Matt Groening Page 2

The University of Glasgow is offering a unique philosophy course, based on TV series ‘The Simpsons’.

‘D’oh! The Simpsons Introduce Philosophy’ is a short course which costs £30 and will explore ideas of philosophy through Matt Groening’s long running animated series.

You can now take a university philosophy course based on TV series ‘The Simpsons’

Continue reading: A Scottish University Is Offering A Course On The Philosophy Of Homer Simpson

Many famous faces have made appearances in ‘The Simpsons’ over the years, including Lady Gaga, Michael Jackson and JK Rowling, but one star whose planned episode sadly never made it to screens was the late Prince. On twitter showrunner Al Jean treated fans to a look at two pages of the un-produced episode, which was rejected by the singer himself.

Prince had been asked to appear in his own ‘Simpsons’ episode.

According to ‘Simpsons’’ lore, the episode was a follow-up to season three opener ‘Stark Raving Dad’ in which Leon Kompowsky believed he was Michael Jackson, with the King of Pop providing Leon’s voice.

Continue reading: 'The Simpsons' Show Producer Shares Script From Rejected Prince Episode

One of the most enduring couples in television history could be headed for splitsville, as Homer and Marge Simpson are reportedly set to ‘legally separate’ after 27 seasons of marriage. The shocking news has left fans reeling, but it appears the person to blame for the famous couple's troubles is none other than ‘Girls’ star Lena Dunham.

The new season of 'The Simpsons' looks set to bring some unexpected storylines.

In an interview with Variety the show's executive producer Al Jean let it slip that Homer and Marge will be experiencing marriage troubles in the upcoming season premiere, titled ‘Every Man's Dream’. “It’s discovered after all the years Homer has narcolepsy and it’s an incredible strain on the marriage,” Jean revealed.

Continue reading: Are Marge And Homer Headed For A Shocking Split On 'The Simpsons' And Is Lena Dunham To Blame?

As The Simpsons enters a remarkable 26th season, Jane Fonda and Willem Dafoe are set to lend their voices to two characters in storylines pivotal to the main characters in the show.

Fonda will play grumpy millionaire, Mr. Burn's, girlfriend, while Dafoe will have the daunting task of being Bart's new teacher, Mr Lassen, although he has a few surprises in store for Bart that are sure to make his school life even more of a living hell. We know we’d rather be in charge of terrorising Bart than fraternising with ol' Burnsy. 

Continue reading: Jane Fonda And Willem Dafoe Amongst The New Faces (Voices) For Simpsons Season 26

Marge Simpson has finally got her moment. After years of living as Springfield’s most dependable blue-haired mom, Homer’s often down-trodden better half has been thrust out into the spotlight as the new face of MAC cosmetics.

Marge Simpson: The new face of MAC cosmetics

As Mrs Simpson fronts this new range of lip glosses, false eye lashes and brightly coloured eye shadows, it’s not unreasonable to look through sketching history and wonder if there aren’t some other animation mums that have been somewhat taken for granted.

Continue reading: 5 Of The Best Animated Matriarchs (Animatriachs?) Now That Marge Simpson Is The Face Of MAC Make-Up

Some things are meant to be mixed together, even if it sounds like a shocking idea to begin with. Think peanut butter and jelly, labradors and poodles, chocolate milk and salt…all great combinations that magically enhance each other, even though your initial gut instinct may warn you against them. However, a Simpsons/Family Guy combo?

The Simpsons and the Griffins definitely won't all fit on the famous sofa

Word on the street is that an hour long episode, combining the two cartoons, is set to air this September. In the crossover episode, titled ‘The Simpsons Guy’, the Griffin family will travel to Springfield, where they become acquainted with the Simpson family. While Stewie and Bart bond over skateboards (and mischief, no doubt), Meg and Lisa will also become pals. Disgruntled wives Lois and Marge vow to abandon their household responsibilities (Thelma and Louise style, perhaps?) as their husbands initially make friends before, predictably, clashing.

Continue reading: Is 'The Simpsons'/'Family Guy' Crossover Episode Such A Good Idea?

The Simpsons is set to air its full Lego episode on Sunday (May 4, 2014), just a week after Entertainment Weekly reported the last episode of the show was the lowest rated episode in Simpsons history.

'The Simpsons' Lego Episode Airs This Sunday

On the flip side, The Lego Movie will easily be amongst the Top 10 biggest grossing movies of 2014 and the little blockheads are coming to give Bart and company a helping hand. The trailer for the upcoming episode - titled 'Brick Like Me' - hit Fox's animation domination YouTube channel. 

Continue reading: After Lowest Rated Episode, 'The Simpsons' Preps Lego Episode [Trailer]

The Simpsons has the ability to be incredibly scornful and delightfully playful at the same time, even when dealing with some of the darker aspects of American culture, like institutional racism, corrupt politicians and the poverty crisis. It also handles the satiation of popular culture with expertise, as evidenced by the show’s almost perfect homage/jab at Mad Men.

With AMC’s slick drama set to resume smoothness this weekend, The Simpsons took it upon themselves to mark the occasion with a riff on the ‘next week’ montages used by AMC. It features a host of characters from the legendary cartoon saying ominous/inane things in Mad Men’s typically fast and stylish manner. 

Continue reading: The Simpsons Pays Tribute/Mocks The Hell Out Of 'Mad Men' Season 7

To celebrate their recent licencing of The Simpsons, FX is turning TV sets into a continuous stream of the cartoon by playing every single episode back to back. That’s a lot of episodes – 552 to be exact, and it’ll take 12 takes to get through them all.

And, in case you were wondering, there is a precedent for this, sort of.  In February last year, Jeremiah Franco, 22, and Carin Shreve, 33, set a new record of Simpsons watching by consuming 86 hours and 37 minutes consecutively. So with FXX’s 552 stint – running from Aug. 21 through Labor Day - will someone try and beat that?

Continue reading: Will FXX's Marathon 552 Simpsons Episode Run Lead To A Certain Record Being Broken?

The death of a character in a show can be difficult to stomach. We’d love to give some examples, but the wrath of an Internet scorned through spoilers is something nobody should have to face. In the case of an animated show like The Simpsons, death becomes an even tougher pill to swallow as it almost invariably stems from the death of a real person, not simply a character on a show.

The Simpsons has been running for 25 seasons, and counting...

When the late Marcia Wallace said goodbye following a battle against cancer last October, Edna Krabappel would soon follow. Of course, any tribute within The Simpsons for Edna Krabappel is both a touching tribute to the character Wallace brought life (and consummate pessimism) to, but also a dedication to the person Wallace was.

Continue reading: Ned Flanders' Tribute To Edna Krabappel - The Third And Final Goodbye?

Life continues to be sweet for The Simpsons as it approaches its 26th season, as it has become the most expensive program to be sold to a cable service in an unspecified, multi-million dollar deal. The deal was announced on Friday, 15 November, by the Fox-owned company, who now have the rights to every episode of the longest running comedy series of all time.

The show will make the move to cable broadcast for the first time

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the new deal covers all existing 24 seasons of the much-loved series, which already includes 530 episodes, with more due to be added to the rooster following the airing of the 25th and 26th seasons of the show on Fox. This will mark the first time the Matt Groening show will be given exclusive coverage on a cable channel, and also marks the first time that the series has been legally made available to stream online, when it becomes available on FXNOW.

Continue reading: FXX Wins First Ever Cable Deal For 'The Simpsons' In Huge Off-Network Deal

A 26th season of the ever-popular cartoon series, The Simpsons, has been confirmed by Fox, as reported by Sky News. What has become America's longest running television show ever will now continue "with no end in sight," according to producer Al Jean.

The Simpsons Showing No Signs Of Running Out Of Gags.

The 25th season premiered in the US on Sunday with a well-timed Homeland spoof, entitled 'Homerland' and attracted 6.4 million viewers and will draw in a worldwide audience with later DVD releases and TV airings.

Continue reading: 'The Simpsons' 26th Season Confirmed, Time For A 'Futurama' Crossover?

The Simpsons is still going strong after more than a quarter of a century, but with the threat of it growing stale (again) becoming an ever-likely possibility as the show enters season 26, the writers need to come up with something fresh to keep viewers coming back. After killing off Maude Flanders in season 11, and Homer's Vegas wife in season 16, and five other minor characters throughout the series, the Grim Reaper will be back in Springfield once again, but for who?

Jean wouldn't give much away

Al Jean revealed the morbid plans to The Hollywood Reporter this week, but refused to reveal which character the show's writers were thinking of getting rid of. He told THR, "We are doing this story for the same reason we do all others -- we think it has a good emotional through line...The story will be produced this year though it may air in season 26."

Continue reading: 'The Simpsons' Will Kill Off A Major Character Next Season, But Who?

As probably the most recognizable TV show of all time, let alone cartoon, we all know that The Simpsons is a marketable asset. Bart’s ‘Eat My Shorts’ and Homer’s ‘Doh!’ are known the world over. That’s why Twentieth Television – one of Ruper Murdoch’s television tentacles – are looking for a cool $1b for reruns of the iconic animation.

Fox aren’t just sitting on a gold mine – they tied up the Simpsons all those years ago on a promise that Groening and his buddies could mock the station at every turn – but they’re sitting on a very unusual one.

Shows usually get syndicated – farmed out to different stations for reruns, think Friends – after 100 episodes, but The Simpsons was one of the only animated shows on the market back then, and people wanted exclusivity.

Continue reading: Want Old Simpsons Episodes? That'll Be A Billion Bucks, Please

Sam Simon, the co-creator of The Simpsons, continues to donate millions of dollars to charity. Simon was diagnosed with terminal colon cancer earlier on this year. He has decided to see the profits of his many years work go to help others, whilst he is still able to see the huge difference his donations have made.

Sam Simon at 4th Annual CP Poker Tournament in Las Vegas, 2011.

Simon's fortune largely stems from his involvement in The Simpsons. He left the show in 1993 but is still listed as an executive producer, a privilege which earned him a fortune. 

Continue reading: Sam Simon, Co-Creator Of The Simpsons, Continues To Donate Millions To Charity

He has spent years helping to bring laughter to millions, and now the co-creator of The Simpsons, Sam Simon's actions will benefit others once again. The 58 year-old writer-producer is battling colon cancer which he has been told is terminal however he plans to spend his final days benefitting the lives of humans and animals. Exactly how much time Sam has left is not known, but he doesn't have any children to benefit from his fortune so the needy will benefit from his entire financial legacy.

Simon has revealed that he earns "tens of millions" annually from popular cartoon The Simpsons royalties plans to donate his entire fortune to charity before he passes away, he tells The Hollywood Reporter. He's selected charities he feels strongly about and will make sure they receive the money he intends for them, including a Malibu dog rescue haven, animal charity PETA, Save the Children and marine charity, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. His own Sam Simon Foundation in Malibu is reportedly worth $23 million (£15m) and he feels strongly about shutting down roadside zoos and abusive animal shows. His foundation focusses attention on starving humans - who are given vegan food - and also looks after stray dogs.

Continue reading: Sam Simon, Terminally Ill 'Simpsons' Co-Creator, Donating Entire Fortune To Charity Before Death

Two of the biggest cartoon franchise will meet for the first time as The Simpsons and Family Guy crossover finally becomes a thing. The residents of Springfield have been around for a long time – longer than Peter Griffin and co – so it’s fitting that the Quahog guys visit the home of The Simpsons. “FOX hasn’t spent this much money since they took Simon Cowell tight T-shirt shopping,” said Peter in a statement, while Homer added: “Finally I can get my hands on this guy"

There's all manner of things wrong with this photo

For fans who can’t wait to see what happens when these two animated goliaths cross swords, a handy statement - given to Entertainment Weekly - reads: "Stewie becomes obsessed with Bart and his old-fashioned pranks; Lisa takes Meg under her wing and is determined to find something – anything – at which she excels; Marge and Lois ditch housework for a little bonding; and Peter and Homer fight over the best beer in town – Pawtucket vs Duff."

Continue reading: Clash Of The Cartoons: Simpsons And Family Guy's Crossover Episode

Last night (2nd June), the Writers Guild of America (the WGA) unveiled its list of the 101 best written television shows in history voted for by members, who are split into east (WGAE) and western (WGAW) guilds in an online ballot.

Following the WGA's 2005 '101 Best Screenplays', the new list saw New Jersey mobster drama The Sopranos (created by David Chase) top the TV Guide Magazine-sponsored list. After debuting in 1999, the show ran for six seasons and 86 episodes before ending in 2007. The show, starring James Gandolfini as lead-character Anthony "Tony" Soprano, has received glowing critical acclaim over the years with New Yorker editor, David Remnick proclaiming the show to be "the richest achievement in the history of television."

Indeed, this is not the first time the highly lauded series has topped a 'best of' chart, with previous rankings including TV Guide's 'Top 50 TV Shows of All Time', and 'Channel 4's Greatest Television Series of All Time.'

Continue reading: The Sopranos Named Best Written TV Show Ever: Do You Agree?

Matt Groening’s mother Margaret – the inspiration behind the popular cartoon character Marge Simpson in The Simpsons – has passed away aged 94, with the obituary revealing a whole pile of links to Groening’s family and the animated comedy which he created back in the late 80’s.

Groening died peacefully in her sleep, according to a paid obituary in The Oregonian, having had a life in which she taught high school English and proved herself a dab hand at needlework. She was one of many influences on her son Matt’s unprecedentedly successful animations; her parents were Matt and Ingeborg Wiggum, who met on a boat over from Norway to the USA – Wiggum being the name of the police chief of Springfield. The links go further too; she married classmate Homer Groening after graduating from school in 1941, while her oldest daughter Patty passed away before her. Her children’s names meanwhile include Lisa and Maggie, as well as Matt of course and Mark. We wonder what Mark did that was so wrong as to not be written into The Simpsons.

Margaret’s brother also survives. The Simpsons is the longest running animated series of all time, with the shorts running as part of the Tracey Ullman show in 1987 and going on to cover 24 seasons and 527 episodes.

Continue reading: Matt Groening's Mother And Marge Simpson Inspiration Dies