A religious joke in the Simpsons episode “Alone Again, Natura-Diddly” may not have been far from the truth. “When the ad for a “Christian video game” crossed my desk, at first I thought it was a joke. Perhaps someone had finally decided to market “Billy Graham’s Bible Blasters,” the fictitious game featured on an episode of “The Simpsons” a few years back. Remember the episode shortly after Marge Flanders’ untimely death where Bart goes next door to visit the normally shiny-happy Christian Rod and Todd Flanders to cheer them up? He plays a religious video game titled Bible Blasters. It’s always been one of my favorite ‘Simpsons’ episodes–a clever idea and a biting bit of religious commentary–but one I thought was purely the product of the writer’s fertile imagination. Not so, apparently. With a little investigation, I discovered a whole world of “Christian” video games where Bibles, or at least the Word of God, are the weapons of choice.” Read More >>>
‘Hit And Run’ Hits The Web
A brand new dedication to the upcoming multi-platform Simpsons game ‘Hit And Run’ has been put online. While residing at simpsonshitandrun.com, the site is unofficial, but does its job in informing you of the latest news and screenshots for this much aniticpated new game. It is bound to get bigger leading up to the release of the game, but the information available is more than enough for now.
Chew On This
Star Telegram have an ongoing feature detailing 50 ways you can enjoy your summer. Today, in their ninth installment, they’ve chosen to highlight a range of Simpsons chew toys for dogs. How these will improve your summer unless you’re a canine is beyond me. “In spite of their many foibles, the members of The Simpsons household do genuinely care about each other, and that goes for the family dog, Santa’s Little Helper. So it’s in his flea-bitten, couch- cushion-chewing honor that a new line of Simpsons-themed dog toys are offered up to give your own furry friends something to tear up besides your house slippers. Look for soft, squeaking plush toys of Bart, Marge, Krusty or Homer, vinyl-sleeved Berber Bones with Homer or Bart and two sets of vinyl, squeaker chew toys shaped like everything from Blinky the three-eyed fish to Grampa Simpson’s dentures. There’s also a selection of hard-rubber toys, canvas flying discs with squeakers and tennis balls each featuring your favorite Simpson. They retail for less than $10, exclusively at Target.”
Hank Azaria In A ‘Huff’
Showtime has signed Simpsons voice actor Hank Azaria to star in a drama pilot about a guy suffering a midlife crisis. Azaria will play the title role in “Huff,” which is about a psychiatrist who feels his life going off the rails. The two-hour pilot is scheduled to begin shooting in August in Canada, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Bob Lowry write the script for “Huff,” and Mike Newell will direct it. Both men will also receive executive producer credits along with Cam Jones. Azaria has won two Emmys for his voice work on “The Simpsons,” in which he plays Apu, Moe the bartender, Comic Book Guy and several other characters. He also earned an Emmy nomination for the 1999 ABC movie “Tuesdays with Morrie.” His other credits include “Grosse Pointe Blank,” a recurring role on “Friends” and the upcoming feature “Shattered Glass.”
The Many Ways Of Faith
<img src=”https://www.lardlad.com/news/screenshots/shot215.gif” width=”122″ height=”109″ border=”0″ hspace=”2″ vspace=”4″ align=”right”>”There are many types of religious believers, and according to the Rev. Shawn Galyen, every one of them mirrors the faith of some character or other on The Simpsons. There are those like Marge Simpson, Mr. Galyen says, who yearn for faith but do not know why. Some, like her son, Bart, call on God only as a last resort, while others, like her daughter Lisa, are moralists. Dad Homer, Mr. Galyen says, believes in God but prefers football to faith. And then there are those like the Simpsons’ evangelical Christian neighbor, Ned Flanders, the Oral Roberts University graduate with the Shroud of Turin beach towels. Mr. Galyen, 31-year-old minister of the Georgetown University chapter of Chi Alpha, a Christian campus ministry, has been spreading the spirituality of Springfield by dedicating a chunk of the group’s weekly meetings to discussion about The Simpsons.” Read More >>>
Lincoln Pipped By Homer
“Homer Simpson looks likely to beat Abraham Lincoln to the title of the greatest ever American. The head of the Simpsons clan has taken almost a fifth of the votes in an internet poll. The 16th president of the US managed just over 16%. The poll has been held to tie in with a BBC2 debate called What The World Thinks of America to be screened on Tuesday at 9pm. Civil rights leader Martin Luther King is in third position, ahead of former presidents such as George Washington. Other quirky choices to have made the top ten include Mr T, famed for his role in TV’s The A Team, and Bob Dylan. The 90-minute debate will be presented by BBC political editor Andrew Marr and will look at opinions about the US’s position in the world. It will bring together national broadcasters from around the world in a live satellite link-up.” You can vote in the BBC poll here.
Homer Tops Favorites Poll
“Cartoon star Homer Simpson has been named as the favourite US TV character among UK viewers, according to an opinion poll. In the poll, carried out by listings magazine Radio Times, 38% of viewers voted for Homer, the father in the cult series The Simpsons. In second place with 14% was Frasier Crane of the comedy series Frasier, while Rachel from Friends, came third with 10% of the votes. The Simpsons recently celebrated its 300th episode after 13 years on screen. Its success has made global icons of its dysfunctional family, in particular dumb dad Homer. In another question, viewers said they considered the programme content on 24-hour news channel CNN to be most representative of the American people. In second place came Friends and The Simpsons trailed in at number three.” Read More >>>
Yeardley’s One-Woman Show
Yeardley Smith, best known for voicing Lisa Simpson on the FOX-TV hit “The Simpsons,” will workshop her new one-woman show at Joe’s Pub. On June 13 at 7 PM, Smith will present a reading of her new show, which is titled The Good Life. Developed through Voice & Vision’s ENVISION Lab, The Good Life follows the actress’ comic journey both in and out of show business. Born in Paris, France, Yeardley Smith has been seen on the small screen in “Herman’s Head,” “The Tracey Ullman Show,” “Brothers” and “Dharma & Greg.” Her feature film credits include “City Slickers,” “Jackie Toothless” and “As Good As It Gets.” More Info >>>
Flaunt It, Baby!
“In an early episode of The Simpsons, Krusty the Clown is invited to dinner and says grace in Hebrew. “He’s talking funny talk,” says Homer. Lisa points out that Krusty is Jewish. Homer is incredulous. “A Jewish entertainer? Get out of here!” The whole programme turns out to be a strange meditation on the history of Jewish entertainers in the US. Bart and Lisa are trying to reunite Krusty (real name Hershel Krustofsky) with his father, Rabbi Hyman Krustofsky, who disowned Krusty when he gave up the rabbinate to become a clown. “A musician or a jazz singer, this I could forgive,” the rabbi tells his son. “But a clown!” This parody of The Jazz Singer is given a further twist because Rabbi Krustofsky is played by comedian Jackie Mason, who himself trained to be a rabbi. The history of Jewish entertainers in America, from The Jazz Singer to The Simpsons, is examined at New York’s Jewish Museum.” Read More >>>
No More Simpsons Folder
If you’ve visited The Simpsons Folder recently, you’d have noticed at first a photo of a locked door, followed by a ‘not found’ page, and now a 403 ‘forbidden’ error. I spoke to Jukka, seven-year owner of the page and he informed me that the site would not be returning. A number of factors are involved, but the closure is mainly due to personal reasons involving life. It’s a shame to see this once-huge website disappear without a trace, but that’s the way of evolution. Jukka has left the building.
There’s a new site online called The Blunder Years. Shows some promise but could do with some work.
Cast Interviews A Treat
Bravo Canada will again be screening The Simpsons: Inside The Actors Studio today at 5pm. If you missed the special previously, now’s your chance to see it. Canoe News has posted a related article today to accompany the rerun.
“Inside the Actors Studio, the academic interview series hosted by Saturday Night Live and Mad TV target James Lipton, welcomes the six principle voice actors for the show. “I dealt with them as six individuals,” says Lipton, who spent an incredible five hours on stage with the Springfield players. Nobody in the audience left. Little wonder. The studio audience, as ever, is filled with college students studying acting, writing and directing –in other words, adoring Simpsons’ fans.” Read More >>>
Treehouse Of Horror DVD
While we wait ever-so-patiently for the Season sets to slowly come to us, Fox has decided to trick us with a Halloween treat. A special Treehouse of Horror DVD comes to North America on September 2nd. The disc is a compilation of various Simpsons Halloween specials, and has been available in Regions 2 (United Kingdom And Europe) and 4 (Australia) since October last year.
Halloween specials XII, VII, VI, and V are included, as well as a bonus video montage of Kang and Kodo’s finest moments. For further details, see Australia’s EzyDVD description. Price is $14.98 American, $16.98 Canadian, though someone at SCS has found it available for $7.18 when pre-ordered.