All posts by Solar Dragon

About Solar Dragon

I am Solar Dragon, the head admin on Wikisimpsons.

The Harry Shearer Situation

Miscellaneous


This post will be updated with any news when we get it



You’ve most likely heard by now that Harry Shearer‘s future with The Simpsons is in doubt. He has announced that he has left the show, but is willing to return if he is given more freedom to do what he wants outside of The Simpsons. However, the producers have said that he has that freedom, and they don’t know what the problem is.

He wasn’t forced out of the show, and it’s not a case of money causing him to leave. He got offered the same contract the other main cast members got offered, and they all signed on May 1st. The contract he was offered is estimated to have been for $14 million over the 2 seasons.

In an interview with CNN Money, Shearer said “Stay tuned” when asked if there was a possibility he could be back. This might mean he’s willing to go back into negotiations, although it’s unlikely the contract will change.

If Shearer does not return to the show, his characters will be recast to different actors. It’s estimated that they have the Summer to get a deal made to keep him on the show and after that, they’ll have to look for new actors.

Sources

Kristen Bell and David Copperfield to guest star next season

Episodes, Guest stars


Kristen Bell and David Copperfield are to guest star in the season 27 episode “Friend with Benefit“, written by Rob LaZebnik.

Bell will guest star as Harper, a new friend of Lisa’s who has an Internet billionaire father, who becomes friends with Homer. Copperfield, who previously voiced himself in the season 22 episode “The Great Simpsina“, will again voice himself.

The episode will air in Fall 2015.

The Simpsons renewed for two more seasons!

Episodes


The Simpsons has been officially renewed for two more seasons. This deal will see season 27 become a full season with more than the leftover episodes from last production season, with a full 22 episodes. Season 28 will also be happening, with a full season.

The fate of the show was left in doubt as the animators for the show were given no return date after they finished work. However, the writers were still busy writing episodes for the show. The limbo was due to contract negotiations with the cast.

For all the currently known information about season 27, see our article.

The first new episode for season 27 has also been announced to be “Paths of Glory“. It will have the production code VABF01.

Sources:

The Simpsons Walk-On Contest Winner Announced!

Episodes


The winner of The Simpsons walk-on contest has been announced to be American Carl Zealer.

The contest involved donating money to New York Collaborates for Autism via Omaze. One lucky donator was to be chosen to get animated into a season 27 episode of The Simpsons, set to air in Fall 2015. The winner was announced today to be Carl Zealer.

It is currently unknown how big this role will be in the episode, although it’s very likely to be a minor role.

Can’t Sleep, Clown Will Eat Me

Tapped Out

A new Tapped Out update hit today, an episode tie-in for the next episode, “The Kids Are All Fight“.

This update has a new questline and three new decorations; Bart’s Big Wheel, Lisa’s Kiddie Car and the Nightmare Pile.

Bart’s Big Wheel and Lisa’s Kiddie Car are pretty much standard decorations (Lisa gets a new task with the Kiddie Car) but the Nightmare Pile gives kids the chance to get their Halloween costumes out again and wear those in 4 hour tasks.

Read the Wikisimpsons article for more information.

More ‘Girls’ stars to guest star in season 27 premiere

Episodes, Guest stars


Four new guest stars have been announced for the season 27 premiere, “Every Man’s Dream“. Lena Dunham‘s (who was previously announced to guest star as Candace) co-stars from Girls will guest star alongside her as Candace’s friends. The co-stars in question are Allison Williams, Zosia Mamet and Jemima Kirke.

Also guest starring is radio talk show host Laura Ingraham. She will voice a therapist who finds no hope in Homer and Marge’s marriage.

“Every Man’s Dream” is set to air in Fall 2015 and is written by J. Stewart Burns.

The Terwilliger Family Return in a new TSTO event!

Tapped Out


A new The Simpsons: Tapped Out event has started today. After a longer than usual delay between iOS and Android, the major devices all have it available as a store update (You must download from the App Store or Play Store).

This new update features the entire Terwilliger family with a new plot, involving the Monsarno Corporation. There will be three phases of prizes with three different event currencies. Phase one uses spades, phase two uses gas masks and phase three uses music notes.

Prizes are obtained in order by collecting spades. Items can be crafted using fertilizer and corn. There are daily tasks that have to be completed to get more event currency too.

For full details about the event, including characters to unlock and how, buildings, phases and prizes, see the Wikisimpsons article.

The Simpsons On Hiatus – Season 27 Confirmed…?

Miscellaneous


As you may have read on Wikisimpsons, season 27 is confirmed. However, these are all leftover episodes from the last production season, which most of season 26 was made out of.

For those of you that don’t know, a production season is different to an airing season. Each episode has a production code, i.e. TABF14, the production code for the season 27 premiere, “Every Man’s Dream“. TABF is the production season whilst 14 is the episode number within that production season. Most airing seasons will have episodes from two different production seasons, the current and the last one.

So, whilst season 27 is confirmed, currently only episodes from the last production season have been confirmed. There are currently no new episodes from a new production season as no new episodes are being created.

The animators for the show are currently on hiatus, and have no return date to the show. According to one of the animators, this has only happened once in the past. The likely cause of this is due to contract negotiations with the cast taking longer than usual, and that is the popular theory although no confirmation has been given to this as of yet. Therefore, no one is currently working on new episodes. If contract negotiations with the cast fall through, there could only be half a season of episodes, rather than a full season, consisting of episodes from the last production season. This could also spell the end for The Simpsons.

However, don’t panic. That is only a worst case scenario. The Simpsons is a huge money maker for Fox and I doubt they’ll be letting it go any time soon.

EDIT: The Upfronts in May, the days when TV networks announce the shows that are being cancelled or renewed, will likely be the latest we hear some news about the future of The Simpsons.

A summary of news: March 2015

Summaries

March 2015 saw a few new episode releases. However, it was also a very sad month for The Simpsons. Read on to find out why.

Episode news

Moe meets a new woman


On March 1st, “The Princess Guide” aired. The episode was written by Brian Kelley and directed by Timothy Bailey. Yaya DaCosta guest starred as Princess Kemi, Richard Branson guest starred as himself, Kevin Michael Richardson guest starred as the Nigerian king and Jon Lovitz reprised his role as Enrico Irritazio. The episode ended with a dedication to Leonard Nimoy who died a few days prior to the airing.

In the episode, Homer is charged with looking after Princess Kemi whilst her father makes a uranium deal with Mr. Burns. However, she escapes from Homer and spends time with Moe, who falls in love with her.

See also: Moe will plot revenge over Nigerian E-mail scam this March and 10 New Promotional Images for “The Princess Guide” have been released!

Chief Wiggum takes to the skies!


On March 8th, “Sky Police” aired. The episode was written by Matt Selman and directed by Rob Oliver. Nathan Fielder guest starred as Doug Blattner.

Chief Wiggum is mistakenly delivered a military jet pack. He uses this in his policing duties but eventually is found out and ordered to hand it back. He tries to escape and it crashes into the church. Several members of the congregation count cards at a casino to get the money for repairs.

See also: Chief Wiggum is mistakenly delivered a military jet pack this March and 5 Promotional Images for “Sky Police” have been released!

So You Think You Can Duff-man?


On March 15th, “Waiting for Duffman” aired. It was written by John Frink and directed by Steven Dean Moore. Cat Deeley guest starred as herself, Stacy Keach guest starred as Howard K. Duff VII and R. Lee Ermey guest starred as Colonel Leslie Hapablap.

Duffman injures himself during a parade and has to undergo hip replacement surgery. So, a reality show is invented to find the next Duffman, which Homer wins.

See also: So You Think You Can… DUFFMAN? on an all-new episode this March and 3 Promotional Images for “Waiting for Duffman” have been released!

Tapped Out news

Superheroes Issues 3 and 4


Issues 3 and 4 of the superheroes update were released on March 10th and 24th respectively. These carried in the superhero event which started in February. For all the details on the event and the issues, read the article.

Won’t somebody please think of the children?


On March 4th, Level 50 was released. This update came with the long awaited characters Helen and Jessica Lovejoy. Two new friend point prizes were also made available with this update. For all the details, read the article.

The Homer arrives!


On March 11th, the car Homer designed, “The Homer“, arrived in Tapped Out as a new Gil deal. The car cost 82 donuts and came with a new questline, which also teased the introduction of Herb Powell as a character, who will be coming to Tapped Out at some point in the future. Read the update article for more details!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!


On March 16th, only 5 days after the last update, a small St. Patrick’s Day update hit. This update re-released all the previous St. Patrick’s Day items and came with a new Gil deal for Blarney Castle and two new decorations. Read the update article for more details.

The Beach House arrives late


On March 31st, the Beach House arrived in Tapped Out. This was supposed to arrive on the 29th but for unknown reasons, it never arrived. It was purchasable for 120 donuts.

Comic news

Simpsons Comics #219


Simpsons Comics #219 was released on March 18th.

After a run-in with the paparazzi, Krusty the Clown hires Homer to stand in for him, or rather, stand next to him — because Homer makes Krusty look good by comparison. Meanwhile, Lisa becomes a stand-in studio musician for Bleeding Gums Murphy‘s sister, Flossy Murphy. But Homer and Lisa soon discover that the life of a second-hand, stopgap, stand-in celebrity isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

See also: Simpsons Comics #219 now available!

Bart Simpson #95


Bart Simpson #95 was released on March 25th.

In order to earn enough money for some tickets to a professional wrestling match, Bart gets a job at the Kwik-E-Mart. And then, in order to put food on the table Otto the Bus Driver offers his own services (as well as the Springfield Elementary bus) as an “Uber”-type driver. Plus, a Bart/SpongeBob SquarePants mash-up.

See also: Bart Simpson #95 now available!

Miscellaneous news

RIP Sam Simon


On March 8th, co-creator of The Simpsons Sam Simon sadly passed away after a long battle with colorectal cancer. Simon left the show in season 4 but continued to be credited as an executive producer for the show.

See also: RIP Sam Simon

Lisa Simpson’s Guide to Geek Chic


On March 17th, Lisa Simpson’s Guide to Geek Chic was released. This was the fourth book in the series of Vault of Simpsonology.

In Lisa Simpson’s Guide to Geek Chic, Springfield’s most sensitive student reveals the secrets of being a misunderstood geek goddess. The geeks have inherited the earth . . . And Springfield’s most outspoken and overlooked middle child, Lisa Simpson, is here to tell you why! So what does it matter that you don’t run with the popular crowd? You control the trends and tastes of popular culture. Who cares if you aren’t part of a clique? Your idiosyncratic style is now très chic. So what if you’re not very social? You’re tech savvy drives all social media. There’s no need to lay low in nerd anonymity. You are the smartest person in the room, and it’s time to fulfill your dork destiny!

See also: Lisa Simpson’s Guide to Geek Chic now available!

EA Giveth and EA Taketh – The Homer

Tapped Out

The Homer deal is back now after a small update today!


Yesterday, a new The Simpsons: Tapped Out update happened in-game for The Homer, the car that Homer designed. It was available for 82 donuts and was supposed to last for 5 days.

Gil popped up in Springfield again to offer the car. If you purchased it, it came with a small quest line, teasing the addition of Herb Powell, Homer’s half brother. However, a few hours later, another update hit and the Gil deal was taken away. The end date was shifted back to 2014 meaning the offer was “over”.

However, if you didn’t get the car, don’t fear. It should be returning again very soon. The offer was a teaser to the addition of Powell Motors and Herb Powell. However, the theory is that EA accidentally released the update early, somehow.

I asked J. Stewart Burns, one of the writers of Tapped Out about it and he said this:

“we moved the update with herb back a bit. the homer was supposed to be a teaser to it. so my guess is… mistake.”

So, The Homer will be making a return at some point. And Herb Powell and Powell Motors will also be coming after that. For more details about the short update and future spoilers for the Herb Powell update, read this page.