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back to article Matt Groening reveals location of Simpsons' Springfield

Simpsons creator Matt Groening has revealed the location of Springfield, the setting for The Simpsons. In an interview with The Smithsonian, Groening says The Simpsons live in Springfield, Oregon, the setting for the radio and television drama Father Knows Best. Groening says he liked Father Knows Best as a child and, growing …

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    1. ici.chacal
      Reply Icon
      Boffin

      Re: Futurama

      I much preferred Futurama to The Simpsons, purely because it appealed to my inner-geek more...

      ...I also prefer Big Bang Theory to Friends...

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  2. pPPPP

    I've watched the few South Park episodes of the current series and have barely laughed once. They are truly awful. Shame, seeing as there have been some cracking episodes over the last few years. Hopefully it's a blip.

    The Simpsons has definitely got tired over the years (Bart would be 35 now if he'd aged) but there's still the occasional good episode. They've suffered by trying to write episodes around guests, and by letting Ricky Gervais do one.

    As for Family Guy, there's a show which should have been off the air a long time ago. And it's _still_ the best thing on BBC3.

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    1. The Indomitable Gall
      Reply Icon

      Best thing on BBC3...?

      "As for Family Guy, there's a show which should have been off the air a long time ago. And it's _still_ the best thing on BBC3."

      That's only because Mongrels isn't currently broadcasting....

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  3. Stig2k
    Unhappy

    This is not a title

    I have a theory about the lack of funnees. IMO the point it stopped being funny was when guest stars began appearing as themselves. In the early days they would play characters but now its all about coming up with the most unbelievable story lines to explain how Homer J gets to meet this weeks celeb guest.

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    1. Dave 126 Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      Re: This is not a title

      Yep, I liked Spinal Tap, Barry White, The Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney meeting Homer Jay, but recently, the likes of N-Sync and Ricky Gervais can just sod off. They do spoil it.

      But I can't be mad at a show that has Homer holding a box of locusts whilst walking towards the house of George Bush:

      "So son, I thought to myself 'What would God do in this situation'"?

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    2. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: This is not a title

      So it has happened with the Big Bang Theory. In the past episode, Stephen Hawking appeared.

      Having said that, it does still me laugh out loud.

      Community is another show that just might be 'slowing' down a bit.

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      1. Dave 126 Silver badge
        Reply Icon

        Re: This is not a title

        As far as I can make out, it's not been renewed for another season. Currently waiting for the last few episodes to filter through. Please show me wrong, though!

        For those who haven't seen it: Think Spaced with Chevy Chase but completely different. And paintball.

        That's a recommendation.

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        1. Anonymous Coward
          Reply Icon
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: This is not a title

          > Think Spaced with Chevy Chase but completely different. And paintball.

          The Spaced paintball episode is possibly one of the finest pieces of television ever made.

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  4. Andy 70
    Meh

    <title of hated>

    <post of hatred> Ricky Gervais <growling and nashing of teeth>

    <end>

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    1. TeeCee Gold badge
      Reply Icon

      Re: <title of hated>

      Yup, definately another one straight out of the Seinfeld "Emperor's new suit" school of comedy.

      That's where they manage to become so incredibly famous for being funny that nobody's got the balls to stand up and point out that they're, er, not.

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  5. Michael 28
    Angel

    It's just down the road from the Overlook Hotel ..

    http://maps.google.com.au/maps?q=Springfield+Oregon&hl=en&sll=44.25897,-123.060608&sspn=1.508724,4.22699&gl=au&hnear=Springfield,+Lane,+Oregon,+United+States&t=m&z=12,

    also

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timberline_Lodge

    .......All work and no play makes jack a dull boy!

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  6. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    I don't know. the Simpson's can still be pretty cutting edge satirical at times. I remember one episode where they got this international war criminal called Tony Blair to guest star as a regular salt-of-the earth Prime Minister type geezer.

    How we howled with laughter cringed with embarrassment!

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  7. John I'm only dancing

    Real humour

    Two of the best comedy series ever, ran to a massive 12 episodes each across two series.

    I'm talking about Fawlty Towers and the Young Ones.

    There is much more

    Brass Eye: Six episodes

    The Day Today: One series

    The Fast Show: Three series

    I can go on, but the one thing noticeable is they are all British. The trouble with Merkin shows is while they might be funny to start with, they have to flog the dead and buried horse, killing any fondness for the original humour.

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    1. Euchrid
      Reply Icon

      Re: Real humour

      With The Fast Show, it was more like 3.5 series as they did a three-part ‘Last Show Ever’ – the recent online shows indicate prove your point about cutting it short.

      However, in defence of American shows, there were 143 episodes of The Phil Silvers Show (AKA Bilko) and it was always to a high standard.

      The Jack Benny Show ran for 23 years on the radio and they were certainly not flogging a dead horse by the end. The TV version lasts for 15 years and again, it kept a consistently high quality.

      Lum and Abner ran for 23 years on the radio (plus they did 7 films) and apart from they briefly changed the format (before changing it swiftly back), it was to a very consistent standard. The show was so popular that one American town changed its name to the fictional setting in the show.

      And of course, there was King of the Hill – 13 seasons of glorious seasons, which was cancelled to make way for Sit Down and Shut Up, and The Cleveland Show.

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      1. John I'm only dancing
        Reply Icon

        Re: Real humour

        But those American Shows you quote were a very long time ago and are the exceptions. Generally speaking, they do like to flog a dead horse.

        ps: I did love the Phil Silvers Show.

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        1. Euchrid
          Reply Icon

          Re: Real humour

          Yup, I'll give you that those were old shows (except for KOTH) - although I can think of quite a lot more of other American shows of yesteryear that were remarkably consistent for years... some not in a good way. I remember Paul Whitehouse being interviewed by Paul Jackson, who asked him about classic comedies influenced and Whitehouse saying that a lot of it nostalgia - for every Hancock, there are five shows that are crap but people don't like to remember that.

          Anyway, upvoted for liking Silvers!

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    2. Jason Bloomberg Silver badge
      Reply Icon
      Coat

      Great British comedy

      Love Thy Neighbour

      Mind Your Language

      Oh Father!

      And I could go on. We've had some gems of comedy but we've also had some shite.

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      1. Euchrid
        Reply Icon

        Re: Great British comedy

        Aye, very true!

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  8. ppp.an

    "and, growing up in nearby Portland, felt an affinity with the town." Which is some 150kms away.

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  9. CraigW

    Named after the streets?

    I don't remember any called 'A', 'B', 'C', 'D' or 'E'.. Wtf Springfield, Oregon?

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  10. Frank Bitterlich
    Meh

    So, Shelbyville would be...

    ... Eugene, OR, then?

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  11. mrfill
    Happy

    Bart at 35...

    On that measure, Dennis the Menace would have his free bus pass

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  12. sisk

    Simpsons should have stopped 15 years ago. It hasn't been funny for a long, long time. At this point they've pulled every gag the writers can dream up three times at least. I used to watch every episode back in the day, but now it's not even worth the effort of changing the channel.

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  13. Petrea Mitchell
    Joke

    Not new information

    He's been saying it's the one in Oregon for at least a couple years now. OTOH, the comment about Portlanders being in denial about how much it rains here is new. Not sure what he means by that-- I mean, it's not raining right now, and when I say it's not raining right now, I really mean it's not raining right now, and it's even been not raining for the last several minutes. So there!

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  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    What are the chances....?

    Symantec has a major tech support center in Springfield, OR. No doubt this is only a random coincidence.

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  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    My reading of the interview is that it was named after Springfield, Oregon, which is different from being Springfield, Oregon. Especially when he says he used that name to get the same effect as "Father Knows Best", in which it could be any of the many Springfields.

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