Look at those morons. I paid my taxes over a year ago!— Homer
Look at those morons. I paid my taxes over a year ago!— Homer
When he started work on the first season of The Simpsons, Mike Reiss thought the show would last six weeks. "We thought we were just doing it to amuse ourselves and six weeks was about the lifespan of a quirky, offbeat show," he said.
Reiss didn't tell anyone what he did because he was ashamed to be writing for cartoons. Seventeen seasons later, Reiss is still part of the Simpsons' fraternity. Twenty-five writers now work on episodes costing $US2 million ($2.59 million) to $US3 million each, with stars who get $US250,000 a week for their character voices.
Reiss, as one of the producers, has won four Emmys for what Time magazine voted the greatest TV show of the 20th century. With more than 350 episodes, The Simpsons has become the third-longest-running show on American television behind what Reiss calls "those other two comedy classics, Lassie and Gunsmoke".
Full story
Sketches have been released of the character Charles from the upcoming episode, "Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife", written by Ricky Gervais.
Gervais' official site posted the pictures yesterday. These are obviously not the finished product, but they look cool, hopefully more will be posted soon.
View the sketches
Yet more DVD news coming your way in the run up to the release of the Season 6 boxset (out August 16th - this coming Tuesday).
There have been many complaints over the new style of the set - many annoyed fans dislike the lack of consistency. However there is good news! Inside the box, there is a flyer that tells you to call a phone number if you're "an anal-retentive nerd who like their DVD boxsets to line up perfectly on the shelf" (their words, not mine!) and you can get different packaging mailed out to you!
Note: we originally reported that the phone number was incorrect however it turns out it is correct. You can also order your alternate box at SimpsonsBox.com.
More details can be found at TvShowsOnDvd.com
Here's a humourous story I just found: In a similar vein to our favourite cartoon character, Homer Simpson, A man in Pilgrim, Boston, fell asleep in a control room of the nuclear power plant!
Only it's not funny at all, not for any of the people directly involved and not for the neighbors of the Pilgrim nuclear power plant.
A control room supervisor dozed off briefly last summer at Pilgrim. The reactor operator working the shift with him didn't wake him. Instead, he took out his camera phone and snapped a video clip. The shift manager later noticed that the supervisor was nodding off, spoke to him in his office, but didn't file a report, relieve him of duty, or have him tested for drugs or alcohol.
Full Story
Another news website, TVShowsOnDVD.com has given more details about the packaging for the Season 6 DVD. You can see the images here.
Next season's guests on "The Simpsons" will include some old faces, some new ones and a Worm. Returning for roles on the Fox cartoon will be Alec Baldwin, who appeared on the show in 2002, and Kelsey Grammer, who will reprise his role as Sideshow Bob, the network announced Thursday.
In the season opener (dubbed "Bonfire of the Manatees"), Baldwin plays Caleb Thorn, a marine biologist who attempts to steer Marge away from Homer.
Former NBA star Dennis "The Worm" Rodman and NFL quarterback-turned-broadcaster Terry Bradshaw will make cameos as themselves for the annual "ghoultide" Halloween episode.
Other guest athletes include New York Yankees pitcher Randy Johnson and boxer Joe Frazier.
Ricky Gervais, William H. Macy, Lily Tomlin, Frances McDormand, Rob Reiner and Richard Dean Anderson are all also slated to appear in episodes.
Al Jean doesn't look like one of the funniest men on the planet. Nor does he assail his entourage with hilarious pop-culture observations, or compulsively cut those around him down to size with his rapier wit. Instead, the the man who as head writer has presided over 375 episodes of The Simpsons, arguably the funniest television programme ever made, requests a mineral water, sits down quietly and launches into a breathless spiel.
"We just recorded the Ricky Gervais episode," he lilts in the thin high vowels of his Detroit upbringing. "He really wanted to do something where we satirised Wife Swap. So there's this story where he sends his wife to the Simpson family in exchange for Marge, who he woos with flowers and a song. It's a very funny episode."
Jean, who is big and bluff-looking, resembling an outgrown 44-year-old college boy in a polo shirt and slacks, giggles at the thought. "Ricky was over to collect his Golden Globes for The Office. There are so many of our writers who are fans of his that we thought we'd throw a lunch for him. And he mentioned that he would be interested in writing an episode with us. Before we knew it, it was worldwide news."
Gervais is one of the long line of celebrities who have jumped at the chance to be immortalised on the world's most famous animated series - Thomas Pynchon, Stephen Hawking and Tony Blair are among those who have appeared as "themselves". And it is always Jean who flies out from Los Angeles, where he lives with his wife, to meet the prospective stars. "They're all fans - that's important," says Jean. "So is Ricky. That's why he wanted to do it." Continue...
It has been revealed that Christina Aguilera turned down a cameo in a recent episode of The Simpsons. The sexy star was offered a part in the latest series of the hugely popular animated show but snubbed the offer.
Producers had wanted the singer to play an aspiring pop star competing in a parody of US TV talent show 'American Idol'. However, Christina, 24, rejected the part forcing producers to look elsewhere.
And they did - the episode, A Star Is Torn, was broadcast in May this year, and featured Americal Idol winner Fantasia Barrino.
Full Story
