These moments get Groening giddy
Every fan of The Simpsons has favorite characters, episodes and scenes. Series creator Matt Groening does, too.
In an exclusive interview timed to Sunday’s 636th episode (8 p.m. ET/PT), which sets a record for a prime-time scripted series, Groening offers some Simpsons superlatives — and one early direction not taken.
Favorite main character: “I love Lisa Simpson the most, because she seems like the one character that’s going to evolve and eventually escape Springfield. The rest seem pretty oblivious, and they seem like they’re stuck there.”
Favorite supporting characters: “Ralph Wiggum, Milhouse van Houten, Principal Skinner and Apu. … I forgot Principal Skinner’s mother, Agnes. Tress MacNeille does the voice, and every time she speaks, I laugh.”
Favorite episodes: Sunday’s episode, “‘Forgive and Regret,’ where Grampa thinks he’s dying and blurts out his secret confession to Homer, is my favorite this season. Over the years, (there’s been) the atypical episode with Frank Grimes (aka Grimey), the guy who (is hired at) the nuclear power plant and is driven insane by Homer. There’s the episode where Homer skateboards over Springfield Gorge — almost (Season 2’s ‘Bart the Daredevil’). … Our motto is: More pain, more funny.”
Favorite scene or snippet of dialogue: “There’s a sequence from (‘22 Short Films About Springfield,’ from 1996) that has taken on meme status: the classic steamed hams. The lunch with Superintendent Chalmers and Principal Skinner is an absurd send-up of traditional sitcom ideas, like the boss coming over for dinner. It just kills me every time — in the straight version and in all the hundreds of variations the fans have put up on YouTube.
“There’s another in a ‘Treehouse of Horror II’ (1991) segment in which Mr. Burns and Smithers are creating a (robotic) Frankenstein’s monster, and Mr. Burns (scoops out Homer’s brain) with a spinal cord attached to it, puts it on his head and says, ‘Look at me. I’m Davy Crockett.’ I can think of that line in the middle of the night, and I start laughing.”
Groening bonus: “The original plan was for Homer to secretly be Krusty the Clown, (whom) Bart worshiped. But because Homer was ashamed of being a clown, he kept that a secret. If you look at the design of Krusty and Homer, they’re almost the same. It was a fun way to go that we didn’t do.”