Fox has issued a press release today citing the North American release date for ‘The Simpsons: The Complete Fourth Season’ as June 15, 2004 (just three months away). Featuring exclusive bonus material including commentary on each of the 22 episodes, an introduction by Matt Groening, a voiceover featurette with James L. Brooks, an Animation Showcase multi-angle feature, animatics, commercials, deleted scenes and more, the four-disc collection arrives at a suggested retail of $49.98 US / $69.98 Canada. The quick release for this set suggests that Season 5 could also be available by the year’s end. Visit TVShowsOnDVD for the complete press release.
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Nancy Cartwright Vs. Australia
Despite being a star of one of the most popular TV series of all time, Nancy Cartwright can usually walk down the street virtually unrecognised. That is until she comes all the way to the other side of the world, where she can hardly walk 2m without a fan stopping her for a chat and autograph. Cartwright, the voice of Bart Simpson, is in town for the Big Laugh Comedy Festival which gets under way at Parramatta’s Riverside Theatre complex tomorrow. “Hardly anyone recognises me in America but I land in Australia and all of a sudden I have people stopping me at the airport, on the street, all over the place,” Cartwright said yesterday. “It’s the only place in the world that it happens. When I was in London no one knew who I was at all.” Read More >>>
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Paul Winfield Dies, Aged 62
Actor Paul Winfield, who played civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr on television and earned an Oscar nomination for his role as a share-cropping father in Sounder, has died at age 62, associates say. Winfield, who had long battled weight problems and suffered a stroke in recent months, died of a heart attack on Sunday night at a Los Angeles hospital, a representative for the actor said. The tall, deep-voiced actor’s last role was a cameo appearance in an ABC television movie remake last year of Sounder. Simpsons fans will remember Winfield by his role of Lucious Sweet in the episode ‘The Homer They Fall’, and a small cameo in the episode ‘The Trouble With Trillions,’ where he appeared as Drederick Tatum’s manager.
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Simpsons Advice Hoax Yanked
Somewhere in Springfield, state unknown, Bart Simpson is in detention, filling a chalkboard with the words “I will not write a fake letter to Dear Abby.” Well, it probably wasn’t Bart’s handiwork, but he’d no doubt approve of the prank that forced Dear Abby’s editors to pull next Monday’s advice column, which included a letter that mirrored an episode of The Simpsons. “It did sound too similar not to be a hoax,” said Kathie Kerr, a spokeswoman for Kansas City-based Universal Press Syndicate. The column is titled “Wife meets perfect match after husband strikes out.” In the letter, the writer describes herself as a 34-year-old mother of three who has been married for 10 years to a man who is “greedy, selfish, inconsiderate and rude.” The writer says her husband, Gene, gave her a bowling ball for her birthday — complete with the holes drilled to fit his fingers and embossed with his name. Read More >>>
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Caught Between Burns & Homer
“The answers to life’s problems aren’t at the bottom of a bottle. They’re on TV!” The more I thought about this, the more I realized that we can learn a lot from two characters from Springfield who, surprisingly enough, most college students relate to pretty well: Mr. Burns and Homer Simpson. Now I know what you’re thinking. All the Wharton kids are Mr. Burns, all the frat boys are Homer, and the rest of you are confused by the analogy I just drew. But let me explain. In the book, The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D’oh! Of Homer, we find an in-depth character analysis of both the greedy capitalist and the loud-mouthed father. Surprisingly, many of us have characteristics that are quite Burnsian. Not so “excellent” one would think. The idea is that Mr. Burns can never be happy because for him, “everything only takes on meaning in light of something else [and] it would seem as if nothing would have any meaning.” Read More >>>
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Gervais Turns Down Simpsons
Ricky Gervais has turned down a part in The Simpsons and a string of big-money US deals because he wants to stay in Britain. The 42-year-old star of The Office was flooded with Hollywood offers after the show won two Golden Globe awards. The deals included The Simpsons role and his own major network show. But Gervais said: “I don’t want to pop up as a Mr Brit on every other television programme. I need to go home to where it rains.” His only US TV role will be as a bomb maker in the spy show Alias, which will be shown in the spring, says The Sun. He will write and produce the American version of The Office before concentrating on a sitcom about insurance salesmen.
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Yeardley Smith Gives “More”
Yeardley Smith, the actress known for her voice work as Lisa on “The Simpsons,” will star in her solo show Yeardley Smith: More at the Union Square Theatre Off Broadway, starting March 1. The solo play written by Smith will officially open March 22 at the downtown Manhattan venue. Judith Ivey – the actress recently seen in Women on Fire — directs. More follows the autobiographical story of an actress who has had her ups and down in show business. On her quest for fame, the star tells all – from her regrets of having played the slutty girl in “Ginger Ale Afternoon” to her Broadway debut in Tom Stoppard’s The Real Thing. Smith won an Emmy Award in 1992 for her work on “The Simpsons.” The Paris-born actress has also been seen on big screen in “City Slickers,” “As Good as It Gets” and on television in “Herman’s Head,” and “Dharma & Greg.” Read More >>>
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Mike’s Lessons From Bart
The bright, refurbished Great Hall of the Student Union was crowded Monday night. The speaker, a short, turtleneck-clad man, was a consultant for “The PJs,” helped put out “Alf” and wrote jokes for “Airplane II: The Sequel”. He also helps produce a lesser-known program called The Simpsons. Mike Reiss, a consulting producer on the show, has been behind America’s favorite four-fingered family for more than 200 episodes. His 11 years of comedy experience shone through in his rapid-fire idiosyncratic routine. “Why do they have four fingers?” Reiss said, responding to a question about the family. “It’s 20 percent cheaper.” The event ran a lighthearted 45 minutes. The auditorium that had seen a more somber Chuck D presentation less than a week ago was packed with Simpsons devotees. But Reiss didn’t neglect his responsibilities to his sponsors. He spoke of his quirky childhood in the Jewish community, tossed off with well-honed wit. Read More >>>
Ratings
Ratings: Smart And Smarter
This Sunday saw a Simpsons double, with new episode Smart & Smarter at 8:00pm, followed by a rerun of I, D’oh-Bot at 8:30pm. This is the standard schedule for a Simpsons double, and once again Fox received the standard result. 12.5 million viewers tuned in for Simon Cowell’s appearance at 8pm while 12.8 million caught the rerun.
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The End Of WoS; Save Maude
Once the hottest items on toy store shelves, Playmates Toys has recently confirmed that their “World of Springfield” Simpsons action figure line will end this year after releasing Series 16. Unfortunately, due to the untimely departure of Maggie Roswell from the show, an interactive Maude Flanders figure was never released. While The SCS is doing their best to urge Playmates to develop the figure, staff member Michael Crawford has created a poll to determine the interest in the Maude figure and other final WoS products. Only one vote per person, please. Read More >>>
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Smart And Smarter Airing Tonight
Tonight’s new episode has been in the spotlight moreso than most of the episodes this season. The episode titled “Smart And Smarter” sees Simon Cowell as the voice of an interviewer for a pre-school that Homer and Marge are trying to get Maggie into. When she gets in, Lisa doesn’t take it particularly well. Cowell is well known for his acerbic comments on TV and will be seen making cruel jibes at the Simpsons’ youngest child Maggie. On the appearance, Cowell says “It’s the best thing I’ve ever been asked to do.” The episode airs tonight in North America (followed by a repeat of I, D’oh-Bot) and on May 23rd in the United Kingdom. We’ll bring you the ratings for the episode later this week.
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Simpsons Win Writers Guild Award
With three nominations in total, the chance of The Simpsons winning a Writers Guild Award this year was fairly high. The 56th annual awards were presented in simultaneous ceremonies in New York and Los Angeles this Saturday, with “Lost in Translation” and “American Splendor” taking top screenwriting honors. The Simpsons tops the television winners in the animation category. The show received the award for the Season 14 episode “The Dad Who Knew Too Little” written by Matt Selman. Other episodes nominated were “Moe Baby Blues” by J. Stewart Burns, and “My Mother The Carjacker” by Michael Price, but these did not come out on top. This is the show’s first Writers Guild Award after a category for animation was introduced last year.