Simpsons Channel » miscellaneous

178212 + 184112 = Springfield Theory

Adam — Sat, 10 Jun 2006 13:35:28 +0000

In the 1995 Halloween episode of the award-winning animated sitcom The Simpsons, two-dimensional Homer Simpson accidentally jumps into the third dimension. During his journey in this strange world, geometric solids and mathematical formulas float through the air, including an innocent-looking equation: 1782¹² + 1841¹² = 1922¹². Most viewers surely ignored this bit of mathematical gobbledygook.

On the fan discussion site alt.tv.simpsons, however, the equation caused a bit of a stir. “What’s going on, he seems to have disproved Fermat’s last theorem!” one fan marveled, referring to the famous claim by Pierre de Fermat—proved just months earlier—that for any exponent n bigger than 2, there are no nonzero whole numbers a, b, and c for which an + bn = cn. The Simpsons equation, if correct, would be a counterexample to the theorem, meaning that the proof had been wrong.

SOURCE: Science News

Depeche Mode Meet The Simpsons

Adam — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 20:07:10 +0000

Megastars Depeche Mode, who will perform in Bulgaria in two weeks, will be surprised to find the famous Simpson family in the audience. The Simpsons have “arrived” in Bulgaria and will tour numerous cities, visiting concerts and starring in TV shows. The visit of the messy but charming family was organized by the Bulgarian division of Fox Life, in cooperation with local mobile operator Vivatel.

Homer, Marge, Lisa, Bart and baby Maggie Simpson had their first meeting with Bulgarian reporters on Thursday, announcing plans to visit a number of cities in the country – including Pleven, Varna, Veliko Tarnovo, Plovdiv, Russe, and Stara Zagora. They will also join thousands in what is seen to be the top music event in Bulgaria this summer – Depeche Mode’s June 21 concert. The Simpsons will travel to the seaside and see Sting’s show on June 12, too. Cartoon fans in Bulgaria have been following the life of the Simpsons since last year.

SOURCE: Sovia News

Fox Joins The Online Party

Adam — Sat, 15 Apr 2006 10:53:51 +0000

Fox might be coming late to the Internet party, but it knows how to make an entrance. The network said Thursday that it planned to start making its hit programs such as American Idol, The Simpsons and 24 available online and through video-on-demand services the day after they air. Though Fox has lagged behind the other networks in taking the step to make its shows download-friendly, its plan is different in that it plans to share the revenues generated by the move with its 187 affiliate stations, something rival nets ABC, CBS and NBC do not do. Because of Fox’s partnership with its affiliate stations, it will be able to make a greater chunk of its content available for download, whereas the other networks are limited by their current arrangements with their affiliates as to how many shows they can put online.

SOURCE: E! News

Alberta Museum Gets Its 10 Seconds

Adam — Wed, 12 Apr 2006 22:01:30 +0000

Fame may be fleeting for some, but the Remington Carriage Museum in Cardston, Alta., has been immortalized thanks to a 10-second segment on The Simpsons. “We have a big sign out in front of our place which is electronically programmable and I intend to put on it ‘As Seen on the Simpsons,’ ” said Howard Snyder, the manager of the museum. On Sunday’s episode, actor Richard Dean Anderson, is kidnapped by sisters Patty and Selma. But Anderson becomes a nuisance and won’t leave.

Selma and Patty then subject him to a series of boring vacation slides, including an image of the front of the museum and a list of the historic carriages inside. “That was great – even though the context was Selma and Patty’s boring summer holidays,” chuckled Snyder. “To have the image of the statue in front of the museum and the front of the museum and vehicles inside the museum for 10 seconds on something as big as The Simpsons – that’s at least a boost to our pride.”

SOURCE: Canada.com

Scientology Stripped From Simpsons

Adam — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 19:54:52 +0000

Apparently Isaac Hayes isn’t the only Scientologist that has done voiceover for comedy cartoon characters that can’t take a joke and has no sense of humor when it comes to their controversial religion. Nancy Cartwright, the voice for Bart Simpson, seemingly suffers from the same malady as Hayes reports 7 Days. Perhaps inspired by the creators of South Park, who ridiculed Scientology so successfully, some of The Simpsons writers wanted to have a little fun too.

The proposed line to be spoken by Bart went something like this, “Mormonism? That’s the second freakiest religion in America!” One guess who must be the first “freakiest”? Cartwright certainly got the joke, but she didn’t like it, so the show dumped it according to insiders. So even a purported allusion to Scientology got the axe at the Fox show. “That’s ridiculous…Scripts change all the time as shows are prepared, and what goes into a show and what doesn’t go into a show is based on what’s funny, and that is it,” her publicist said.

SOURCE: Cult News

Simpsons Renewed For 2 Seasons

Adam — Tue, 21 Mar 2006 10:59:43 +0000

Fox Broadcasting Company has ordered two additional seasons of The Simpsons and one additional season of King of the Hill. This will take The Simpsons, created by executive producer Matt Groening, through 19 seasons in 2007-2008. Mike Judge’s King of the Hill is picked up for its 11th season.

Having debuted on Jan. 14, 1990, The Simpsons reigns as the longest-running animated series in history and the longest-running primetime series currently on television. The Simpsons is a cultural institution and will celebrate a milestone 400 episodes in May 2007.

SOURCE: Coming Soon

Simpsons Trump First Amendment

Adam — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 19:31:52 +0000

Americans know more about “The Simpsons” than they do about the First Amendment. Only one in four Americans can name more than one of the five freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment. But more than half can name at least two members of the cartoon family, according to a survey. The study by the new McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum found that 22 percent of Americans could name all five Simpson family members, compared with just one in 1,000 people who could name all five First Amendment freedoms.

Joe Madeira, director of exhibitions at the museum, said he was surprised by the results. “Part of the survey really shows there are misconceptions, and part of our mission is to clear up these misconceptions,” said Madeira, whose museum will be dedicated to helping visitors understand the First Amendment when it opens in April. “It means we have our job cut out for us.”

SOURCE: MSNBC

Eat Maine Potatoes

Adam — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 17:19:20 +0000

In an apparent surprise to the industry, The Simpsons endorsed Maine spuds during an episode of Fox’s “The Simpsons” that aired Sunday night. The gag, which lasted 4 seconds or so, showed various tattoo advertisements on Homer’s ample body, including a message on one arm that read “Eat Maine Potatoes.” Homer, who was in bed, told Marge that it was a reminder. He then reached into a bag of “Maine Potatoes” and started munching on one. When asked by the Portland Press Herald about why “The Simpsons” featured the plug for Maine potatoes, Fox spokeswoman Jill Hudson provided a quote from Executive Producer Al Jean: “All of the Simpsons writers are huge fans of Maine potatoes.”

Maine Potato Board Executive Director Donald Flannery insisted that his promotional group had nothing to do with the animated plug. “No, no, nope. No — it’s nothing we paid for,” Flannery said. “We never had anything to do with that. I guess I’m going to have to get a copy of it.”

SOURCE: Boston.com

Ricky Gervais’ Simpsons Dream

Adam — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 16:29:14 +0000

Comedian Ricky Gervais says writing and starring in an episode of the Simpsons was such a dream come true for him it was “ridiculous“. The man behind The Office and Extras has penned a plotline which sees Homer and Marge picked for a reality show where they swap partners with another couple, and Marge going to live with Gervais’ character. “It was like I’d won a competition,” he told the New York Daily News. “I’m genuinely worried that Hollywood got together and talked to my doctors and found out I’ve only got a few months to live and said, ’Just let him do what he wants to do’.” He added that he had been “in awe” of the show for at least 10 years. “When I first got into comedy, my ambition was to get a joke on The Simpsons,” Gervais said. “So to write and star in one is ridiculous.”

In his episode, which will be shown in the US in March, his character is so touched by Marge’s kindness and attention that he develops a crush on her and proceeds to write and perform the “most excruciating love song“.

SOURCE: Ireland Online

Homer Slammed For Drink Driving

Adam — Wed, 28 Dec 2005 14:33:29 +0000

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

SOURCE: The Daily Record