The Simpsons has ended the year in BBC's "Your Charts" on top form.
Not only was it the favorite TV program this week but it's been BBC's favorite show for the entire year! That's right, no other program topped that online chart throughout 2002 - although Friends did come close on a couple of occasions. Read More >>>

Have a great New Year's Eve, folks, and happy New Year from myself, Adam, and The Simpsons Channel.

The Simpsons have been used to sell everything from computers to candy bars, and now the family patriarch is getting sporty for Reebok. Homer, who most recently had it his way with the limited edition X-treme Bacon & Cheese Whopper at Burger King, will be featured next month in the companys's new print campaign "Mmm ... Classic." Sporting a pair of Classic Supercourts that are available in a variety of colors and sell for a suggested $60 a pair, Homer will be ready for the basketball court even if he never manages to get off the couch. "Homer is perfect for Reebok Classic," says Reebok Chief Marketing Officer Micky Pant. "Our Classic products let people take it easy and relax, and as we all know, Homer is the king of kicking back." View Original Article >>>

The Simpsons are descending on Orlando! The stars of the long-running Fox series will visit a theme park called EFCOT in the episode 'Special Edna' (1/5). In the episode, the family wins a free trip to Orlando after Bart nominates Edna Krabappel, for a Teacher of the Year Award -- a competition that sounds a lot like Disney's annual American Teacher Awards. The kids try to guess their destination, but Homer's worst fears are realized when they spot the large, distinctive Future Sphere from their plane as they approach Orlando.

In what will likely be an ouch-provoking observation for Disney park officials, Lisa explains to the family that an EFCOT attraction was designed by people in 1965 who imagined what life would be like in 1987. But Disney isn't fuming about the jokes. "We're all about entertainment," spokeswoman Jacquee Polak said. "Our company is built on entertaining people, and this is a cartoon, and we have the ability to laugh at ourselves." Read More >>>

It's that time of the year already! Adam, Eric, and the rest of the staff of The Simpsons Channel (we speak on behalf of Brian, Bob, and Ryan) would like to wish all our regular and first-time visitors a safe and Happy Christmas and all the best in 2003! May all your Christmas wishes come true, and take care on this very special day tomorrow.

Bart Simpson Dedication has reopened with a great new design and double the amount of content they previously housed. Keeping things very similar to before, the site remains the best tribute to Bart on the net today.

Springfield Asylum has opened today. The site is the successor to Springfield Indulgence which disappeared from the net recently. A Burns For All Seasons has returned to the net in its previous form, but under a new owner. Just D'oh It! has celebrated their first birthday by redesigning. An improvement over the previous design but still could use some work.

This morning, the complete list of 2003 Golden Globe nominees were announced. Among the categories are The Simpsons, who have been nominated for Best TV Series in the Musical or Comedy field. It'll be tough competition for our favorite family, up against Curb Your Enthusiasm, Friends, Sex And The City, and Will And Grace in the same category. The 60th Annual Golden Globe Awards will take place a month from now on January 19th. A complete list of nominations can be found here.

The voice behind one of the world's most famous cartoon characters is coming to the UK. Nancy Cartwright, who is the voice of Bart Simpson in The Simpsons, will be visiting the University of Teesside's annual animation festival in January. Ms Cartwright will be the top speaker at the Animex 2003 International Animation event, and will talk about her career as a voice-over artist. Chris Williams, Principal Lecturer in Animation at the University of Teesside, said: "Getting Nancy Cartwright to speak at Animex is a real coup for us. As the voice of one of the most famous animated characters of all time, Nancy can offer unique insights into an actor's relationship with the cartoon characters they are helping to portray." Read More >>>

Two months ago, today was to be both our birthday and death day. I tried something new and it paid off. I'm pleased to announce that The Simpsons Channel has reached its five-year milestone today, and will live to see its sixth. On this day in 1997, the site was opened by Brian Chen; focusing on news and links. It almost ended after six months, but I stepped in to lend a hand. The Simpsons Channel would not be here today without the help of you, the visitors, as well as our helpers and co-owners. Next year looks to be a good one for us. You can read more about our history on our About page, but for now I'll leave you with some designs from the vault. These can be clicked for a larger view.


In other web news, That's Unpossible has reopened with a new design, and New Springfield and Simpsons Paradise have decorated for Christmas.

Daniel Radcliffe has said he really wants to voice a character in The Simpsons. The Harry Potter star was in Japan to promote Chamber of Secrets which has just opened there and was almost mobbed by adoring fans in Tokyo! More than a thousand screaming girls (and Nick Laws) turned up to the airport to meet Daniel who'd never been to Japan before. Later, he told a roomful of journalists: "I really, really want to be a voice on the Simpsons." Read More >>>

Tomorrow is significant for The Simpsons, for it was on that day in 1989 when Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire first aired. And after 13 years, the success of the show continues to be recognised by many. The show has just been named by the American Film Institute as one of the top ten shows of the year, amongst other contenders such as Six Feet Under and Everybody Loves Raymond. The complete list of film and television contenders can be viewed here.

If Google has anything over other search engines, it's an accurate image of what people are searching for. Google has released their list of search patterns for 2002; proving that football is more exciting than war, and that The Simpsons is the most popular television show amongst internet users, jumping up from third place last year. For what it's worth, the show has also topped the list of top children's images. For more interesting statistics, view Google's complete 2002 Year-End Zeitgiest.

The Simpsons Network is back online with a great new design and revamped sections. Chief Clancy Wiggum is back on the net after two months of downtime. It features an all new design. A new site titled The Springfield Connection has opened. Has great content and a clean design.

Many new Christmas designs have been put online since our last webnews report. In addition to two of the three sites mentioned above, D'oheth!, The Top 50, Destination: Springfield, Simpsons: An Unofficial Fansite, Pick's Tribute To The Simpsons, and Simpson Crazy have all decorated. A free link at The Simpsons Channel is as good a reason as any :)

UK: A new show titled "The Glee Club", is being lined up for the 6pm slot which will be be vacated by The Simpsons when the hit US cartoon moves from BBC2 to Channel 4 in 2004. Jane Root, the BBC2 controller, has cast the net wide in her search for a replacement for The Simpsons, which is one of the channel's top-rating shows. The Glee Club is a show in which a panel of judges gives £5,000 to people with weird and wacky ideas, such as buying Celine Dion albums and arranging a public burial for them. "To win, the supplicants must have an interesting and compelling idea of what they'd like to do with the money - from the sublime to the ridiculous. Something they would remember for the rest of their life." Doesn't sound at all like the successor to The Simpsons that we had in mind. Read More>>>

Entertainment Weekly has posted their list of TV's winners and losers for 2002. FOX finished fourth in both total viewers and in the 18 - 49 age group, behind CBS, NBC, and the ABC who had hits such as CSI, Friends, and The Bachelor. The Simpsons, together with King Of The Hill and 24 were big hits for FOX, with Homer and the gang finishing No. 19 in total. The most significant figure is that The Simpsons added two million more viewers from last season, proving that the show isn't going anywhere in a hurry. Well done, Simpsons. Thanks to Graham for finding this information. Read More >>>

Laugh.com Records announced today the release of a CD featuring long lost studio tapes of the late comedian Phil Hartman, known for his roles on Saturday Night Live, The Simpsons, and several hit motion pictures. Entitled "Phil Hartman's Flat TV", the CD is now available in record stores throughout the U.S. and Canada and on the Laugh.com website. Phil Hartman's Flat TV features the day in the life of "The Sphincter" family, as well as many of the late comedian's best impersonations. On this hysterical CD, Hartman pays homage, satirizes and completely rips apart the world of television. Twenty-five years ago, shortly after completion, the tapes mysteriously disappeared. They have, only recently been found and have never been heard by the public. This CD packs a full wallop of laughs for the whole family. Read More >>>

Xmas Cards - Toon Styley has just opened in time for Christmas. The site allows you to send electronic Christmas cards to friends and family. The cards are available in both Simpsons and South Park styles at the moment. This is the perfect opportunity to send a card to someone overseas, or to save money you could have otherwise spent on a stamp. We know they exist :)

Krabappel's Korner has just opened. As the title suggests, it is a tribute to Edna Krabappel. More sites have decorated for Christmas: The Simpsons Sourcebook, Serious Burns, Bart: The One And Only, and Kleine Miss Springfield.

As an actor, author, director, comedian, musician, political satirist, multimedia artist and radio personality, Harry Shearer has explored topics as diverse as the American judicial process, and what happens when "England's loudest band" tours the U.S. (This is Spinal Tap). He may be most commonly known as the voice of Mr. Burns, Smithers, and Ned Flanders, amongst others, on The Simpsons. An early adaptor of the Internet, Shearer is always vocal about content and technology. In this interview with Online Journalism Review, he sounds off about digital television, the disappearance of local radio, and record companies "bloviating". Read The Interview >>>

Larry Holmes surprised audiences of "The Simpsons" on Sunday with a cameo as himself. The "Easton Assassin" former world heavyweight champion met up with the animated television family as they watched a Springfield Isotopes hockey game from a luxury box. Bart Simpson landed a few body blows on Holmes, who was slimmed down as an animated character without having to do any running or jumping rope. The episode marked Holmes' first appearance as a cartoon. He said Wednesday he went to New York City about a year ago to record his voice and earned "a couple thousand dollars" for his time. He will also take home residuals from reruns in the future. Read More >>>

Homer Simpson has got himself yet another job. Oh no, it's not another failed Simpsons episode, it's Burger King's new promotion. A true hamburger lover knows a great sandwich when he sees one. Thats why Homer is being used to plug Burger King's new X-Treme Bacon & Cheese Whopper, available in the USA until December 31st. It's a regular Whopper with two slices of American cheese, a single slice of smoked Cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles and ketchup. And, of course, bacon. Four strips of bacon. You can't very well interest Homer in a burger that doesn't have bacon. In fact, it's hard to interest Homer in anything that doesn't include the fruit of the pig. Visit Burger King's Promotional Site or Read More >>>

Springfield A&M has returned to the net at a brand new domain name: springfieldam.com. The site now has more content and the owners plan to release special features in the upcoming weeks and days. It has also been decorated for the holidays. Viva Los Simpsons and The Simpsons Park have also put Christmas decorations online.

An online chat with Peter Staddon of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment held on Monday saw the first details of The Simpsons Season 3 DVD revealed. In the chat held at Home Theater Forum, Staddon said "Simpsons does take a long time to develop, but you have to realise that Matt and Jim are very involved in the productions and they don't have a lot of free time with getting the show out. Season 3 will probably be out in May 2003! I know, we would like to get it out earlier as well, but it is shaping up to have some really cool material on it."

Staddon is asked again about the Simpsons DVD's and once again stresses that "there is already some very cool stuff on the discs that will make season 3 much better." To read the full chat transcript, click here. Thanks to Jouni for the link.

The Simpsons could have some tough rivals on their hands. The cult reality TV show The Osbournes is being turned into a Simpsons-like cartoon comedy series. Sources report the network are eager to establish the format in view of Ozzy's wife Sharon's current battle with cancer. The source reveals that the program producers believe the family perfectly matches the characters in the Simpsons - with Ozzy and Sharon as Homer and Marge, whereas Kelly is tipped for a Bart type role. Ozzy has already appeared animated in shows such as The Simpsons (pictured) and South Park. Read More >>>

UK: A select group of BBC entertainment executives has been on a week-long brainstorming summit with the aim of creating new shows for key schedule slots. The pressure is on to find BBC 2 a sure-fire replacement for The Simpsons and BBC 1 a weekday regular that can hold its own against rivals. BBC 2 lost the rights to its 6pm incumbent, The Simpsons, to Channel 4 earlier this year. BBC commissioning executives are briefing producers on the lessons of The Simpsons – "It has attitude; it's for kids and adults; it's entertainment and escapism; it resolves within one episode". To find another show that can provide all this is not easy! Read More >>>

What is the secret to the success of The Simpsons? The show has managed to outlast countless numbers of television shows and still has one of the strongest fan bases ever. The Simpsons has what other shows do not. The ability to slow time. Maggie's still sucking her pacifier, Lisa has her sax and Bart will forever be a rule-breaking elementary-school rebel. Malcolm In The Middle is not a cartoon. And that was made even more apparent this season than any other. The cast of Malcolm is not going to make it 14 years and probably not even seven before outgrowing their roles. Read More>>>

Viva Los Simpsons is back on the net after being hacked last week. D'oheth! has been given a nice new design. Christmas decorations and specials have appeared at Last Exit To Springfield, The Simpsons Gallery, Hitchhikers Guide To Springfield, and Just D'oh It.

Yes, this update originally focused on a Cease and Desist notice, but it has now come to light that it was a fake. Visit Springfield Weekly, as an apology for any distress caused :)

The Rolling Stone covers are still making news. This one has a few factual errors but was a good read.

(Australian) Rolling Stone editor Elissa Blake said Matt Groening's passion for music had helped steer The Simpsons to become a defining pop culture phenomenon. "Rock 'n' roll stars have been a big part of the show and to celebrate 300 episodes we thought it would be a cool idea to put The Simpsons into a rock history context," she said. "Matt Groening obviously thought it was a cool idea, too, and was happy to design the covers based on the album images the editors suggested." Groening, a music critic in his youth, said hundreds of musicians had volunteered to be on The Simpsons since Spinal Tap had a role. The only high-profile musician to turn down an invitation to guest star was Bruce Springsteen. "I believe one of the writers ran into Bruce Springsteen on the street, and he sort of edged away." Read More >>>