Question: Which episodes feature the "Howling Dog" (usually used on outside shots of buildings)?
Question: Why do the characters in this show, and other animated shows, always wear the same clothes and have just a few different outfits (ex: Marge's regular green dress and her Sunday dress)? Wouldn't most fans be able to recognize the characters even if they did wear different clothes in each episode?
Answer: They do this to make it easier to draw the thousands of cells they need to make a cartoon.
Question: I remember an episode where Moe picked up a hitchhiker in his car, then asked the man if he had seen some movie. When the man said no, Moe told him something like "Then this will all be new to you" and then drove down a scary-looking road. Does anyone know what part of what movie he was referring to?
Answer: He's referring to Misery, a book/film where a writer gets injured and then kidnapped by a rather overzealous fan.
Question: In the showcase episode, where Troy McClure shows deleted scenes and the alternate endings for Who Shot Mr. Burns. Were these really alternates and deleted scenes, or just made up for this episode?
Answer: They probably never intended for anyone other than Maggie to shoot Mr Burns, but by having the animators animate all the different characters shooting him, it meant that they couldn't spill the beans before the episode was shown. Other than Maggie, the only other real possibility would have been Waylon Smithers, because they didn't just animate him shooting Mr Burns, they animated the whole scene (including Mr Burns revealing who it was in the hospital). By doing two endings, it meant that the people working on the show wouldn't be able to leak the ending. It is not uncommon for this to happen - it happened with season one of 24 which is why there are two different endings on the DVD.
Question: Who will teach Bart's class after Mrs. Krabappel's passing?
Answer: According to Al Jean, the producers haven't decided yet but they have some ideas.
There was an episode in which Ned went to Springfield elementary as a substitute but left. Bart convinced him to come back. Then in S30s finale, "crystal blue haired persuasion", Flanders show Marge a test that Bart got in "his" class, suggesting he is the new teacher. However, Simpsons wiki fandom shows that it a is a temporary job.
Question: Can someone explain why the show makes jokes about Major League Baseball and how they control us?
Chosen 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: Does every episode have a chalkboard and couch gag (or variation on it)? When I watch reruns sometimes it goes into the show after the words "The Simpsons" come through the cloud and I can't tell if they cut out the intro or if there just wasn't one.
Chosen answer: The original opening of every episode of "The Simpsons" does include a chalkboard gag and a couch gag. Your Fox-TV affiliate may air the episode with portions of the opening and/or other segments of the show edited in order to make room for additional advertising, local station identifications or promotions for upcoming programming on that station. This is often done to television program episodes in syndication.
Answer: So, The Simpsons intro has 3 gags: the chalkboard gag, couch gag, and billboard gag. The show itself has variations of its opening, with different lengths to fit the length of the rest of the episode. The Couch Gag is the most common gag, and the Billboard gag is the least common because of these variations. And to answer your question, yes, sometimes the episodes don't even have an intro.
Question: This has interested me for ages: Where does Smithers actually live? And how does he get to and from the power plant? I am asking because Smithers is at Mr Burns's mansion most of the time, which gives the impression he is sort of a live-in servant, but in other instances, he is shown to live in a house by himself e.g. Lisa vs Malibu Stacey. And in terms of his commute to and from work, he is seen to drive Mr. Burns around in Burns's car, like a chauffeur, but in the episode where Homer gets promoted and gets the executive spot, Smithers drives up in another car, and not Burns's, which is already there.
Answer: In the episode, "You Only Move Twice", Smithers walks out of a house saying that it's nice driving Mr. Burns to work, so he could live in said house.
Question: How can Flanders afford stuff like a huge boat and a motorhome if he doesn't make a lot of money?
Answer: From time to time he has explained his above average income has come from a variety of reasons. First of all he has mentioned from time to time of other business ventures he has been involved. At one time he was doing advertisements when he shaved his moustache and another he was trading in religious website store. Secondly the Leftorium that he runs has had his highs and lows which would explain why he can sometimes afford more expensive items. Thirdly he seems to be quite clever when it comes to saving and business. For example he showed Homer about the Mega Savers course that showed about how to buy more expensive items at lower prices.
And he was once a successful pharmacist. He says so when he burns his tie announcing the Leftorium.
Question: Did anything happen to either of Marge's parents? We almost never see or hear from them, especially her father.
Answer: Marge's mother, Jacqueline Bouvier, has appeared in several episodes, notably "Lady Bouvier's Lover" where she dated both Abe Simpson and Mr Burns. Her father appeared in the episode "Fear of Flying" where Marge revealed that her Fear of Flying was due to the shame of her father being a flight attendant. It was mentioned in "Bart the Lover" that after leaving the Navy, his swearing almost cost him his job as a baby photographer. Both Marge's parents appear in the flashback episode "The Way We Was" when both Homer and Artie Ziff arrive to take Marge to the prom.
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 referred to as 'Reverend', they must be Protestants. They never name the exact protestant denomination.
The Western Branch of American Reform Presbylutheranism First Church of Springfield.
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.
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?
Chosen 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: Is Shauna's dad Superintendent Chalmers?
Answer: Yes, he is.
Question: How did Herman lose his arm?
Answer: He stuck it out of a school bus window, and an oncoming truck subsequently ripped it off.
I've heard about that but in one episode there was a flashback and it got knocked off by a car so which is correct?
Answer: In the episode To Cur with Love it was revealed that he lost his arm while trying to hail down a car. His arm was ripped off by a dog catcher van.
Question: Does anyone know the year and number of the episode in which Homer tries to teach Bart how to get extra stuff at the Kwik-E-Mart by putting it on a doughnut, then when confronted by Apu, telling him that's the way he found it?
Chosen answer: In episode number 160, "Lisa's Date with Density" from 1996, Homer tries to pass off lots of candy as sprinkles on a donut, but Bart wasn't with him.
Question: Which episode has Maggie in a crib, rattling a cup against the bars like a prisoner?
Answer: The episode was "Homer Alone".
Question: Are the characters aware they don't age?
Chosen answer: In general, no. However, in the episode "Behind the Laughter," Lisa comments about how Homer fed her anti-growth hormones to prolong the run of the show. Chronological events do occur, such as birthdays (which all of the characters have had in various episodes), and several episodes include flashbacks and peeks into the future. However, for the most part, the characters remain in a chronological stasis.
Chosen answer: Uncle Al probably likes his nephew a lot. Wendy's hamburgers were named after the owner's daughter, so why not name a bowling alley after your nephew?
Captain Defenestrator