The Simpsons (1989) - 105 questions

Question: Can someone explain why the show makes jokes about Major League Baseball and how they control us?

Answer: Major League Baseball is very protective of their copyrights and trademarks, and likely to take legal action if they are used without permission. I think that is what the jokes refer to.

Question: In a lot of the episodes there seems to be a slightly curved "scratch" in the upper right of the screen, it always stays in the same spot, stays the same shape and size... what is this?

Answer: Maybe your TV... or just the channel. It happens sometimes you know.

Question: There is a "scratch" in the upper right corner in a few of the outdoor motion shots throughout the show, a falling black line, maybe going a twelfth of the way through the picture. I have seen this on more then one TV so its not a problem with reception, broadcast, or anything like that. I'm guessing this is something to do with the animation process or something. Does anybody know what this is?

Answer: I can tell you that the Simpsons, even after 15 years, is still hand drawn and it takes 6 months to make each episode. So its highly unlikely something slipped by them. Its probably the way you are watching it.

Question: When Krusty runs for Senator there is a news program on with the news scrolling on the bottom of the TV. It says "Rupert Murdoch terrific dancer". Who is he?

Answer: His company News Corporation owns Fox and its subsidaries, which is the network that runs The Simpsons in the states, and was once the owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.

Question: Even though the Simpson's home state is a mystery, in the episode where Homer gets kidnapped in Brazil, Lisa says that if you look at the clues, you can figure it out. Has anyone tried to look at all the clues and figured it out? My theory is that the Simpson's home state is Oregon (where Matt Groening grew up). There was even an episode where Homer joins the Navy and it shows a plotted map of USA where Homer sails off from the west coast of America (either Oregon or northern California). Has anyone else came up with this conclusion or have totally different conclusions?

Answer: This is an age old battle that has been going on since the show's debut. People give supporting arguments for almost every state, and some say that it's made up. According to Matt Groening, Springfield is not based on any Springfield in the USA (Even though there are over 150 of em), he says it is based on Portland Oregon, his home town. http://www.roundspringfield.com/?section=usual&page=faq#1

Question: During the Simpsons, characters have died and not come back as you would expect in real life. However, one character, Hans Moleman has been run over, been attacked by a drill and so on. How come he has not died?

Answer: This is a recurring joke - Moleman should really be dead (he pops out of a grave in "Mother Simpson" and during the heatwave episode Dr. Hibbert find him cooling down in the morgue and says "Don't go too far", etc.) yet somehow isn't. It's a cartoon - don't look for too much reality.

Question: Several times, when the family is at a baseball game, the announcer will say something like, "Oh, Doctor, we've got a good game...". What's the "Oh Doctor" part about? Is that something that really happens, or a joke?

Answer: That announcer is a parody of veteran baseball announcer Keith Jackson, who is know for saying "Oh doctor" quite often in his commentaries.

Question: This may sound like a stupid question but It happens a lot in the Simpson's and Friends shows. What are the purpose of clip shows?

Answer: Clip shows are time savers and budget stretchers. They allow the producers to create a "new" show without having to spend the time and money filming (or animating), editing, and scoring the whole thing from scratch if they feel that their budget is getting spread too thin or their deadlines are getting too tight.

Question: The Flanders' live on one side of the Simpsons, who lives on the other side? Note: Not Gerald Ford, he lives across the street from them.

Answer: A divorcee who has a daughter that Bart fancies. (I can't remember her name). An old couple used to live there, but moved and I remember an episode where Homer was sitting in a paddle pool eating a hot dog, grossing out potential clients.

Question: On one of the 'American Idol 3' episodes, there is a clip of Homer punching Simon Cowell, and Barney is dressed up as a maid, saying, "You told me no-one would get hurt." Was this actually on an episode of the Simpsons, or just a new clip?

Answer: This clip was taken from the season 15 episode "Smart and Smarter".

Question: Are Patty and Selma twins? If not, which one is older?

Answer: Patty and Selma are twins (this is mentioned several times throughout the series), though Selma is older by about 2 minutes.

Question: What religion are the Simpsons? I know they're Christians, but what branch (e.g. Catholic? Protestant?).

Answer: Since Reverend Lovejoy is both married and refered to as 'Reverend', they must be Protestants. They never name the exact protestant denomination.

Question: In the episode with burn's bear bobo, homer trips down the stairs and discoveres bobo behind the fish tank. With the music and the lighting, is the way this was done supposed to represent something, or is it copied from somewhere, or was it just an interesting thing the writers came up with?

Answer: I thought perhaps it was a parody of a scene from Baz Luhrman's 'Romeo Juliet' when the two title characters see one another through an aquarium. I'm not 100% sure, though.

Question: Have Matt Groenning or the producers of the show had any problem due to the humor based in the constant references to the religions?

Answer: The Simpsons creators get annoyed messages all the time from people who hate the language to even the religious jokes. I don't believe any religion has specifically bad-mouthed them for their jokes, because most people recognise they're just that - jokes. Scenes with Catholic & Protestant Priests fighting are just jokes, and are very clear.

Question: Has the original snowball (Lisa's cat that got run over) appeared in any episode?

Answer: Snowball 1 appeared in an episode where they talk about how Lisa first got her saxophone. The cat appears in a flashback scene where Homer has stolen an air conditioner and the house is ice cold. Snowball 1, white coloured, slowly walks through the scene, with icicles hanging from her.

Question: What does the J in Bartholomew J Simpson stand for? Is it like Homer's which just stands for Jay or is it something else?

Answer: It stands for Jo-Jo. This was confirmed by Nancy Cartwright when the show's cast appeared on "Inside the Actors Studio."

Question: How old is Ned Flanders?

Answer: The answer to this question is debatable. According to the season 9 episode Viva Ned Flanders, he is 60. However, it is revealed elsewhere in the series that Ned had beatnik parents as a child (See Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadaaaas Song and Hurricane Neddy). Beatniks came around in the 1960s. This would put him around the 30-40 range.

Question: In the intro to the show, just before Homer's car arrives at the garage, there is a crash pan across several screens-worth of characters. Are these characters significant in any way or are they just random people?

Answer: Actually it looks like many are large characters but I guess it's a quick way to show as many of the characters as possible. If you freeze frame the shots you can see the characters Milhouse, Nelson, Jimbo, Patty and Selma, Grampa Simpson, Dr Hibbert, Flanders and his wife and many more.

Question: Is there a reason why people on the Simpsons TV always say "You may remember me from such films as..."?

Answer: I have only seen one person ever say this and that is Troy McClure. Prior to the retirement of this character (when his voice, Phil Hartman, was killed), McClure was a prolific actor who appeared in movies, commercials, infomercials, public service announcements, etc. If you notice, whenever he says this, it was to reference to a similar commercial, PSA, etc. he had done before. It came to be his signature line, like C. M. Burns' evil "Excellent," Dr. Hibbert's inappropriate laugh, or Dr. Nick Riviera's "Hi, everybody."