The cantankerous barkeep Moe Szyslak (Hank Azaria), the overseer of Springfield's most depressing dive bar, first appeared in the pilot for "The Simpsons" serving multiple beers to Homer (Dan Castellaneta), a functional alcoholic. Moe was the worst kind of barkeeper, unwilling or unable to make his bar much better than a local watering hole, and eager to crack out a shotgun when the going got rough. Moe, however, is not above celebrating the successes of his clientele. When Homer and his wife Marge (Julie Kavner) reconcile in the bar, Moe announces that, for the next 15 minutes, everyone gets a third off every pitcher.
The writers of "The Simpsons" began dropping hints as to Moe's inner life. In one episode, he is seen taking a naturalization test, implying that he immigrated. In another, Moe is seen hiding an orca in the back of his bar for reasons that are never adequately explained.
The writers of "The Simpsons" began dropping hints as to Moe's inner life. In one episode, he is seen taking a naturalization test, implying that he immigrated. In another, Moe is seen hiding an orca in the back of his bar for reasons that are never adequately explained.
- 5/20/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Groundskeeper Willie, the aggressively Scottish handyman who works for Springfield Elementary School on "The Simpsons," first appeared in the episode "Principal Charming", the one where Principal Skinner (Harry Shearer) attempted to seduce and marry Aunt Patty (Julie Kavner). Skinner and Patty bond over their mutual grumpiness, as he is a stern taskmaster with his students and she is a general misanthrope. Groundskeeper Willie doesn't play a major part in the story, except when Bart (Nancy Cartwright) breaks into his supply shed to steal grass killer. Skinner will pull a similar prank later in the episode. Willie has two lines in the episode: "You'll be back" and "I told you you'd be back."
Groundskeeper Willie (Dan Castellaneta) went on to appear in at least 53 additional episodes of the series, a number that will only continue to grow. He has been greased up by Lunchlady Doris (Doris Grau), fallen in love with his tractor,...
Groundskeeper Willie (Dan Castellaneta) went on to appear in at least 53 additional episodes of the series, a number that will only continue to grow. He has been greased up by Lunchlady Doris (Doris Grau), fallen in love with his tractor,...
- 5/5/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
"The Simpsons" is a show home to innumerable colorful characters, including two space aliens named Kang and Kodos. How do aliens fit into the world of Springfield? Out of canon, of course! Created by Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky, the alien characters made their debut on the Halloween episode "Treehouse of Horror," and have appeared in every "Treehouse of Horror" episode since (with one exception: "Treehouse of Horror Xxi").
These episodes are understood to take place outside of the standard "Simpsons" continuity, which means aliens can pop up and have no effect on the show's "normal" world. While Kang and Kodos mostly get cameo appearances, they occasionally get their own major "Treehouse of Horror" plotlines, like the time they famously switched places with then-presidential candidates Bill Clinton and Bob Dole for "Treehouse of Horror VII." This is the episode that gave us the now-famous line, "Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos.
These episodes are understood to take place outside of the standard "Simpsons" continuity, which means aliens can pop up and have no effect on the show's "normal" world. While Kang and Kodos mostly get cameo appearances, they occasionally get their own major "Treehouse of Horror" plotlines, like the time they famously switched places with then-presidential candidates Bill Clinton and Bob Dole for "Treehouse of Horror VII." This is the episode that gave us the now-famous line, "Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos.
- 4/27/2024
- by Chris Evangelista
- Slash Film
"The Simpsons" is arguably the best American TV show of all time, a long-running masterpiece of the medium that has forever changed TV and animation. Part of why the series has managed to remain popular after so many decades and even have a resurgence in quality recently is the show's characters and world. Springfield feels very much like a real, breathing place full of memorable individuals. Indeed, there are so many noteworthy personalities on the show that we once ranked the best one-off "Simpsons" characters and still had to ignore dozens of them. The series can even support episodes where the main cast is nowhere to be seen and they still end up being some of the best "Simpsons" episodes ever.
Among the many excellent and memorable characters that populate Springfield is Bumblebee Man. While he may appear to be little more than another racially insensitive caricature like Apu on the surface,...
Among the many excellent and memorable characters that populate Springfield is Bumblebee Man. While he may appear to be little more than another racially insensitive caricature like Apu on the surface,...
- 4/16/2024
- by Rafael Motamayor
- Slash Film
The smug, arrogant Comic Book Guy (Hank Azaria), proprietor of the Android's Dungeon, first appeared in the "The Simpsons" episode "Three Men and a Comic Book". In the episode, he sold a rare and expensive copy of "Radioactive Man" #1 to the young collectors Bart (Nancy Cartwright), Milhouse (Pamela Hayden), and Martin (Russi Taylor). The comic cost $100 -- a fortune to the three young boys -- and they had to pool their money to make the sacred purchase.
The trio, however, never decided who would serve as the comic book's official caretaker, and they immediately became suspicious that one of them was angling to steal it from the other two. A "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" drama slowly unfolds. The Comic Book Guy, having seen the boys' folly beforehand, became a Mephistophelean figure, cackling at his customers' hubris.
In every one of Comic Book Guy's subsequent appearances, he would be grumpy,...
The trio, however, never decided who would serve as the comic book's official caretaker, and they immediately became suspicious that one of them was angling to steal it from the other two. A "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" drama slowly unfolds. The Comic Book Guy, having seen the boys' folly beforehand, became a Mephistophelean figure, cackling at his customers' hubris.
In every one of Comic Book Guy's subsequent appearances, he would be grumpy,...
- 4/13/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Dr. Julius Hibbert first appeared on "The Simpsons" in the episode "Bart the Daredevil". In that particular episode, Bart (Nancy Cartwright) was toying with the idea of being an Evel Knieval-type stunt performer, aiming to leap over Springfield Gorge on a skateboard. As a warning, Bart was taken to see Dr. Hibbert who took the boy to a special wing of Springfield hospital. In it were nothing but children who had injured themselves after imitating stunts they saw on TV. "I won't even subject you to the horrors of our Three Stooges ward," Dr. Hibbert gravely intones.
From 1990 through 2021, Dr. Hibbert was played by Harry Shearer. When viewers became sensitive to how many white actors have played animated Black characters throughout the history of animation, Shearer stepped aside and Kevin Michael Richardson took over the role.
Dr. Hibbert was kindly, bemused, but possessed of a strangely cold bedside manner. When Bart comes to see Dr.
From 1990 through 2021, Dr. Hibbert was played by Harry Shearer. When viewers became sensitive to how many white actors have played animated Black characters throughout the history of animation, Shearer stepped aside and Kevin Michael Richardson took over the role.
Dr. Hibbert was kindly, bemused, but possessed of a strangely cold bedside manner. When Bart comes to see Dr.
- 4/8/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Do you like the Stonecutters song? How about "See My Vest"? Were you impressed when Bart Simpson and Michael Jackson sang a birthday song to Lisa? How do you feel about the celebrity-laced barn-burner "We're Sending Out Love Down the Well"? Do you like the stage musicals of "Checking In," or "Stop the Planet of the Apes! I Want to Get Off!"? I'm personally fond of the song about Spirngfield's brothel, "Spring in Springfield," a throwback to bawdy farces of the 1930s. And who could forget when Lyle Lanley led the entire town in a musical number about a monorail? Or when Homer, Apu, Seymour Skinner, and Barney formed a barbershop quartet to perform "Baby on Board"?
Point being "The Simpsons" has featured many, many original songs in its 850-year tenure on television, and that doesn't even count the hit record "The Simpsons Sing the Blues" from 1990. Many of the...
Point being "The Simpsons" has featured many, many original songs in its 850-year tenure on television, and that doesn't even count the hit record "The Simpsons Sing the Blues" from 1990. Many of the...
- 3/31/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
In 1977, aspiring cartoonist Matt Groening moved from his hometown of Portland, Oregon to Los Angeles with dreams of becoming a writer. Like most people who move to Los Angeles with dreams of becoming a writer, he took on some of the most menial jobs imaginable. Groening worked in a sewage treatment plant, as a dishwasher, and as a waiter. All the while, Groening worked on what would become his signature creation, the "Life in Hell" comic strip.
Groening would leave "Life in Hell" comics in a small corner of Licorice Pizza, the celebrated Los Angeles record store where he occasionally worked. It was an embittered strip about modern life, a harsh critique of life, love, school, and work. Groening attacked everything the establishment celebrated as normal and good, finding nothing but misery in the real world.
"Life in Hell" was picked up by Wet Magazine and, later the Los Angeles Reader.
Groening would leave "Life in Hell" comics in a small corner of Licorice Pizza, the celebrated Los Angeles record store where he occasionally worked. It was an embittered strip about modern life, a harsh critique of life, love, school, and work. Groening attacked everything the establishment celebrated as normal and good, finding nothing but misery in the real world.
"Life in Hell" was picked up by Wet Magazine and, later the Los Angeles Reader.
- 3/30/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Exclusive: Emmy and Academy Award nominated producer David Permut and filmmaker Oscar Boyson are teaming up with author/filmmaker Mathew Klickstein to bring the San Diego Comic-Con origin story to life for the first time on screen in a new documentary based on the latter’s book See You at San Diego: An Oral History of Comic-Con, Fandom, and the Triumph of Geek Culture.
The See You at San Diego documentary will follow how a scrappy group of teenage fans, zinesters, illustrators, stoners, hippies, weirdoes, bookworms, and science buffs in the late 1960s joined forces with an unemployed thirtysomething comic fan to create what has now become one of the most influential pop culture events ever. San Diego Comic-Con has twice been recognized as the largest pop culture gathering worldwide by the Guinness Book of World Records in recent years.
Boyson and Oh Boy Productions will produce alongside Permut who...
The See You at San Diego documentary will follow how a scrappy group of teenage fans, zinesters, illustrators, stoners, hippies, weirdoes, bookworms, and science buffs in the late 1960s joined forces with an unemployed thirtysomething comic fan to create what has now become one of the most influential pop culture events ever. San Diego Comic-Con has twice been recognized as the largest pop culture gathering worldwide by the Guinness Book of World Records in recent years.
Boyson and Oh Boy Productions will produce alongside Permut who...
- 3/28/2024
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
"What state is Springfield in?" is a question almost every "The Simpsons" fan has asked, desperate to bring the characters a bit closer to reality. It's also a question with no answer (unlike the recently-answered question of how Homer Simpson keeps his job).
The book "The Springfield Confidential" -- an inside look at "The Simpsons" by former showrunner Mike Reiss (with help from Mathew Klickstein) -- explains the origin of Springfield's name. Creator Matt Groening chose it because it was such a common and generic name for American towns. Springfield was also the name of the town in the 1950s sitcom "Father Knows Best," which likewise treated its setting as "Anytown, USA."
"I was thrilled because I imagined that [Springfield in 'Father Knows Best'] was the town next to Portland, [Oregon], my hometown. When I grew up, I realized it was just a fictitious name," Groening recounted.
Aside from Oregon, here are some other notable Springfields in the United States.
The book "The Springfield Confidential" -- an inside look at "The Simpsons" by former showrunner Mike Reiss (with help from Mathew Klickstein) -- explains the origin of Springfield's name. Creator Matt Groening chose it because it was such a common and generic name for American towns. Springfield was also the name of the town in the 1950s sitcom "Father Knows Best," which likewise treated its setting as "Anytown, USA."
"I was thrilled because I imagined that [Springfield in 'Father Knows Best'] was the town next to Portland, [Oregon], my hometown. When I grew up, I realized it was just a fictitious name," Groening recounted.
Aside from Oregon, here are some other notable Springfields in the United States.
- 3/24/2024
- by Devin Meenan
- Slash Film
The character of Dr. Marvin Monroe (Harry Shearer) first appeared in the "The Simpsons" episode "There's No Disgrace Like Home". He would show up during the show's early seasons when Homer (Dan Castellaneta) was preoccupied with his family's perceived normal-ness. Homer looked at his home and saw the suburban ideals of a nuclear family slowly exploding. To combat this, Homer pawned the family TV -- an object he saw as problematic anyway -- and bought therapy sessions with Dr. Marvin Monroe, a family psychiatrist who promised "family bliss or double your money back." It seems the Simpsons were so dysfunctional that even Dr. Monroe couldn't cure them (a shock therapy session goes horribly awry).
Dr. Monroe typically appeared whenever "The Simpsons" required the word of a psychiatric specialist to aid in plot points. He was one of the show's many regular supporting characters, relegated to the background. However, the character...
Dr. Monroe typically appeared whenever "The Simpsons" required the word of a psychiatric specialist to aid in plot points. He was one of the show's many regular supporting characters, relegated to the background. However, the character...
- 3/17/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Unsuspecting comic book readers raised on the EC-inspired black and white horror magazines from Warren Publishing had no idea what to make of Heavy Metal when it debuted on American newsstands in 1977. We came to understand it was a domestic version of France’s wildly successful Metal Hurlant, and introduced us to European talents and storytelling. It was mind-blowing.
The magazine’s success led to an animated feature, released in the summer of 1981, heralded by the beautiful Chris Achilléos promotional poster image generic levitra , introducing us to Taarna, who has become the magazine’s unofficial mascot and most recognizable figure.
The film, like the magazine, was a series of animated shorts, an anthology of science fiction, and fantasy, with heavy dollops of violence, nudity, and heavy metal music. And like the magazine, it was beautiful to look at and occasionally made sense.
It opened to mixed reviews and modest success,...
The magazine’s success led to an animated feature, released in the summer of 1981, heralded by the beautiful Chris Achilléos promotional poster image generic levitra , introducing us to Taarna, who has become the magazine’s unofficial mascot and most recognizable figure.
The film, like the magazine, was a series of animated shorts, an anthology of science fiction, and fantasy, with heavy dollops of violence, nudity, and heavy metal music. And like the magazine, it was beautiful to look at and occasionally made sense.
It opened to mixed reviews and modest success,...
- 5/16/2022
- by Robert Greenberger
- Comicmix.com
Every week, IndieWire asks a select handful of TV critics two questions and publishes the results on Tuesday. (The answer to the second, “What is the best show currently on TV?” can be found at the end of this post.)
This week’s question: What is the strangest (most unusual, most unexpected, etc.) response you’ve had in an interview?
Eric Deggans (@deggans), NPR
I’m sure I’ve probably blacked out the craziest stuff from my memory, like Lou Dobbs insulting me so badly during an interview that the publicist who set it up called to apologize afterwards. Or Tommy Lee Jones insisting on only answering in detail incredibly esoteric questions about lighting and scheduling lunch when talking about directing a version of the two-man play “The Sunset Limited” for HBO. But one of the weirdest experience I ever had was when Tim Allen said the word “nigger” to me during a telephone interview.
This week’s question: What is the strangest (most unusual, most unexpected, etc.) response you’ve had in an interview?
Eric Deggans (@deggans), NPR
I’m sure I’ve probably blacked out the craziest stuff from my memory, like Lou Dobbs insulting me so badly during an interview that the publicist who set it up called to apologize afterwards. Or Tommy Lee Jones insisting on only answering in detail incredibly esoteric questions about lighting and scheduling lunch when talking about directing a version of the two-man play “The Sunset Limited” for HBO. But one of the weirdest experience I ever had was when Tim Allen said the word “nigger” to me during a telephone interview.
- 1/9/2018
- by Hanh Nguyen
- Indiewire
After Jimmy Savile, Amanda Bynes, Lindsay Lohan, and that Christian puppeteer who wanted to kidnap, kill, and eat little boys, it's hard not to imagine the children's entertainment industry as a fount of unimaginable filth and degeneracy. But for those who'd prefer to remember their childhoods happily, Mathew Klickstein offers nostalgic millennials a happy place to return to. In Slimed! An Oral History of Nickelodeon's Golden Age, published September 24, Klickstein argues th...
- 8/29/2013
- Village Voice
Mathew Klickstein has seen past the curtain of our childhoods. More effectively, he’s successfully mounted a campaign to chronicle the history of Nickelodeon during its prime era. I can’t remember how I stumbled upon his project, but I can say that I’m glad I did as every bit of knowledge he’s share with myself (and his 709 followers on Facebook) is priceless. Back in the 1980s, when Cable was coming into its own, Nickelodeon was the self proclaimed “First Network For Kids”. That statement would be their calling card for the next couple decades, carrying them to the present day where shows like iCarly and The Penguins of Madagascar take up the residence that shows like Are You Afraid of the Dark and Rugrats had made possible.
Conducting this interview has been an awesome reminder of my own Nick childhood, as I was a huge fan of...
Conducting this interview has been an awesome reminder of my own Nick childhood, as I was a huge fan of...
- 2/4/2013
- by Mike Reyes
- Obsessed with Film
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