Latest news with #Simpsons'
Daily Record
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
The Simpsons fans devastated over Marge's death
The finale sparked outrage with some fans of the long running show revealing Marge's death ruined their day. Fans of The Simpsons say they have been traumatised by Marge Simpson's death scene in an episode of the hit show, exclaiming, "Oh my God, they killed Marge". The season 36 finale sparked outrage with some fans of the long running show revealing Marge's death completely ruined their day. The episode showed the matriarch being outlived by Homer and Bart and Lisa mourning her passing. Reactions included: 'OMG THEY KILLED MARGE it's a sad day for us Simpsons lovers', and 'They done killed off Marge?? This world so unhinged'. In season 36 finale Estranger Things, the show flashes forward 35 years into the future to reveal that the Simpsons' matriarch died before her husband Homer. The episode also deals with Lisa and Bart's feelings around the loss, while showing Marge looking down on them from heaven. In the episode written by Tim Long and directed by Matthew Nastuk, Bart and Lisa are seen drifting apart as they stop watching 'Itchy & Scratchy' together. They agree to maintain their relationship, but drift apart after Marge dies. Years later, Lisa is commissioner of the NBA and Bart is running an unlicensed retirement home where Homer lives. Bart and Lisa are still estranged when she comes home to make a speech at Springfield Elementary — but after she discovers a video Marge made urging them to look after each other, they reestablish their bond. Marge, meanwhile, is watching this happen from heaven — while carrying on an affair with Ringo Starr. While many have pointed out the death happens in the future, and so not in the current Simpsons timeline, the impact was felt by fans on X (formerly Twitter). 'You just ruined my day' one poster said, before adding: 'I guess I'll only watch the first 35 Seasons so Marge Simpson can live forever." One fan questioned: 'Why couldn't it be Patty or Selma?', while another compared it to another animated comedy. 'Taking a page out of Family Guy where they killed Brian' the user wrote. Despite the death of Marge, producers have reassured fans of the show that she will be around for a long time to come. Executive producer Matt Selman said: 'Obviously since the The Simpsons' future episodes are all speculative fantasies, they're all different every time. Marge will probably never be dead ever again. The only place Marge is dead is in one future episode that aired six weeks ago.' The animated sitcom created by Matt Groening first aired as a short on the Tracy Ullman Show in 1987 before being developed into a half-hour series of episodes two years later. In all there have been 790 episodes of the show which satirises American family values.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Why Marge Simpson's death suddenly has viewers talking about The Simpsons again
Crack open a Duff beer and pour one out for Marge Simpson, the blue-haired, raspy-voiced matriarch of The Simpsons who has left behind her beloved but sometimes dysfunctional family. Don't fire off the emails about spoilers just yet. News of Marge's death in the recent season finale may suddenly be trending, but it's likely not the last we've seen of television's longest-serving mom. Though the season 36 finale aired on May 18, recent articles lamenting the loss have reinvigorated a conversation about a pop-culture institution some critics say is long past its prime. What happened to Marge? The episode titled Estranger Things, is a look into the future of the Simpson family in a world in which brother and sister Bart and Lisa have drifted apart. In a flash forward, we learn that Marge's life was cut short. "Marge passed before Homer, if you can believe it," Canadian musician Sarah McLachlan sings in a montage showing family and a few friends standing over her headstone that reads, "Beloved wife, mother and pork-chop seasoner." We don't know exactly how or when Marge dies, but the plot moves 35 years ahead of the present day, when a very successful Lisa returns to Springfield to find deadbeat Bart living in the family home with Homer, who was supposed to be residing in the same retirement home where his own father, Abe, a.k.a Grandpa Simpson, had languished. A senior's protection agency buses Homer off to Florida, sending Lisa and Bart on a mission to get him back. In the process, they discover a video Marge recorded before her death urging her eldest children to stick together. Eventually, the family is reunited again at 742 Evergreen Terrace (minus "chatterbox" younger sister Maggie, who is off somewhere living her dream as a farm equipment auctioneer.) And don't worry about Marge. Though she said in her posthumous message she looked forward to reuniting with Homer in heaven, she appears to have found a new love in the afterlife — Ringo Starr, her high school crush. WATCH | Simpsons' producers move to recast white actors voicing characters of colour: Which Simpsons deaths have hit the hardest? Marge's apparent death seems to have struck a nerve on social media, but The Simpsons has a history of poignant goodbyes to beloved characters, dating back to its early seasons. has tallied a dozen recurring character deaths since the show's inception. Sometimes it was because actors left the show, other times it was due to their real-life deaths. One of the show's first deaths of a recurring character 30 years ago this year was Bleeding Gums Murphy, a local jazz musician and Lisa's sax-playing idol. WATCH | Lisa Simpson's heartbreaking goodbye to jazz idol Bleeding Gums Murphy: But that wasn't quite the shock that came with the untimely death of Maude Flanders, wife of mustachioed, hi-diddly-ho-ing neighbour Ned Flanders. Maude's death by T-shirt cannon at a car race followed actor Maggie Roswell's departure during the show's 11th season over a pay dispute. The plot twist reverberated through future seasons as Ned navigated life after the devastating loss of his wife, raising sons Rod and Todd. WATCH | T-shirt gun takes out Maude Flanders in shocking death scene: But a truly heartbreaking moment happened in season 25, as Bart stood at the chalkboard inside Springfield elementary The message this time was "We really miss you Mrs. K." — a tribute to his teacher, Edna Krabappel, which followed the October 2013 death of actress Marcia Wallace, 70, from complications due to pneumonia and breast cancer. The character's death was addressed in a later episode — and dealt a second blow to Ned Flanders who'd fallen in love with and married Krabapple years after Maude's death. The Simpsons dealt with another actor's death quite differently. When Canadian-born actor Phil Hartman was murdered in 1998, two of his popular characters — B-movie star Troy McClure and shady lawyer Lionel Hutz — were permanently retired rather than written out. But cast departures don't always mean characters disappear. Pamela Hayden, who voiced Bart's friend Milhouse for 35 years, retired in 2024. Singer Kelly Macleod replaced Hayden and debuted in the same episode that Marge dies. Even after 790 episodes, The Simpsons isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Fox, which has aired the series in the U.S. since its 1989 premiere as a standalone show, announced in April it had renewed the show through its 40th season, taking it up to 2029. And there's no indication that the principal voice actors, including Julie Kavner, who voices Marge, are going anywhere either. But the sudden attention on Marge's death — again, it takes place several years in the future and she'll likely be back to scolding Homer when the series returns this fall — could signal that love for The Simpsons endures even if its popularity has waned since its peak in the 1990s. Matt Groening, who created the series, told Variety this month that The Simpsons fandom is "as intense as ever" even after decades on the air. Groening made the remark at the Annecy Animation Festival in France, where the show was honoured as an "Icon of Animation." He also took the opportunity to remind fans of his close, personal connection to the characters. "I have a real father called Homer, a real mother called Marge, real siblings called Lisa and Maggie and a real grandfather called Abe," he told the festival audience, according to Variety. Unlike the show's characters, the real Marge did outlive Homer: Marge Groening died in 2013, Homer in 1996. WATCH | How The Simpsons creator's family history runs through the Canadian Prairies:
NZ Herald
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- NZ Herald
Fans outraged as major Simpsons character ‘killed off'
Despite the dramatic episode, The Simpsons has been renewed for four more seasons. Picture / © 20th Century Fox. Courtesy Everett Collection Fans of The Simpsons are up in arms over the unexpected death of one of the long-running series' main characters. In the final episode of season 36 of the cartoon, titled 'Estranger Things', the fate of the Simpsons' matriarch, Marge, is revealed. While focusing on Bart and Lisa's relationship, it
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Simpsons' Icon Dead at 84 After Private Health Battle
'Simpsons' Icon Dead at 84 After Private Health Battle originally appeared on Parade. The Simpsons icon, Emmy-winning composer , is dead at 84 after working for 27 years on the beloved show. On Thursday, May 29, Clausen died at his Valley Village home in Los Angeles, Calif., according to The Hollywood Reporter. His death came after he was diagnosed with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) in 2017. 🎬 SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🎬 In 1990, the composer joined The Simpsons for Season 2; his work continued on the show until Season 28 in 2017. Clausen won two Emmys and was nominated 21 other times for his music in the animated Fox series. In addition to The Simpsons, Clausen's work appeared in Moonlighting and ALF. Fans took to social media with touching tributes in the wake of Clausen's death. One X user wrote, "RIP to Alf Clausen an incredibly talented man who did so much for @TheSimpsons." Another fan shared via X, "This one's a really sad loss. Alf Clausen, who scored every episode from seasons 2 to 28, has passed away. I could go on and on about how much his tunes for the show have lived rent free in my head." Someone else commented, "He will be greatly missed. I really love his compositions in the show," alongside a dove emoji. A different X user replied, "His composition in the episode 'Colonel Homer' was some of the best. May he rest in peace." Meanwhile, yet another fan declared, "RIP Alf Clausen, former Simpsons composer. Was truly one of my favorite composers of all time," adding a red heart emoji. Next: 'Simpsons' Icon Dead at 84 After Private Health Battle first appeared on Parade on Jun 2, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jun 2, 2025, where it first appeared.
Boston Globe
01-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Alf Clausen, Emmy-winning composer who wrote music for ‘The Simpsons' for 27 years, dies at 84
Al Jean, an early 'Simpsons' writer who was one of the key creative figures on the show in the 1990s, said in a post on X Friday that 'Clausen was an incredibly talented man who did so much for The Simpsons.' While Danny Elfman wrote the show's theme song, Mr. Clausen joined the Fox animated series created by Matt Groening in 1990 and provided essentially all of its music until 2017, composing nearly 600 scores and conducting the 35-piece orchestra that played it in the studio. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up His colleagues said his music was a key component of the show's comedy, but Mr. Clausen believed the best way to back up the gags of Homer, Marge, Bart, and Lisa was by making the music as straight as possible. Advertisement 'This is a dream job for a composer,' Mr. Clausen told Variety, which first reported his death, in 1998. 'Matt Groening said to me very early on, 'We're not a cartoon. We're a drama where the characters are drawn. I want you to score it like a drama.' I score the emotions of the characters as opposed to specific action hits on the screen.' Advertisement Groening, in a 1996 interview, called him 'one of the unacknowledged treasures of the show.' Mr. Clausen was born in Minneapolis and raised in Jamestown, N.D. He graduated from the Berklee College of Music in 1966 and moved to Los Angeles seeking a career in music. In the 1970s he was a musical director on several TV variety shows including 'Donny & Marie.' Mr. Clausen worked as an orchestrator for composer Lee Holdridge in his scores for 1980s films including 'Splash' and 'The Beastmaster.' It was Holdridge who first got the composing job on 'Moonlighting,' the late-80s ABC rom-com detective series starring Bruce Willis and Cybil Shepherd, but he handed the gig off to Mr. Clausen, who would get six Emmy nominations for his music on it. Mr. Clausen won his Emmys for 'The Simpsons' in 1997 and 1998 and also won five Annie Awards, which honor work in animation in film and television. He was fired from 'The Simpsons' in a cost-cutting move in 2017, to the outrage of his collaborators and fans. He sued over his dismissal. In addition to his daughter, Mr. Clausen leaves his wife, Sally, two other children Scott and Kyle, stepchildren Josh and Emily, and 11 grandchildren.
