Marge Simpson is dead to me

Huh? Really?

What an extreme way to gin up interest in a dying sitcom.

Also, Julie Kavner’s voice is rough these days. Marge sounds, well whatever age Kavner is, not 34.

I’d wager she was ok with this decision.

WTF!!??

They should kill off the show.

Wow, what a jumping the shark moment.

Oh, they’ve jumped the shark at least 70 times now.

Marge is with Edith Bunker now.

It’s set in the near future so it isn’t permanent. Julie, on the other hand, is no doubt going to croak soon. I guess they’re preparing for the inevitable.

[quote]They should kill off the show

You *obviously* don't speak for us, r4.

WHO watches this?! It seems like it has been on for 40 years. I stopped watching 20 years ago.

[quote]They killed off Marge in “The Simpsons”.

Been there, done that.

R10 the show premiered on December 17, 1989.

Seven days after I turned 10 and in the fourth grade.

I'm currently 45 and the show is on its 36th Season.

r8 I doubt the inevitable matters. Even before the invention of AI they've already got recordings of the cast saying just about every word in the English language.

If you read the article, you'd discover that the death was only for one episode, and Marge will be back with the family next year.

Surely not as entertaining as the King of the Hill episode where they killed Cotton (for good).

[quote]WHO watches this?! It seems like it has been on for 40 years. I stopped watching 20 years ago.

So the rest of us should have stopped watching because *you* did, r10?

The show was pretty much awful after about Season 10 or so.

[quote]r17 = The show was pretty much awful after about Season 10 or so.

Then simply don't watch it, cupcake.

I've long abandoned watching probably over a decade now. But according to that article, it's been going through something of a critical renaissance since 4 years ago? I just might check it out again.

The luckiest voice actors in history. I can't believe this show is still on.

And Jennifer Tilly is still cashing those checks - around $5 million a year. At least she stopped blowing it on poker.

Isn't Julie a recluse and a generally unpleasant person?

Did I read that on DL?

[quote] In The Simpsons season 35, episode 7, “It's a Blunderful Life,” an older version of Lisa told the story of an eventful Thanksgiving to her children and grandchildren while aged versions of Bart, Marge, Patty, and Selma listened. “It's a Blunderful Life” ended with the revelation that Bart had literally died of boredom during Lisa’s story, a gag that worked primarily because of just how unexpected it was. Similarly, Bart and Lisa’s adult estrangement would have been a lot less affecting if it weren't for Marge’s sudden death in “Estranger Things.”

It sounds like most of the critical praise is coming from future episodes and killing off minor secondary characters and making it stick and how characters react to that to shake things up. Which honestly begs the question why not just do a timeskip a few decades forward for a season and see how it goes? I might actually be interested in that.

R21 I think she's a recluse, but I haven't heard anyone say she was unpleasant.

Most of the main Simpsons voice actors are reportedly worth $90m each.

R20 Jennifer Tilly voices 'Bonnie Swanson' on FAMILY GUY, which has been running since 1999..

Julie is a clam.

I thought they lived forever.

[quote][R20] Jennifer Tilly voices 'Bonnie Swanson' on FAMILY GUY, which has been running since 1999..

That has nothing to do with her Simpsons money, r24.

[quote]And Jennifer Tilly is still cashing those checks - around $5 million a year.

Why? Didn’t she get divorced?

R25 Julie Kavner is Jewish. It's Nancy Cartwright (Bart) that's a Scientologist.

Tracey Ullman said that Julie is a recluse and that they’re different that way but she loves her to bits. Julie did some on-screen stuff in the last few years. Her longtime boyfriend died recently. How Julie isn’t a dyke is beyond me. She did play one with Tracey for a number of years though on her HBO show.

What does a clam mean?

Clam means Scientologist. I don't know where that nickname came from, but it's been around for a long time.

A clam is a Scientologist

[quote]In L. Ron Hubbard's Scientology: A History of Man, he asserts humans follow his notion of the "genetic line" of the "genetic entity", which include clams (as well as sloths, volcanoes, and a "sense of being eaten"), and certain human psychological problems descend from difficulties these clams experienced. Hubbard defined "genetic line" as a collection of the total "incidents" which occurred during the evolution of what Scientology refers to as the "MEST body."

for R31

The Simpsons predated the internet for most people.

WILD r33

Wow! I'm sorry! I can't believe I got that backwards all this time.

You learn something new every day.

I'm surprised they didn't turn Lisa into a trans/non-binary wokester.

[quote]I'm surprised they didn't turn Lisa into a trans/non-binary wokester.

Why are you surprised, r37? That wouldn't be true to Lisa. Have you ever watched the show?

R38 Yes, I was a fan of The Simpsons before it turned political.

[quote] Clam means Scientologist. I don't know where that nickname came from, but it's been around for a long time.

Hence the saying: happy as a clam.

I wonder what they will do for season 83?

[quote][R38] Yes, I was a fan of The Simpsons before it turned political.

When exactly was that, r39?

r12 I was in 8th grade when the Simpsons premiered. I'm almost 50 now.

Nancy Cartwright promoting Scientology in-character as Bart:

[quote]Isn't Julie a recluse and a generally unpleasant person?

I don't know about unpleasant, but she lives out in the boonies on Long Island (not the Hamptons) and seems to be quite reclusive. She records her lines over the phone and then gets a $400,000 deposit in her account. Per episode!

As an above poster said, the Simpsons voice actors are some of the luckiest people in show business.

I'm available and have experience playing an emotionally supportive, sexy, ratings-boosting stepmom.

R39, the episode "Mr Lisa Goes to Washington" aired in 1991. That was episode 37 of 790 (so far). The Simpsons has featured political commentary almost since the beginning.

[quote]As an above poster said, the Simpsons voice actors are some of the luckiest people in show business.

Fuck 'em...fuck 'em all!!!

Mussy means “moist clam” in Danish

R18 I haven't watched an entire new episode in...probably 20 years. Clips, yes.

You withered old prune danish.

There are a few stories about Julie that I remember. Dan Castellaneta, who Tracey Ullman discovered at Second City and told producers that she wouldn’t do her show if he wasn’t hired (they didn’t want him), read an interview with Kavner during her Rhoda days. She said that she had trouble finding dates. Dan wrote into the network and offered to take her out. You can imagine their first meeting on the set of The Tracey Ullman Show.

When Tracey and Julie played lesbians in Tracey takes on, there was a line that Julie didn’t understand. Tracey asks her if she wants to stay in for dinner or if she wants to eating something out. Tracey looked at her and couldn’t believe she didn’t get the line. I’m not sure how socially astute Julie is.

Then there is the business of Julie not doing Marge’s voice on camera. She actually turned around the one time she did it on David Letterman and he said, “Oh, because the voice is so different from your own.”

Julie is an odd duck.

Harry Shearer is in his 80s and has hated the show since season 4. His characters can be voiced by other. Marge and Yeardley are irreplaceable. My guess is if they croak they’ll just get a brand new voice actor who sounds nothing like them. That being said, the show gets no ratings. Disney keeps it on at a loss because the IP looks good on paper. I was a HUGE Simpsons fan. I went back two years ago and watched one of the new episodes. I couldn’t get through it. It was painful. I couldn’t believe how bad it was. I mean, I understand that after 800 episodes things are going to become stale but I wasn’t prepared by just how bad it was going to be. It’s become SNL, another show way past its sell by date.

R42 During the 2008 elections when Homer wanted to vote for Obama.

I kind of get why she doesn't want to perform Marge's voice on camera. It would surely make her feel like a performing monkey and she'd get asked to do it a lot.

After all, when you're not in work, people don't ask you to: "just show me how you send a work email!" or "pretend like you're at a work meeting for me!" etc.

Also there's no evidence she records her lines by phone. I don't see how she could. The quality wouldn't be good enough. I've heard lots of the other voice actors from the show saying how prompt she is to the studios as she dislikes tardiness. Which sounds like she records in person. I expect they record episodes in blocks.

I've read that she's been recording her lines from home on LI for a long time now.

Julie and Tracey Ullman were always so good together I loved them as the two old Jewesses in Boca Raton.

R54, the lines are recorded by phone as are Shearer’s. This is public record.

Tracey and Julie really are the perfect pairing!

Tracey and Julie as lesbians.

Brilliant sketch with Tracey and Julie as two bitter sisters.

Harry has that sweet, sweet “Le Show” money too. We just can’t get enough of him!

[quote]Tracey Ullman said that Julie is a recluse and that they’re different that way but she loves her to bits. Julie did some on-screen stuff in the last few years. Her longtime boyfriend died recently. How Julie isn’t a dyke is beyond me. She did play one with Tracey for a number of years though on her HBO show.

Her longtime partner was David Davis (1936-2022) who wrote/produced THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW and co-created/developed TAXI, RHODA, and THE BOB NEWHART SHOW.

They were together since 1976.

I still watch the show, just like I've always done. The last few seasons have been pretty good, except for a few duds. Of course, the show's glory days were nearly 30 years ago, but I still find the show funny and laugh often. I'm already committed to watching it until its inevitable cancellation.

Why can’t they just hire a new actor to voice Marge? Marge these days sounds terrible, surely Julie has enough money to retire.

[quote] That wouldn't be true to Lisa. Have you ever watched the show?

Not that poster but, yes, Lisa becoming a non-binary wokester would totally align with her character.

fear

🤣 = r66