The Simpsons Top 100 has decided to close its doors for good after serving the Simpsons web community for 7 years. Due to a lack of time, interest, and recently losing the domain after renewal issues, the owner Bryan Ludvigsen decided to make the closure official today. The Springfield Message Board still remains online.

Last night's new episode "Milhouse Of Sand And Fog" managed to clock up 10.19 million viewers for Fox at 8pm, a figure which is up from last week but still down from the season opener. The rerun at 7pm in comparison had 8.02 million, while Family Guy continues to be trounced by our favorite family, scoring just 8.97 million viewers at 9pm. Led by Desperate Housewives, ABC won the night, beating No. 2 CBS. The second-season premiere of Desperate Housewives went through the roof, with a whopping 28.17 million viewers. NBC came third overall, while FOX lingered in fourth place. At 8pm, The Simpsons came in third place overall, but showed it still has the goods coming second in the target audience aged 18 - 49. The Simpsons takes a break now but returns on November 6th with the annual Treehouse Of Horror special.

In the final new episode until November, Kirk and Luanne Van Houten are reunited in "Milhouse Of Sand And Fog." Dismayed that they will no longer compete over his love, Milhouse launches "Operation Reverse Parent Trap" with Bart to get them to split again by planting one of Marge’s bras in the Van Houten’s bed. However this plan backfires when Luanne marches over to The Simpsons house to confront Marge about it, which causes a rift between Homer and Marge. Meanwhile, when Maggie gets chicken pox, Homer tries to capitalize on it by throwing a "pox party" and charging parents to infect their children. The next new episode will be Treehouse Of Horror XVI which airs on November 5th.

Shipping to comic book stands this Wednesday is Bongo's Simpsons Comics #110. In this month's edition, Mr. Burns asks Homer to break some bad news to the employees of the nuclear power plant, and his sensitive and sympathetic approach leads Homer into a whole new career. Homer’s new line of work makes him a "bad news" pariah, and no one will go near him for fear that he has become a harbinger of doom and gloom. You will be able to pick up your copy later this week. Also remember the bi-annual Simpsons Super Spectacular #1 is still avaliable. Details on this special were posted earlier this month.

Those who applied for the cardboard alternative box to The Simpsons: The Complete Sixth Season early should soon begin to see the covers arriving in the mail. Several people have already received the box which comes in a flat envelope. That means the box itself arrives flat and is perforated for you to easily assemble yourself. As expected, the outside box contains a transparent hole in the magnifying glass. The cardboard Homer head from your existing plastic packaging will slide into the new box to complete the design seen on the left. Buyers in the UK and Australia can purchase this box by default once the limited supply of Homer heads run out.

Victor House Publications, a leader in worker safety awareness and training, unveiled a new line of workplace safety products for US and Canadian businesses today featuring characters from The Simpsons. In a series of entertaining posters designed to reduce workplace injuries, the characters illustrate ways to work safely using their unique brand of humor. Based on Victor House's own SAFE product line, two posters will be released each month using Simpsons images created specifically to reduce worker accidents. The first posters were revealed today on Victor House's web site at www.SafetyWorld.com. "We have been working closely with the creative people at FOX to come up with powerful and humorous graphics that reach out to employees", said Hugh Owen, Victor House's President.

The members of Metallica were in the studio today (Sept. 20) to record their voices for an upcoming episode of "The Simpsons". The show will air sometime in May 2006, so you have plenty of time to set those recorders. More information will be made available soon. In the meantime, click here to check out the pictures of the guys saying their lines.

The image on the right is a fan's mockup drawn in 2000 and is in no way affiliated with the show. Metallica have been keeping a relatively low profile since completing their world tour in late 2004. The band is expected to begin working on a new album sometime before the end of this year.

The Movie Blog points to these new details on the upcoming Simpsons feature. Producer David Mirkin maintains that quality is of utmost importance; to that end, they've decided not to rush production. "It's all about the quality — the writing — which we're working on now," he says. "We are very quality conscious, and we don't want the series to suffer because of the movie." Meanwhile, though the animation processes used will have to be altered slightly for the big screen, no one involved wants the film to look markedly different from the series. "We're looking at various tests to get the right look," Mirkin continues. "We're taking it into the realm of cinema but not too far from how it looks on the show." Still no details on plot, but it looks like many past and present Simpsons writers will be on board.

The second episode of the new season 'The Girl Who Slept Too Little' scored 9.79 million viewers last night, slightly down on the previous week but still fairly strong compared to the last season. A 7pm Simpsons rerun had 6.3 million, while Family Guy at 9:00 came out with 9.41 million. The big winner for the night, as expected, was CBS with the Emmy awards, with FOX marginally coming second in front of NBC and the ABC in total viewers for the night. Results were identical within the 18-49 age demographic. It was a similar situation at 8:00pm, with the Emmy's first in the slot, followed by The Simpsons in second, ABC's Pearl Harbor in third, and NBCs West Wing in fourth. Another new Simpsons airs next Sunday before taking a month break due to Baseball playoffs.

Season 17 continues with another new episode titled The Girl Who Slept Too Little. This episode was originally due to air as the Season 16 finale but was postponed due to the rescheduling of The Father, The Son & The Holy Guest Star. The Simpsons protest the construction of a stamp museum next to their home and successfully have it relocated to a cemetery lot, but are dismayed to see the old cemetery moving next door. Lisa soon finds herself suffering fright-induced sleepless nights and runs to her parents' bed. Homer and Marge attempt spending a night in Lisa's room to convince her that it's safe, but are quickly scared away. They turn to a psychiatrist for advice, but Lisa decides to face her fears alone one night in the cemetery, with dramatic results." Don't miss all the action at 8pm tonight.

The Simpsons has once again walked away from the Emmy's empty handed. South Park's episode "Best Friends Forever" defeated The Simpsons' "Future-Drama" for Outstanding Animated Program. In the other categories, "Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical" won best song (Over "A Star is Torn"'s "Always My Dad" and Lost won for best Musical composition (Dramatic score). This is the second year in a row that The Simpsons has not won an Emmy for Outstanding Animated Series. These Creative Arts award winners were announced earlier this week, while the Prime Time Emmy's will be announced and broadcast on television this Sunday. Thanks Nathan for the heads up.

Band The Bloodhound Gang, best known for their songs The Bad Touch and The Roof Is On Fire, release a new album titled 'Hefty Fine' on September 27. Included on the release is a song titled Ralph Wiggum, which is comprised entirely of Simpsons quotes which came from the mouth of, you guessed it, Ralph Wiggum (with a bit of Chief Wiggum in the chorus). The band members themselves sing the lyrics rather than taking sound bytes from the episodes, so only die hard fans of the show would notice the familiar quotes. For this weekend only we're going to allow you to download the track although there is a user limit on the server so you might need to try during a slow hour. Just click the arrows to begin.

The October 2005 issue of Mad magazine features Family Guy on the cover, with a twist. All of the characters have been transformed into their Simpsons 'counterparts' as the magazine names the show TV's most original series. Inside the magazine is a "Trading Spouses" parody featuring the Simpsons and the Griffins. A full size version of the clever cover art as well as a preview of the Trading Spouses feature are contained in this PDF document. The Simpsons has taken a stab at MAD in various episodes including Team Homer, City Of New York Vs Homer, and New Kids On The Blecch.

Leave it to Calgary native Joel Cohen to play the Canadian role of peacekeeper when asked about the Fox network's family feud. Cohen, a supervising producer and writer on The Simpsons, is well aware of persistent reports of hostilities between his camp and the creators of Fox's other animated comedy, Family Guy. "It's a pretty friendly rivalry," says Cohen during a phone interview from Los Angeles. "It's good natured ... We have some things this season poking gentle fun at them. All in all, I think everybody's just happy that another comedy is doing well and, for myself, I'm glad another animated comedy is doing well. "But there are probably some people who feel more strongly than me. Look, lots of people like it and a lot of shows are derivative of other shows so to point fingers isn't beneficial to anyone." He adds his remarks "have been cleared by customs."

The opening of the National Football League season and the 17th-season premiere of The Simpsons (6.7 rating/11 share) led FOX to a ratings win Sunday. FOX scored a 6.8/11 for the night, beating out CBS' 6.0/10 (numbers for both networks may change some as they had live sports bleed into primetime in part of the country). ABC and NBC tied for third at 4.5/7 -- ABC led in total viewers, 7.04 million to 6.31 million for NBC -- and The WB trailed with a 1.6/3. 11.1 million viewers watched The Bonfire Of The Manatees.

Harry Shearer has put his stamp on such iconic roles as Spinal Tap bass player Derek Smalls and the Simpsons' nosy neighbor Ned Flanders, but he's about to add record label owner to his resume. Along with his singer/pianist wife Judith Owen and her manager Bambi Moe, Shearer has founded Courgette Records, which will be distributed by Warner Music Group's Alternative Distribution Alliance (ADA).

The Seventeenth Season kicks off this Sunday, two months earlier than usual. New episodes will follow for at least the next two weeks but after that you probably wont get any new episodes until November. In the season premiere episode "Bonfire Of The Manatees," Homer gets some stiff competition from guest star Alec Baldwin. Marge, outraged after discovering Homer allowed Fat Tony to shoot an a "gentlemen's" film in their living room in compensation for his football gambling debt, flees, leaving Homer with the kids. While on her journey of self-discovery, Marge befriends Caleb Thorn (guest-voice Baldwin), an attractive marine biologist on a quest to save not only the endangered manatee, but Marge from a husband who doesn't seem to appreciate her. The fun starts at 8:00pm on Fox, followed by the premieres of The War At Home, Family Guy, and American Dad.

The Simpsons has gotten away with TV's most cutting humor, skewering topical trends and timeless human nature with gonzo impudence. That's been its slant ever since creator Matt Groening made the first crude Simpsons shorts for The Tracy Ullman Show. "We attack everything equally," producer-writer David Mirkin said. "Government is a big idiot. Big business is a big idiot. Any authority figures are big idiots. All religions are made fun of." And that will again be the show's game plan when The Simpsons starts its 17th season Sunday on Fox. The Simpsons has maintained high standards of humor, invention and subversiveness. TV's funniest show also doesn't need the crutch of most sitcoms: a laugh track. Its creators trust viewers to provide their own. Mirkin said live-action sitcoms also suffer from other network restraints not felt by The Simpsons. They're test-screened and edited "to get rid of everything that can be offensive," he said.

Gabe Kaplan's character on "Welcome Back, Kotter," has been named the Most Memorable Teacher on Television by Inside TV magazine. Also on the list: Edna Krabappel of "The Simpsons," Lydia Grant (Debbie Allen) on "Fame," Charlie Moore (Howard Hesseman) on "Head of the Class," Laura Ingalls (Melissa Gilbert) on "Little House on the Prairie," Ross Geller (David Schwimmer) on "Friends," Mark Cooper (Mark Curry) on "Hangin' With Mr. Cooper," Fonzie (Henry Winkler) on "Happy Days," Carol Vessey (Julie Bowen) on "Ed" and Max Medina (Scott Cohen) on "Gilmore Girls."

Bob Denver, who bumbled and stumbled his way to television stardom as goofy castaway Gilligan in the 1960s comedy "Gilligan's Island," died on Friday, at the age of 70. According to his agent Mike Eisenstadt, the actor died at Wake Forest University Baptist Hospital in North Carolina, of complications from cancer treatment. In addition to playing the role of the Skipper's "little buddy" Gilligan in the 60's series, Denver vocally reprised his role in two Filmation Associates animated shows: The New Adventures of Gilligan, from 1974 to 1975, and Gilligan's Planet, which aired in 1982. Furthermore, the talented actor appeared as himself in "Gilligan," a 1994 episode of Space Ghost Coast to Coast, and self-parodying his character of Gilligan on "Simpson Tide," a 1998 episode of The Simpsons.

Things are getting ugly in the latest New Zealand election campaign. A group called "The Lisa Simpsons" has proudly taken credit for altering large numbers of billboards for candidate Don Brash overnight and says it plans to keep doing so throughout the country. The Lisa Simpsons were out last night "repackaging" Don Brash to an image that will be more familiar and also more informative for many New Zealanders: the big business, pro-nuclear face of Montgomery Burns. Mr Burns wears an election rosette, with the nuclear symbol in the centre, surrounded by ‘Business Roundtable’. A spokesperson for The Lisa Simpsons say the group's publicity campaign is aimed at warning other young people about how ghastly New Zealand could be with Mr Brash as leader. "Lisa Simpson seems like a fitting guide this election: she stands for seeing through insincere politicians and manipulative election campaigning."

The Simpsons have met many villains and donned many a heroic guise over the years, and now this brand-new series of twice-a-year specials from Bongo Comics will tell more of their exciting tales! Witness the cream-filled fury of Pieman (a.k.a. Homer Simpson) when an evil doppelganger seeks to tarnish his indignant and indulgent identity! Then, follow Bartman and Houseboy (Bart/Milhouse) into a parallel world when they find themselves in the bizarrely-altered world of Shelbyville. Add to the mix a trilogy of Radioactive Man tales inspired by the storytelling of Steve Ditko, and you have got one spectacular Simpsons special. Issue #1 is out Wednesday!

Ever wonder what it's like to be in a room surrounded by the people who conjure up the lives and comedy of the longest-running sitcom on air?

According to television writer, producer and screenwriter Don Payne, The Simpsons writing room is a "smorgasbord of personality disorders." Payne, a Wilmington native, is an Emmy-award winning writer/co-producer for The Simpsons and recently spoke to an auditorium full of people at UNCW Friday night.