Zombie Simpsons (finally?) takes on Burning Man Blazing Guy in tonight’s assuredly half-assed “Blazed and Confused”. Also, for reasons, Willem Dafoe is in it. The synopsis-bot sez: Bart faces a tough test at school when he gets a new teacher, Mr. Lassen (guest voice Willem Dafoe), who vows to crush his spirit in the all-new “Blazing Guy” episode of THE SIMPSONS airing Sunday, Nov. 16 (8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT) on FOX Cool story, bro.
Author: Dave
Sunday Preview: Simpsorama
In a special crossover episode, “Futurama’s” Planet Express crew comes to present-day Springfield to prevent the Simpsons from destroying the future. Well, “Simpsorama” has been hinted at for over a year, and now it’s finally happening. Raise your hands, who wanted this? You? Hang your head in shame.
The Telltale Head Spews Truth
Today’s post is another installment in our long-running “series” of DVD commentary posts; the lucky victim this time is Season 1’s classic “The Telltale Head.” Featured speakers on the commentary are the episode’s director Rich Moore and writers Al Jean and Mike Reiss. I’ll keep it short and simple (read: descriptive and lacking in any meaningful/substantive analysis), but here are the highlights from their conversation for me: (Times are approximate) 00:17 – Supposedly there were a lot of Elvis sightings when this episode was written, hence the chalkboard gag 00:31 – Early intro didn’t have Burns or Smithers in the…
DVD Commentary: Bart the Genius
Be gentle, it’s my first one of these. Four guys on this commentary, David Silverman, Matt Groening, James L. Brooks, and Jon Vitti. David Silverman talks about the popularity of the show after the Christmas Special Matt Groening talks about the development of the now classic “Simpsons” main titles music Blackboard and main titles were originally a way to pad the show length, but as the show got more sophisticated the writers didn’t want to cut anything This episode was Jon Vitti’s first 30-minute script, and David Silverman’s first full-length directorial debut Koreans don’t have bananas, hence the miscoloring KWYJIBO was also later used…
Sunday Open Thread
Are we all excited about tonight’s new Zombie Simpsons? From Simpsons Channel: Homer is shocked to discover that his bowling teammate, Dan Gillick (guest voice Steve Carell), is an accountant for Fat Tony and his mob. Meanwhile, Lisa adds insects to her vegetarian diet after passing out during a saxophone solo, but starts questioning her decision when bugs start pleading for mercy in her dreams. Mobsters and insect-eating sound like a winning combination.
Sunday Preview: “The Ned-liest Catch”
At long last, we’re two hours away from the end of Season 22 of Zombie Simpsons with a miserably titled finale, “The Ned-liest Catch.” I don’t even know what that means. Is Ned some of crab? Is Ms. Krabappel some sort of captain? Does anyone care? Here’s the description from Simpsons Channel, in case you do: Feeling guilty for getting Mrs. Krabappel suspended after one of his school pranks, Bart helps her escape detention, and Ned Flanders winds up saving her life in the process. When Edna and Ned start dating, he is surprised to learn she’s been with many of…
Sunday Preview: The Great Simpsina
Guest stars, guest stars, guest stars. That’s the theme of tonight’s Zombie Simpsons episode, whose description is capable of inducing a brain hemorrhage: The family is greeted by folk singer Ewell Freestone (guest voice Jack McBrayer) when they visit a peach farm, but when Marge goes overboard with peach-inspired dishes, Lisa and Bart try to get rid of the unwanted fruit. Later, Lisa becomes a magician’s apprentice to the legendary Great Raymondo (guest voice Martin Landau) who helps her develop her craft, but a schoolgirl crush clouds her judgment when she is coaxed into revealing the Great Raymondo’s most famous…
Sunday Preview: “A Midsummer’s Nice Dream”
Straight from the unfortunately named FOX publicity machine, FOX FLASH, here’s a preview for tonight’s episode of Zombie Simpsons: The town is abuzz when Cheech and Chong announce a Springfield stop on their much-anticipated reunion tour. But when Cheech and Chong take the stage in front of their loyal fans, the jokes were just not the same for Chong, so Homer steps in and delivers all the punchlines by heart. Impressed, Cheech invites Homer to go on tour with him as new duo “Cheech and Chunk” while Chong forms a more progressive comedic team, “Teach and Chong,” with Principal Skinner.…
Sunday Preview: “Homer the Father”
Here we go again. Simpsons Channel tells us that two bearded guest stars, David Mamet and James Lipton, will lend their voices to tonight’s “Homer The Father,” which has a plot that sounds nearly as dry as the title: Homer becomes obsessed with Thicker than Waters, a 1980s family sitcom written by David Mamet (pictured left), and models his parenting skills after the show’s sensible father much to the chagrin on Bart, who desperately sets his sights on a brand new dirt bike. But when Homer insists that Bart must earn the dirt bike, Bart takes matters into his own hands…
Sunday Preview: “Donnie Fatso”
You thought you could saunter off into the holiday season without another episode of Zombie Simpsons, didn’t you? Well guess again. As if last week’s Katy Perry nonsense weren’t enough, tonight we’ve got a gritty, guest star-filled crime drama called “Donnie Fatso.” Okay, maybe it won’t be gritty, but it definitely has Jon Hamm and Joe Mantegna. From Simspsons Channel: Donnie Fatso airs tonight in North America. Homer spends New Year’s Eve in the Springfield Penitentiary after getting caught bribing an official. An FBI investigator (Jon Hamm) offers to reduce his jail time if Homer agrees to go undercover as…
Sunday Preview: “The Fight Before Christmas”
Like clockwork, we’ve regrettably reached the time of year when we have to suffer through a Christmas-themed episode of Zombie Simpsons. “The Fight Before Christmas” (har, har) has Martha Stewart and Katy Perry as guest stars, though I assume that they will be as forgettable as the other celebrity voices this season. Here’s Simpsons Channel with the blow-by-blow: Disappointed that she is alone spreading the holiday cheer, Marge sends a letter to Martha Clause (Martha Stewart) to help her save the family Christmas. Martha comes to the rescue and transforms the house into the North Pole chalet Marge has always…
Sunday Preview: “How Munched Is That Birdie In The Window?”
I hate shitty, two-bit, fame-whore Danica Patrick so much that I’m not even going to dignify this episode with commentary. I’ll leave it at the description from our friends at Simpsons Channel: Bart helps nurse an injured pigeon back to health. After Santa’s Little Helper eats the bird, Bart has a hard time coping with the loss. Worried that Bart needs some help getting over the loss, Marge and Homer take him to a therapy session with Dr. Thurston, who advises that the only cure for Bart’s blues is to give away the family dog, but when the Simpsons visit…
Sunday Preview: “The Fool Monty”
Sweet baby Jesus, Zombie Simpsons are at it again this week with another spiritual rehash of an old episode. Tonight, Lisa takes an interest in curmudgeonly old Burns, only to realize that he’s incapable of being changed. Sounds familiar, right? It’s basically the plot of Season 8’s “The Old Man and the Lisa,” and I harbor doubts that “The Fool Monty” can outshine its predecessor. If you’re still curious, here’s the actual rundown from Simpsons Channel: After learning that he is suffering from multiple illnesses and has only a few weeks to live, Mr. Burns becomes distraught by the…
Sunday Preview: “Lisa Simpson, This Isn’t Your Life”
Tonight’s follow up to last week’s underwhelming Treehouse of Horror episode is “Lisa Simpson, This Isn’t Your Life”. We’ve got a dull, lifeless description from Simpsons Channel, which merits a dull, lifeless response: Discovering that Marge was once a stellar A+ student whose grades plummeted after being distracted, Lisa fears that she will end up just like her mom unless she pledges to focus solely on academics in an encore episode. When Marge makes a secret deal allowing Lisa to attend her dream school, Lisa learns a lesson in family and altruism. Meanwhile, Bart puts Nelson in his place and unintentionally…
Quote of the Day
“You just got citric acid in my eye! You’ll pay for that, Springfield.” – Shelby
Quote of the Day
“Ah, I’m just a big, toasty cinnamon bun. I never want to leave this bed. Uh oh, gotta take a whiz. Think man, think. Think, think, think . . . I better get up.” – Homer Simpson
Sunday Preview: “MoneyBART”
I have three things to say about tonight’s episode, “MoneyBART”: The only Lisa + Bart + sports rivalry episode that should exist, ever, is “Lisa on Ice.” The only episode in which Mike Scioscia matters is “Homer at the Bat.” This is the third episode of Season 22 and the third in a row with a guest star. Remember when guest voices were used sparingly? That’s all. If you’re still reading, here’s the description from Simpsons Channel: A visit by a Springfield Elementary alum-turned-Ivy-League student pushes Lisa to question her own go-getter attitude and reevaluate the scope of…
Quote of the Day
“Big deal. When I was a pup, we got spanked by presidents ’til the cows came home. Grover Cleveland spanked me on two non-consecutive occasions.” – Grampa Simpson
Sunday Preview: “Loan-a-Lisa”
Mark Zuckerberg is going to be on Zombie Simpsons tonight. Is it possible for a show to be even more dead to me? Yes, yes it is. For those of you who care, here’s the lowdown: When Grampa gives each member of the family a portion of his savings, Lisa and Marge spend their money in drastically different ways. Lisa invests in Nelson’s brand-new business venture, but soon realizes that her friend’s instant success might lure him away from the classroom. Worried that his judgment might be clouded, Lisa introduces Nelson to the well-educated and successful creator of Facebook, Mark…
Quote of the Day
“And who are you little boy?” – Mayor “Diamond” Joe Quimby “I’m one of your nephews you don’t see very often… Bart-Bart.” – Bart Simpson