THQ today have issued a press release informing us that The Simpsons Road Rage game for Game Boy Advance has been shipped to retail stores in North America. “Handheld game players can now control over 15 Springfield residents, including Bart, Homer and Marge, as they drive vehicles inspired by the longest running comedy on television. The Simpsons has been a highly successful television show for over a decade,” said Tiffany Ternan, Senior Vice President, North American Sales and Distribution, THQ. “We’re excited to give fans of The Simpsons a videogame with all the fun and humor of the series.” Road Rage is the seventh Simpsons game available on Nintendo’s handheld, but this one is the first for Game Boy Advance. Read More >>>
Author: Adam
News
Happy Birthday, Yeardley!
Yeardley Smith, voice of Lisa Simpson, turns 39 today. Happy birthday! Speaking of which, she will be among the many artists who will take part in the third annual “Women Center Stage” festival at The Culture Project’s 45 Bleecker space. Playbill has posted details of the event, running through July 13. Yeardley’s performance follows “A woman’s darkly comic journey through her life in and out of show-biz.”
Meanwhile, Sky News has posted a rather vague article which we’ll relay anyway. “Did you know that cartoon show The Simpsons has received its highest audience figures yet in the US? The stats were boosted by the guest appearance of wrinkled rocker Mick Jagger. A source told me: “Bosses were really keen to land Mick, and when he agreed they were over the moon.” These figures prove they were right. Go, Mick, Go!”
News
Groening Visits The Archive
An Argentinian newspaper has spoken to Matt Groening on the wake of 300 episodes. The article reveals that when stuck for ideas or when needing to refresh their memories, the creators of the show turn to Simpsons fan sites. Groening mentions The Simpsons Archive by name in this following excerpt, translated by none other than the snpp.com staff. “Sometimes we have to look at fan sites to remember [what we have done before]: one of the best is www.snpp.com. I have no idea what those initials mean, but it has a lot of stuff. Though for them, every episode is the worst ever.” Maybe a quote to show the people at Fox, huh? Congratulations to The Simpsons Archive, and hello to Matt Groening.. because you just never know who is visiting your website!
News
Aberdeen Loves Willie
“One of television’s top stars has revealed a secret love for a Scots football team. But it’s highly unlikely this famous Aberdeen FC fan will ever be spotted eating pies in the stands of Pittodrie – because he’s a cartoon character. However, Dons fans are still delighted to add Groundskeeper Willie, the Scottish janitor from TV series The Simpsons, to their number. In the latest episode of the hit animated series (‘Scuse Me While I Miss The Sky’ aired there this week), he made it clear where his footballing allegiances lie when he woke from a deep sleep to shout: “Go Aberdeen.” The club were delighted with the mention on the show, which is watched by millions of people. Club spokesman Dave McDermid said: “The fact that Willie is an expat fan goes to show just how popular Aberdeen are. It’s great to be involved in something like the Simpsons because of its massive following. I’m sure there are some teams who would crawl over hot coals for such a mention.” Read More >>>
News
Simpsons Fans Get Real Team
“There is nothing fictional about the Albuquerque Isotopes. They play in the Pacific Coast League and draw an average of 8,000 people a game in a revival of minor league baseball in New Mexico. In a Simpsons episode involving the baseball franchise, Homer discovers Duff Beer’s plan to move the Springfield Isotopes to Albuquerque and saves the franchise when he exposes the plan.” … “Al Jean, head writer and executive producer of the show, thought it was amusing that the Isotopes had come to life in Albuquerque and told the Albuquerque Tribune that he hoped “we got a Duff beer concession for the new team.” That’s not going to happen. Apparently, Simpsons officials draw the line at their suds. An Australian company tried making Duff beer but got the word from Fox attorneys to cease and desist. But they have not stood in the way of the Isotopes name. “They have allowed us to use the name but not anything else,” Bearman said. “They did let us use Homer and Bart mascots for Opening Day.” Read More >>>
News
Hit And Run Box Art Revealed
Vivendi Universal have just released the box art for the upcoming video game “The Simpsons: Hit And Run”. The cover, pictured to the right (PS2 version available here) shows Homer running from a police car among other objects. The family can be seen in the background. This game is set for release in Fall 2003 on every platform. Thankyou to Robert for letting us know about this.
News
Rod & Todd Dream Come True
A religious joke in the Simpsons episode “Alone Again, Natura-Diddly” may not have been far from the truth. “When the ad for a “Christian video game” crossed my desk, at first I thought it was a joke. Perhaps someone had finally decided to market “Billy Graham’s Bible Blasters,” the fictitious game featured on an episode of “The Simpsons” a few years back. Remember the episode shortly after Marge Flanders’ untimely death where Bart goes next door to visit the normally shiny-happy Christian Rod and Todd Flanders to cheer them up? He plays a religious video game titled Bible Blasters. It’s always been one of my favorite ‘Simpsons’ episodes–a clever idea and a biting bit of religious commentary–but one I thought was purely the product of the writer’s fertile imagination. Not so, apparently. With a little investigation, I discovered a whole world of “Christian” video games where Bibles, or at least the Word of God, are the weapons of choice.” Read More >>>
News
‘Hit And Run’ Hits The Web
A brand new dedication to the upcoming multi-platform Simpsons game ‘Hit And Run’ has been put online. While residing at simpsonshitandrun.com, the site is unofficial, but does its job in informing you of the latest news and screenshots for this much aniticpated new game. It is bound to get bigger leading up to the release of the game, but the information available is more than enough for now.
News
Chew On This
Star Telegram have an ongoing feature detailing 50 ways you can enjoy your summer. Today, in their ninth installment, they’ve chosen to highlight a range of Simpsons chew toys for dogs. How these will improve your summer unless you’re a canine is beyond me. “In spite of their many foibles, the members of The Simpsons household do genuinely care about each other, and that goes for the family dog, Santa’s Little Helper. So it’s in his flea-bitten, couch- cushion-chewing honor that a new line of Simpsons-themed dog toys are offered up to give your own furry friends something to tear up besides your house slippers. Look for soft, squeaking plush toys of Bart, Marge, Krusty or Homer, vinyl-sleeved Berber Bones with Homer or Bart and two sets of vinyl, squeaker chew toys shaped like everything from Blinky the three-eyed fish to Grampa Simpson’s dentures. There’s also a selection of hard-rubber toys, canvas flying discs with squeakers and tennis balls each featuring your favorite Simpson. They retail for less than $10, exclusively at Target.”
News
Hank Azaria In A ‘Huff’
Showtime has signed Simpsons voice actor Hank Azaria to star in a drama pilot about a guy suffering a midlife crisis. Azaria will play the title role in “Huff,” which is about a psychiatrist who feels his life going off the rails. The two-hour pilot is scheduled to begin shooting in August in Canada, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Bob Lowry write the script for “Huff,” and Mike Newell will direct it. Both men will also receive executive producer credits along with Cam Jones. Azaria has won two Emmys for his voice work on “The Simpsons,” in which he plays Apu, Moe the bartender, Comic Book Guy and several other characters. He also earned an Emmy nomination for the 1999 ABC movie “Tuesdays with Morrie.” His other credits include “Grosse Pointe Blank,” a recurring role on “Friends” and the upcoming feature “Shattered Glass.”
News
The Many Ways Of Faith
<img src=”https://www.lardlad.com/news/screenshots/shot215.gif” width=”122″ height=”109″ border=”0″ hspace=”2″ vspace=”4″ align=”right”>”There are many types of religious believers, and according to the Rev. Shawn Galyen, every one of them mirrors the faith of some character or other on The Simpsons. There are those like Marge Simpson, Mr. Galyen says, who yearn for faith but do not know why. Some, like her son, Bart, call on God only as a last resort, while others, like her daughter Lisa, are moralists. Dad Homer, Mr. Galyen says, believes in God but prefers football to faith. And then there are those like the Simpsons’ evangelical Christian neighbor, Ned Flanders, the Oral Roberts University graduate with the Shroud of Turin beach towels. Mr. Galyen, 31-year-old minister of the Georgetown University chapter of Chi Alpha, a Christian campus ministry, has been spreading the spirituality of Springfield by dedicating a chunk of the group’s weekly meetings to discussion about The Simpsons.” Read More >>>
News
Lincoln Pipped By Homer
“Homer Simpson looks likely to beat Abraham Lincoln to the title of the greatest ever American. The head of the Simpsons clan has taken almost a fifth of the votes in an internet poll. The 16th president of the US managed just over 16%. The poll has been held to tie in with a BBC2 debate called What The World Thinks of America to be screened on Tuesday at 9pm. Civil rights leader Martin Luther King is in third position, ahead of former presidents such as George Washington. Other quirky choices to have made the top ten include Mr T, famed for his role in TV’s The A Team, and Bob Dylan. The 90-minute debate will be presented by BBC political editor Andrew Marr and will look at opinions about the US’s position in the world. It will bring together national broadcasters from around the world in a live satellite link-up.” You can vote in the BBC poll here.