Back in 2005, TUAW conducted a poll of its readers to see what TV series they wanted to purchase through iTunes. Among the top five was The Simpsons.

The Simpsons Movie was previously available through iTunes, but it is one of the movies that has disappeared in the past few weeks. In the past couple of days, however, the main Simpsons TV series has finally made it into the iTunes lineup.

Only the eight episodes aired thus far in season 20 are uploaded in standard definition. Hopefully earlier seasons will arrive, along with high-definition once it starts. The Simpsons can be purchased from the U.S. iTunes Store for $1.99 an episode with a season pass for $37.99.

The series was one of five nominees for best comedy series, along with Entourage, Weeds and previous winners 30 Rock and The Office.

Four episodes of the show were also nominated separately in the best animation category.

The WGA awards will given out at a ceremony in Los Angeles on 7 February.

The Simpsons, which has been running for nearly 20 seasons, has collected numerous WGA awards in the animation category over the years, but this is the first time the show is competing for best comedy series.

It was the last episode that will air until January 18 — over a month break, and I’m sure many fans were confused by the Christmas opener which was tacked on and out of place. The Simpsons was fourth in its timeslot, while the FOX network was second overall for the night and first among adults 18-49. A repeat of Family Guy scored higher viewers, with 6.54 million, while American Dad had 5.27 million viewers.

Look out for the latest releases from Bongo Comics, out this month.

Bart Simpson #45: Krusty sponsors a “class clown” competition at Springfield Elementary, pitting Bart against an unlikely competitor…Milhouse Van Houten. Also, sign up on Springfield’s newest social networking site, “Bart Space”. Then, join Maggie and Moe as they attempt to solve several crimes at once…but will they save Hans Moleman in time? Make Bart a part of the action this December!

Simpsons Super Spectacular #8: Brace yourself for the return of one of Springfield’s most unheralded but most in demand superheroes - Senor Ding Dong, and he makes house calls on weekends, too. Then join the Sprint, a balding, paunchy middle-age hero on his pursuit through the underbelly of the mean streets of Springfield in search of one thing…a beer at Moe’s. Finally, meet the newest member of the Radioactive Man family…Radioactive Rabbit! Simpsonic heroes will rise this December!

Simpsons Comics #149: He’s back! Plopper, Homer’s four-legged porcine friend from “The Simpsons Movie” makes his debut in Simpsons Comics. Find out what happened to Spider Pig after Springfield was encased in a giant dome and why everyone in town, including Krusty, is after him. Crack open your piggy bank and plop your money down for Simpsons Comics this December!

The central issue in the case was whether a cartoon character could depict a real person. Judge Michael Adams decided that it could, and found a man from Sydney guilty of possessing child pornography.

He ruled that the animated cartoon could “fuel demand for material that does involve the abuse of [actual] children,” and therefore upheld the conviction for child pornography.

Rather than jail the man, however, he fined him Aus$3,000 (US$2,000).

During the annual billionaires’ retreat, Mr. Burns wins the Boston Celtics in a casual game of poker. While hosting the season opener in Springfield, Mr. Burns witnesses the antics of Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban (guest voice as himself). Fascinated with his behavior, Mr. Burns decides to emulate Cuban’s over-the-top crowd pleasing stunts in order to win over the hearts of Springfield’s basketball fans. In the midst of his failing endeavor, Mr. Burns decides that the best way to win over the fans is to build a brand new, state-of-the-art sports arena.

Unfortunately, the last remaining bee colony in Springfield is located on the proposed stadium site, and Lisa is single-handedly spearheading a movement to protect them. As Lisa fights for a safe haven for the bees, Homer attempts to help the quickly diminishing bee population by mating the Springfield bees with Africanized bees, creating a buzzworthy fiasco.

King Of The Hill at 8.30 had 6.3 million, while a repeat of Family Guy at 9 had 6.8 million. A new American Dad ended the night with 5.5 million.

FOX was a distant fourth overall for the night both overall and in the target 18 - 49 demographic. The Simpsons came in fourth at 8pm, behind The Amazing Race, Sunday Night Football, and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

This episode is already scheduled for a repeat on December 21 at 8:30pm. The Burns And The Bees airs next Sunday.

Mypods And Boomsticks airs tonight in North America.

The Simpson family takes a trip to the Mapple Store at the Springfield Mall where Lisa gets her very own Mypod, and Bart interrupts an announcement from Steve Mobbs with his own voiceover, causing pandemonium to break loose in the store. On his way home from the mall, Bart narrowly escapes punishment and befriends a Muslim boy named Bashir. Homer becomes suspicious of Bart’s new friend and invites Bashir, his mother (guest voice Shohreh Aghdashloo, “24“) and his father over for dinner so he can investigate their supposed anti-American sentiments. Having already offended Bashir and his family at dinner, Homer goes to their home to apologize, but he instead snoops around their house, a la Jack Bauer, and uncovers what he believes to be a terrorist plot to blow up the Springfield Mall. The race is on as Homer tries to warn the residents of Springfield about the impending disaster.

FOX have released this new promotional image for December 7 episode ‘The Burns And The Bees’.

During the annual billionaires’ retreat, Mr. Burns wins the Boston Celtics in a casual game of poker. While hosting the season opener in Springfield, Mr. Burns witnesses the antics of Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban (guest voice as himself). Fascinated with his behavior, Mr. Burns decides to emulate Cuban’s over-the-top crowd pleasing stunts in order to win over the hearts of Springfield’s basketball fans. In the midst of his failing endeavor, Mr. Burns decides that the best way to win over the fans is to build a brand new, state-of-the-art sports arena.

Unfortunately, the last remaining bee colony in Springfield is located on the proposed stadium site, and Lisa is single-handedly spearheading a movement to protect them. As Lisa fights for a safe haven for the bees, Homer attempts to help the quickly diminishing bee population by mating the Springfield bees with Africanized bees, creating a buzzworthy fiasco.

A UK man has been jailed for breaching the peace by singing Spiderpig from The Simpsons Movie at police officers. David Mullen was sentenced to three months for the incident and calling an officer “ginger” in a police van.

Mullen, 22, from Blairgowrie, claimed he was singing the ditty, performed by Homer in the cartoon, because it was the ringtone on his mobile phone. He was given a further eight months in prison for assaulting a police officer and breaching a curfew while on bail.

Mullen sang the song to officers on 25 July while sitting in the back of a police van after being involved in a fight in Blairgowrie, Perthshire. Solicitor Paul Ralph, defending, said: “He started the song and that was the origin of the joke, but things went further. He felt he had not done anything to be apprehended for.” Mullen breached his curfew on 30 October and assaulted a police officer on 2 November.