But Did You Watch the Simpsons Version of Planet of the Apes?

Posted on July 18, 2017 at 8:00 am

To no one’s surprise, the critically acclaimed “War for the Planet of the Apes” was a big hit at the box office in its opening weekend. Vulture was inspired by this last of the rebooted trilogy to revisit one of its offshoots, the musical version in a “Simpsons” episode.

The bit has so many disparate parts — ’80s Austrian-pop parody, old-school-musical homage, Planet of the Apes, break-dancing, old vaudeville-style jokes — but in the hands of The Simpsons and its writers, it works. Or as Bill Oakley, one of the two showrunners at the time, told Vulture, “ was just a magic visit from the joke fairy.”

One of my favorite details: “The person running the room had never seen it, yet was able to concoct a beloved parody of it just through pop-culture osmosis.”

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Behind the Scenes Television

Coming Out on The Simpsons — Inspired by the Writer’s Son

Posted on April 3, 2016 at 3:58 pm

Tonight’s episode of “The Simpsons” was inspired by writer Rob LaZebnik’s son, who is gay. There have been indications over the years that Waylon Smithers, the loyal assistant to Homer’s boss Mr. Burns, is gay. The New York Post reports that the episode is inspired by the son of the man who wrote it.

Smithers is coming out tonight but fans of the series will not be surprised.

When Waylon Smithers Jr. finally comes out Sunday night after 27 years in the closet on “The Simpsons,” he won’t be the only one celebrating.

Longtime show writer Rob LaZebnik tells The Post he penned the episode in support of his own 21-year-old son, Johnny, who is gay.

“I am a Midwestern guy, so I don’t tend to wear my emotions on my sleeve, but I thought, ‘What better way to tell my son I love him than to write a cartoon about it?’ ” says Rob.

The Simpsons Binge Watch: Every Episode Plus the Movie

Posted on August 20, 2014 at 3:59 pm

Get your food delivery menus ready. Unplug your phone. All 552 Simpsons episodes will be broadcast in order, starting tomorrow. They include scenes cut in syndication that have not been on television since the original broadcast. And of course they include some remarkably prescient moments that predicted the future so accurately we can only watch again to guess what other developments in the series are still ahead of us.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq4w74r8HKY#t=27

The new season starts September 28.

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Animation Comedy Television

How Many Simpsons Movie References Did You Catch?

Posted on February 8, 2014 at 8:00 am

“The Simpsons” enduring popularity is due at least in part to its stunning cultural literacy — all those Harvard grads in the writing room trying to impress each other. This handy list of the top 100 movie references in “The Simpsons” is a good guide, and should inspire you to see some of the movies you did not recognize.

My favorite is “Dangerous Curves,” inspired by the Albert Finney/Audrey Hepburn movie “Two for the Road.”

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Television

Tribute: Marcia Wallace

Posted on October 27, 2013 at 11:24 pm

The brave, beautiful, and very funny actress Marcia Wallace has died at age 70 after a long battle with breast cancer. I loved her as the receptionist on the old “Bob Newhart Show” and as a guest on 70’s game shows and talk shows, where her wit and impeccable comic timing made her a stand-out. She won an Emmy for providing the voice of Mrs. Krabappel, the sarcastic teacher with the world’s most impossible fourth-grade student on “The Simpsons.” When she was first diagnosed with cancer, she became a spokeswoman for those struggling with the disease and an advocate for education and research. Her book, Don’t Look Back, We’re Not Going That Way is subtitled: “How I overcame a rocky childhood, a nervous breakdown, breast cancer, widowhood, fat, fire and menopausal motherhood and still manage to count my lucky chickens.” A lot of us counted her among our luckiest chickens, and she will be missed.

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Actors Tribute