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PEOPLE & ARTS Tuesday 12 June 2018

An inside look at the writing, production of ‘The Simpsons’

By JERRY HARKAVY through their work on the full orchestra participates
Associated Press “Harvard Lampoon.” in each week’s produc-
“Springfield Confidential: While creator Matt Groen- tion, even though it would
Jokes, Secrets, and Out- ing got the acclaim for the be cheaper to simulate
right Lies from a Lifetime show’s success, Reiss cred- sound with a synthesizer.
Writing for The Simpsons” its the late Sam Simon for The most popular foreign
(Dey Street Books), by Mike assembling the writers and market for “The Simpsons”
Reiss with Mathew Klickstein setting the tone of “The is Latin America, where it is
When television’s longest- Simpsons.” dubbed into Spanish by a
running cartoon show first Reiss’ book takes readers Mexican cast.
hit the airwaves, most of its inside the writers’ room, Over the years, the 725
writers and producers gave where about a half-dozen guest stars have ranged
it six weeks at best. The one people spend the workday from Stephen Hawking and
optimist in the crew figured pitching jokes. It’s part of a three of the Beatles to Larry
it might last 13 weeks. prolonged process that be- King, Joe Frazier and Eliza-
That was nearly three gins with a 45-page script beth Taylor.
decades and some 640 and goes through the re- The few who have turned
episodes ago. As the first cordings by cast members, down an invitation include
prime-time cartoon show animation, editing and mu- Bruce Springsteen, Tom
since “The Flintstones,” ‘’The sical scoring. Each episode Cruise and every U.S. presi-
Simpsons” has managed to requires nine months and dent from Gerald Ford to
maintain solid ratings, offer eight full rewrites to com- Barack Obama.
creatively offbeat humor plete. The author is often Reiss wades into the recent
and entertain viewers in asked how a network as blowup over Apu, the Hin-
dozens of countries across conservative as Fox came du convenience store clerk
the globe. to embrace a show that whose sing-song accent
Writer Mike Reiss was can seem “liberal to the made the show a target
among those with little point of anarchy.” He ex- amid allegations of racial
hope for the show’s pros- plains that Fox, as a daring stereotyping. The author
pects when he signed on newcomer when the show suggests that “maybe after
in the late 1980s for want of debuted, gave the writers three decades, time has
better options to advance immense freedom. It also run out for Apu.”
his comedy career. didn’t hurt that “The Simp- Most of the show’s famous
But concerns that the fledg- sons” raked in big profits catchphrases are uttered
ling Fox Network might can- and that network founder by Bart — “cowabunga,”
cel the show vanished after Rupert Murdoch was a big ‘’eat my shorts,” ‘’ay car-
it won effusive praise from This book cover image released by Dey Street Books shows fan. The book is a treasure amba” and “don’t have a
“Springfield Confidential: Jokes, Secrets, and Outright Lies from
critics and fans alike. a Lifetime Writing for The Simpsons,” by Mike Reiss with Mathew trove of anecdotes and cow” — but the most popu-
Reiss, a four-time Emmy Klickstein. interesting details about lar is Homer’s “D’oh,” which
winner who has been with Associated Press the show, which has even came about by chance.
“The Simpsons” for most of veloped, the voices behind Reiss, colleague Al Jean become a subject of study It was written in scripts as
his career, gives readers a the characters and a raft of and a handful of other writ- at many colleges. Half the (ANNOYED GRUNT), but
laugh-out-loud account of Simpson trivia that may sur- ers came to the show with production budget, or cast member Dan Castel-
how the show came to be, prise the show’s most loyal a Harvard education and about $2 million per show, laneta read it as “D’oh!”
the way episodes are de- fans. an immersion in comedy goes to cast members. A The rest is history. q

Family and Friends deliver dynamic, rollicking set

By SCOTT STROUD Edge. But the songs here So will “Better Days,” for
Associated Press offer more variety than that matter, another beau-
Family and Friends, “Fe- Lord Huron and Local Na- tifully wistful anthem that
lix Culpa” (Family and tives, circumventing the also comes from the I’m-
Friends) The first full-length pitfall that makes much losing-you school of love
album by the indie folk- of what those bands pro- songs.
rock collective Family and duce sound the same. That’s a theme through-
Friends rings a few familiar And while there may not out the album, though the
bells. There’s a jam-band be anything that alters the approaches and pacing
vibe that echoes the work trajectory of rock ‘n’ roll range around.
of Lord Huron and Local the way U2 did in its hey- Similar demons haunt one
Natives, rollicking along day, Family and Friends lay of the album’s best songs,
with a strong bass rhythm it out there with honesty, “So Within/So Without.”
underpinning that gives it energy and enough nu- So no, this independently-
real forward lean. ance to reward repeated produced album may not
It’s also hard to imagine listening. be the most original record
that this ensemble, based There’s the soaring ur- to surface in recent years.
out of Athens, Georgia, gency of “Hold On to But it’s a fine early effort,
didn’t spend time soaking Your Love,” a pour-it-out delivered with real heart,
This cover image released by Family and Friends shows the up the sound of U2, espe- anthem that would be at from an emerging band
cover of their independent release “Felix Culpa.” cially the finger-picked home on many a heart- that deserves more atten-
Associated Press electric strumming of the break playlist. tion going forward.q