Road safety campaigners yesterday slammed Homer Simpson. The cartoon star is regularly shown knocking back pints of Duff beer before getting in his car, often with his family in tow. Amanda Roberts, 43, of the Campaign Against Dangerous Driving, said: "The example they are setting by showing Homer in this light is more than careless, it is downright dangerous." She added: "It’s completely the wrong message to give out. He should be showing that it’s never OK to drink and drive." But Simpsons fan Richard Kalman, 23, said: "Homer's drinking and driving is usually met with terrible consequences." This year's festive ad campaign is under way in the United Kingdom to raise awareness of the problem. One in 10 UK drivers admits drink-driving

The staff of The Simpsons Channel would like to wish all our regular and first-time visitors a safe and Happy Holiday season and all the best in 2006! May all your Christmas wishes come true, and be sure to take care on this very special day tomorrow and all throughout this holiday season.

DVD sales of old episodes and the return of Family Guy under similar circumstances has bouyed Futurama creator Matt Groening and writer David X Cohen's hopes that the show will return soon. "Three months ago, I would have said we were going to start tomorrow," says Cohen in the article. "And one month ago I would also have said we were going to start tomorrow. So... my current estimate is that we're starting tomorrow." If Peter, Stewie, and company get a second chance, why can't Fry, Leela, and Bender?

Numbers were down slightly for Simpsons Christmas Stories, the newest episode of The Simpsons which aired on Sunday. 9.8 million viewers in total watched the episode, equalling this season's lowest audience which was also reached with The Girl Who Slept Too Little. This shows however that there isn't a great deal of difference from week to week this year.

While a low rating episode, the show managed to come second at 8:00pm, behind only Cold Case on CBS. For FOX, the lineup was enough to give them first place for the night amongst adults 18 - 49, and second in overall viewers, again beaten by CBS. These results reflect the omission of ABCs big guns Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy from this weeks schedule.

Arriving in stores this week is Bongo's Simpsons Comics #113. It's a hard knock life for Bart when his latest prank lands him in the Springfield Orphanage. Things go from bad to worse as Bart learns the orphanage is run by Mr. Burns, and this billionaire is no Daddy Warbucks! Can Bart lead an urchin insurrection and oust the evil Burns? Or will his attempted coup only lead to more gruel and unusual punishment? There's more Bongo fun before the end of the year, we'll give you details come their release.

- Airs Tonight!
The First D'oh-el – When Reverend Lovejoy’s car breaks down, Homer takes over the sermon and gives his version of the birth of Christ, featuring Joseph (Homer), Mary (Marge) and the evil King Herod (Burns).
I Saw Grampa Cussing Santa Claus – Grampa’s out to exact his revenge on Father Christmas. During the war, Grampa and his gunner, Burns, were shot down and stranded on an island. They thought Santa was an enemy aircraft and shot down his sleigh.
The Nutcracker… Sweet – The people of Springfield go about their Christmas days, to the tune of the Nutcracker. Moe attempts suicide, Marge struggles to make Christmas dinner and Homer frantically searches for Marge’s gift.

In a situation never before seen, The Simpsons has already scored itself a Writers Guild of America (WGA) award this year, taking out all six nominations in the animation category. The nominees are as follows.

The Father, The Son, & Holy Guest Star
written by MATT WARBURTON

The Girl Who Slept Too Little
written by JOHN FRINK

Mommie Beerest
written by MICHAEL PRICE

See Homer Run
written by STEPHANIE GILLIS

Thank God It's Doomsday
written by DON PAYNE

There's Something About Marrying
written by J. STEWART BURNS
The full sweep of the nominations is a reward in itself, the show already trouncing shows such as South Park, Family Guy, American Dad and King Of The Hill. The awards will be presented Feb. 4 at ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York.

A total of 10.39 million viewers tuned in to the new episode 'The Italian Bob' to watch Sideshow Bob's latest antics. The episodes figures held strong against CBS' always strong finale of Survivor: Guatemala which won the night for the network with 21.3 million viewers. Fox came in fourth place overall for the night but third place amongst adults 18 - 49. At 8pm, The Simpsons was fourth behind Survivor, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, and The West Wing. A Family Guy rerun scored 8.4 million viewers at 9pm.

Simpsons fans nationwide rejoice. The Simpsons: The Complete Seventh Season arrives in stores tomorrow, with some customers lucky enough to get their hands on a copy already. The set includes every episode from Season 7 with commentaries, as well as deleted scenes, commercials, audio outtakes, and animation showcases. The set is retailing for around $49.95 US. Pick up your copy today in time for Christmas.


This set is avaliable to purchase in either of the above packages. Both retail for the same price and naturally it all comes down to your personal preference or previous purchase.

- Airs Tonight!
After Mr. Burns crashes his Stutz Bearcat, he sends Homer and the family off to Italy to pick up his new fancy sport car. While on their Italian adventure, the Simpsons end up stranded in a small Italian village where a rehabilitated Sideshow Bob reigns as mayor. Sideshow Bob impresses the Simpsons enough so that they keep his sordid past a secret until one of the family members, in a wine-induced state, spills the beans.

After 11 days and 51 bids, the auctioning of the Simpsons script "Moe'N'A'Lisa" has been sold to one lucky bidder. The item sold for $2025 which will go towards HIV/AIDS awareness. Congratulations to the winner and to all bidders for doing their bit.

Want to get your hands on an upcoming episode script and do your part for a good cause at the same time? The cast of "The Simpsons" and creator Matt Groening hand signed a script to an upcoming episode titled Moe'N'A Lisa during a table read-through rehearsal. The script is up for bid on eBay as part of the Bid 2 Beat AIDS promotion. The script was donated by Yeardley Smith and signatures are in black pen. You'll be one of the first people to grab a copy of this new episode in which Moe, with the aid of Lisa, becomes a Charles Bukowski-like poet. The episode wont air until mid to late next year. Bidding ends December 11 and currently stands at $300.

The Simpsons brought their own special brand of havoc to Bromley in the UK last week - as producers filmed a new 'human' opening sequence for the hit American TV comedy. The spectacular scenes were shot throughout the day last Friday in Lansdowne Avenue, Orpington, because one of the properties looked similar to the family's home in make-believe Springfield. Producers wanted to film an entirely different version of the opening credits scene, which is always slightly altered every episode, and called up a host of look-alikes for the job. Read the Bromley Times for the full exclusive report and pictures.

Welcome to your brand new Simpsons Channel. This year on December 17 this site will be celebrating eight years online and what better way to mark the occasion than with a new design to start the month.

The new look has been in progress over the last month and has been designed to keep the top stories on the main page for longer. This means that episode news which is usually relevant to the day is kept on its own rotation cycle. I'm also convinced you'll love our new color scheme as we end our four year run of blue designs. The site has been tested in all browsers and is optimized for viewing on machines with cleartype font smoothing activated.

Despite the two column format on the main page, all news will be archived and headlined together. That's all there is to it. I've kept things familiar enough for you to find your way around, so take a look and be sure to leave feedback.