Category Archives: Deaths

Bye 2016, hi 2017! The summary of 2016!

Deaths, Episodes, Miscellaneous, Summaries, Tapped Out

2016 is gone and 2017 has arrived. Which means it’s time to recall what has happened during 2016 in the universe of The Simpsons.

The year 2016 has brought lots of news related to The Simpsons. It’s been a long year, and lots of events have taken place. There have been good news and bad news, milestones to celebrate, Tapped Out updates to play with (and connection issues to get mad with), and much more. In conclusion, here’s a summary of the most relevant Simpsons-related news from 2016!

Homer appeared live on TV and answered questions to fans!


On May 15, during the last three minutes of the episode “Simprovised“, the world saw Homer Simpson answering questions to fans in a LIVE segment! Dan Castellaneta voiced Homer LIVE. This was a never-before-done thing in animation.

See also: Homer to Appear Live on May 15th in “Simprovised”!

The final level of Tapped Out was released!


On May, level 60, the final level of The Simpsons: Tapped Out, was released. It’s the last level update of the game to the date, but not the last content update. Lots of non-level content updates have also been released since then.

See also: Tapped Out: The final level of the game, Level 60, has been released!

The Simpsons reaches its 600th episode!


One of the most outstanding Simpsons-news of 2016 has been that the show aired its 600th episode on October 16. The episode which had the honor to be the milestone 600th episode of The Simpsons was “Treehouse of Horror XXVII”, the 2016 installment of the annual Halloween-themed episodes.

See also: The title of the 600th episode has been revealed!

FXX ran a 13-day marathon featuring all the first 600 episodes of the show!


The Fox-owned TV channel FXX aired every episode again, the first 600 of them. The thirteen day marathon started on November 24th and ran until December 6th.

See also: FXX to Air Every Episode Again!

The Simpsons has a Virtual Reality couch gag!


Still as part of the celebration of the milestone 600th episode, that episode (the 600th episode) had a special couch gag that could be viewed in Virtual Reality using a Google Cardboard. The couch gag was titled Planet of the Couches

See also: The Simpsons to Have a Virtual Reality Couch Gag!

4 Years of Tapped Out!


It’s almost 5 years now, having the game being released for the first time in February 16, 2012 in Europe on iOs, and have reached more than 140 Content Updates.

See also: Tapped Out: 4 Years Infographic released by EA

RIP Kevin Curran


There have also been bad news for The Simpsons in 2016, as former writer and producer Kevin Curran died on October 25th, aged 59. He died in his home in Los Angeles after a battle with a long illness. Al Jean reported his death via Twitter.

See also: Former Writer/Producer Kevin Curran Dies, Aged 59

The Simpsons renewed through Season 30!


Finally, one of the best (if not the best) Simpsons-related news of the year 2016: the show’s renewal for two more seasons!

On November 4, FOX released a press release announcing that The Simpsons had been renewed for two more seasons (for a S29 and a S30)! The press release also stated that this renewal will bring the show up to 669 episodes, which will break the record of the highest number of episodes for any [US] primetime scripted TV show, currently held by Gunsmoke with 635 episodes!

See also: ‘The Simpsons’ renewed for Season 29 and 30!

Thanks for reading

Thanks for reading this post and let’s hope that 2017 will continue to bring more Simpsons-related news as 2016 and previous years have done.

Happy New Year 2017 from Wikisimpsons/The Springfield Shopper!

And don’t forget,
Stay tuned for more!

RIP Simpsons Guest Star Janet Reno

Deaths

Former US Attorney General Janet Reno died today, aged 78, following complications from Parkinson’s disease, which she was diagnosed with in 1995.

Reno guest starred as herself, alongside her sister Maggy Reno Hurchalla, in the season 24 episode “Dark Knight Court“. Due to the difficulty in speaking longer sentences due to Parkinson’s, Janet’s sister helped out with recording some lines. They donated the money they made for the role to Innocence Project.

Reno served as the Attorney General of the United States from 1993 until 2001, under president Bill Clinton. She was the first woman to serve in the Attorney General role and was the second longest serving Attorney General.

Former Writer/Producer Kevin Curran Dies, Aged 59

Deaths

Former The Simpsons writer and producer Kevin Curran died today, October 25th, aged 59. He died today in his home in Los Angeles after a battle with a long illness. Al Jean reported his death via Twitter.

Curran served as a writer and producer between season 14 and 27, writing 11 episodes for the show. He won three Emmy awards during his time working on the show.

Sources

    • RIP to Actor and Simpsons Guest Star Garry Marshall

    Deaths

    American actor and Simpsons guest star Garry Marshall died yesterday, July 19th, from complications of pneumonia after suffering a stroke.

    Marshall, who guest starred on two separate occasions, as Larry Kidkill in the season 11 episode “Eight Misbehavin’” and Sheldon Leavitt in the season 22 episode “Homer the Father“. He was also the brother of actress Penny Marshall, who has also guest starred on the show.

    The Simpsons pays tribute to Alan Rickman

    Deaths, Episodes

    An unfortunate tragedy has struck today, as after the news of David Bowie’s death just 5 days ago, and Motorhead’s Lemmy Kilmister’s on December 29th, another great man comes to pass, as Alan Rickman, best known for his work as Severus Snape in the Harry Potter movies has passed away.

    We’d like to pay tribute to a great man with the video Fox posted on the Animation Domination channel, from the 12th episode of Season 24: Love Is a Many-Splintered Thing.

    A video where Winston Churchill, Shakespeare, Sherlock Holmes, Isaac Newton, Severus Snape and Alfred Hitchcock (coming out of Doctor Who’s T.A.R.D.I.S.) appear.

    A very sad beginning of the year, rest in peace to all three great men.

     

    Bye 2015, hi 2016! The summary of 2015!

    Comics, Deaths, Episodes, Merchandise, Miscellaneous, Site news, Summaries, Tapped Out

    2015 is gone and 2016 has come. It has been a year full of news related to The Simpsons and here’s the summary of the most important “Simpsons News” that have happened during 2015:

    A 25 year old script finally becomes an episode!


    Back in season one of the show, a fairly new comedy writer wrote a script for The Simpsons which was filed away and lost. 25 years later, that episode, written by the now famous Judd Apatow, finally aired. “Bart’s New Friend” sees Homer get hypnotized into thinking he’s a 10 year old kid, who then becomes friends with Bart.

    MythBusters


    January 10th saw a special The Simpsons special episode of MythBusters air. This special sees the presenters attempt to find out whether a cherry bomb dropped in a school toilet make others act like geysers, in reference to a prank Bart pulled in “The Crepes of Wrath”, and whether placing someone between a wrecking ball and a building protect the building, in reference to the scene from “Sideshow Bob Roberts”. Read about what happens here.

    Help, Sky Finger! Criminals have overrun Springfield!


    February 18th brought a new event… Superheroes! This event, scheduled to end on March 23rd, added 3 new character collections; Superheroes, Vigilantes and Criminals. The update is split into four parts, called issues, and there is a comic book theme to the music, text, text bubbles and other parts. For full details, read our article.

    See also: Homer’s leading the charge in an all-new Tapped Out event!

    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.

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

    FOX cancels “The Simpsons” …DVD production


    On April 10, FOX announced that seasonal DVD releases of The Simpsons were being discontinued.
    According to The Hollywood Reporter, “A distribution source close to the series confirmed seasons of The Simpsons will no longer be released on DVD now that nearly every episode of the animated sitcom is available online at the touch of a button. ”

    See also: DVDs are not Forever! – FOX to End ‘The Simpsons’ Seasonal DVD Production!

    “The Simpsons” is renewed for Seasons 27 and 28


    On May 4, FOX announced that the show had been renewed for a 27th and 28th Season.
    According to FOX’s Press Release, Homer stated: “I’ve outlasted Letterman, Jon Stewart and ‘McDreamy,’ because I have something they don’t: a costly 200-donut-a-day addiction”.

    See also: The Simpsons renewed for two more seasons!

    Harry Shearer

    On May 14, it was announced that Harry Shearer would leave the show after the TABFxx production season. Shearer is the human that provides the voices of Mr.Burns, Smithers, Flanders, Skinner, … In an interview with CNN Money, Shearer said “Stay tuned” when asked if there was a possibility he could be back.

    And in July 7, he returned to the show.

    See also: Harry Shearer leaving The Simpsons; The Harry Shearer Situation; Harry Shearer Returns to The Simpsons!

    Marge and Homer are not breaking up


    In the Season 27’s season premiere Marge and Homer did not break up. Showrunner Al Jean said in an interview that Marge and Homer would have a trial separation (Not a divorce).

    However, there was a misunderstanding with that statement and lots of people thought that they would divorce. FOX published a video in YouTube to stop those rumors.

    See also: Homer and Marge Are NOT Breaking Up For Good!!!; FOX publishes a video to stop Marge and Homer’s break-up rumors

    Sideshow Bob finally kills Bart (in THOH XXVI)


    In the annual Treehouse of Horror special‘s first segment we saw Sideshow Bob fulfilling his lifetime ambition (and he did it about twenty times in the segment.

    See also: Season 27 News: Sideshow Bob will finally kill Bart!

    Monorail comes to Tapped Out


    In August, the Monorail finally came to Tapped Out in a huge event.

    See also: Tapped Out: The Monorail is cruising through our cities!

    Wikisimpsons turns 10!


    On September 24, Wikisimpsons celebrated its tenth anniversary. And in honor of that event, a new skin for the Wiki was released on that day.

    See also: Wikisimpsons: The Ten Year Wiki!

    “Barthood”


    On December 13, the episode “Barthood” aired for the first time. The episode is a Bart-centered parody of the Oscar-nominated film Boyhood.

    See also: Bart Goes From “Boyhood” to Manhood in December!

    Maggie arrives to Tapped Out for Christmas


    On December 9, the Winter 2015 event of Tapped Out was released. And it brought Maggie to the game. The event is still running and will do until early January.

    See also: Tapped Out: Christmas arrives early as EA finally brings us Maggie!

    RIP Sam Simon

    Deaths


    The Simpsons developer, executive producer, character designer and writer Sam Simon passed away today from Colorectal cancer.

    Simon was diagnosed in late 2012 and was given 3-6 months left to live. However, he defied the odds and continued to fight long after that time frame. As well as working on The Simpsons, which he left after season 4 due to creative difficulties, Simon is well known as a member of PETA and his involvement with The Sam Simon Foundation.

    Sayonara, Sam Simon! You will be missed!