Some positive news on the ratings front. 10 million viewers around America tuned in to the newest episode Mommie Beerest, and the next two episodes (including 50 Cent and a post-Superbowl episode) are expected to draw even larger figures. While 10 million still is a far cry from its better efforts, its an improvement over the 8 million seen in January. The show was still the best rating show on Fox of the night, also helping Arrested Development achieve its highest figures since November. For the 8pm hour, Simpsons ranked third behind Cold Case and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. CBS won the night, followed by ABC, NBC, and Fox. In the adult demographic, ABC won the night followed by CBS, NBC, and Fox again in fourth place. They'll cerainly be looking forward to the next two weeks.

The long awaited new Simpsons episode (they're all long awaited now) Mommie Beerest finally goes to air tonight, beginning a three week new-episode run before it's shafted for Independence Day on February 27th. In tonight's new episode, "When Moe’s Tavern is shut down by the health department, Homer refinances the house to save the bar. Infuriated by this, Marge decides to protect her investment and takes an active, hands-on role as Moe’s partner. Marge gives the bar a facelift and boosts the clientele, while Homer has to stay home and play Mr. Mom. Meanwhile, Moe begins to develop deep feelings for his new partner." A rerun of Fat Man And Little Boy also airs at 9:30pm. No Homers Club will have episode discussion following the airing.

The long-awaited sequel to the Futurama/Simpsons Infinitely Secret Crossover Crisis is here at last! With the brittle fabric between reality and fiction stretched beyond its limits, the entire citizenry of Springfield finds itself trapped in New New York a thousand years in the future. Once there, the advanced 30th century populace, which has overcome war, famine, and cured the common cold, does what any technologically and morally evolved culture would do… they turn the citizens of Springfield, including The Simpsons, into slaves! The first of two comics in the second volume of The Simpsons Futurama Crossover Crisis is now available. Bongo also released Simpsons Classics #3 this week.

In an interview with The Onion A.V. Club, Family Guy creator has spoken out revealling that there's some tension between the creators of his show and that of The Simpsons. "I was reading a quote from one of the writers, from a lecture that he gave, that said "The Simpsons staff hates Family Guy." Who knows why? I'm not losing any sleep over it," said MacFarlane. "We don't want to do the same stories as they have. Every once in a while, a story will come up and somebody will say, "Well, you know, The Simpsons did an episode like that a few years back." That's really the only time it comes up. We want the show to be as good, if not better. Particularly when you hear that [the Simpsons] staff hates our guts. It's obviously a good motivator to do as good a show as possible." The interview asks MacFarlane several other questions relating to The Simpsons and it's an interesting read. Read Interview >>>

Ricky Gervais has revealed more about his upcoming cameo in cult cartoon The Simpsons. The Office creator will appear as a brand new character - and not as David Brent - in the episode, which he is also writing. While refusing to go into detail on the plotline for the ep, Gervais let slip that his character would try to woo Marge away from Homer with an original love song. "I’ve written a song that my character will sing to Marge," Gervais told The Sun today. "It’s a love song, but I don’t want to say any more at the moment."The episode will be recorded in June for transmission early next year. Gervais has recently been busy with his own upcoming sitcom 'Extras', which has already signed up Samuel L Jackson, Ben Stiller, Kate Winslet and Jude Law to make guest appearances.

Johnny Carson, who defined American comedy for 30 years as the king of late-night television and quintessential host of NBC's Tonight Show, died Sunday at age 79. His nephew, Jeff Sotzing, told the Associated Press, "Mr. Carson passed away peacefully early Sunday morning. He was surrounded by his family, whose loss will be immeasurable. There will be no memorial service." The late-night fixture had been beset by health problems since his reitrement more than a decade ago. Carson underwent a quadruple-heart bypass in March 1999. Some reports said the comic had suffered a heart attack, necessitating the emergency surgery. In September 2002, he confirmed he was battling emphysema. It was this disease that yesterday killed him. Carson made a guest appearance on The Simpsons in 1993, starring as himself in the episode Krusty Gets Kancelled.

For lots of folks whose last name happens to be Simpson, last week was an active one in search. First off, America's favorite cartoon family continued its Sunday night dominance and was up 16% for the week. Searches on matriarch Marge Simpson bounced 28% thanks to a picture of a new 'do for the animated mom, while bad boy Bart -- up 18% this week -- remains the most popular family member in queries. Jessica Simpson returned for another (possibly final?) season of Newlyweds. Once an interesting concept, the travails of a ditsy dame and her hunky husband have become tiresome. Searches on the blonde bombshell dropped 26% this week, and interest in the show remained flat. Jessica's sis Ashlee Simpson is still coming off her infamous buzz-raising performance at the Orange Bowl. The shrieking singer is beginning to slide in search, down 29% for the week -- also a bad sign for MTV, which is launching the second season of her eponymous show. Read More >>>

Simpsons Comics Issue #102 hits the streets today in an adventure titled The Battle For The Barks Billions. Mr. Burns takes the Simpsons along on his annual summer vacation treasure hunt, but his South Seas adventure soon becomes a matter of life and death for everyone concerned! "Uncle Burn$'" lust for gold leads them all to the island of Donrosa and the Gottfredson trench, where the Simpsons begin to realize that there is something Huey, Dewey, and Screwy about this whole undertaking, and that they might be "Barks"ing up the wrong tree!" Bongo Comics have also announced the release of Simpsons Classics #4 and Bart Simpson Comics #23 due in April.

One wonders which British stars haven't been promised by Matt Groening to appear on The Simpsons. Now he wants 'The Only Gay In The Village' to appear on the hit show. He has revealed he is a big fan of BBC comedy Little Britain - and would love to work with the show's stars. Groening is now planning to get Matt Lucas - famed for his brooding PVC-clad gay Welsh character Daffyd - and David Walliams on board for an episode. "It would be great fun to get them on The Simpsons," the Sun (groan) reports him saying. Movie star Johnny Depp recently revealed he loves the show and wants to appear on it, as he did on The Fast Show several years ago. Groening has already shown what a fan he is of British comedy after last month inviting The Office star Ricky Gervais to write an episode of The Simpsons.

Large wagers are being placed that the devout Christian character in the Simpsons, Ned Flanders, is to be "outed" in an upcoming episode. In recent weeks the debate and speculation have turned into big money wagers according to betting firms. Although Ned Flanders is not the favourite, being posted as 15/1, several large wagers have been placed on his character, which has come as a surprise to bookmaker BetUs.com. "Don't be surprised if the gay character is Flanders," said Mike Foreman from the company. "Can you imagine the controversy Matt Groening and writers will create if Ned comes out of the closet!" Marge's sister Patty was the favourite at 4/5. "We were positive that Patty would be the bettors' favourite, seeing that she has been identified in many online sources as the gay character thanks to a leak at Fox," says Foreman. "Nevertheless, it seems that our customers believe that Patty is just a rumour planted by the network to throw viewers off." Read More >>>

The Simpsons will celebrate an unprecedented 350 episodes on Sunday, May 1 on FOX. In the milestone 350th episode, "The Heartbroke Kid," Bart becomes addicted to junk food when a new vending machine is installed at Springfield Elementary. His steady diet of processed foods leads to a massive weight gain and health issues. When he's unable to stick to his prescribed low-fat diet, the Simpsons stage an intervention and ship Bart off to "Serenity Ranch – A Forced Starvation Facility," headed up by former food addict Tab Spangler (guest star Albert Brooks). While Spangler tries to help Bart overcome his obsession, Homer and Marge turn their home into a hostel for German travelers in order to pay for the costly Serenity Ranch. Press Release >>>

The break from new episodes didn't attract masses to The Simpsons last night. Midnight Rx, the first episode since mid December, attracted a paltry 8.2 million viewers. The last two new episodes scored 10.3 million viewers. It's the lowest rating episode so far this season, but whether this season will surpass the low of 6.2 million for last years The Way We Weren't is yet to be seen. The Fox network came in fourth place overall and among the adults age group. At 8pm, ABC's Extreme Makeover Home Edition was in first place, followed by NBC's Golden Globes, CBS's 60 Minutes, and The Simpsons/Arrested Development combo a very distant fourth, still delivering the best ratings for Fox on the night. CBS and ABC managed to keep the Golden Globe Awards from treading on their toes, winning the night respectively. The next new episode to air is Mommie Beerest on January 30th..

You've waited patiently for over a month, but finally the early season break has ended with a new episode, Midnight Rx, airing tonight. When Mr. Burns terminates the employee prescription drug program, the citizens of Springfield are no longer able to afford their very expensive but much-needed prescription drugs. In order to keep the town medicated, Homer, Grampa, Apu and Flanders travel to Canada to buy the drugs with fake Canadian health care cards. When they are caught smuggling the goods, all of Springfield rallies around them to fight for their freedom. It's the first new episode of the year, and you'll have to wait until January 30th for the next one. We'll bring you the ratings for Midnight Rx on Monday as always, and don't forget you can discuss the episode following the show at No Homers Club.

The union actors who dub The Simpsons into Spanish are asking their Mexican audience for help as they fight for their livelihoods in a labor dispute that could silence the original Spanish voices from the 15-year-old animated comedy. “Marge is very sad,” said Nancy Mackenzie, the voice of the Simpsons’ matriarch. “I don’t believe they’ll replace us. Something deep inside says no.” The disagreement between the actors’ union and a Mexican contracting company is in the hands of government labor arbitrators at a time when the actors say they normally would be sitting down to tape the upcoming season of The Simpsons. If an agreement isn’t reached, the actors fear the company will hire new voices, changing the cartoon’s Spanish alter egos – voices known throughout Latin America. At a news conference this week, Gabriel Chavez, the voice of dastardly power plant owner “Senor Burns,” thanked fans who have objected to casting changes as the union negotiates its demands. Read More >>>

Marge Simpson has surrendered her towering blue coiffure to help market a new hair care line. The animated mom from "The Simpsons" is featured in an ad campaign along with other cartoon characters Wilma Flintstone ("The Flintstones"), Jane Jetson ("The Jetsons") and Velma Dinkley ("Scooby-Doo"). All four are part of magazine ads starting next month for Dove Styling; a TV commercial that began airing this month features Jane, Wilma and Velma. The company says the characters got a temporary makeover for the promotion, trading their usual helmet hair for "beautiful styles that move naturally." TV ads can be seen on high-rated shows targeting women. Print ads show each character before they use Dove Styling, and the dramatic change afterwards.

But don't panic, it doesn't concern the ones you know and love this time. The actors who for 15 years have provided the voices for the Latin American episodes of "The Simpsons," known in Spanish as "Los Simpson," say they are ready to take to the streets in protest after their employer, Grabaciones y Doblajes Internacionales, said it was considering replacing them. Humberto Vélez, who does the voice of the show's principal character "Homero," said that he and his fellow "Simpson" actors were greatly disappointed by their employer's stance, saying that the actors and their union had been "very generous" in their dealings with the company. "We charge 60 dollars per episode," he said, "whereas our counterparts on the English versions make 300,000 dollars per episode." "We are not difficult people to work with; we work out of love of our craft," added Vélez. Read More >>>

Fox is once again playing around with the scheduling of Season 16 episodes of The Simpsons. With no new episodes aired since December 12th and the next one airing on Sunday January 16th, this marks one of the longest breaks the show has taken mid-season. Only 5 episodes have aired; compare this to 9 at the same time last season, and 13 way back in Season 7. This has sparked much speculation as to whether strikes held by the cast will shorten the Season's run to as few as 20 episodes. Those in contact with Al Jean insist that the standard 22 episodes will be aired this season. It was expected that new episodes would follow from January 16th with few breaks, but the latest schedule release from Fox shows a rerun of Sleeping With The Enemy airing the following week. Double features have been suggested but since Fox has Malcolm, American Dad, and Family Guy, Arrested Development and The Sketch Show to play around with on Sunday nights this year, it's difficult to say what they're up to. We'll keep you posted.

Rumors that Springfield will legalize gay marriage on an upcoming episode of the Simpsons is sparking talk amongst fans that one of the main characters will come out of the closet. "Fan Websites are running rampant with speculation that the mystery gay character could be any one of the animated sitcom stars," says Mike Foreman of BetUS.com. Over the past few years, gamblers have been tuning into pop culture and betting on everything from reality TV and celebrity romances to trial verdicts. "Online gambling is no longer focused solely on sports; entertainment wagers are gaining popularity among bettors," says Foreman. "The Simpsons craze is just one of many new betting options available to our players." According to Foreman, Internet gambling has appealed to a new demographic that no longer just includes the typical sports bettor. "Now men and women can experience the same exhilaration that sports fans experience when they lay down a wager on their favorite team. Placing a wager on a TV show makes the show even more fun and exciting to watch," said Foreman. Read More >>>

Eddie Izzard could be the next British star to appear in The Simpsons. Creator Matt Groening is said to be keen to find a cameo role for the comic after meeting him at last week’s British Comedy Awards. The animator called Izzard ‘a genius’, but said he would have to wait for a suitable role to arise before he could join the residents of Springfield. Groening told The Independent: “There's no saying who we'll get him to play, but we often don't get people to play themselves. As soon as the right part comes along, we'll get Eddie in.” Izzard is a die-hard Simpsons fan, who has previously sat in on a script read-through with the cast. In a recent interview, he said: “I’d love to be in it, but they never asked me, and I don’t want to push it. I think it’s because I’m a cult – rather than a mainstream – name.” But Izzard’s profile in the States is on the rise, and he has just taken a role in the Hollywood blockbuster Oceans Twelve.

An Internet site set up by an Italian schoolboy, and previously dedicated to "The Simpsons," is helping people track down loved ones missing since the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster. Valerio Natale, a 14-year-old high school student, says two missing Italian holidaymakers -- Dario Collodi and Liliana Giordanino -- have already been found thanks to postings on his web page. "I was paging through the newspaper and saw lots of ads from people looking for relatives," Natale told Reuters. "I asked myself, Why not make a free site that can help everybody? So I made a free site, which used to be dedicated to the famous American cartoon family, the Simpsons." It lists the names and ages of those missing, email addresses and phone numbers of worried friends and relatives and a link for photos of the missing. The site has had 82,000 hits in two days, Natale said.