Death Of Marcia Wallace 4 Years Later

Hi folks and welcome to another Simpsons Sunday blog post. Unfortunately, we have another death to talk about in music, in the shape of Fats Domino. He passed away this week aged 89 and his most well-known hits are I’m walkin’ and Aint That A Shame. The Beatles were influenced by him and both John Lennon and Paul McCartney covered Aint That A Shame at various points in their solo careers. If you listen to Paul’s voice on the song Lady Madonna, he uses a voice similar to Fats Domino to sing the song and has admitted it. He has used the same voice on songs which require A loud baritone and used it up to the album Band On The Run, with Wings.

On the birthday front, Seth MacFarlain turned another year older on October 26th and he of course, is the creator of Family Guy and other similar shows. He has also guest starred on The Simpsons season 24 finale Dangers On A Train, as Ben.

The other two birthday’s this week are Nancy Cartwright and Dan Castellaneta, who both turn 60 years old. Nancy voices Bart but also voices Nelson Muntz, Wralph Wiggum, Kearney and others. Dan of course voices: Homer Simpson, Krusty the Clown, Groundskeeper Willy, Hans Molman, Mayor Joe Quimbey, Abe Simpson, Jeremy Freeman (more commonly known as the squeaky voiced tean) and others.

This week I want to talk about another anniversary of an important death in Simpsons land. Marcia Wallace, who voiced Bart Simpson’s 4th Grade teacher Edna Krabappel passed away 4 years ago on October 25th 2013. Her character was also married to Ned Flanders from Season 23 to Season 25, until her death.

Like the murder of John Lennon and the September 11th attacks, I remember where I was when I heard that she died. It was a Saturday morning on October 26 2013. I had just woke from a nap and had checked my messages on my iPhone, including Twitter. That was where I first read that she Had passed away and I was very upset to hear the news. Here is what I received on Twitter that morning. https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=538337769579992&l=68b2f2465a

Over the past few months prier to this I had been catching up with episodes I had missed and reading up on all the main and supporting cast. Despite the character she voiced on The Simpsons I didn’t think she was like that at all. In fact, I thought she was as everyone had been tweeting and blogging about her, that she was a very kind, very sweet woman. This was also my first experience with breaking news of someone dying via Twitter.

I believe that she was as gentle as she was as a person, because of how Mrs. Krabappel reacted to Bart crying after actually making an honest effort to pass a test in school. This showed me that when Mrs. Krabappel was comforting Bart that it was the real Marcia coming out as a part of the character. When she said “there there” and comforted him that convinced me just who the person behind the voice was.

I think it was the right thing to do, for The Simpsons to retire the character in her memory. It wouldn’t be the same if someone else tried to voice her and it would be like a singer replacing another who had either left the band or passed away. For example: could you really replace Freddie Mercury in Queen? or Paul Rogers in Bad Company? Well, Bad Company tried but it wasn’t the same.

I also like how Edna was retired and that last seen in the episode The Man Who Grew Too Much and how Nelson after laughing admitting that he misses her, like Flanders does. It was great when Edna Krabappel was an active character and now that she is gone, it is a turning point in the series. Will there ever be another teacher to replace Mrs. Krabappel on a permanent basis? There have been 2 so far: Mr. Lassen and Miss Berrera and so far, they have been only one time characters. Have you noticed that there haven’t been many episodes focussing on the actual school day’s of Bart and the other kids lately?

Well, that’s about it for this weeks Post. In the mean time, I recommend checking out my other blog, which has older posts relating to The Simpsons, along with a lot more interesting stuff about my favourite bands and other things. http://blindgordieblog.wordpress.com

Also, check out Chris Ladesma’s blog. He is the Music Editor for The Simpsons and has been since day 1.

http://simpsonsmusic500.wordpress.com/author/simpsonsmusic500/

Also, check out Yeardley Smith’s blog at http://gobbingoff.tumblr.com

Don’t forget about Marchez Vous, which is her women’s shoe designer company, which she started earlier in the decade. You can check out their website at

http://www.marchesvous.com

Additionally, for more news on The Simpsons, you can go to http://news.simpsonswiki.com/

You can also comment here or you can email me at blindgordie@gmail.com and I will reply as soon as I can to all messages I receive. If you follow me on Twitter or are my friend on Facebook you can comment directly to me that way too.

You can follow Simpsons Executive Producer Al Jean on Twitter and his Twitter handle is @AlJean.

He has ran the show since Season 13 and has ran it during Seasons 3 and 4.

Anyway,  I’ll talk to you again next Sunday.

The Man with The Deep Voice

Hi folks and welcome to another post on Simpsons Sunday. Unfortunately another death in music has happened and this hits closer to home. Gord Downie of The Tragically Hip passed away on Tuesday evening of glioblastoma, which is an aggressive form of brain cancer. I mentioned last year about the band and his diagnosis and we all knew he was going to die but we weren’t sure when. Now he’s gone and fans and the media have and are still paying tribute to him and the band, in many ways, such as playing their entire discography or doing a documentary show on them. As a Canadian and a follower of their music, I’m going to miss Gord and his contribution to Canadian music. He sung about Canada in a way which didn’t sound cheesy or patriotic. He just sang about what he knew! For example: hockey player Bill Barilko, wrongly convicted murderer David Milgaard and the town of Bobcaygeon are all referenced or mentioned by name in songs by the band. Unfortunately, this didn’t translate to being huge in all of the US but does it really matter? I would have liked them to have been bigger but because they mostly sing about what is around them, that doesn’t mean being the flavour of the month, outside Canada. However, they do have songs which have blues leanings such as New Orleans Is Sinking and Little Bones, which are great songs anyway. I will surely miss no new music from the hIp every couple of years, now that we have lost Gordie.

On a lighter note, tonight is the next Installment of Treehouse Of Horror and it should be another good one, as usual. I am certainly looking forward to it, after last year’s episode, with Frank Grimes as his ghost and that it was the 600th episode.

This week I’m going to answer the question, who is that deep voiced dude in the episode 22 for 30? His name is Earl Mann and he has been doing voice work for many years, on both radio and TV in Canada and the US. I heard him in the ’80s on the radio and TV, during advertisements for all manner of things, from toys to sports. He even had a gig as the main voice over guy, for a Toronto radio stations id’s and other promotional adds in the early ‘90s.

In the spring 2017 he Guest starred as both the narrator and as Nelson’s father Eddie Muntz and he did a superb job in both roles. I hadn’t heard his voice in a long long time until the episode and at first, I didn’t recognize it. Then, when I had a chance to watch the episode and read his name in the credits on Wikipedia, it’s sunk in that this guy who might heard on the radio for years and years, was the guy doing narration on this episode of The Simpsons. I hope that there are other iconic voice over voices out there, who are willing to lend their voice to the series in the future. If Earl man can do it, why can’t others?

Well, that’s about it for this weeks Post. In the mean time, I recommend checking out my other blog, which has older posts relating to The Simpsons, along with a lot more interesting stuff about my favourite bands and other things. http://blindgordieblog.wordpress.com

Also, check out Chris Ladesma’s blog. He is the Music Editor for The Simpsons and has been since day 1.

http://simpsonsmusic500.wordpress.com/author/simpsonsmusic500/

Also, check out Yeardley Smith’s blog at http://gobbingoff.tumblr.com

Don’t forget about Marchez Vous, which is her women’s shoe designer company, which she started earlier in the decade. You can check out their website at

http://www.marchesvous.com

Additionally, for more news on The Simpsons, you can go to http://news.simpsonswiki.com/

You can also comment here or you can email me at blindgordie@gmail.com and I will reply as soon as I can to all messages I receive. If you follow me on Twitter or are my friend on Facebook you can comment directly to me that way too.

You can follow Simpsons Executive Producer Al Jean on Twitter and his Twitter handle is @AlJean.

He has ran the show since Season 13 and has ran it during Seasons 3 and 4.

Anyway,  I’ll talk to you again next Sunday.

The Principal And The Pauper, 20 Years Later

hi folks and welcome to anotherSimpsons Sunday post. This weeks post is about the rather controversial season nine episode The Principal And The Pauper, which aired 20 years ago on September 28th 1997. This episode had many people up in arms, about how one of the main characters was now an emposter, then at the end, everything is alright again, as-if nothing had happened.

Let’s go backk to the beginning, when we find out that it is the 20th anniversary of Seymour Skinner being the Principal of Springfield Elementary school. He is lured by his mother to the school for a surprise party. The celebration goes well until a strange man arrives, claiming to be the real Seymour Skinner. We find out that (in this episode) that he is an impostor and his real name is Armin Tamzarian. Armin then tells the story of the events that led him to steal Seymour Skinner’s identity. Such as, being a troubled young man from Capital City, and who ended up in the Army. There, he met and befriended the real Sergeant Seymour Skinner, who became his mentor and ehlped to give his life meaning and drop his Bad boy tendencies. Seymour told Armin that his dream was to become an elementary school principal after the war. Later, Seymour was declared missing and presumed dead. Armin took the news of the apparent death to Seymour’s mother, Agnes. She for some reason thought that he was her son, and Armin could not bear to deliver the message. He instead allowed Agnes to call him Seymour, and took over Seymour’s life. Meanwhile, the real Seymour Skinner spent five years in a POW camp, then worked in a Chinese sweatshop for two decades until it was shut down by the United Nations.

Armin decides that there is no longer any place for him in Springfield, after the people are no longer trusting in him. The real Skinner is then offered the chance to realize his dream and take over as school principal. He takes the job. Armin, however, has already left Springfield and gone to Capital City to resume his former life as a street thug.

Meanwhile, the real Skinner begins to become isolated from the people of Springfield because they don’t like him like they liked Armin and his mother is not used to her son doing what he wants. So, Marge heads to Capital City with Edna Krabappel, Agnes and the rest of the Simpson family. After Agnes orders Armin to return home, Homer persuades Mayor Quimby and all the other citizens to allow Armin to resume his assumed identity as Principal Skinner. The real Skinner refuses to give up his job and his dignity just because the people of Springfield prefer Armin to him. In response, the townspeople simply get rid of him, by tying him to a chair on a flatcar of a freight train. You could say that the people of Springfield essentially banished real Skinner, while excepting the imposter for who he is. Anyway, Judge Snyder declares that Armin will again be referred to as Seymour Skinner, that he will return to his job as school principal, and that no one shal mention his name again.

Okay, that is the episode which angered a lot of people and even the voice of Skinner himself (Harry Sherrer) and I don’t blame them. I don’t like when the continuity of a character is disrupted in that way either and despite who Armin, I mean Seymour Skinner is and has been in the series so far, he is a great character. Not that the real Seymour Skinnner was bad, he took less guff from Bart, when he showed his disrespect. Also, Skinner’s mother Agnes, does not like it when her son decides to do what he wants and she likes it when she can order her son around, like she does with Armin. That is one thing that I have heard nobody talk about in their comments on the episode. Otherwise, I agree that this was a mistake to make the character we know as Skinner a fake. The fact that the Skinner we know throughout the series is passive and is treated like a child by his mother is funny. The real Skinner isn’t bad, he just isn’t as funny because he can stand up for himself.

However, I think that this episode needed to be made, in order to show how another principal who takes less bulshit from Bart, reacts to his disrespectful behaviour. Let’s be honest and say that Bart doesn’t care about authority figures anyway but, the real Skinner actually stood up to Bart and his own mother, while Armin is weak willed and usually only punishes Bart, which results in Bart getting the upper hand. For example: Bart getting his own comet. Also, we can’t forget that Agnes usually orders around Armin because of his inability to stand up to her and do what he wants, unlike the real Skinner.

Will there be another episode like this again? I don’t think so because everything is changed now and pretty much all the characters are established and have their own back stories, with a few exceptions of more recent characters like Kevin, The blind boy in the episode Stealing First Base. Also, Martin Sheen is older now and of course, he voiced the real Seymour Skinner and did a good job. Also, I applaud the producers of The Simpsons at the time, for taking the risk with this episode, and taking a character who is much loved and giving him an unexpected backstory. But, it was a very very dangerous one and thankfully, everyone’s careers and the series has survived.

Well, that’s about it for this weeks Post. In the mean time, I recommend checking out my other blog, which has older posts relating to The Simpsons, along with a lot more interesting stuff about my favourite bands and other things. http://blindgordieblog.wordpress.com

Also, check out Chris Ladesma’s blog. He is the Music Editor for The Simpsons and has been since day 1.

http://simpsonsmusic500.wordpress.com/author/simpsonsmusic500/

Also, check out Yeardley Smith’s blog at http://gobbingoff.tumblr.com

Don’t forget about Marchez Vous, which is her women’s shoe designer company, which she started earlier in the decade. You can check out their website at

http://www.marchesvous.com

Additionally, for more news on The Simpsons, you can go to http://news.simpsonswiki.com/

You can also comment here or you can email me at blindgordie@gmail.com and I will reply as soon as I can to all messages I receive. If you follow me on Twitter or are my friend on Facebook you can comment directly to me that way too.

You can follow Simpsons Executive Producer Al Jean on Twitter and his Twitter handle is @AlJean.

He has ran the show since Season 13 and has ran it during Seasons 3 and 4.

Anyway,  I’ll talk to you again next Sunday.

Simpsons Guy, 3 Years Later

hi folks and welcome to anotherSimpsons Sunday post. First of all, happy Thanksgiving to all of my fellow Canadians.
Unfortunately, we have another death which relates to The Simpsons this week. Tom Petty died at the age of 66 on Monday evening and of course he was one of the guest stars on the season 14 episode How I Spent My Strummer Vacation. Outside The Simpsons he was also singer and songwriter with the bandsTom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Traveling Wilburys) and his first band Mudcrutch. One of my favourite musical moments was when he was playing the song Break Down, he actually allowed the audience to sing most of the first verse and chorus. Then he says “looks like sombody’s tryin’ to take my job.” Then he picks up the song from the second line in the first verse. You can find it on the live album Pack Up The Plantation, which features some classics and cover versions of old favourites from when he and the band grew up.
Before I get into this weeks post I would also like to say how glad I am, that finally every Simpsons episode is now available on iTunes. I have temporary audio only copies of seasons four through 19 and I will replace them, as soon as I can. Some episodes have been available on collections put together, especially for iTunes but now every single episode is now available for purchase and download. Where will I put them all? I’m not sure yet but I will think of something.
This week is another repost from the other blog from 3 years ago, talking about the Simpsons and Family Guy crossover episode Simpson’s Guy, which aired on September 28 2014, as an hour-long episode with the Season 26 premier Clown In The Dumps.
Okay, let’s start from the beginning and be honest that it really was inevitable at some point that the two shows would come together in a crossover episode. Really, don’t you think the similarities are there? Let’s face it, the two shows are different in that Family Guy has more of an edge to it than The Simpsons. On the other hand, the two families are very similar in that the families consist of: a mother, father, three kids and a dog. Although, the Simpsons have been seen with their cat named Snowball. All though he doesn’t appear in this episode, when Meg says when she feels down she sometimes beats up a cat. Oh, don’t forget The Simpsons family dog Santa’s Little Helper and the Griffin’s anthropomorphic dog Brian, who speaks in Seth MacFarlane’s own speaking voice. Sometimes I wish that Matt Groening had decided to voice a main character on The Simpsons! However, he doesn’t and well, that’s okay. Oh, another reason I think that this happened is because both shows are on the Fox Network. It’s just my theory but don’t quote me on it. Also, I’m not buying that the two shows have a rivalry between them. In fact, I have heard and I also believe, that both Matt Groening and Seth MacFarlane are good friends. It’s kind of like the so-called rivalry between the Beatles and the Rolling Stones in the 60s and not so much like the Blur and Oasis all out war in the 90s. I’ve heard that both Noel Gallagher and Damon Albarn have patched things up and have worked together. Anyway, I digress.

Another thing to keep in mind is that some characters from The Simpsons and Family Guy have crossed over to each others shows on occasion too. Also, Seth MacFarlane has also guest starred on the Simpsons Season 24 finale Dangers On A Train and actor James Woods has lent his voice to both shows and appears in this episode too.

Now, as for the children of the two families, the Griffin’s have a daughter Meg, a son Chris and their one-year-old prodigy Stewie. The Sympsons have three children: Bart, Lisa and Maggie. All three kids were paired up with each other from both the Griffin’s and The Simpsons. Meg was paired up with Lisa, Bart was paired up with Stewie and Chris was Kinda sort of paired up with Maggie. Although you can also say that Chris and Brian were both paired up with Santa’s Little Helper at times. Particularly when Marge told Brian to take Santas Little Helper for a walk and Brian try to encourage that stupid dog to be more independent.

In the case of the matriarch in the patriarch of both families, they were paired off with each other too. Homer Simpson was paired with Peter Griffin and Marge Simpson was paired with Lois Griffin. In all cases it showed how similar each character is to each other and their dissimilarities as well. For example: Stewie is much more evil and sociopathic, while Bart is only mischievous. When Bart showed Stewie how to make a crank call it was in typical Bart fashion by calling Moe at Moe’s Tavern and using a funny name in this case, it was Lee Keybum or leaky bum. Stewie, of course thought it was the coolest thing he ever heard and when he tried it he said that Moe’s sister was being raped. I don’t know what Bart’s reaction to it was because it was probably visual. However, near the end of the episode bar told Stewie that he was freaked out by Stewie’s actions such as: kidnapping and torturing Nelson and his other nemeses on The Simpsons including Apu, for scatological humor, just because Stewie wanted to say “I took a poo.” That last one Bart thought was funny but everything else wasn’t as much to him and his last words to Stewie were “later dude” and at the end of the episode Stewie runs up to his room and cries.
I think what Lisa did for Meg was a nice gesture, by letting her play and giving her her saxophone. Although, Peter throws it away at the end of the episode because he says there is no room in the car for it. It was also kind of nice that Lisa tried to help Meg feel like she actually mattered in this world because she always feels very awkward as a teenager.

Meanwhile, Chris is his usual moronic self and acts goofy as usual. Especially when Brian tries to get out of losing Santas Little Helper by going into the kitchen and barking like a dog and Chris decides to do the same thing, which almost ruined it for Brian, as he was trying to fake Santa’s Little Helper’s presence in the kitchen by talking normal and barking like a dog. Chris also barks and says “we’re creating a braud story.” This is because Brian tried to encourage the Simpson’s family dog to be more independent and so, Santa’s Little Helper runs away and shows up just before the Griffin family is about to leave. .
Meanwhile, Marge and Lois go to see a movie and Homer and Peter try to find the griffins family car. Eventually they find it when Hans Moleman runs over Peter with it.
This is quite possibly the turning point in the episode because Peter decides to give Homer a gift in the form of Pawtucket patriot and Homer doesn’t like it because it tastes like a rip off of Duff beer. This changes the friendship between Homer Simpson and Peter Griffin in that Peter is taken to court by the makers of Duff beer and this has legal ramifications because Peter works for The brewery. Eventually to Peter’s chagrin, Judge Fred Flintstone fines in favor of duff and this furthers the rift between the Simpsons and the griffins, which was started earlier. It is especially apparent when Homer and Peter begin to fight and well, the fight itself seems to go on forever. Eventually Homer and Peter stop fighting and kiss and make up, sort of. They choose to stay a half an hour away from each other with a pile of garbage between them.
That is just some of what happened in the hour-long episode and being a fan of The Simpsons, I like it. I must admit that I don’t understand Family Guy as much as I do the Simpsons but I have downloaded that episode and Life Of Brian onto my iPhone. I also felt that the two shows have similar types of characters in not just personality but invoice as well. For example, Stewie kind of reminds me of Mr. Burns as far as the voice goes and Peter Griffin almost reminds me of Lenny. Everything else on Family Guy stands on its own in the humor and how the cutaways are inserted. Also from what I can tell, this episode brought out the strongest points of all the characters in both shows and to me, that was just as important as anything else involved with the story.
Something else I thought was cool was that the band Def Leppard allowed the song Poor Some Sugar On Me to Be Used in this episode. It Wasn’t the Original and It Sounded like a Newly Recorded Version of the Song but That Was Cool. I applaud: Seth MacFarlane, Al Jean, James L. Brooks and Matt Groening for allowing this to happen. I’ve heard there may not be a sequel to this but if there is, maybe the Simpsons can come to Quahog and they can get a taste of what the griffins live with in their town. I don’t know if it’ll happen but I guess we’ll see.
Well, that’s about it for this weeks Post. In the mean time, I recommend checking out my other blog, which has older posts relating to The Simpsons, along with a lot more interesting stuff about my favourite bands and other things. http://blindgordieblog.wordpress.com
Also, check out Chris Ladesma’s blog. He is the Music Editor for The Simpsons and has been since day 1.

http://simpsonsmusic500.wordpress.com/author/simpsonsmusic500/

Also, check out Yeardley Smith’s blog at http://gobbingoff.tumblr.com

Don’t forget about Marchez Vous, which is her women’s shoe designer company, which she started earlier in the decade. You can check out their website at

http://www.marchesvous.com

Additionally, for more news on The Simpsons, you can go to http://news.simpsonswiki.com/

You can also comment here or you can email me at blindgordie@gmail.com and I will reply as soon as I can to all messages I receive. If you follow me on Twitter or are my friend on Facebook you can comment directly to me that way too.

You can follow Simpsons Executive Producer Al Jean on Twitter and his Twitter handle is @AlJean.

He has ran the show since Season 13 and has ran it during Seasons 3 and 4.

Anyway,  I’ll talk to you again next Sunday.

Top Ten Season Openers for 2017

hi folks and welcome to another Simpsons Sunday poast. On the birthday front, we have 3 important ones to talk about since I have not been posting.
First is Mike Reiss, who turned another year older on September 15th. He, along with current Simpsons Show Runner Al Jean was one of the original writers on the show. He also co-ran the show with Al Jean during Seasons 3 and 4. They also returned to produce selected episodes from season’s 5 through 8 and had a hand in writing The Simpsons Movie, along with our next belated birthday boy.
Also, happy birthday to former Show Runner David Mirkin who turns another year older today. He ran the show for Seasons 5 and 6. He was also a ham radio operator with the call sign WA3QIZ. It was used in the Season 17 episode Homer’s Paternity Coot, for Principal Skinner who is a ham. Will David get back on the air? I don’t think so because he has other things he is busy with and well… that’s about it on that. He, along with a bunch other current and former writers all got together to write The Simpsons Movie for 2007.
Also, Phill Hartman would have turned another year older on September 24th and if you don’t remmember him voicing Troy McClure or shyster ambulance chasing lawyer Lionel Hutz, then you haven’t been paying attention and you should be not allowed to take bathroom breaks every half an hour. I don’t think there is much that can be said about Phill and his impact on the series. He also voiced other characters which have been one time voices and unfortunately, those can’t come back because of his death back in May 1998.
On the death front, unfortunately we have to talk about Hugh Hefner, who passed away on Tuesday at the age of 91. He was just one of the many guest stars on the season four finale Krusty Gets Cancelled and please don’t ask me to go through the entire guest list for that episode. He was also referenced in the episode New Kid on the Block, when Laura Powers was babysitting: Bart, Lisa and Maggie. Laura asked “What do you guys want for dinner?” Lisa then says “ I don’t care. Ask Hef over there.” Bart then says “lady’s choice”, thinking and hoping he can get a chance with her.

This week it is the 2017 addition of my top 10 season opener’s. if you’ve read last year‘s list and the year before in the other blog, it would be much the same, with the same rules I apply to it. Here it is below.

I did this list for the last couple of years and I didn’t limit the list to the first 10 years of the show. There are so many interesting plots, New characters and turning points that occur during the series’s continuing run that you just can’t overlook them. However, I also did not and won’t include any of the Treehouse Of Horror or Who Shot Mr. Burns Pt 2 in this list because:

1. The Treehouse Of Horror episodes are anual Halloween specials:

2. The Who Shot Mr. Burns Pt 1 and 2 stands on their own, as the only 2 part episode in the history of the series, so far. They also of course, end and start Season 6 and Season 7, respectively. Although it is tempting because John Walsh host of America’s Most Wanted, did A profile of the plot of Who Shot Mr. Burns PT 1 as if it was a real crime profile on America’s most wanted.

One more thing before I get into the list, I would have loved to have put Season 8’s You Only Move Twice on the list. It is one of the most loved episodes in the first 10 seasons because of the one time character Hank Scorpio, voiced by Albert Brooks. He has to be one of the coolest bosses anyone could work for. On the other hand, he is also a super villain. As a Canadian, I love that one of Bart’s class mates at his new school is from Canada and his name is Gordy. Cool huh? Unfortunately, it isn’t a season opener.

So without further ado, here is my top 10 season premiers and you may agree or disagree with me. After all, we all have our own preferences, as to which season openers are the best.

10. The Mook, The Chef, The Wife And Her Homer is here mainly because Metallica appeared as guest stars in the episode. I also put it here because Lunchlady Doris returns with a speaking part, after the death of her original voice actor Doris grau in 1995. Since 2006 she is voiced by Tress MacNielle since this episode to present day. We also see Fat Toney’s son Michael in this episode too and that is cool.

9. Homer The Whopper makes the list because I like how Comic Book Guy actually gets to be outside his element somewhat, as he is a writer for his own comic strip Every Man and is asked to write a script for a movie, casting Homer as Every Man. I also think it is really cool that Seth Rogen guest starred as a trainer lyle McCarthy. Plus, Seth Rogen is Canadian and I love that, being a fellow Canadian from Central Canada.

8. Clown In The Dumps is on this list because it had one of the most anticipated happenings in the plot in that a character has died. Obviously, it was Krusty the Clown’s Dad, Rabbi Hyman Krustofsky. The talk on the internet before hand and the misinformation that came out made this one of the most anticipated season premieres since Who Shot Mr. Burns? Pt 2.

7. The Falcon And The D’ohman is another good episode opening Season 23. This is mainly because it gives the fans the answer as to whether Ned Flanders and Edna Krabappel have remained a couple after Season 22’s finale The Ned-liest Catch, when they meat and become a couple. Of course, they remain this way until Marcia Wallace’s death on October 25th 2013 and Edna Krabappel is retired in her memory.

The other thing I like about this episode is the main plot, where Homer meets the new security guard at his work named Wayne Slater, voiced by Kiefer Sutherland. I think that is really cool that this character actually didn’t mind Homer and took care of him and his family and friends.

6. The City Of New York VS. Homer Simpson is another episode which I like because it is one of the many, in which the family travel outside of Springfield. We also get to see how Homer reacts to such food as Khlav Kalash, drinking cans of crab juice to wash the taste out of his mouth and having to find a restroom,while waiting for the parking enforcement officer to show up. As well as trying to leave despite the boot on his car. Of course, he first tries to bight it off earlier in the episode before being informed to call the phone number on it. Let’s face it, he would eat anything no matter how nutritious or dangerous it is for him to eat.

We also see: Marge, Bart and Lisa take in the sights of New York City and a musical. They also take a ride on the subway and Bart pulls one of his crazy antics again, by claming to have no taste buds for fellow passengers. He would do anything to draw attention to himself and that’s the way we likes it.

I think the two contrasting stories make this episode one of the best season openers and Frank Sinatra’s signature song New York New York at the end of the episode makes a lot of sense and is a nice touch. I don’t know if he was a fan of The Simpsons but I think it is cool that he or someone in his Entourage allowed the song to be heard at the end of the episode.

5. Homers Barbershop Quartet is another good season opener. It flashes back to 1985 when rock music was becoming stale and there needed to be something new to shake things up. This is when Homer formed The Be Sharps with: Principal Skinner, Apu and originally Cheif Wiggum. Their manager Nigel ask the group to replace chief Wiggum because he was “too village people. “Of course, they found Barney singing in an Irish tenner voice and he was the new member. They won a Grammy for the song Baby On Board and then things fell apart.

I like that the writers referenced The Beatles in this episode and that George Harrison guest starred as himself. He wasn’t my favourite Beatle but he did influence me to try and play slide guitar when I was learning to play back in the late 1980s.

Another thing I like about this episode is that when auditions were held to replace chief Wiggum, grandpa Simpson and Groundskeeper Willie were two of the three auditions that made me laugh the most. Grandpa did a parody of old McDonald had a farm and groundskeeper Willie did his own rendition of the 1960s hit by Petula Clark Downtown. Jasper’s rendition of A Summer Place was funny but not as much as the other two failed auditions. Oh, I shouldn’t forget Chief Wiggum’s failed attempt by singing If I Could Walk With The Animals in disguise. Ha ha, nice try chief. Over all, this episode is one of the ones that should have been put on an iTunes collection or something because Season 5 isn’t on iTunes yet, at least in Canada that I know of right now.

4. Camp Krusty is great because we get to see Bart and Lisa looking forward to going away to summer camp. Well, they go and it is a living hell for everyone because of the absence of Krusty The Clown and the bullies of Springfield Elementary School: Jimbo, Dolph and Kearney — serving as camp counselors. Eventually, Bart sparks a riot after the kids are told by Mr. Black, the evil Director of the camp that Krusty is paying them a visit but it is actually Barney, disguised as him. Eventually, Krusty gets wind of this and shows up to appease Bart and the other kids and he promises to give them the time of their life, in Tijuana.

Once again, it is not on iTunes yet and it should be, either on a collection or as a part of Season 4. This is most certainly one of the greatest season opening  episodes in the golden period of The Simpsons. Also, this episode aired 25 years ago on September 24th. The Season 28 episode Camp Krustier aired and it wasn’t a continuation of Camp Krusty and Mr. Black did not return.

3. Stark Raving Dad is number 3 on this list because it combines warmth with absurdity. First of all: Homer is put into a mental institution and he is bunked with someone who sounds like and says he is Michael Jackson. He eventually convinces his new friend to come to the Simpsons home and Bart tells his friends that Michael Jackson is here. Word spreads throughout the town and when everybody sees a large white man instead of Michael the crowd disperses. Meanwhile. Lisa’s birthday is forgotten and Michael convinces BART to write her a song. Eventually it comes together and Bart plays the song for Lisa with Michael the next morning at 6:00 AM. She says “that is the best present ever” and hugs Bart. Then Leon Kompowsky starts talking in his normal voice and admits that he is a brick layer from Paterson NJ. He was an angry young man until he started talking like Michael Jackson and everyone is grateful for him helping both Homer and Bart. He leaves and the episode ends with Lisa’s birthday song playing.

I am not the biggest fan of Michael Jackson but I do like some of his songs that rock a bit. I do like the song that Bart wrote for Lisa at the end of the episode and it does choke me up a bit every time I hear it. That is partly why it is where I put it in the top ten.

This episode is also important in The Simpsons timeline because it signals a change in that the realistic stories are still there but other bizarre and surreal elements are coming into the mix as well. Like the fat bald Michael Jackson impersonator, for example. This episode also introduced 3 key components of Homer Simpson that were not there before.

1. His unawareness of how he is perceived or how the real world around him works:

2. His ability to create a mass following of friends or enemies at a moments notice:

3. His tendency to get himself into the most asinine and extreme situations either through good or bad luck. For example: on one occasion he could be the mayor of New Springfield and on another he could be sentenced to prison.

Another thing that was introduced is not only the use of guest voices as characters but also as them selves. In this case he played a Michael Jackson impersonator.It happened sometimes during Season 2, that a guest star would appear as themselves such as Tony Bennett and Ringo Starr as themselves. Even Harvey Fierstein guest starred as homers assistant Karl in the episode Simpson And Delilah. Of course we can’t forget Mr. Bergstrom in the episode Lisa’s Substitute, voiced by Dustin Hoffman. After Michael Jackson voiced the mental patient Leon Kompowsky, it was decided that all guest stars be credited under their own name as he was credited as John Doe. Dustin Hoffman did something similar for his guest appearance as he was credited as Sam Etic. Also, this episode turned 26 years-old on September 19th!

2. Bart Gets An F is at number 2 because it shows that: while Bart may be the mischievous school hating bratty boy, he does occasionally make an honest effort to try and pass his tests in school.

We also see that Mrs. Krabappel does show that she has a heart and comforts Bart when he breaks down and cries after failing his exam, initially. However, she does barely pass him thanks to an obscure reference he makes while crying.

Another important thing to note about this episode is that we are introduced to mayor Joe Quimby, when he declares the day Barts blizzard a snow day. Of course we see more of him as the series has progressed.

1. Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire is the series premier and of course, the premier of Season 1. Plus, it is a Christmas special and there are a few of those in the history of The Simpsons.

We learn that the characters have changed somewhat from The Tracy Ullman shorts. Bart isn’t just the bratty brother, terrorizing Lisa and Lisa isn’t the female Bart like she was during this period.

Bart does show some compassion for Homer, when he finds out that his job as a mall Santa only gives him a pay of $13, when he says in a sad tone of voice “Come on, Dad. Let’s go home.” When Aunt Patty is trashing Homer Lisa gives one of her more intellectual speeches which confuses Patty.

We also are introduced to: Barney, Mr. Burns, Principal Skinner, Waylon Smithers, Milhouse, Patty and Selma and Moe the bartender.

It is at the top for the fact that all the new characters and changes we see evolve in the show over time are so up front in this episode. All though Homer’s voice stil sounds like Walter Matthau and the mechanics of the voice we now know as Homer still had yet to be worked out. However, that voice in it and the first 13 episodes worked at the time. If the Walter Matthow sound was stil there past Season 2 it probably wouldn’t have worked and the writers would have a harder time developing Homer’s character, without the change in voice that Dan Castellaneta made and knew needed to be made, in order to convay more emotions.

This List is last years list but with some changes in the reasoning behind some episodes being there. I will do it again next year for Season 30 and again, if there are more seasons to come. My favourite episodes sometimes change but there a bunch that stay near the top as repeat watches for various reasons.

Well, that’s about it for this weeks Post. In the mean time, I recommend checking out my other blog, which has older posts relating to The Simpsons, along with a lot more interesting stuff about my favourite bands and other things. http://blindgordieblog.wordpress.com
Also, check out Chris Ladesma’s blog. He is the Music Editor for The Simpsons and has been since day 1.

http://simpsonsmusic500.wordpress.com/author/simpsonsmusic500/

Also, check out Yeardley Smith’s blog at http://gobbingoff.tumblr.com

Don’t forget about Marchez Vous, which is her women’s shoe designer company, which she started earlier in the decade. You can check out their website at

http://www.marchesvous.com

Additionally, for more news on The Simpsons, you can go to http://news.simpsonswiki.com/

You can also comment here or you can email me at blindgordie@gmail.com and I will reply as soon as I can to all messages I receive. If you follow me on Twitter or are my friend on Facebook you can comment directly to me that way too.

You can follow Simpsons Executive Producer Al Jean on Twitter and his Twitter handle is @AlJean.

He has ran the show since Season 13 and has ran it during Seasons 3 and 4.

Anyway,  I’ll talk to you again next Sunday.