TV Week: "How many more episodes can we look forward to seeing? When is it all coming to an end?"

David Mirkin: "We made the deal with the actors for four years, including the year we are just completing now, so in theory we should be able to get up to season 20 with people still enjoying the show. And that's an important consideration for us. We don't want to wear out our welcome. Right now the deal is in place to hopefully get us to the twentieth season. But like I said, it's important not to just go there, but to maintain the quality of it. And that's really what we try and kill ourselves to do." Read More >>>

The sequel to January's Futurama/Simpsons Crossover Crisis II is now available in the US and the UK. After all of the residents of Springfield are enslaved in 31st century New New York City, the Simpsons and the Planet Express crew must work together to restore order, find a peaceful resolution, and repair the huge gaping vortex in the side of the New New York Public Library that has unleashed every character from the world of literature on an unsuspecting populace. Prepare yourself for..."The Read Menace"! Read it and weep with laughter. Now both adventures are complete, is this the last of the crossover crisis series? We'll see.

Homer Simpson has been called many things -- savior has rarely been one of them. But organizers of the Tulip Time Festival in Holland hope the bloated, beer-swilling patriarch of "The Simpsons" can help revive the western Michigan town's long-running spring celebration. In Sunday's episode, Homer plunked down his wife's savings on an RV and later remarked to a fellow RV enthusiast, "Boy, I'd really like to take that baby to Holland, Michigan, to the tulip festival!" A throwaway line. Unless you host an event that has seen attendance fall from 1 million visitors a decade ago to about 500,000 last year. Which is why Holland, population 35,000, is abuzz about Homer's plug. "Anytime you can get a mention like that on a national level," said festival director Tamra Bouman, "it could pique someone's curiosity." Read More >>>

Sunday's new episode of The Simpsons titled Mobile Homer received 8.6 million viewers, only slightly lower than last week's offering with Goo Goo Gai Pan (8.7 million). This shows the program is at least maintaining a dedicated audience week after week having not dropped terribly since the beginning of the season. The show paired with Arrested Development came fourth in the 8pm hour, also keeping the Fox network cemented in fourth place for the night among total viewers as well as adults 18 - 49. A rerun of Sleeping With The Ememy at 9pm also came in at fourth place. CBS won the night convincingly over ABC, which was followed closely by NBC. Season 16 takes a break this week but returns on April 2nd with The 7 Beer Snitch.

Nancy Cartwright posed next to a cardboard cut-out of cartoon character Bart Simpson and compared. "You tell me if I look anything like him," the petite blonde challenged a fan-packed audience at Oakland University. "OK, I'm about four times his age. I've got pink cheeks and I don't have nine spikes on the top of my head. "But I AM Bart Simpson - hey, what's happening man?" The crowd applauded, laughed and threw Bart Simpsonisms - "Cowabunga!" and "Eat my shorts" right back at the visiting lecturer during her afternoon visit Tuesday to the Oakland Center. Read More >>>

The latest installment of Simpsons Comics has been released. "Duffman has a dream! But Duffman’s dream does not include Duff love, getting Duffed, creating awareness for Duff, the Duff partymobile or the Duff cheerleaders. No, designated drivers and designs on drunks are the farthest thing from his mind when he turns in his six-packs for a new life. But who will fill the void and belly up to the bar when Duffman is no more? There’s a new Duffman in town! Oh yeah!". Meanwhile, Bongo Comics are participating in Free Comic Book Day with a Simpsons Comic yours absolutely free. More information at the website.

Another new episode for Season Sixteen airs tonight. This weeks ep is titled Mobile Homer. A detailed description of the episode follows. "After Homer suffers a garage door incident, Marge is pressured into buying life insurance for the entire family. Much to her surprise, she finds out that Homer is uninsurable and resorts to cutting costs in the household. Homer is convinced by his buddies that Marge is trying to make all financial decisions, so in an act of defiance, he buys an RV. This reckless act infuriates Marge, causing a divide between the two and ultimately forcing Homer to live in his new RV. Determined to save their feuding parents, Bart and Lisa steal the RV in hopes of returning it for a refund, but are instantly faced with obstacles." A rerun of Sleeping With The Enemy follows at 9:00pm.

Deputies from the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament, have asked the Ministry of Culture and Mass Communications to monitor the cartoons shown on Russian television closely. Foreign cartoons require special attention, Russian deputy Yelena Afanasyeva of the Liberal Democrat faction said.

"After having watched Griffins and The Simpsons, the experts found that the cartoons were crammed with violent and aggressive episodes," Afanasyeva was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying. Experts note that those cartoons "introduce antagonism between children and parents," she said.

MacHomer, a one-man show that mixes "The Simpsons" and "MacBeth," will be playing at the College of Staten Island, Center for the Arts on Sunday, April 10 at 5pm. This show is fantastic, and really shouldn't be missed by ANY "Simpson" fanatic! For tickets you can call 718-982-ARTS or visit www.csi.cuny.edu/arts

The ratings for Sundays episode Goo Goo Gai Pan are in. The new episode attracted a total of 8.7 million viewers, slightly down on last week's "On A Clear Day I Can't See My Sister." The rerun of Midnight Rx at 9pm drew 6.2 million, failing to boost ratings for the premiere of Kelsey Grammer's The Sketch Show.(5.6 million). ABC won the night overall, ahead of CBS and NBC. FOX was in its all too standard fourth place. The struggling network did however manage to come third ahead of CBS among adults 18 - 49. This was achieved with The Simpsons and Arrested Development coming third in the 8pm hour, behind Cold Case on CBS and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on ABC. The next new episode titled Mobile Homer will air on Sunday.

A recent episode of The Simpsons practically defied people to visit Winnipeg. "We were born here, what's your excuse?" screamed a highway sign as Homer and his dad sped by in search of cheap prescription drugs. In one fell swoop the show's writers had captured our success -- as the Internet pharmacy capital of Canada -- and our insecurity -- for living here, after all. Ralf Klenke has announced a plan to build a $23-million waterpark and mineral spa on the western edge of this oft-maligned city. He already has a new highway sign in mind: "We were born here, but don't worry -- we share." Like The Simpsons, Klenke brings an outsider's perspective to this Prairie capital. He has lived here for 10 years, growing his family and businesses, and cultivating a deep fondness for the province and its amenities. Read More >>>

More new Simpsons episode madness tonight with The Goo Goo Gai Pan. Here's the synopsis straight from Fox. "After watching a video on menopause, hosted by guest voice Robert Wagner, Selma realizes that she missed her chance to have a baby and decides to adopt a baby girl from China. Selma encounters a bump in the road when the application asks for her husband's name. In an act of desperation, she puts down "Homer Simpson." Soon, Selma and the Simpsons are off to China to pick up her baby girl, while Homer must pretend to be her husband. When their charade is finally revealed, the functionary, Madam Yu (guest voice Liu), takes Selma's baby back. Homer and the gang must devise a plan to rescue the baby from the orphanage." A rerun of Midnight RX will air at 9pm.

Regardless of one’s opinion of “The Simpsons”, one has to admit the show has no problem tackling controversial material most would rather sweep under the rug. And even though it would have been better had producers left the issue of gay marriage alone, the show was able to inject a degree of its classic subversive wit into what could have been an approach characterized by nothing but a doctrinaire political correctness. Read More >>>

Mike Reiss, a producer and writer for The Simpsons, will speak at the University of Massachusetts -- Dartmouth on March 30 at 7 p.m. His presentation will include rare video clips from The Simpsons and The Critic, which has been running on Comedy Central for five seasons. Admission is free for UMass-Dartmouth students. Tickets are $5 for the public. Eric will try to be there and will ask him questions strictly about Al Jean and Family Guy's brilliance. For information, call (508) 999-9241.

A total of 9.1 million viewers tuned in to watch Sunday's new episode On A Clear Day I Can't See My Sister'. While slightly down on the previous episode (There's Something About Marrying, 10.5 million), it didn't have a heavily publicised storyline to draw in the viewers, so the figures hold up pretty well. The show paired with Arrested Development still came fourth overall for the hour, which is also where Fox ranked amount adults 18 - 49. ABC convincingly won the night, followed by CBS and NBC. 11 episodes remain of the season, with two more in March, three expected for April, and six to end the May sweeps. This ensures a full 22 episode season. The next episode titled 'The Goo Goo Gai Plan' airs at 8pm this coming Sunday.

Season 16 returns tonight with a brand new episode titled "On A Clear Day I Can't See My Sister." Fed up with Bart's endless taunting and torture, Lisa enlists the help of Chief Wiggum and files a restraining order against him. After watching a restraining order video hosted by guest voice Gary Busey, Bart learns he must stay 20 feet away from his sister. When he tries to contest it, Judge Harm (guest voice Jane Kaczmarek) increases it to 200 feet, forcing Bart to live in the back yard. Meanwhile, Homer takes over Grampa's job as a greeter at the Sprawl Mart. The episode will be followed at 9:30pm by a rerun of "Homer And Ned's Hail Mary Pass," the highest rated ep in years, so if you were the one person who didn't see it last time you get another chance tonight. The new episode can be discussed at No Homers Club following the airing.

Jesse McCann's next book in the Complete Guide To Our Favorite Family series has finally been announced. The book titled The Simpsons: One Step Beyond Forever is listed at Amazon.com for a release date of October 1st this year. Fans will be unhappy to find out that the book will only explore Seasons 13 and 14 despite the fact that Season 16 would be finished by the time of the book's release. The author has however announced via his website that he's working on yet another follow up (Two Steps Beyond Forever?) which we would expect in 2006. The cover art hasn't been released yet but when it is we'll bring it to you. If you don't already own the first Complete Guide To Our Favorite Family, The Simpsons Forever, and The Simpsons Beyond Forever, now might be a good time to pick them up.

The Simpsons and the town of Springfield were sent to South Korea long before exporting jobs overseas became a hot-button political issue in the United States. A stone’s throw away from a highway that tears through Seoul and upstairs from a convenience store called “Buy the Way,” Homer, Marge, and the rest of “The Simpsons” have been brought to life for about 15 years at South Korea’s AKOM Production Co. The company has been animating “The Simpsons” at its studio in western Seoul since it premiered in 1989. Behind the animation in every episode is a team of about 120 Korean animators and technicians who create the 22-minute episodes based on an elaborate storyboard and animation instructions from the show’s creators, Film Roman, in the United States. Read More >>>

By most measures, Yeardley Smith is a success: an Emmy Award, a reported $5.5 million salary, a place in entertainment history as part of TV's longest-running sitcom.

Dressed in jeans, a T-shirt and a blue cardigan, Smith easily blends in with other mall denizens. But what's in that paper bag she's toting? "I washed my purse last night, and it was still damp this morning," she offers. Ah, earnest and obscure. An explanation worthy of Smith's animated alter ego: brainy, soulful and quirky Lisa, whom she voices on The Simpsons. Read More >>>