KBBL Radio is a radio station in Springfield. [14] In the book Leaving Springfield, David L. G. Arnold comments that Bart is a product of a "mass-culture upbringing" and thus is Bob's enemy. [109] The episode "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show" deals with the viewer backlash and obsession with internal consistency. As a result, the Fox network tried to stop the writers from including Itchy & Scratchy cartoons in episodes. In 2011, the producers let the users of the Internet vote over what direction The Simpsons should take.

[74] The episode begins with Marge warning that the episode that is about to air has so much guts and violence that Congress will not let them show it. In "Missionary: Impossible" the episode cuts away from the main story near the end to a telethon, populated by Bender (from Futurama), Thurgood Stubbs (from The PJs), Hank Hill (from King of the Hill), Luke Perry (Dylan in Beverly Hills, 90210), David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson (Mulder and Scully from The X-files), and the owner of the Fox network Rupert Murdoch. They try to incorporate what they see as a rebellious character into a failing television show with the comment "This is popular with the kids", but the viewers later reject the character. Jonathan Gray reveals his insights in a 2005 article called Television Teaching: Parody, The Simpsons, and Media Literacy Education. [26], The Fox network itself is often the target of jokes.

[121] The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, called the episode a "wonderful pastiche" on the Tim Burton Batman films, and several scenes in the episode reference the Batman television series from the 1960s. If it weren't for someone plagiarizing The Honeymooners, we wouldn't have The Flintstones.

[65] Itchy and Scratchy cartoons are often added when a show needs expanding or when there is an issue that the writers wish to satirize. [124] Showrunner Al Jean commented that the writers tried not to repeat the comic book film theme from the "Radioactive Man" episode. Take your favorite fandoms with you and never miss a beat. The show now instead produces episodes with three adaptations of existing stories for each act, called "trilogy episodes", rendering a clip show unnecessary.[47]. In the twenty-second season finale "The Ned-Liest Catch", the characters Ned Flanders and Edna Krabappel started dating. [128] However, Dunne also notes the fact that Homer himself sings "his objection that musicals are fake and phony". [126][127] Gray writes that it "scorns the proclivity of ads to use any gimmick to grab attention, regardless of the ethics: as an indignant Lisa asks incredulously, 'Do they really think cheapening the memory of our veterans will sell soda? If someone hadn't ripped off Sergeant Bilko, there'd be no Top Cat!. '"[126], Michael Dunne analyzed the episode "All Singing, All Dancing" in his book American Film Musical Themes and Forms, and gave examples from it while explaining that singing and dancing performances are generally not seen as acceptable in the television medium. [21] Creator Matt Groening was uneasy about the idea, feeling that it could be mistranslated as actually poor sitcom writing. [41][51] The episode states the series turned to "gimmicky premises and nonsensical plots" as ratings dipped, and uses a clip from the season nine episode "The Principal and the Pauper" to get that point across: a highly controversial episode that many fans and critics panned. / Canyonero!

[100] According to Turner, the newsgroup was among the most trafficked newsgroups of the early 1990s.

Topics include censorship, plagiarism, unoriginal writing, live-action clip shows and documentaries. "[111] When asked why the writers thought Ned and Edna were the right characters for a cliffhanger like this, Jean said that "In life, unusual things happen.

The series centers on a family and their life in a typical American town but the town of Springfield acts as a complete universe. [30] Troy McClure introduces the three spin-offs as a host of the episode, something he had previously done in the episode "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular".

The episode was later described as "the most [...] disturbing Halloween show ever" by Mirkin.

Before production of season eight began, Fox executives suggested the staff to add a new character to the show, who would live with the Simpsons on a permanent basis. [110] Showrunner Al Jean said in an interview that the writers decided it would not be interesting for them to do another episode where a relationship ended, and they thought it would be interesting "to see what people think, [...] the Internet certainly has a lot of opinion on the show, might as well have them have their say. Parallel to Poochie being introduced on Itchy & Scratchy, they inserted the one-time character Roy, with no explanation as to who he was, or why he was there, as a reference to the executive's proposal. [78] In his review of The Simpsons: The Complete Twelfth Season, DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson wrote that he enjoyed the episode's take on "Internet idiocy". [86] MSN called Brockman one of the worst TV news anchors.[87].

[7] He is sometimes depicted as a jaded, burned out has-been, who has been down and out several times and remains addicted to gambling, cigarettes, alcohol, Percodan, Pepto-Bismol, and Xanax. [54] Usually, this is a technique used in shows that involves children who have grown up. The radio station was owned once by Mr. Burns as well as others. The town has a vast array of media channels—from children's television series to local news, which enables the producers to make jokes about themselves and the entertainment industry. [10] His television shows are of mixed quality and all of his merchandise is of low quality, to the point of being potentially dangerous. His tabloidization methods include making people look guilty without trial, and invasion of privacy by setting up camp outside people's homes. [113] In his article "Best Indicator Ever: The Simpsons Foreclosure", Jonathan Hoenig of SmartMoney wrote that the twentieth season episode "No Loan Again, Naturally", an episode in which the Simpsons are foreclosed from their house, could have indicated that "the worst of the housing crisis" at the time the article was written, was over. [66][67] In some cases, notably in "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show", the writers use Itchy & Scratchy as a way to comment on The Simpsons.[68]. The episode ends with Homer and Marge Simpson giving the viewers a link to the official The Simpsons website, TheSimpsons.com, and encouraging them to go on the website and vote over the summer of 2011 on whether Ned and Edna should stay together. Bill O'Reilly, host of the Fox News show The O'Reilly Factor, aired the clip during the show's "Pinheads and Patriots" segment, saying "Continuing to bite the hand that feeds part of it, Fox broadcasting once again allows its cartoon characters to run wild." That’s a very entertaining thing for us. [95] Dave Shutton is a reporter for The Springfield Shopper. Fandom may earn an affiliate commission on sales made from links on this page. There was some talk [on NoHomers.net] about the ending—we just did that because (a) it’s really funny and shocking, (2) we like the lesson of "sometimes, you just can't win"—the whole Frank Grimes episode is a study in frustration and hence Homer has the last laugh and (3) we wanted to show that in real life, being Homer Simpson could be really dangerous and life threatening, as Frank Grimes sadly learned. [92] The talk show "Ben" reflects the writers' feeling that anyone could host a talk show because all they need is a microphone and an audience. In their article "15 Simpsons Moments That Perfectly Captured Their Eras", The A.V. It broadcasts on 102.5 FM and serves the area with a male-targeted AC format. These sequences were inspired by Jean's dissatisfaction with some network executives, who he felt took control over a television series he was working on before he returned to The Simpsons in 1999. [128] Dunne describes the frame narrative as establishing Marge as "..more favorably disposed toward musicals than the males in her house". [3] On the radio, the citizens of Springfield have fictional radio stations such as KBBL-AM, KBBL-FM, KUDD, WKOMA, KJAZZ, KFSL, and WOMB. he retorts. [122], In the later episode "Homer the Whopper", writers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg wanted to show how Hollywood generally ruins superhero films.

[75] In the episode, the owner of the Itchy and Scratchy characters is accused of fraud, when the original authorship of the characters comes into question. A television show, a recording contract, a lot of awards, and countless wealth follow Homer's inadequate video "pilot". [2] However, its animated nature gives The Simpsons an unusually large scope. He had received several complaints by the United States Congress about the amount of violence on the show and he did not like their attempt to censor it. On the radio, the citizens of Springfield have fictional radio stations such as KBBL-AM, KBBL-FM, KUDD, WKOMA, KJAZZ, KFSL, and WOMB. I mean, people really do stories like that. KBBL is the radio call sign used for radio and television stations that broadcast from Springfield. The thought evolved into the concept of a "real world" co-worker who would either love or hate Homer. "[63], The Itchy & Scratchy Show is a show within a show that appears occasionally in episodes of The Simpsons. The newspaper is often isolated from mainstream media, so the characters do not seem to know of other ones. 'How many shares of stock will it take to end this conversation?' One of the goals of showrunners Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein was to create several episodes in each season which would "push the envelope conceptually". New WOS Simpsons KBBL RADIO STATION with MARTY & BILL Figures Playmates TALKING. Bart: Hey, I know it wasn't great, but what right do you have to complain?Comic Book Guy: As a loyal viewer, I feel they owe me.Bart: What? [104], The writers sometimes make jokes at the newsgroup's expense. [40] It tells the fictional history of the Simpson family and how they got into show business; from their weak beginnings to their exceptional prosperity. [44] Since "Gump Roast", there have not been any more clip shows.