Thanks to the New York Times for reminding me of the important wedding date I totally missed. Lisa Simpson’s almost-wedding to Hugh Parkfield from the 1995 Simpsons episode “Lisa’s Wedding”. Check out the invite and full episode below:
TGIF! The best way to kick off this weekend is a little song and dance number from The Simpsons episode “The Springfield Files”. The big-eyed Mr. Burns is the result of the longevity treatment he gets in order to cheat death for a week. Hilarious.
Last Sunday The Simpsons replaced its traditional intro with the first verse of Ke$ha’s hit “Tik Tok”. As a Simpsonian, I don’t remember an artist ever getting a cameo let along full song placement on the intro credits. Maybe creator Matt Groening is attempting to appeal to 13 year olds; this just reiterates why I haven’t watched (and enjoyed) an episode since 1999. Call me Comic Book Guy if you must and watch the cringe-worthy clip below.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Here’s a little pre-drinking fun from The Simpsons…what happens when prohibition hits Springfield.
Tonight The Simpsons celebrates its 20th year on the air (although every fan knows the show began in 1987 as shorts on the Tracy Ulman Show). The smart writing, minimalist animation, and amazing voiceover work makes this my favorite show of all time, and arguably one of the best shows period on television. Every time I watch an episode I find new nuances and references to laugh at. Similar to Bart’s love for Krusty the Klown, “I’ve based my entire life on the show’s teachings”.
I’m a proud Simpson-head (Comic Book Guy-sized even) but I’m a purist at heart and the episodes post around Season 9 just don’t do it for me. Maybe I’m getting old and nostalgic but what made The Simpsons so stellar was keeping it simple. Nowadays the jokes are way too in your face (see: Family Guy) and the episodes are oversaturated with celebrity cameos. Call me old fashioned, but something about seeing Homer with a cell phone still makes me cringe. Will the show ever return to its glory years? Probably not. The ratings are still strong and I’m sure 13 year olds find the humor entertaining. If tonight’s 3-D extravaganza is any indication, I should probably just stick to enjoying the golden years on DVD, with commentary, and my handy program guidebook in hand. UPDATE: The 20th Anniversary special is documentary-style program with past writers, showrunners, and uber fans. One of the new writer humorously addresses the issue of old school fans criticizing the new format. “It’s never as good as it was 5 years ago…well neither are you“.
Who said cartoons aren’t based on reality? Oregon scientist and Simpsons head Rob Baur has proven that life can imitate art by creating Tomacco, a hilarious and delicious? blend of tomato and tobacco. Fans of The Simpsons will remember the plant as a happy accident of Homer’s yellow thumb which starts as an addictive cash crop but quickly leads the family into comical horror.
The funniest part of this story is not so much the plant itself but the fact that the show’s writers got a whiff of the crossbreeding and invited Baur and his family to the show. Baur gifted the E-I E-I D’oh’ episode writer Ian Maxtone-Graham with the plant and Graham, like a true die hard fan, proceeded to eat it.
Only in America kids. Shout outs to Tres Bulger for the linkie.
Spending time spiffying up my blog has been a fun exercise in geekdom. I’ve literally spent hours today going through WordPress plug-ins (how did I ever live without them) and dusting up on my 10th grade HTML skills (shout outs to Mr. Houtrow at KAMSC!). Anytime I’m hacking away on the computer, this famous scene from The Simpsons’ “King Size Homer” comes to mind. Like Homer in his flowered muu-muu, sometimes you just need to take a break and order a tall, frosty Tab.
Interestingly, my old blog could never embed Hulu videos so easily. New technology FTW!
