I was a little late so missed the disclaimer. I liked how they set it up to have a happy heterosexual ending, but then didn't deliver. Patty could have married Veronica when he asked her to forgive him for lying and marry him anyway. She said something to the effect of " No way! I'm into girls!"

I thought the episode poked some fun at the disclaimer when Homer called Fox (if you have an idea for a show about a skanky golddigger, press 1...) & liked the episode. The moment with Marge and the Reverand Lovejoy was very clever and appreciated that there were many couples married by Homer. Of course, the fact it opened with the Simpsons skating the Stanley Cup was a bonus! Side question: Does the show ever open with Bart writing on the blackboard any more?

This from L Brent Bozell, from the Parents Television Council: "At a time when the public mood is overwhelmingly against gay marriage any show that promotes gay marriage is deliberately bucking the public mood. I'd rather them not do it at all. You've got a show watched by millions of children. Do children need to have gay marriage thrust in their faces as an issue? Why can't we just entertain them?" The FCC should be getting their compaints any minute now.

~Adam

I decided to watch The Treasure of the Sierra Madre instead and, from what I've read here, I'm glad I did. Just have Smithers come out officially already.

Kill this show, do it now, drown it in the bathtub, smother it with a pillow, give it a booze-and-downers cocktail stat etc.

At least The Family Guy has new episodes coming soon.

[ February 21, 2005, 11:26 AM: Message edited by: Jim Allen ]

I think it was just more of the usual poking-fun-at-Fox. \"Please stay on the line -- your half-baked ideas are all we have.\" And someone else thought the disclaimer was a joke -- I do not think so at all. If it were something the show came up with, they might have had Marge or someone deliver the message.

And we thought there'd be no Cup this year! wink Loved it.

On occasion, but not on a regular basis. I can't recall seeing it this year.

If the disclaimer were a joke they would have used that voice that does such voiceovers when the Simpsons are watching TV. The voice on the disclaimer was the same that has been on other FOX shows so, sadly, I don't think it was a joke at all.

The episode was kind of blah to me. I did love when Homer called FOX. And Homer simply typing his name and receiving his minister certificate.

I am just waiting for Lenny and Carl to get together for real! Maybe one day...

Here is that web site mentioned on the Simpsons on Sunday.

http://www.springfieldisforgayloversofmarriage.com

I can't stand Brent Bozell. To paraphrase Florence King, if a right-wing revolution breaks out I'd probably be taken hostage by religious righters at the PTC and I'd have to spend hours explaining to them how I'm way more conservative than they are. I also hate people who are so dense they can't figure out that just because something's animated doesn't mean it's for kids. And if millions of children are watching the Simpsons every Sunday night they have some pretty pathetic parents because it's just not a kids show - not in the sense that kids shouldn't watch it but I can't imagine most kids even getting most of the jokes, the irony, the pop culture references, etc. And I hate conservatives (liberals are just as bad, though) who constantly gush about the children, the children, the children. I think adults should count for something, but maybe that's just me.

The Simpsons will air their 350th episode this Sunday with guest star Ray Romano playing Homer's new friend who everyone else think is imaginary. Another new episode will follow at 8:30.

Considering how they lied about which episode was number 300, I wonder if this is really number 350? Especially since they threw on a repeat instead of a new episode at the last minute after the pope died (it was about Bart getting expelled and having to go to a Catholic school and a hip priest trying to convert the family -- like trying to bribe Homer with beer).

I read that for the next 3 weeks they will air 2 new episodes each week. I think the above episode is going to be aired during this time.

I was going to ask "why would they lie about the 350th episode?" but then saw this article in the LA Times:

"Not that it's on par with, oh, the Great Quiz Show Scandal of 1959 or the Great Bobby Ewing Death Hoax on 'Dallas,' but Fox's count of episodes of 'The Simpsons' seems to be a little bit...suspicious.

The network has been touting Sunday night's new episode, 'Don't Fear the Roofer,' in which Ray Romano guest stars as a roofing contractor who's stereotypically hard to nail down, as the animated sitcom's milestone 350th. But as some hard-core 'Simpsons'-ites have taken the trouble to point out, the numbers don't quite square.

What's up? A little May sweeps math? A Fox representative said it is definitely No. 350. But if you go to the official episode guide (www.thesimpsons.com) and count forward from the similarly ballyhooed 300th episode, televised February 16, 2003, then Sunday's installment is No. 349.

On the other hand, if you count from the very beginning of the series, the episode Fox labeled the '300th' appears to have been the 302nd, which would make Sunday's episode No. 351. Aye, carumba!

Perhaps Stephen Hawking--who's also in Sunday's episode, explaining a bit about black holes to the Simpsons, Ned Flanders, and Dr. Hibbert--could unravel this mathematical conumdrum. Then again, it just might make the great physicist go, 'D'oh!!'"

My theory is that it's an homage to the "Mary Tyler Moore Show" in which Mary hosts a party following the 1000th newscast she's produced, only to learn it's actually just her 999th. As guest star Barbara Barrie tells Mary about the mix-up, "I understand. I lie about my age, too."

~Adam

Someone tell the L.A. Times to wake up. This was reported back then. Sheesh.

I thought the 300 vs. 302 controversy was discussed here in this thread but for some reason it's not. Maybe I posted it on some other thread? Anyway, it's true. #300 was actually #302, and they actually allude to it during the episode.

Last week's episode was actually #350, but it would have been #351 had the one episode not been postponed after the pope died.

[ April 30, 2005, 09:15 PM: Message edited by: Joe in Philly ]

I don't know...seems like this Season, the episodes are short on dialogue and are not very funny.

Anyone see the all new Family Guy episode last night?

Hilarious....I can see the Bible Thumpers fainting over it.

NJ

Has any tv program ever offered a promo for a show on a rival network like last night's episode did? Homer and Ray, sitting on the roof talking about watching a show "on CBS, Monday night at 9" over & over. And though it was expected, I did like the "case of shingles" joke.

~Adam

That "CBS Monday at 9" thing had to be a parody of something, though I'm not sure what. I grew tired of it quickly. The Simpsons have done similar gags before where they mentioned other networks' shows -- I recall something about Frasier when Kelsey Grammer's Sideshow Bob was joined by his brother Cecil, played by David Hyde Pierce.

I taped "Family Guy" while watching "Desperate Housewives." The only part I really liked was the opening (which I found the lines in an article from the NY Daily News), when Peter Griffin announces to his family that they've been canceled by Fox.

The first thing I thought of was the infamous "Who's on First?" routine. I thought that the "CBS Monday at 9" was the best part of the episode, which was a somewhat weak episode by The Simpsons standards. I guess part of the problem is that I just don't find Ray Romano funny at all--never have. But, I will give him credit for the "CBS" routine with Homer at the end of the show. I did think that the 8.30 p.m. episode about Bart's food addiction and having to go to fat camp was a much stronger episode. It seemed more like a typical episode. I spent the whole show trying to figure out the voice of the head of the fat camp--Albert Brooks.

[ May 02, 2005, 02:25 PM: Message edited by: Cattledog ]

Joe, regarding all of those successful shows that he had mentioned, the one that got completely forgotten was the Herman's Head, which was the only show after The Simpsons (or was it on after Married With Children :confused: ) that I really liked.

Edited to add: I also really liked The Crew, but that was stuck in Thursday night purgatory up against Friends so I knew that it would never really have a chance.

[ May 02, 2005, 02:31 PM: Message edited by: Cattledog ]

Herman's Head wasn't mentioned because it was on and off the air before Family Guy. The only shows mentioned were FOX shows that came and went since Family Guy was cancelled a few years back.

Season 6 is now available for preorder at Amazon.com for a mere $32.49 and free shipping. There is a link on the Outsports homepage for Amazon so you can buy the DVD and support Outsports at the same time!

Some highlights:

-Homer is accused of sexually harrassing the babysitter.

-Homer goes to clown college and becomes a Krusty lookalike.

-Santa's Little Helper knocks a bitch up and Mr. Burns conspires to steal the puppies so he can make a coat.

-Bart makes a prank call to Australia and the family must go there to apologize.

-The Simpsons get a pool but Bart breaks his leg and spends his summer spying on the neighbors and suspects Flanders murdered his wife.

-The family vacation at Itchy and Scratchy Land.

-Sideshow Bob is released from jail and runs for mayor.

Season 6 does, unfortuantely, contains what is, IMO, the Worst. Episode. Ever. Or at least tied for the worst. It is the one where a fortune teller describes Lisa's future and her wedding. The other that ties as the worst is another that takes place in the future where Lisa is President of the United States and Bart is a ne'er do well slacker musician who embarrasses her. A take off on Bill and Roger Clinton I imagine.

I don't think either of those qualify as the worst, although I wouldn't call them great, either. But it annoys me that they keep pumping from that well. This year it was Prof. Frink showing Bart and Lisa the future through a machine he invented.

Simpsons movie in production?

A friend sent me news about this, and I found this item on a Simpsons fan website. It's supposed to be from something called "Teletext" in the UK.

In addition to Kelsey Grammer--Sideshow Bob's coming back!!--among the guest voices for the coming season are: Alec Baldwin, Ricky Gervais, William H. Macy, Lily Tomlin, Frances McDormand, Rob reiner, and Richard Dean Anderson (who, as MacGyver, is adored by Selma.) The Treehouse of Terror will feature Dennis Rodman, Terry Bradshaw, Randy Johnson, and Joe Frazier.

~Adam

Patty likes him too...just not in that way.

Meanwhile, earlier in this thread:
I mention this because the other night they re-ran this episode and, oddly enough, I laughed more than I did the first time it aired. Maybe I'm in a better frame of mind to enjoy things now? wink Anyway, in the future Lisa learns that Bart is now getting the Yale scholarship that had been awarded to her, and she starts pounding on him and yelling, "You've ruined my life!!" Cut back to the present, where Lisa is attacking Bart after seeing her future: "You're going to ruin my life!!" wink

The one from this week was the only "future" episode I enjoyed. It isn't classic Simpsons but it was way better than the one where Lisa becomes President or Lisa gets married.

Fox is changing its strategy of recent years. Instead of waiting until after the World Series and then starting off with the Treehouse of Horror, the new season will begin on September 11, also the same day they have a Week 1 NFL doubleheader (so whatever's on between 7 and 8 will presumably NOT debut).

They called their Sunday lineup "Desperately funny" or something like that. I wonder why they used that word "desperate"? wink

Yeah, I noticed that last night. Despite the consistently successful critical acclaim of The Simpsons, Malcolm in the Middle, and Arrested Development (which have all picked up Emmy's in past years in various categories), FOX is still having ratings problems with the resurgence of ABC and HBO (not to mention NFL competition) on Sunday nights, despite the ratings going down over at CBS and NBC the past couple of years. Waiting until after the Yankees win the World Series this year wink is just not a good strategy if FOX wants to ride this "animation domination" wave immediately to counter those who are into ABC and HBO's Sunday programming. So, I am pleased with FOX's decision to make this sudden change, despite its eerie date being Sep. 11.

Treehouse of Horror XVI....I loved the beginning with the aliens and the World Series...BI was kinda stupid...the second two parts were funny...especially the last episode with the costumes.

The AI spoof might have worked better if it had been done 5 years ago. Not very relevant now. It's not like AI is considered some classic like ET or Jaws.

Season 7 DVDs are out December 13th, in case anyone is looking to buy me a Christmas present; of course, you should let me know in advance so I don't buy it myself!

I've also seen ads featuring a new version of the game "Operation" in which Homer Simpson is the patient, in which he says things like "This is NOT GOOD!" and, of course, "D'oh!"

I enjoyed the opening couch gag last night. They all run in and sit down, and a photographer comes in and takes a family portrait; then you see each year's succeeding family portrait (with the kids growing up a little each year). 2006 and 2007 show Homer and Marge and the kids; then in 2008 Homer's gone, Marge is in her funeral outfit; 2009 features Marge with Lenny; 2010 features Lenny and Carl (together at last) but not Marge; in 2011 Marge is back, but with Jimbo Jones(!); in 2012 Jimbo's been replaced with a robotic version of Homer; and finally in 2013, the entire family has been replaced by robots.

I thought this was cute. A live action version of The Simpsons opening!

That is awesome!

I kind of had a feeling you'd like it Joe!

Yes, like the Energizer Bunny, the Simpsons just keep going. Fox has ordered two more seasons -- numbers 18 and 19, which will take the show past the 400-episode mark.

(Off-topic briefly: they've also ordered another year of King of the Hill.)

I thought last night's Simpsons was one of the funnier ones in a while.

Looks like the movie is in the works:

Obviously FOX liked it too -- they included it in last nite's ep.

To honor the series' longevity--it's been picked up through its 17th season--Fox has placed a numner of Simpsons yellow billboards around LA. The tagline reads "17 Year Streak" and the visual is Homer streaking (!) across the sign.

~Adam

In advance of the 400th episode on Sunday, Homer Simpson is making the rounds. American Idol tonight and a top ten list on Letterman tomorrow. Now if he could show up Friday on The View and heckle Rosie...

Can't wait for the spoof of 24. It's doubtful that it will be as funny as 24 has been this year, but considering 24 isn't supposed to be a comedy....

I'm not hearing much buzz about the movie though. I'm worried it's not going to be great. They will surely be limited in terms of language, something The South Park Movie or Beavis and Butthead Do America weren't. I just hope they can recapture the subversive attitude of the first 8 or 9 seasons and that it is not too Homer-centric and that it focuses more on Bart's antics.

As part of the promotion for The Simpsons Movie 7-Eleven has converted a dozen stores into real-life Kwik-E-Marts. Even better, they've created real versions of Krusty-O's, Squishees and Buzz Cola.

Sadly, no Duff Beer.

Darn, I was hoping they would convert the store that's right down the street from me, instead they picked one way out in the southwest suburbs. Oh well.


Also, the choice of which Springfield is going to host the premiere is coming up soon. I think my Springfield (Illinois) is going to come out with the win, but we shall see.

Why all of a sudden am I craving a squishee and a microwave burrito?

More great Simpsons news, with the movie just 11 days away -- another CD compilation of musical bits out in September, including performances by Jackson Browne, Weird Al Yankovic, and David Byrne.

Simpsons: Testify

So far the Simpsons flick is getting decent reviews. My buddy who is as big a Simpsons fan as moi is out of town this weekend, not sure when I will make it to the movie.

It's very good, though not perfect. I laughed a lot. I'm pleased with how it turned out.

I saw the Simpsons movie on Friday nite..

I laughed a lot..I'm glad they used a lot of the subtle humor that makes the Simpsons so great for all these years...

i was impressed---glad they didn't ruin the movie or the show by going too over the top...

the best in the movie in my opinion was when all of the people at moe's ran into the church and all the people in the church ran into the bar....that had me rolling on the floor big time!

josh

Well the movie is a big hit. It made $71.9 million on the opening weekend.

They'll never stop the Simpsons,
Have no fears, we've got stories for years!

A note about upcoming season 19: the return of Sideshow Bob (not in the movie!), played by Kelsey Grammer. And the return of his brother Cecil, played by David Hyde Pierce. And the addition of their father, played by...you guessed it...John Mahoney.