigeons.

Everyone is happy, and when someone points out that they’ll soon have a problem with lizards instead of birds, someone dismisses it by saying they’ll release monkeys to eat the lizards and then cold will kill the monkeys. See, there’s no real problem!

It’s meant to be a ridiculous jab at peoples’ short-sightedness, but some days it seems like reality TV. Western states have now taken steps to protect their valuable wild salmon stocks by killing sea lions.

The rest of the article goes into greater detail. Normally, however, in terms of writing, these sort of pop-cultural references usually don’t work. For example, not everybody may be familiar with Robot Chicken, so using it as an explanatory tool may not be too effective. Plus, there’s the ever present problem of dating. In this regard, using an obscure 1980’s comedy could possibly be lost on people. At any rate, since it’s The Simpsons, it largely works, due to the success of the show and most people’s grasp on the characters.

The Simpsons, Nature, Conservation

As noted previously, the next DVD will be hitting stores in a matter of months. However, the wait shouldn’t be be very long for the other installments. Over on G4TV.com, there are tentative dates of releases for the other discs. There are prospective titles, too. Basically, they checked Katey Sagal’s entry on imdb.com and found the information that way. Here is the pertinent information from the g4tv post:

# Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder (2009) (V) (post-production) (voice) …. Leela
# Futurama: Bender’s Game (2008) (V) (post-production) (voice) …. Leela
# Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs (2008) (V) (voice) …. Leela
# Futurama: Bender’s Big Score (2007) (V) (voice) …. Turanga Leela

Let’s hope that “Into the wild Green Yonder” isn’t the end of the franchise, though.

Futurama, DVDs, Cartoons, Animation