The Simpsons
18 and Life
Published September 10, 2006 @ 16:15 in The Simpsons
 Holy shit, will I really be settling in tonight to watch my eighteenth season premiere of "The Simpsons". Can that be possible? Let's see... 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. Yep, that's 18. Holy shit.
I've written buckets on "The Simpsons". Suffice it to say that this series stopped being a mere television show to me long, long ago. The memories it's pummelled into me, the lessons it's taught me, the chunk of my personal history it's permeated, "The Simpsons" is my show. I remember being shocked by how good season one was, I remember being flabbergasted when it got better in season two, improved in season three and reached its lofty pinnacle in season four. To this day I compare bits of my day to day life to incidents from Springfield and wonder what Homer would do in a particular situation. He is wise.
Tonight, Joe Pantoliano and Michael Imperioli of "The Sopranos" guest voice as two of Fat Tony's goons. I'll watch it live and I'll enjoy it. Once I learned to stop comparing new episodes to the glory days I found my inner yellow glow of peace. I'm looking forward to season eighteen, my friends have been missed.
Here's hoping for another eighteen and one helluva good movie.
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Top 25 Simpsons Guest Appearances
Published September 6, 2006 @ 11:44 in The Simpsons
IGN.com has come up with a list of the top 25 guest appearances in the seventeen year history of "The Simpsons". I've often contemplated writing such a list, but IGN.com beat me to the punch. Here's their top 25.
#25: Glenn Close
#24: Aerosmith
#23: The Hullapalooza Performers
#22: Tito Puente
#21: James Taylor
#20: The Cast of Cheers
#19: Mel Gibson
#18: Spinal Tap
#17: The Pro Baseball Players in "Homer at the Bat"
#16: Stephen Hawking
#15: The Ramones
#14: Johnny Cash
#13: Elizabeth Taylor
#12: Ron Howard
#11: Leonard Nimoy
#10: The Beatles
#9: John Waters
#8: Jon Lovitz
#7: James Earl Jones
#6: Winona Ryder
#5: Michael Jackson
#4: The Krusty Comeback Performers
#3: Dustin Hoffman
#2: Mark Hamill
#1: Albert Brooks
I would actually disqualify Albert Brooks and Jon Lovitz from my list because they've played so many memorable characters. I'd also disqualify the late great Phil Hartman because he was essentially a regular cast member. With those three off the market, here's my top five.
- Dustin Hoffman
- Johnny Cash
- George Harrison
- Leonard Nimoy
- Michael Jackson
As far as purely musical cameos are concerned, Aerosmith, The Ramones and James Taylor were probably my favourites. Who were your favourites?
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My Kingdom For A Standard Cardboard Box
Published August 17, 2006 @ 14:36 in The Simpsons
 "The Simpsons: The Complete Eighth Season" is now in stores and Maggie is on the cover. I own the previous seven seasons, in fact, seasons of "The Simpsons" are pretty well the only DVDs I collect. Things were going swimmingly for the first five season and then they introduced the plastic head covers.
First up was Homer. A plastic head of Homer Jay Simpson was the cover of season six and the same style head of Marge was the cover of season seven. Although they look neat, these plactic containers simply don't stay closed. They fly open, the booklet and discs are always falling out, it's brutal.
I can't wait to watch the season that brought us "El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer", "You Only Move Twice" and "Homer's Enemy", but I really don't want another crappy plastic head case. My kingdom for a standard cardboard box!
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Season 8 Release Date
Published May 12, 2006 @ 20:45 in The Simpsons
 Season 8 of "The Simpsons" will be available August 15. This is the season that brought us "You Only Move Twice", "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious", "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase" and "Homer's Enemy".
Since the only DVDs I collect are seasons of "The Simpsons", I'm certain this one will find its way into my collection.
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July 27, 2007
Published March 31, 2006 @ 20:06 in The Simpsons
 I've marked July 27, 2007 on my Sunbird calendar. That's the day "The Simpsons" movie will be released. There's a teaser trailer airing prior to "Ice Age: The Meltdown."
It's been a long time coming, it's been a long, long, long time running, it's well worth the wait.
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Ricky Gervais and Sky One Reality
Published March 24, 2006 @ 20:20 in The Simpsons
On March 4th I linked to "The Simpsons" opening reenacted by real people. It was spot on, created by Sky One, a channel in the United Kingdom airing the show. This Sunday, that same reenactment will precede the episode of "The Simpsons".
Another reason to look forward to Sunday night's episode is the fact it was written by and stars Ricky Gervais. I recently rented the six episodes of the original series "The Office" and they were superb. Gervais was sensational as the boss. I was already a fan of the American version of the show, but the Briish version is a treat.
I'm dying to see what he'll bring to my friends in Springfield.
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The First Nineteen
Published March 20, 2006 @ 20:09 in The Simpsons
Fox has renewed "The Simpsons" for at least two more years. That will put it in its nineteenth season and will guarantee a 400th episode airing sometime during the 2007-08 season.
I've written a tonne about this show over the years, and when I finally migrate all my old entries over to MT, they'll be together in one convenient package. Needless to say, it means a great deal to me and has been a personal favourite for over half my life. An entire decade past their prime and I still look forward to new episodes on Sunday night. That alone speaks volumes.
When the season finale of season nineteen airs, James will be six years old. When I sat down to watch my first episode of "The Simpsons", I was in grade nine. Here's hoping this ride never stops.
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Cowabunga
Published March 4, 2006 @ 12:53 in The Simpsons
 I closed my last entry about the real life Simpsons intro with the expression "cowabunga!". After I posted it, I realized that Bart almost never says that anymore. In fact, I don't think I've heard the term since the early 90s.
This got me looking for the origin of the term which naturally led me to visit Wikipedia. That's where I found this handy page about cowabunga, "used as an expression of exhilaration when riding the waves".
Cowabunga! was first used on "Howdy Doody" and was adopted by surfers who grew up watching the show. In my time, the expression was used by Cookie Monster, Snoopy, Michaelangelo from "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" and, of course, Bart Simpson.
No wonder I get the warm fuzzies from the expression cowabunga. No wonder I always visit Wikipedia first.
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My Ten Favourite Episodes of The Simpsons
Published February 21, 2006 @ 19:42 in Lists, The Simpsons
 I've spent a great deal of my life in Springfield, living precariously through my favourite tv family. I was fifteen when "The Simpsons" debuted and I was on it like Troy McClure on a trout from the beginning. I even remember them from "The Tracey Ullman Show" in the late 80s.
Well over 300 episodes later, coming up with a top ten list is most difficult for a mega-fan like myself. There are just too many gems to choose from. How do you whittle it down to a mere ten?
Here are my current top ten episodes of all time:
- Last Exit to Springfield
- Homer the Heretic
- A Streetcar Named Marge
- Marge vs. The Monorail
- Rosebud
- Bart vs. Thanksgiving
- Lisa's Substitute
- The Telltale Head
- Itchy and Scratchy Land
- Behind the Laughter
Agree or disagree, just keep in mind how completely subjective this practice is. If you're a fan of "The Simpsons", don't forget to check out Homer's quote of the week, lovingly updated every Saturday morning.
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