MattGroening-related stories
Posted Oct 16th 2009 11:03AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Programming, OpEd, The Simpsons, Reality-Free
As part of the 20th anniversary celebrations, Fox is holding a contest in which fans can
create a character online that will appear in an upcoming episode of
The Simpsons. Entries can be submitted on
The Simpsons website (although apparently not yet) and should include such information as name, age, appearance, occupation and catchphrase ("D'oh!").
I suspect that all entries will be the property of Fox upon submission. Since the show has been around for so long, it must be tough to invent new, unique and interesting characters so Fox is having the fans do it.
Of course, everyone could always just submit themselves as a candidate. It would be a little like that "
Simpsonize yourself" craze from not too long ago. So many celebrities have made appearances on the show over the years, it would be nice if a non-celebrity, the sort that kept the show in business, would have a cameo.
Posted Oct 12th 2009 2:10AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, The Simpsons, Animation, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S21E03) "Call me a killjoy, but I think that because this is not to my taste, no one else should be able to enjoy it!" --Marge Simpson on Ultimate Punching
I'm not a fan of
Ultimate Fighting, though I think that other people should be able to watch it, if they're so inclined. But it is an all too common stance among watchdog groups, including mothers, sympathetic school officials and the clergy, as Nelson so kindly pointed out. Of course, this has been going on for years, but it was still a clever enough send-up of the problem.
Maybe it's because I don't find Marge to be one of the funnier characters on the show and this episode focused on her, so there weren't as many funny moments in the main storylines. Luckily, there were plenty of side characters and moments to spotlight.
Continue reading The Simpsons: The Great Wife Hope
Posted Oct 7th 2009 10:02PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: TV on the Bigscreen, The Simpsons, Reality-Free
If you fondly remember watching the first
Simpsons Movie hoping that the sequel would bring you equal amounts of life affirming excitement, keep hoping.
Matt Groening and Al Jean said an interview with Morgan Spurlock, the
Super Size Me star and director hired for
the show's big anniversary extravaganza, that they have
no plans to start doing another Simpsons movie anytime soon.
They didn't rule out the possibility of another movie, but it certainly won't be in the foreseeable future. The pair said the process for the first movie was so frustrating that they couldn't fathom even starting a second one without some kind of heavy duty anti-psychotic medication.
Posted Aug 1st 2009 10:03AM by Nick Zaino
Filed under: Programming, The Simpsons, Animation, Documentary, Reality-Free
When documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock first saw
The Simpsons, he was a 19- or 20-year-old college kid, still living at home with his mother in West Virginia. Having grown up watching
Monty Python,
Fawlty Towers, and
Blackadder, Spurlock was ecstatic to watch
The Tracey Ullman Show, the show that would eventually introduce him to
The Simpsons.
Twenty years later, Spurlock has established himself as a filmmaker with
Super Size Me and
Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden, and will direct a segment for the upcoming adaptation of
Freakonomics. And he'll get to tackle the show he's loved these past two decades as he produces and directs
The Simpsons Anniversary Special - In 3-D! On Ice!, which will air Thursday, January 14, 2010.
Spurlock remembers his first impression of the show, watching back in his college days. "When it first came on, I was in college, and it was literally an obsession. It was something that me and all my friends would literally ... at 8 o'clock, we were sitting there on the couch watching this show, and it was something that we all did together," said Spurlock in a conference call with media last week. "For all my four years of college, that was something that we did."
Continue reading Morgan Spurlock on The Simpsons Anniversary Special -- In 3-D! On Ice!
Posted Jul 26th 2009 7:00PM by TV Squad blogger
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Animation, Reality-Free, Comic-Con
Our friends at
ComicsAlliance attended the Comic-Con panel for
Futurama. Laura Hudson reports a curious absence there:
The original panel for
Futurama was billed as event where we would "join executive producers Matt Groening and David X. Cohen, and stars Billy West, Katey Sagal, John DiMaggio, and Maurice LaMarche for high-stakes thrills as a top-ranking FOX executive decides live, on stage, whether Futurama will make yet another triumphant return or whether it is gone forever!"
It was an obvious setup for a Fox exec to reunite the cast and creator and cue wild applause from fans for the
revival of the cult favorite cartoon. Unfortunately, as a result of the recent contract disputes and salary cuts for the voice cast -- and the
subsequent threats from Fox that they would recast the characters -- none of the voice actors were in attendance, although series creator Matt Groening voiced his support for them, saying that "we love our
Futurama actors. We hope that FOX and the actors can come to an agreement as soon as possible."
Continue reading Futurama cast absent from Comic-Con panel
Posted Jun 27th 2009 2:02PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: The Simpsons, Watercooler Talk, Celebrities, Reality-Free
Michael Jackson's impact on TV's infallible mammoth
The Simpsons goes far deeper than we
previously suspected. In fact, Jackson is probably one of the many creative minds who helped the show and its characters move into more musical territory and become an even deeper part of global pop culture. When you're a king, you have all sorts of powers, so you might as well use them for the good of your kingdom.
That's why when I become king, I will order all television networks to play nothing but
Top Gear and
Robot Chicken and that episode of
Married...With Children where Al meets a stripper named Rocki Mountains. Anyone who tries to stop me will be thrown into a cell without the benefit of trial and forced to watch reruns of
Cop Rock and
AfterMASH until their eyes stop working and/or melt right out of their skull. Whadaya gonna do about it? I'm the frigging king!
Continue reading Michael Jackson's connection to The Simpsons runs deeper than you think
Posted Jun 22nd 2009 11:08AM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Animation, Interviews, Celebrities, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
Futurama has gone through more frustrating cancellations than a United Airlines flight leaving Chicago's O'Hare Airport. No one knows that better than voice actor
Billy West and actress
Katey Sagal who respectively provide the voice, heart and soul of the show's two main characters, Fry and Leela.
But what has kept the show going is the camaraderie of the cast and crew. Everyone from the show still keep in touch in between other jobs and even have the occasional reunion from their regular crowded visits at ComicCon to smaller get togethers like when Katey said the cast got together to watch her last concert at the
MBar in Hollywood.
Most of all, they said they have the fans to thank for their next big reunion when
Futurama goes back into production. They both took a short time out of their busy schedules to chat about Comedy Central's two season order.
Continue reading Katey Sagal and Billy West on the return of Futurama
Posted Jun 8th 2009 11:05AM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Animation, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
Have you grown tired of bad TV news? And by bad TV news, I mean bad news about television shows. Bad "TV news" is redundant.
Well, get ready for some good news. No wait, get ready for some great news. No, great doesn't really describe it. Here is some grantasticularly wondergasmiclicious news! (And my 12th grade English teacher said I'd never amount to anything as a writer.)
Comedy Central has ordered all brand new episodes of
Futurama, and the show has officially gone back into production.
Continue reading Bender's back, baby! New Futurama episodes are in our future
Posted Apr 9th 2009 5:33PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: The Simpsons, Reality-Free
I can vividly remember a time when
The Simpsons was the hot new show that every parent had to keep away from their kids or Child Protective Services would show up and take them away. So every time I see the newest thing that
The Simpsons are on this week, I can feel myself aging.
I love
The Simpsons. It has been my all time favorite show as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end, amen. So I have to have the coolest
Simpsons stuff. But every time I see Bart on a TV shirt, I can feel my hair turning gray and thinner.
Continue reading Postal Service unveils new Simpsons stamps
Posted Mar 17th 2009 11:02AM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Industry, Programming, The Simpsons, Reality-Free
As part of the 20th anniversary celebrations of
The Simpsons, Fox is going to
premiere an episode outside of the United States for the first time ever. The day of this occurrence is today, March 17th, St. Patrick's Day. The country of choice is Ireland and the episode of the show is, naturally, a special St. Patrick's Day-themed episode.
I'm reminded of that episode of
South Park called
"Simpsons Already Did It". There really aren't many firsts left for a series that has gone on for twenty years, but this would be one of the remaining ones. Will they be following it up with a special Passover episode that premieres in Israel on that holiday?
There are many who feel
The Simpsons are past their prime, but I really think the only limits to this show are the imaginations of those who are responsible for it (and the lifespans of the voice actors). Bring on more!
Posted Feb 26th 2009 11:03AM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Industry, The Simpsons, Watercooler Talk, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
Fox just sent word that they've picked up
The Simpsons for two more seasons. So, if you've stopped counting, that means the FOX staple will have completed 22 seasons and an astonishing 493 episodes by the time this pickup runs out. I'd imagine they'd want to push for 500, so don't be surprised to see a 23rd season, as well.
Look, say what you will about what the show has become; it's not as funny as it used to be, it doesn't make news anymore, blah blah blah. It's still quite shocking that in this day and age of quick-trigger-fingered network executives that
any show can last as long as
The Simpsons has.
Continue reading Two more seasons of The Simpsons... will it ever end?
Posted Nov 26th 2008 6:02PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: TV on DVD, Reality-Free
The fourth and final
Futurama direct-to-DVD movie now has
a title and a release date.
Into The Wild Green Yonder will be released on February 24, 2009.
Reading the synopsis from the press release, it sounds good. The plot sounds a little haphazard, but I think you'd say the same thing reading a synopsis of the plots from any of the DVD movies. One can only hope that this will not be the last we see of the Planet Express gang, but if it is, I hope they are sent off with the respect and dignity they deserve (provided we don't count Fry and Bender).
I really loved
Bender's Big Score . I liked but didn't love
The Beast With A Billion Backs. I caught
Bender's Game, which on my likability scale was between the first and second movies. I'm hoping to really love this fourth one. At the very least, at least they've dropped their penchant of using the letter "B" in the title.
Posted Oct 31st 2008 10:06AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Cancellations, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
It looks like the Fox "Animation Domination" lineup will be changing. It took FOX long enough to put together a solid two hour block of animated cartoons on Sunday, but now comes word that the tides are a-changing. After thirteen years on the air,
King of the Hill will wrap production at the end of this season. Of course, there will be new episodes in the can for airing even into next season. Not to mention that this isn't the first time
Hill has been canceled, and ratings now are better than they were then. In fact, executive producer John Altschuler said, "It would be very odd for
King of the Hill to not keep going."
At the same time, Seth MacFarlane's "other" show
American Dad, has just been picked up for a fifth season. It makes sense for FOX to let
King of the Hill go at this time, considering that
Family Guy spin-off
The Cleveland Show is waiting in the wings. On the other side, though, shouldn't they wait to see if that's going to work before they dump a solid perennial performer like
Hill? The way they're going, Seth MacFarlane is going to own Sunday nights.
Continue reading King of the Hill to end, American Dad renewed
Posted Jul 16th 2008 8:02AM by Richard Keller
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Industry, Battlestar Galactica, Lost, The Simpsons, Animation, Stargate, The Office, Children, Eureka, Kyle XY, Heroes, Pushing Daisies, Chuck, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Reality-Free, Comic-Con
Saturday -- a time of rest and relaxation. A time to put your feet up, grab a lemonade, open a book, and let the cool, summer breezes gently rock your hammock as a lazy July day passes. Of course, that's if you aren't attending the San Diego Comic-Con. Then, it's out of your bed, quick shower (if any), breakfast-on-the-go, and right back into the queues to see your particular favorites talking about their television shows.
Like Friday, Saturday at Comic-Con will be packed with television goodness. This is the day that many of the big guns come to play. Shows like The Office, Lost, Battlestar Galactica will be making appearances. They will be joined by newcomers Chuck, Dollhouse, and Pushing Daisies. There will even be an appearance by the recently single Sarah Silverman. There's also a good bit of television animation being featured, particularly by Nicktoons and B.E.T. Animation.
In order to make sure you get the most out of the money you paid to get into the convention, we here at TV Squad are providing you with a complete list of television-related panels for that day. If you are interested in seeing what else is going on July 25th you can review the official full schedule at the Comic-Con website. Remember, times and appearances are subject to change and seating in all event rooms is on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Continue reading Comic-Con Countdown: Saturday, July 26th
Posted Jul 15th 2008 12:05PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: The Simpsons, Family Guy, Animation, King of the Hill, TCA Press Tour, Reality-Free
As usual, FOX leaves the best press conference (at least as far as I was concerned) for last. I sat through Karl Rove and Chris Wallace getting contentious with the critics near the end of the FOX News panel (more on that later), Jerry O'Connell and the cast of
Do Not Disturb strain to answer questions about a show whose clip reel wasn't all that funny, and the millionaires from
Secret Millionaire talk about being poor for a week. All of it was made worth it (and, really, seeing Rove start to get annoyed near the end was fun to watch) so we could see the final panel: all the producers of all FOX's Sunday animated shows.
The first person who spoke up, not surprisingly, was Seth MacFarlane. "Is this where Karl Rove sat? Because I don't want to get AIDS." Wow. Unfortunately, no line that was said after that was as shocking or funny. But it was all still pretty good.
Continue reading FOX Sunday animation panel: The Simpsons is still the king - TCA Report
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