Wow what a special. I thought it was really good. I didn't really want to do a full recap or just review, so I decided to just mention some things I thought were really interesting and a bit of why I thought it was interesting.
The special was hosted/documented by Morgan Spurlock, the guy from Supersize Me. I don't know about you, but I was a bit surprised to see him hosting this special. I didn't do much research on the special beforehand, so everything about it was a suprise. But I guess he's a big Simpsons fan. There were a lot of guests on the special including all the voice actors, the creators, producers, and a great deal of fans.
I learned alot about the special for this program. Some of the most important information is that it's the longest running primtime show, has won 25 Emmys, it's broadcast in over 90 countries and has been translated into more than 45 languages. The word d'oh was added to the Oxford Dictionary in 2003, and it is used to market everything. In other words, it's a global force.
They spoke about the fact that the show has a world characters. I still need one of those posters with all the character on it. On the street they interviewed people about the character and a guy I know from NYU actually was filmed saying Hans Moleman...such a small world. Some of the fave characters were Apu and Moe. Others mentioned were Quimby for be a JFK like, corrupt politician and Mr. Burns for being super old and rich. A GLAAD spokesmen spoke hoped that Smithers would come out of the closet and Brian Williams anchorman for the NBC evening news really likes Kent Brockman because he feels he is doing the most important job in the world...obviously (in Snape's voice).
Matt Groening then speaks about how Springfield is based on his hometown of Portland, Oregons. Some of the characters names are based on streets there such as Kearney, Lovejoy, and Tirwiliger. There is even a a Springfield Elementary with the same silhoutte as the one in the show, except the principal seems 10 times cooler than Skinner. Krusty the Clown is influenced by a clown from the city name Rusty Nails, but they are exact opposites.
There was a segment where they show all the super fans, that I'm unfortunately not a part of. One is Chad Rowland who has a crazy Simpsons tattoo on his back. At the San Diego Comic Con, we met even more fanatics like a lady who claimed that learned most her life lessons from The Simpsons. I totally agree with her on that, but I feel like my life experiences also mirror many moments on The Simpsons. There were other fanatics that could answer the most difficult questions on the series that left me clueless and others who could imitate voices. We also met a fan named Glynne Williams who has one of the largest and craziest collections of Simpsons merchandise. I think having that much stuff in a home could be considered a fire hazard.
Next, we learned about the controversy that followed The Simpsons. They were able to get away with a lot of things because they were animated, but that didn't stop many people like George and Barbara Bush and the Catholic League for hating it. Many individuals in the in Nuclear Energy also found that they got a great deal of negative feedback from the show based on the industries portrayal. For example, they say that there are no 3 eyed fish out there as a result of nuclear waste and they would let an idiot like Homer work there. Groening takes this as an opportunity to describe how writing for Homer is like writing for a dog that can talk. LoL
One thing I learned and had no clue of beforehand is how the show makes American look to people outside the US. As an American I knew it parodies US life, but I never thought that it was possible that foreigners took it seriously. Some people actually believe Americans are as crazy and dysfucntional as the show.
In terms of foreigners, we also learn that Argentinans love the show and have their own duff brewery that is now involved in a lawsuit. On the other hand, Brazilians are not as fond after seeing their portrayal in the episode "Blame It on Lisa". I guess I would be mad if they portrayed my city as being overrun by monkeys, kidnapping and candy colored rats. The people of the Scottish cities of Glasgow and Aberdeen are trying to claim Groundskeeper Willie as a resident of their city.
They also addressed the complainers by saying you weren't as good as you were 5 years ago along with other comments because they find the negative comments really hurtful.
The show ended speculating about why the show was so successful and many point to the love between Homer and Marge. I disagree. I think that it is successful because the love between everyone in the entire Simpsons family. They may not get along, but in the end they are strong family.
On that note the show felt complete, but The Simpsons were disappointed by the fact that it wasn't in 3D or on ice. So, at that moment the television said put on your 3D glasses and the Simpsons proceeded to skate and it was kind of blurry, so it could have been in 3D, but I didn't have glasses to tell. Overall, incredible special! I bet all the complainers will want to watch The Simpsons, including the new episodes, from now on :)
By the way if you haven't seen the special...watch it on Hulu.com
Who exactly said "you weren't as good as you were 5 years ago" in the 20th anniversary special?
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