David Cooper posts
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0390 - Zolar
Zolar is the only other character in this scene to have a present day counterpart - namely Jacques.This is because Homer addresses him as "Zolar the Adulterer", and Jacques' one character trait is that he tried to steal Marge away from Homer that one time. Indeed, most of Jacques' future background appearances will centre around him wooing other women and/or luring them away from their husbands, for example as part of the "Home Wreckers" bowling team in season 7's "Team Homer":Given how many minor characters ...
Moevember, Week 3!
Alas, poor Moe-rick. I knew him, Moe-ratio. Wait, I shouldn't wasting this gold in the text bit that Moe-one reads. Mental Moe-te: look into doing Shakespeare characters next year.Week 3 of Moevember includes Afr-Moe, Fat Moe-ny, Moe-rilla, Moe-celine, Moe-nsters inc, Moe-ke Wazowski, Finding Ne-Moe, Moe-zart and Moe-rat.Only one Moe-re week left! Will he make it to the end?(Spoiler: yes. I've already finished them all. I'm writing this post in September. I take this nonsense very seriously.)
0389 - Ezron
This guy's carving a big ol' golden sex god cow, although in the Bible it is Mose's brother Aaron who carves the golden calf false idol.It is possible that this guy's name is "Hezron", an associate of Moses, but Hezron from the Bible seemingly was not a carver of graven images, and the way Homer says it omits the H to my hearing - and Frinkiac backs me up on this.I do admire the devotion to their religion that these guys have. As soon as they are told "don't do that!" by their God, they immediately give up th...
0388 - Homer the Thief
What a strange way to start an episode!Now, it is probably not the place of this blog to determine whether events in the Bible literally happened or not, but as far as the reality of The Simpsons is concerned, this scene is canon. It's not presented as a fantasy sequence, or as a dream of Homer's to tie in later - and so as presented, it is a thing that happened in this universe, related to the rest of the episode only thematically. And I have not brushed up on my Bible studies since...ever, but I suspect this brief scene with the Jews ...
0385 - Raphael.
EMERGENCY BROADCAST. This is the closest I'll be writing a post to it's actual publication, as this is an important correction to the "Every Simpsons Character Ever" timeline. I'll be posting this IMMEDIATELY after writing it, as opposed to all the other posts, which were written well in advance (some time in the 1970s).Thank you all for taking this issue very seriously - the results of the poll are in, and they have determined that the limo driver from "The Way We Was"is in fact regular Springfieldian citizen Raphae...
The Way We Was - round up!
This was a big one! One of the bigger season two episodes in terms of character additions, although we'll never see most of them again (sorry to all you Coach Flanagan fans). It's sort of an important episode in terms of defining how Marge and Homer first met, although this canon will be occasionally altered as the show proceeds anyway.The most important character introduced here is Rainier Wolfcastle - even though his brief debut has absolutely nothing to do with the bulk of the plot. It does mean that Artie Ziff doesn't get to be ...
Moevember, Week 2!
MOE MOE-NEY, MOE MOE-BLEMS. We're back with a fresh batch of Syzslakian joy for your eyeballs!This week we have Fred Flintst-Moe-ne, Moe-ku, Chron-Moe Trigger, Moe-gi Bear, Zor-Moe, Mach-Moe Man., Princess Moe-nonoke, Sn-Moe-man, Moe-ster Shake and Moe-twad.Moe-ing insane yet? I Moe I am! Don't forget if you want to see the full collection of Moe-dern Art, it's available in the post from the 2nd to £5 and up Patrons!
0387 - Waiter
The final speaking character of this episode is the waiter at the prom, who asks Homer if he would like steak or chicken.Little else is known about him, and by little I mean nothing, so we're ending on a high note.This post is part of my "Every Simpsons Character Ever" series. For a list of my rules in this project, click here.
Patreon Print - November 2024
We're a few days into Moe-vember now, and in addition to the normal entries I'm doing "Moe-dern Art,", in which I have a full Moe-related painting for each day. Today's entry - "Moe-net" - is one of my favourites, so I'm making it the Patron print this month! I hope you all enjoy!By the end of the month I'll have thirty potential Moe prints, so at some point we might all have to have an honest and frank discussion about how many people actually want - otherwise it'll be 2+ years of just these. No one can...
0386 - Larry Davis
We first covered this guy, and his band, in "Some Enchanted Evening", when I was not sure if he'd actually get a speaking role. But he can be heard singing at Homer and Marge's prom.He sings the line "Where the dogs of society howl", from Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road(which makes sense, given the backdrop). I checked, and they didn't just use a clip from the song, this is a new recording - I assume using the original would have cost them much much more anyway.I had to put that disclaimer under his name b...
"Moe-dern Art" - New Book!
My new book "Moe-dern Art" is an extension of the silliness of Moe-vember, in which I have made over thirty pieces featuring Springfield's favourite bartender, reimagined in a variety of classic and modern painting parodies.It's very stupid.I'll be posting these pieces every day this month, but I'm also releasing a collection of them all - including a few that I won't be posting online! The full 48 page book is available here, but also you can download a PDF copy at the handy dandy link in this post.As always, thank ...
Moevember, Week 1!
It's the FOURTH year of Moevember, a time when we celebrate Mr Syzslak and all his multiversal forms. Multiverses are still popular, right? Maybe it's just Moe-ltiverses.I'll be posting these daily - as well as the new Moe-dern art pieces - on social media, but you lovely patrons get to see them early! Here's week 1: Moe-llet, Phar-Moe, Rainb-Moe, El-Moe Fudd, Moe-semite Sam, Phantom of the Moe-pera, Moe-shi and Moe-fessor X.I sure hope you like increasingly strained puns!
0385 - Raphael or Limo Driver VOTE!
OKAY. Here is the most important act of democracy you will engage in this year.Hopefully you have read the previous post, in which I outline this predicament, but here's a brief recap: we need to concretely determine if teenage Homer's limo driver from "The Way We Was" is Raphael, the character who shows up in various odd jobs throughout Springfield later.My gut says this is a different guy, but I'm leaving up to you fellow Simpson scholars: two separate people? Or the same guy, 20 years apart?Choose wisely, and feel free to...
0385 - Raphael...?
SOUND THE EMERGENCY ALARM. It is Halloween and today's post is TERRIFYING to me.We are in CRISIS MODE here people, and I need your help to resolve this. This may just be the most important post in the history of this project.The next character to speak in this episode, chronologically, is this fella, Homer's limo driver.His voice and appearance should be familiar to even casual Simpsons fans. That sarcastic tone is a mainstay of Raphael, the background Springfieldian who appears in many odd jobs throughout the town.I'm willing to ac...
BONUS! Prom Homer, Prom Marge, Patty and Selma and Prom Artie
As it's unlikely we'll see these designs again - at least, not for a while - we might as well cover them all here. Unlike with most bonus characters, you already know who all these folk are, so here's how they were all dressed one particular night in 1974:These are fun to draw - it's interesting to see what choices they made in these designs to place them squarely in the 70s. In my opinion, they succeeded - even for Patty and Selma, who are not in prom attire.Of course, it's also extremely possible that these designs helped ...
0384 - Clancy Bouvier
Marge's father is an unintentionally mysterious figure in the show - he rarely comes up, and only in flashback. This is the first time he comes up (although Marge's mother Jacqueline has appeared or been mentioned a few times before this point.)Although I think most people will remember him from his other significant "classic era" appearance, in season 6's "Fear of Flying":My assumption throughout all this was that he had died at some unspecified point - but I was surprised to learn that his death was not actually co...
0383 - Judge
It's hard to believe that we're already at the end of...It goes by so quickly, doesn't it? But we'll always have the memories. I cannot guarantee that HSDTJW will become an annual tradition, but I have written to my local government representative to try and get it recognised as a national holiday. Let's get a hashtag going or something. You figure out what it is.For old time's sake, let's get a look at the old gang one last time.They will stay in our hearts forever. God bless you, judges. I judge thee: wonderful.Thi...
0382 - Judge
How are you celebrating...Hopefully you are spending time with loved ones, partaking in all the traditional HSDTJW activities and having a festive time. Even so, make sure you take some time to read this entry - it is the reason for the season after all.Here's the original classic shot of the judges again. I don't like reusing screenshots like this, but this is a special occasion after all.This is the lady.This post is part of my "Every Simpsons Character Ever" series. For a list of my rules in this project, click here.
0381 - Judge
It's been a while since we had a theme week! It's time for...High-School Debate Team Judge Week (or HSDTJW for the realfans) is a week in which we celebrate these three judges.Their mouths do not move, but there are three distinct voices speaking as they write down scores for Marge, so they appear to count! And, to my untrained ear, they sound like a male voice ("Terrible"), a female voice (can't tell what she is saying) and another male voice ("nonono") so for ease I'll cover them from left to right.This is the ...
0380 - Mr Seckofsky
Look at this friendly fella! He's like a proto-Frink.Similar to his colleague Coach Flanagan, his purpose is only to briefly deliver an opinion on Homer before disappearing into the mists of cartoon obscurity forever.The SimpsonsWikisclaim that Homer and Barney skip his class to smoke earlier in the episode, but I first believed to be inaccurate - the class they skip is stated to be English, and Seckofsky appears to teach shop class.But later Barney shows concern for missing Seckofsky's class and Homer suggests they go get an early lunc...
0379 - Coach Flanagan
Although we are introduced to a lot of characters in this episode, they are not fully developed in their own right - meant only to push the story along, not as joke delivery machines in their own right. Flanagan is an example of this:He has a couple of opinions on Homer, but his appearance is forever locked here, in 1974. This is all he will ever be to us. At least he got a name, that's better than half the bozos around here.He seems to possibly have a nudie calendar in his office? In a school? That's not a good look.This post is part o...
0378 - Mrs Bloomenstein
Mrs Bloomenstein is one of the many Springfield High School staff members we meet here, and after this episode she is never seen again.She takes the debate club that Homer signs up for to impress Marge, and dresses in very 70s fashion. Little else is known about her. Hoping a season 36 episode will confirm if she is still alive or not, at the very least.This post is part of my "Every Simpsons Character Ever" series. For a list of my rules in this project, click here.
0377 - Artie Ziff
A double-whammy of significant appearances here - not only is Artie Ziff a notable character with multiple episodes, but this is the first time Jon Lovitz voices a Simpsons character!Were it not for Rainier Wolfcastle's brief cameo at the start of the episode, Ziff would be the most important addition to the Simpsons canon from "The Way We Was". It's easy to dismiss him because most of his appearances are after the "golden era" of the show, but by my count he has a speaking role in seven episodes - more than a lot of oth...
Patreon Print - October 2024
This design came in second in the past two polls, so I thought I'd give it chance to shine this time! "THRILLHO" is a moment I've always loved, so I thought I'd try a weird trippy version of it.If you'd like this A5 print delivered directly to you, please be a £10 or higher member for this month! Make sure your address is available there and they'll be sent out at the start of November. Thank you for your support!If you have any questions, let me know.
0376 - Guidance Counselor
This friendly fella reminds me a little of Dr J Loren Pryor, I'm not sure if that's intentional - he's definitely nicer to Homer than Pryor is to Bart.He can be seen again in season 5's "Homer Goes to College", albeit with a different voice.The Simpsons wiki(both of them) lists his name as "Mr McIntyre", but in neither of these appearances do I see evidence of that, so I choose to ignore it. If you can find where this name comes from, let me know by shouting loudly at whatever screen you're looking at this on...
BONUS! Abe
This is the first appearance of Abe in a flashback.I tried to figure out how consistent this design is, but most of his other flashback appearances are from before Homer's teenage years:("Mother Simpson")or later, when Homer is an adult and Abe is starting to feel grandfatherly:("Lisa's First Word")The hairstyle is more established in the second picture, it's like a perfect cross between the "The Way We Was" design and the current day design, like the second evolution of a Pokémon. I'll try and keep tra...
0375 - Teacher
We meet a few of the Springfield High School faculty in this episode, but none less memorable than this teacher overseeing detention.Unlike many of the flashback characters introduced here, he doesn't even have a name, as far as I can tell. Although as with others we've discussed in other posts, he can be seen in "Treehouse of Horror XXIII" - very briefly, in a single shot.This post is part of my "Every Simpsons Character Ever" series. For a list of my rules in this project, click here.
0374 - Estelle
Estelle is an actual named character who appears only to reject Barney's promvitation. I don't care that spellcheck has put a little red squiggly line under promvitation, I am keeping it.This is her only appearance until the "Treehouse of Horror XXIII" segment "Bart & Homer's Excellent Adventure", which heavily references "The Way We Was" at first:"Bart & Homer's Excellent Adventure" is a Back to the Future Parody, but they had already burned the title "Bart to the Future" on an episode a ...
BONUS! Man
Here's where the career ending scandal and controversy kicks in.While I did determine one of yesterday's crowd members gets an official numbered entry in the hallowed halls of Simpson character fame, I am now deciding that this guy:does not have a clear line in the subsequent shot. Clearly he is very excited that Marge is burning her bra, and the line "Yeah, Mama, take it off!" can be heard immediately after this shot, but there's not enough confirmation that that particular line is said by a character that appears on screen...
0373 - Lady
Getting really nitpicky on the Patreon this week as we cover this feminist demonstration.I am saying that this lady at the front is the lady who says "Right on, sister!", the only clear line in this brief shot. The lip movements don't quite match up (the animation is a brief loop), but we'll let that slide. Welcome to the club, lady.This post is part of my "Every Simpsons Character Ever" series. For a list of my rules in this project, click here.
