The Simpsons complete 14th season has been released in the UK today.
Tag: uk
Ratings
Ratings: In The Name Of The Grandfather
A total of 6.15 million viewers tuned in to watch In The Name Of The Grandfather last night, despite its availability on the net all week due to an exclusive screening in the UK/Ireland. The episode attracted 511,000 viewers on Sky 1 in Ireland earlier this week, more than doubling Sky 1’s previous highest audience for any program in Ireland. A further 957,000 watched the episode in the UK.
News
Man Jailed For “Spider Pig” Insults
A UK man has been jailed for breaching the peace by singing the Spider Pig song from The Simpsons Movie at police officers. David Mullen was sentenced to three months for the incident and calling an officer “ginger” in a police van. He claimed he was singing the song because it was the ringtone on his mobile phone.
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The Simpsons In Channel 4 Ident
The Simpsons are the latest to get their very own ident on UK broadcaster Channel 4. These promos which play off before the beginning of programs usually involve an abstract formation of the channel’s logo using scenes from real life. This new ident has been exclusively produced by the team at The Simpsons for Channel 4. You can watch or download it by clicking below.
SOURCE: Idents.tv
News Videos
Groening And Jean On BBC News
The Simpsons creator Matt Groening and executive producer Al Jean talk about the Springfield family’s new film. THIS VIDEO CONTAINS SPOILERS AND SCENES FROM THE MOVIE.
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Dominos Sign Deal With Simpsons
Domino’s Pizza in the UK has signed a two-year licensing deal with 20th Century Fox that will allow it to run ads and create branded pizzas based on TV show The Simpsons. The deal kicks off with a heavyweight ad campaign breaking on 13 February next year. Domino’s marketing manager Robin Auld said the ad will be in the style of a ’30-second episode of The Simpsons’; it was scripted and produced by the team that makes the programme.
As part of the deal, Domino’s will produce Simpsons-branded pizzas and side orders, the first of which will be a spicy chicken Icurumba pizza. Simpsons characters will also appear on menus, packaging, direct mail, online and in-store. Domino’s said the ad, which features a family eating together, is not aimed at children. ‘We take responsible marketing very seriously, and we have a multitude of fresh, healthy options and vegetables for toppings,’ said Auld.
Domino’s has sponsored The Simpsons on Sky One for eight years. Its rival Pizza Hut had a tie-up with the show on Channel 4, which ended last year after 12 months.
SOURCE: Brand Republic
News
Celebrity Chef To Appear On Simpsons
Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay is set to cook up a storm when he appears on long-running cartoon sitcom The Simpsons. The ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ star will teach Homer Simpson how to cook in the episode, but producers have yet to confirm whether the foul-mouthed chef will keep his expletive-laden vocabulary on the family show. Ramsay says, “I was really honoured. I don’t know how they’re going to do it, but I hope they keep the swearing in.”
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Domino’s Launch Simpsons Campaign
Domino’s Pizza UK & IRL is set to launch a two-year licensing deal with the TV show, The Simpsons, which includes a heavy advertising campaign featuring characters from the show. According to a news release, the 30-second ads will air beginning Feb. 13 and run a total of five weeks on select channels. Viewers will see the Simpsons in a familiar mealtime scene, with Homer in pursuit of a slice of his favorite pizza, while Marge and the rest of the family tuck in. The ad will support Domino’s new Ay Carumba Fajita pizza, a Mexican-style pizza on a thin crust with toppings of spicy chicken, cheese, fresh green peppers, onions and tomatoes.
“We’re very excited about both the deal and the ad campaign, both of which are a natural extension of Domino’s existing association with The Simpsons,” said Robin Auld, marketing manager for 407-unit Domino’s Pizza UK & IRL. “We share many of the same values of irreverence and fun, and the enhanced partnership will place Domino’s front of mind for pizza lovers.”
SOURCE: Pizza Market Place
News
Matt Groening Praises Ricky Gervais
The Simpsons creator Matt Groening said Ricky Gervais did such a good job writing an episode of the hit US comedy show that he wants him to do more. The Office star wrote and appears in the episode, which is due to be screened next month. Groening said Gervais was good enough to be a regular character, according to the UK press. “He caught our tone exactly, and then added his own Ricky Gervais/David Brent patheticness,” Groening said. “Everything you could ever possibly want from Ricky Gervais you get. “It’s possible we’ll collaborate again… he should be a regular character. In fact, he should have his own cartoon series.”
Gervais’ character in The Simpsons is based on David Brent from The Office sitcom. He moves into The Simpson household with Marge as the family take part in an episode of Wife Swap, while Homer moves in with his wife.
SOURCE: BBC News
News
UK Apologizes For Streetcar Airing
Channel 4 has apologised for screening an episode of ‘The Simpsons’ including a song with the lyrics ‘New Orleans, stinking, rotten, vomiting, vile’ just days after Hurricane Katrina had devastated the city. The song appears in the episode ‘A Streetcar Named Marge’, in which the residents of Springfield stage a musical version of ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’. The song about New Orleans features further insults, with lines claiming it is the “home of pirates, drunks and whores” and “tacky over-priced souvenir stores”. A viewer complained to Ofcom about the scheduling of the episode, on September 7 this year. Channel 4 apologised for the scheduling of the episode. It explained to Ofcom that it checked repeat programmes to ensure, among other things, that recent events have not rendered something offensive, which was previously innocent. However, the reference to New Orleans was incidental to the story, rather than a key part of it and was not picked up on in the review process.
SOURCE: Brand Republic
News
Princes Wanted For Simpsons Cameo
British royal Prince William and his younger brother Prince Harry are being headhunted by TV bosses to star in an episode of cartoon series The Simpsons. Producers of the hit animated show want William to feature as Lisa’s new love interest, while party-loving Harry has been cast as a wacky tearaway pal for Bart. Executive producer Al Jean says, “We’ve thought about approaching Harry and William because we believe they are fans of the show. It would be funny to make one of them Lisa’s boyfriend. I know they’re image conscious, but I don’t see what harm it’ll do.” Jean has also hinted at wanting the princes’ grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, to star in her own episode. He adds, “I’d love to get the Queen on the show. That would be something.” If the royal duo accepted the part, they will follow in the footsteps of other British stars who have enjoyed cameo appearances on The Simpsons, including Elton John, Paul McCartney, and Prime Minister Tony Blair.
SOURCE: ContactMusic
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First Images: Ricky Gervais Animated
Ricky Gervais’ official website has released the first glimpses of how Ricky will look in the forthcoming episode of The Simpsons entitled ‘Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife’, written by Ricky himself. These images are from the storyboard that is used by the animators to guide the making of the finished show. Obviously, they’re not the finished drawings. Those familiar with Gervais will notice the character bares a striking resemblance to his character David Brent, despite the fact that the character he’ll be playing is someone new. The episode to air next year will see Homer and Marge end up on a Trading Spouses-style show in order to win a plasma TV, though Ricky’s character becomes smitten with Marge. So far it’s been the most publicised episode of the seventeenth season so we’re really hoping it’s not a let down.
SOURCE: RickyGervais.co.uk