Month: November 2024

VOICE BOX

Pamela Hayden with a cardboard standee of Milhouse.

In a surprising move, it was announced that voice actress Pamela Hayden has decided to retire from The Simpsons after 35 years “to pursue other creative outlets.” Hayden had voiced the character of Bart Simpson’s dorky pal Milhouse Van Houten since a 1988 Butterfinger commercial that predates the series. Other roles she performed on the show include bully Jimbo Jones, Lisa’s fair-weather friend Janey, Chief Wiggum’s wife Sarah, Todd Flanders, Patches the orphan, Lisa from “The Simpson Family Smile-Time Variety Hour,” Malibu Stacy, Stephanie the Weather Lady, Krusty’s assistant Lois Pennycandy, babysitter Ashley Grant, Australian boy Tobias Dundridge, and numerous other incidental characters.

Official Simpsons social media accounts claimed this Sunday’s episode, “Treehouse of Horror Presents: Simpsons Wicked This Way Comes,” will be her last performance. However, producer Carolyn Omine clarified on Threads that Hayden will appear in three upcoming episodes exclusive to Disney+, with the last one she recorded being the double-length Christmas special “O C’mon All Ye Faithful,” the final episode of production season 35. No recasting announcements have been made, but entertainment observers are standing by, watching Gracie Films carefully to see if the chimney will emit blue smoke, the sign of a new Milhouse.

Hayden is the subject of the recent documentary Jailhouse to Milhouse, in which she opens up about her troubled youth. [Deadline]

NOSTRAD'OHMUS

Manjula gazing at a crystal ball. She is surrounded by various Simpsons scenes.
Here in America, another so-called “election” has come and gone. This time the Democrats forgot to rig the voting booths, so now Donald Trump gets to be the president again, as a treat. Let’s take a look at The Simpsons‘s so-called “predictions” and see how they stacked up. And yes, they are not predictions, they are jokes and satire is dead, but let’s go along with it anyway.
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BIZZFAD

Lisa surrounded by Simpsons episode guides.

Although the Simpsons franchise has been spread across every conceivable medium in 2024, it was the episode guides that first truly captured the hearts and minds of Simpsons nerds. Many of us older fans have fond memories of waiting in line at Border’s for the midnight release of the next guide in the series.

After reading this IGN article, it occurred to me that for someone who’s completely new to Simpsons fandom, things can be a little daunting. For those of us who grew up reading the episode guides and watching the TV show, the reading order likely seems fairly obvious. But if you just happened to have a used copy of one or two of the episode guides, you may have no idea where to begin. To help you figure out where to start, I’ve put together this quick primer on reading the Simpsons episode guides in order below.

1. The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family

Published in 1997, this episode guide kicked off the series. It covers seasons 1 through 8, and even includes a small guide to the Ullman shorts written by creator Matt Groening himself. Some fans argue this is the only episode guide you need, but the choice is up to you.

2. The Simpsons Forever!: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family …Continued

This was the follow-up to the first episode guide. It’s much smaller, as it only covers two seasons, 9 and 10. Think of it as an addendum to the first guide. This would set the standard for the next four years.

3. The Simpsons Beyond Forever!: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family …Still Continued

The third episode guide in the series, this one covers seasons 11 & 12.

4. The Simpsons One Step Beyond Forever!: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family …Continued Yet Again

Covering seasons 13 & 14, this is the last of the traditional episode guides. I kinda wish they had continued this pattern of titles, just to see how convoluted they’d become (Twelve Steps Beyond Infinity…?) but maybe it’s for the best that they went in a different direction for the next one.

5. Simpsons World: The Ultimate Episode Guide: Seasons 1–20

This hefty tome covers every episode from season 1 through 20, so you basically don’t even need the previous episode guides. It reprints material from the previous episode guides, but it expands on that material by dedicating at least 2 pages for every episode, and adds new artwork. The book is pretty bulky and not very portable, so you might want to just stick with the previous episode guides. But seasons 15-20 is completely all-new material, so it’s worth buying if you’re a completionist.

As of this writing, seasons 21 through 36 have yet to be collected in the form of a physical episode guide, so it seems that – for now – the series has come to an end.