Question: In the episode with burn's bear bobo, homer trips down the stairs and discoveres bobo behind the fish tank. With the music and the lighting, is the way this was done supposed to represent something, or is it copied from somewhere, or was it just an interesting thing the writers came up with?
Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo - S10-E23
Question: When the fish offers Bart 3 wishes, what is that a take off of?
Answer: Pretty much any fairy tale where somebody gets offered wishes by a genie or other similar character. It's always three wishes (and, nine times out of ten, the last one gets used to undo the damage caused by the first two).
Who Shot Mr. Burns? (1) - S6-E25
Question: When Lisa goes up to turn on the oil pump for the first time, there is a sound between Skinner saying, "Here's our top student, Lisa Simpson", and Lisa actually getting to the pump. It sounds like someone straining. What is it?
Answer: It's a student yelling, "Nerd!" at Lisa.
Question: On one of the 'American Idol 3' episodes, there is a clip of Homer punching Simon Cowell, and Barney is dressed up as a maid, saying, "You told me no-one would get hurt." Was this actually on an episode of the Simpsons, or just a new clip?
Answer: This clip was taken from the season 15 episode "Smart and Smarter".
Question: This may sound like a stupid question but It happens a lot in the Simpson's and Friends shows. What are the purpose of clip shows?
Answer: Clip shows are time savers and budget stretchers. They allow the producers to create a "new" show without having to spend the time and money filming (or animating), editing, and scoring the whole thing from scratch if they feel that their budget is getting spread too thin or their deadlines are getting too tight.
Question: Several times, when the family is at a baseball game, the announcer will say something like, "Oh, Doctor, we've got a good game...". What's the "Oh Doctor" part about? Is that something that really happens, or a joke?
Answer: That announcer is a parody of veteran baseball announcer Keith Jackson, who is know for saying "Oh doctor" quite often in his commentaries.
Kill the Alligator and Run - S11-E19
Question: During the Spring Break vacation in 'Kill the Alligator and Run' episode, I don't understand a lot of the Kid Rock section. Who is Kid Rock and Joe C? And what is going on with the presenter with the diamond in her hand who gets dragged off by security when she says it's her birthday?
Answer: Kid Rock is a rock star, and Joe C was his sidekick (he died in 2000). The jewel in the hand was a reference to the movie Logan's Run, where the changing color of the jewel indicated that a person had reached the end of their alloted lifespan of 30 years.
Question: During the Simpsons, characters have died and not come back as you would expect in real life. However, one character, Hans Moleman has been run over, been attacked by a drill and so on. How come he has not died?
Answer: This is a recurring joke - Moleman should really be dead (he pops out of a grave in "Mother Simpson" and during the heatwave episode Dr. Hibbert find him cooling down in the morgue and says "Don't go too far", etc.) yet somehow isn't. It's a cartoon - don't look for too much reality.
Answer: There is a theory that moleman is a clone among other versions of him. This was even a gag in an episode when one character falls through the ground and there are hundreds of them. It was probably just a gag or joke but is certainly makes sense.
The Ziff Who Came to Dinner - S15-E14
Question: In "The Ziff Who Came to Dinner", Lisa mentions a website of hers when she's in the attic. Does anyone know the address? Did anyone visit the site?
Chosen answer: The site is Lisathemovie.com. It doesn't exist.
Question: When Milhouse meets his Shelbyville double, he tearily says "So this is what it feels like when doves cry." Could someone explain this reference to me?
Answer: It's a reference to a Prince song. See http://dag.wieers.com/personal/lyrics/When_Doves_Cry.php.
Weekend at Burnsie's - S13-E16
Question: I have seen Three Stooges gags throughout the series. My questions is who is the big Three Stooges fan?
Answer: I would say Homer. He was watching them in the episode when he stayed home from church when everyone else went to church. Episode where he meets God.
Question: Even though the Simpson's home state is a mystery, in the episode where Homer gets kidnapped in Brazil, Lisa says that if you look at the clues, you can figure it out. Has anyone tried to look at all the clues and figured it out? My theory is that the Simpson's home state is Oregon (where Matt Groening grew up). There was even an episode where Homer joins the Navy and it shows a plotted map of USA where Homer sails off from the west coast of America (either Oregon or northern California). Has anyone else came up with this conclusion or have totally different conclusions?
Answer: This is an age old battle that has been going on since the show's debut. People give supporting arguments for almost every state, and some say that it's made up. According to Matt Groening, Springfield is not based on any Springfield in the USA (Even though there are over 150 of em), he says it is based on Portland Oregon, his home town. http://www.roundspringfield.com/?section=usual&page=faq#1.
Question: When Krusty runs for Senator there is a news program on with the news scrolling on the bottom of the TV. It says "Rupert Murdoch terrific dancer". Who is he?
Answer: His company News Corporation owns Fox and its subsidaries, which is the network that runs The Simpsons in the states, and was once the owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.
Question: In a lot of the episodes there seems to be a slightly curved "scratch" in the upper right of the screen, it always stays in the same spot, stays the same shape and size... what is this?
Chosen answer: Maybe your TV... or just the channel. It happens sometimes you know.
The Regina Monologues - S15-E4
Question: Whatever happened to the scene where Prime Minister Tony Blair hands Homer a cup of tea and Homer pours it on the carpet behind his back? I saw a picture of this in a newspaper and I was slightly disappointed this didn't appear.
Answer: A lot of scenes are filmed for the show and cut out for various reasons, yet still make it into ads for the show. This was probably one of them.
Alone Again Natura-Diddly - S11-E14
Question: In the scene that shows Maude's funeral they show tombstones of previous Simpsons characters that have been killed. I had seen the episodes that had featured the deaths of Bleeding Gums Murphy, Grandpa's girlfriend and Frank Grimes but not Dr. Marvin Monroe. Is there an actual episode where they show the death of Dr. Marvin Monroe? It would be very helpful if you can show all the necessary information (episode name, season, storyline etc.)
Answer: They don't actually have an episode that shows Dr. Monroe's death. Besides the tombstone, the only mentions of his death are in Who Shot Mr. Burns (Part II), when they have the Marvin Monroe Memorial Hospital, and a brief mention in the The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular. This link gives the explanation: http://www.snpp.com/guides/lisa-3.html3.3.2.
Question: How can you tell what the name of the episode is?
Chosen answer: At www.tvtome.com there is a little summary of every episode of The Simpsons.
Tree House of Horror III: The Simpson's Halloween Special III - S4-E5
Question: In the opening credits, what is the meaning of the tombstone that says "American Workmanship"?
Answer: They're implying the quality of American-made products had really declined. At the time, the US market was facing stiff competition from Japan and other nations, and some people blamed it on American goods being shoddy.
Answer: I thought perhaps it was a parody of a scene from Baz Luhrman's 'Romeo Juliet' when the two title characters see one another through an aquarium. I'm not 100% sure, though.