The Simpsons is leading the charge for the Writers Guild of America’s (WGA) annual broadcasting awards, with five nominations.
The series was one of five nominees for best comedy series, along with Entourage, Weeds and previous winners 30 Rock and The Office.
Four episodes of the show were also nominated separately in the best animation category.
The WGA awards will given out at a ceremony in Los Angeles on 7 February.
The Simpsons, which has been running for nearly 20 seasons, has collected numerous WGA awards in the animation category over the years, but this is the first time the show is competing for best comedy series.
On November 2, FOX will air the newest installment of "The Simpsons'" annual "Treehouse of Horror" episode. With this beloved show in its 20th season, and 19 Halloween specials under its belt, we wanted to take a moment to remember some of the best Treehouse tales. It's scary how funny these segments are!
10. B.I.: Bartificial Intelligence (Treehouse of Horror XVI) When Bart ends up in a coma, the family adopts David, a robotic boy. When Bart wakes up and returns home, he's irked that his parents decide to keep both boys. David consistently one-ups Bart with his family and friends, making Marge realize that the two will never be able to peacefully co-exist.
Homer abandons Bart out in the country, where he happens upon a gang of old, discarded robots (imagine Sid's weird creations from "Toy Story" on the Island of Misfit Toys) who befriend him. In the morning, the robots aren't too happy to find that their new friend harvested their parts to turn himself into a giant cyborg. Bart then returns home to claim his rightful place in the family.
Best Quote: "What the F-prompt??" - Harvested Robot
9. Monkey's Paw (Treehouse of Horror II) In this segment, based on the early 1900s short story of the same name, Homer buys a monkey's paw that grants four wishes, despite being warned that the wishes usually come with unwanted consequences. Maggie wastes the first wish on a new pacifier, then Bart wishes for the family to be rich and famous. Parodying the real-life over-merchandising of "The Simpsons," the newly famous family finds that everyone is sick of them and their shenanigans.
When Lisa wishes for world peace, all weapons are destroyed, allowing Kang and Kodos to take over Earth with only a bat and a slingshot. Afraid to wish for anything "big," Homer asks for a turkey sandwich, which turns out to be a little dry. He then pawns the monkey's paw off on Ned, who becomes a hero when he wishes away the alien overlords. He then uses a second wish to turn his house into a palace, as Homer jealously wishes that he had a monkey's paw.
Best Quote: "Your superior intellect is no match for our puny weapons!" - The Aliens
The Simpsons - Tree House of Horror Preview
8. Starship Poopers (Treehouse of Horror IX) When Maggie starts growing fangs and tentacles, Marge can't figure out what's wrong with her. After the baby contacts Kang and Kodos (via super-fast pacifier sucking), the aliens visit The Simpsons. When Kang reminds Marge about that one crazy night he abducted her, she realizes that Kang is Maggie's real father.
When Kang wants to take Maggie back to Rigel 7, he and Homer argue. Bart suggests that they settle their dispute the American way - by going on "The Jerry Springer Show." Chairs are thrown, obscenities are hurled, and the entire audience winds up on the business end of Kang's ray gun.
Best Quote: "Holy flurking schnit!" - Kang
7. Nightmare Cafeteria (Treehouse of Horror V) As the third segment in one of the most solid Treehouse episodes ever, this parody of "Soylent Green" is often unjustly overlooked.
With the school's detention hall at maximum capacity and the cafeteria using Grade F meat due to budget cuts, Principal Skinner and the lunch lady devise a cannibalistic solution to both problems. Bart and Lisa become suspicious when the cafeteria starts serving "Sloppy Jimbos" and "Üterbraten" right around the time that Jimbo and Üter go missing. With their parents of no help and most of the student body ground up for meat, Lisa, Bart, and Milhouse try to escape the evil lunch lady's clutches. When the whole thing turns out to be a dream, Bart is relieved, until a fog that turns people inside out seeps into the Simpson house.
Best Quote: "Oh relax, kids. I've got a GUT feeling that Üter's around here somewhere. (laughs) After all, isn't there a little Üter in all of us? (laughs smugly) In fact, you might even say we just ATE Üter…and he's in our STOMACHS…right now!! (laughs more; then realizes he went too far) Wait….scratch that one." - Principal Skinner (responding to Lisa and Bart's concern over Üter's disappearance)
6. Bart Simpson's Dracula (Treehouse of Horror IV) During a dinner party at Mr. Burns' creepy castle in Pennsylvania, Bart and Lisa snoop around the castle and stumble upon a basement full of vampires. Lisa high-tails it back upstairs, but Bart can't resist the Super Happy Fun Slide, which slips him right back down to the vampires' lair.
Once back home, Bart turns all of his friends into vampires and they try to get Lisa. When Homer learns that Bart can be saved if they kill the head vampire, Mr. Burns, he muses, "Kill my boss? Dare I live out the American dream?" He does, but it turns out that Marge was the head vampire all along.
Best Quote: "Oh, Lisa, you and your stories. Bart's a vampire…beer kills brain cells." - Homer
5. Citizen Kang (Treehouse of Horror VII) Although the title is a reference to "Citizen Kane," this segment is more like "Independence Day" meets every alien B-movie ever made, with a heaping helping of political humor.
Kang and Kodos abduct Homer and give him the old "take me to your leader" routine. Homer points them in the direction of President Clinton and "Mumbly Joe" (aka Bob Dole), whom K&K promptly kidnap and assume their identities. No one believes Homer's story that two aliens are running for president, so he finds the spaceship and tries to set the real candidates free. Of course, being Homer, he ends up killing them, forcing Americans to REALLY have to choose between the lesser of two evils in the election.
Best Quotes: "These candidates make me wanna vomit in terror!" - Homer "Go ahead, throw your vote away!" - Kang (responding to a guy who says he'll vote for a third party candidate)
4. Dial Z For Zombies (Treehouse of Horror III) When Bart finds a black magic book in the school library's hidden "Occult" section, he uses a spell to try to resurrect Lisa's dead cat, Snowball I. When he mistakenly raises all of the corpses from the Springfield cemetery instead, the town finds itself under attack from the walking dead. With all of their neighbors turning into zombies, the family heads for the library to find a reversing spell. After going through some unsuccessful incantations, Bart finally finds the one that works: "Trojan, Ramses, Magnum, Sheik!"
Best Moment: Flanders: "Hey, Simpson. I'm feeling a might peckish. Mind if I chew your ear?" (Homer blasts Flanders with a shotgun.) Bart: "Dad, you killed the zombie Flanders!" Homer: "He was a zombie??"
3. Clown Without Pity (Treehouse of Horror III) This is essentially a Simpsonized version of "The Twilight Zone" episode "Living Doll," with bits of "Gremlins," "Cape Fear," and "Child's Play" thrown in for good measure.
After Homer forgets to give Bart a birthday present, he runs out to the House of Evil, a one-stop evil shop run by a mysterious Asian man who sells forbidden objects and cursed frogurt. The store doesn't have any Mogwais, but Homer buys a talking Krusty the Klown doll for a very happy Bart. The doll loves Bart, but repeatedly threatens to kill Homer. After the second attempt on his life, Homer drops the doll down a bottomless pit. Of course, it escapes and keeps trying to kill Homer until Marge calls the manufacturer to have someone come and fix the doll.
Best Quote: "Yep, here's your problem. Someone set this thing to Evil." - Repairman
2. The Shinning (Treehouse of Horror V) A pitch-perfect parody of "The Shining," this segment follows The Simpsons to Mr. Burns' lodge, which they have signed on to oversee for the winter. Burns cuts off the TV and beer supply to ensure that the family doesn't slack off on the job, despite Smithers' insistence that it might have been the lack of entertainment that caused the previous caretakers to go insane and murder their families.
After evil ghost Moe convinces Homer to kill his family, Marge finds that he has written "No TV and no beer make Homer go crazy" all over the walls of his "writing room." Homer chases after Marge and the kids, intent on killing them all.
When Groundskeeper Willie tries to save the family, he literally gets the axe. As fate would have it, Willie does end up saving everyone (indirectly), when Lisa finds his portable TV lying in the snow. Once Homer sees his "teacher, mother, secret lover," his urge to kill disappears. The whole family then "basks in television's warm, glowing, warming glow" for hours until they're all frozen.
Best Moment: Homer (referring to the writing on the wall): "So what do you think, Marge? All I need is a title. I was thinking along the lines of 'No TV and No Beer Make Homer…something something.'" Marge: "Go Crazy"? Homer: "Don't mind if I do!" (Homer goes nuts.)
1. Hungry Are The Damned (Treehouse of Horror I) The best segment ever comes from the very first Treehouse episode ever! Inspired by the classic "Twilight Zone" episode "To Serve Man," this installment finds the Simpsons abducted by polite aliens (Kang, Kodos, and some friends) from a Utopian planet, who delight in lavishing the Earthlings with sumptuous buffets.
When Lisa becomes suspicious of the aliens' motives, she snoops around the spaceship and finds a book called "How to Cook Humans." Thinking it's a cook book, she warns the rest of the family that the aliens are just fattening them up to eat them - an accusation that hurts their hosts' feelings and gets them thrown off the ship. The aliens tell the Simpsons that if it weren't for their distrustful nature they could have lived for eternity in paradise, leaving everyone pretty miffed at smarty-pants Lisa.
Best moment: After Lisa shows the title of the book to her family, one of the aliens comes in and blows some "space dust" off the cover, revealing the true title. As Lisa and the alien take turns blowing off more and more dust, the title of the book changes from "How to Cook Humans" to "How to Cook For Humans" to "How to Cook Forty Humans" to, finally, "How to Cook For Forty Humans."
Did we miss your favorite Treehouse segment? D'oh! Let us know!
Congratulations to our beloved creator, Matt Groening, that I love so much! He spice up my life with this OUTSTANDING animated program! I can't lie anymore, Simpsons are my life, and I hope they last forever, because life without simpsons is not a life! Thanks Matt Groening to keep getting better on each episode of The Simpsons!
In a recent conference call, Al Jean spoke about what we can expect to see from both season 20 of The Simpsons and the show’s future in general. Jean spoke about the possible return of Plopper the Pig from The Simpsons Movie, writing for the character of Ned Flanders, another Simpsons movie which may be in the works, The Simpsons Ride and even the possibility of the Simpson kids ever growing up. Read our summary of the entire call below.
On Plopper, the Spider Pig
Spider pig might be coming back! But he was definitely made for the movie. Plopper might show up in the show for a cameo.
On science fiction spoofs
In March, Homer, while buying poison to kill some rats (they look like Ratatouille), leaves Maggie on a convent porch, turning the episode into a Da Vinci and National Treasure spoof. 3D Homer again? Perhaps.
On going into Season 20
Yes, we do keep track of other shows and how long they’ve gone. After season 20, there will be more than 500 episodes in the can.
A Simpsons spin-off?
Yes, there has been talk of it, but it would be very difficult to attempt to do both and still concentrate on the show. We like the big universe of the show as it exists.
On Ned Flanders
We love to write for him because he’s so much fun. In an upcoming episode where the Simpson’s house gets foreclosed, Ned buys it and rents it back to them.
On another Simpsons movie
Will there be a follow-up? Perhaps if there was a good script, but the first one took four years. My preference would be that it would air after the series itself has finished, of which there are no plans any time soon.
On other animated shows
Other cartoons have followed the Simpsons - does Family Guy appeal to the lowest common denominator? How does The Simpsons rise above that?
From the beginning, Sam Simon said we would write a show for adults, as smart and as connected with human emotion as possible. It’s the golden age for TV animation right now. We’re outrageous, but we’ve tried from the beginning to intelligently depict family challenges.
Are there “phases” of the show?
Not really, we’ve won a ton of awards lately, but there are no eras, we just try to keep the show’s standard as high as possible.
Upcoming guest stars
The Simpsons go to Ireland. Homer and Grandpa go to a bar and attempt to purchase it. Kenneth Branagh will have a cameo as the pub owner.
On the Simpsons ride
Simpsons ride in Orlando and Hollywood exceeded expectations; longest wait time for any ride at Universal, lots of writers worked on those rides.
Will the Simpson kids ever grow up?
Will the kids ever grow up? While the Simpson kids should have become teenagers long ago, in terms as the basic template for the show, no.
Russian television channel 2×2 will bow to state pressure on September 22nd when it removes The Simpsons from Russian television screens for the forseeable future, or maybe even for good.
The Simpsons is just one of twelve shows which the Russian government believe to be extremist and harmful to children, calling for their removal from the channel after complaints from Russian religious fundamentalist groups. Roman Sarkisov, 2×2’s general director, announced that the channel would be appealing complaints against them via court. Unless these cases are won by the 2×2 channel, these shows will never resume.
“Family Guy”, “South Park”, MTV’s “Drawn Together” and “Angry Kid” will also be removed.
The cartoons “promote violence and cruelty, pornography, anti-social behavior, abound with scenes of mayhem, the infliction of physical and ethical suffering, and are aimed at invoking fear, panic and terror in children,” said the Russian prosecutors.
The channel has responded to the charges by gathering signatures in support of its broadcasts. The management has also received official approval to hold several demonstrations, and will hold a free concert to raise awareness of the issue in St. Petersburg on September 22nd.
A set from The Simpsons will be recreated on this year’s Primetime Emmy Awards, which is due to air this Sunday from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Emmys executive producer Ken Ehrlich said that we will also be seeing sets from “Desperate Housewives” and “M*A*S*H” along with many others. Some of the awards will then be handed out from these sets.
In celebration of it’s 60th awards show, this year, The Emmy’s will be taking the nostalgic route by placing some of today’s biggest television stars in scenes from the classics to connect the past and present. Erlich also said that a popular TV cast that split up more than a decade ago will reunite on the show. The show will also feature famous show lines and the most memorable television moments voted on by fans.
The Simpsons Ride officially opened Thursday at the Universal Orlando Resort in Florida. Riders are swept into Krustyland, Krusty the Clown's new theme park, just as maniacal Sideshow Bob escapes from prison and takes control of the park to exact his revenge on Krusty and the Simpson family. Hand-picked by Krusty to be the first to ride his newest attraction, you are thrust into the middle of the action."I take with all due sense of mission and humility the opportunity to spray water and spritz baby powder at Universal patrons," Simpsons executive producer James L. Brooks said in a statement. "For 20 years I've been dreaming about this, and here it is - a wild, thrilling Simpsons Ride put together by a huge number of talented artists and amusement-park maniacs," added creator Matt Groening.
Last week, Fox announced a fall schedule that included animated staple 'The Simpsons' in its normal Sunday timeslot. The hitch? There's still no deal with the voice talent behind the show. And without one, the 20th season of the series could be in jeopardy.While sources close to both the voice actors and 20th Century Fox TV are optimistic that they're on the road to a new deal, production on the show's 20th season has been on hold for months -- meaning the studio will probably produce just 20, rather than 22, episodes next season. Should a deal not be reached anytime soon, that number could be reduced further. Pacts are already in place with "The Simpsons" scribes and producer Gracie Films.The key cast members -- Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria and Harry Shearer -- are believed to make around $360,000 an episode. A new deal could bump that number closer to $500,000, including various bonuses. That's more in line with the paydays of many live-action sitcom stars.
Production was also halted in 2004 when the cast members didn't show up for two table reads. Back then, they were looking to increase their salaries from $125,000 an episode. In 1998, the cast (who were then making just $30,000 a seg) asked for a big raise -- and 20th went as far as hiring casting directors in five cities to potentially find replacements.But the fewer fireworks accompanying this round of negotiations may also stem from mutual acknowledgment that "The Simpsons," like everything on TV, hasn't been immune to broadcast's rapid viewership erosion. With ratings down, the show isn't bringing in the same kind of revenues it once did. The talent will likely get their pay increase even as the show becomes less of a cash cow.If a deal isn't made soon, whatever gains the talent may ultimately secure could be tempered by the fact that fewer episodes are produced. One optimistic insider said it could all be resolved as soon as this week.
The Simpsons voice actors have sealed a four-year deal that hands them more money and solidifies the animated hit's 20th season.Production on the show has been delayed for several months as voice actors and 20th Century Fox TV hammered out a deal. New pact bumps the stars' salaries up to about $400,000 an episode; they previously made somewhere in the mid-$300,000 range. The deal, firmed up over the weekend, means most of the key cast members will be back to work and attending the show's first table read of the season this morning.Harry Shearer is still working out elements of his deal, but a firm pact is expected shortly. As part of his deal, Castellaneta has been named consulting producer on the series. He'll now serve as a writer in addition to continuing as a voice performer.
The Simpsons, created by cartoonist Matt Groening (and named for the members of his immediate family except for Bart, which is an anagram for Brat), first appeared in 1987 as a series of 30-second spots produced for the Emmy Award-winning variety series The Tracey Ullman Show.
The Simpsons premiered as a half-hour comedy series January 14, 1990. Acclaimed by critics and fans alike as one of television's truest and most hilarious portraits of the American family, the series received the 1990, 1991, 1995 and 1997 Emmy Awards for Outstanding Animated Program.
The Simpsons, who live in the community of Springfield, include Homer, a father who gives bad advice and works as the safety inspector at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant; Marge, a loving, nurturing mother and wife who tries to keep peace in the family; Bart, a hell-raising 10-year-old; Lisa, a smart, philosophical 8-year-old, who loves to play the saxophone; and Maggie, the baby, who communicates by sucking her pacifier.
The Simpsons, steeped in irreverence, enjoys a far more colorful history and has had a greater impact on the nation than most television series. The show has given us such phrases as "Aye carumba!," "Eat my shorts, man!" and "Don't have a cow, man!," which have become a part of everyday language for countless individuals.
Perhaps the greatest compliment the series has received through the years is the political controversy it has sparked and continues to spark. Former Vice President Dan Quayle is one who is painfully aware of the controversy. While visiting an elementary school in New Jersey (6/15/92), the then-Vice President corrected a young student's spelling of the word "potato" by adding an "e" to the end of it, only to find that he was wrong and the student was right. The opening credits of the June 25, 1992 episode of The Simpsons featured Bart, as always, writing a single phrase over and over again on the blackboard as punishment for some unknown prank. This time, Bart was writing "Potato, not potatoe." And according to Matt Groening, "The whole thing was Bart's idea."
Of course, the show has taken it on the chin as well, politically speaking. Former First Lady Barbara Bush remarked in an interview which ultimately appeared in People magazine (September, 1990) that The Simpsons was "the dumbest thing I've ever seen." Marge Simpson, a devoted wife and mother herself, sat down and wrote Mrs. Bush a letter, giving the First Lady a piece of her mind. Surprisingly, Mrs. Bush responded within two weeks' time, asking for Marge's forgiveness for "a loose tongue."
Even the President himself couldn't resist getting in on the act. In a speech to the National Religious Broadcasters convention (1/27/92), then-President George Bush said "The nation needs to be closer to the Waltons than the Simpsons." This time, Groening replied "Hey, the Simpsons are just like the Waltons. Both families are praying for the end of the Depression."
His response ran in newspapers across the country.
Controversy continues to nip at the heels of The Simpsons. In January of 1994, a group of parents in Greenwood, S.C., protested the school board's approval of the name Springfield Elementary for a school scheduled to be built there, even though the board had allowed local students to choose the name in a creative writing contest. The parents accused Bart Simpson of being a bad role model and said that the district should not honor his name. The school board, initially unaware of the name's television counterpart, held firm; the name has become final.
The Simpsons has a number of good deeds to its credit as well, but probably none more unexpected than the case of an Auburn, Washington, boy whose mother credits The Simpsons with saving her son's life. Karen Beneze says that 8-year-old Alex and his 10-year-old brother, Chris, were alone at home when Alex began choking on an orange. Chris performed the Heimlich maneuver on his brother, dislodging the orange and returning Alex's breathing to normal. Karen claims her son used the technique because he had seen an episode which opens with Homer Simpson choking on a doughnut. Oddly, the Heimlich maneuver was not actually performed in the show. Homer managed to cough up the donut on his own while his c~workers stood by, looking at a poster depicting the steps of the world-famous life-saving technique.
Naturally, animated characters depend upon voices to help bring them to life, and the Simpsons are no exception. The voices behind these characters include Dan Castellaneta as Homer, Julie Kavner as Marge, Nancy Cartwright as Bart, Yeardley Smith as Lisa and series regulars Harry Shearer and Hank Azaria. Throughout its first 100 episodes, The Simpsons has attracted nearly as many celebrity guest voices to its ranks. These famous guest voices have included Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Mccartney, Michelle Pfeiffer, Johnny Carson, Bette Midler, Winona Ryder, Danny DeVito, Glenn Close, The Smashing Pumpkins and Bob Hope.
The series has spawned an abundance of merchandise bearing the likenesses of Groening's creations. One would have to look far and wide to find a place where there is not a Simpsons mug, beach towel, t-shirt, board game, wristwatch, puzzle, notebook, pencil, or backpack with Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie proudly telling the world that the owner is a certified Simpsons fan. There is even a platinum (sales of greater than one million copies) recording entitled "The Simpsons Sing the Blues," which gave birth to two music videos ("Do the Bartman" and "Deep, Deep Trouble") and put the family on the musical charts. In the Spring of 1997, Rhino Records released "Songs in the Key of Springfield" on CD.
In September of 1997, The Simpsons received its fourth Emmy Award as Outstanding Animated Program, having won the award previously in 1990,1991 and 1995. The Simpsons is executive produced by three-time Academy Award and fourteen-time Emmy Award winner James L. Brooks, along with Matt Groening and Mike Scully.
The Simpsons is leading the charge for the Writers Guild of America’s (WGA) annual broadcasting awards, with five nominations. 
