   last exit to springfield    ask the expert                                                                                                                                                                      the                     show                                       q:           where do the simpsons family live?           a:            the simpsons live at 742 evergreen terrace in springfield,            usa. what state? nobody knows, not even the people that           make the show. it has been revealed on behind the laughter that they           were from kentucky but this was changed in its second airing. the           writers continue to tease viewers with clues, but matt           groening has said himself that there is no actual location for springfield.           he chose the name as most places have a 'springfield'. if you're                       still not convinced, visit www.snpp.com,                        as they can explain a lot more than i                       can.  if this isn't good enough, you can stick with kentucky                       if  you want. a map in 'brake my wife, please' marked springfield                        in a similar area.                                                q: was the simpsons cancelled?!                        a:                                                 the simpsons has not been cancelled.                        the show has always been on a contract-by-contract basis                        and its cancellation will occur when fox finds the show                        is no longer profitable or the creators lose interest.                        neither have happened yet. nobody has even begun talking                        about the end of the simpsons yet. you can bet they'll                        be around for a while yet.                                                        q: are there any plans for a movie?                             a: yes, the writers and producers have stated                            they'd like to produce a movie as long as they get                            a story good enough for everybody to like. it's possible                            when the show finishes, a movie will be released to                            farewell our favourite family one last time.                                                                                                                                           q: where can i download episodes?                            a: the practice of offering full length episodes                            is illegal, so if i knew about any sites which offered                            them, chances are they wont be around for long. your                            best bet is kazaa, and that's not an acceptable                            answer for most of you, but it's all i've got.                                                        q: can i get bart's chalkboard quotes?                            a: the simpsons                        archive covers every episode's quote, even if there                        were none. it's updated regularly. check                        it out. the simpsons archive also has lists of couch                        gags and other references, i can't stress enough how many                        of our questions can be answered with their url.                                                                                                                                                      characters                                                                                                                  q: why dont their clothes change?                            a: it's much                                  easier for the animators to have set colors and                             clothing so that many people can be trained to                                  draw the same things. since several animators                             are working on the one scene, this avoids continuity                             issues, and ensures the family are always wearing                             the same clothes.                                                          q: do they have middle names?                             a: bart's middle name is jo-jo, homer's                             was recently  revealled to be jay, lisa's is marie.                             marge and  maggie's have never been spoken, and may                             not have  them at all.                                                          q: why was maude flanders killed off?                             a: the voice actor (maggie roswell) left                             the show  and they didn't want her replacement to                             have to  handle too many characters. but maggie's                             been back since then.                                            q: is waylon smithers really gay!? a: yes. why is this still hard for                                  you people to believe? the evidence since season 2 has been overwhelming. doesn't get more crystal clear without announcing it.  q: are lenny and carl gay? a:  they've been clearly heterosexual in some of the                                  earlier seasons, but you'd could be mistaken in  the last couple of seasons, particularly in the                                  episode where artie ziff returns. the question  was asked at a writers conference and the writers                                  themselves said that they are just really good  friends.                  dvd's                                 q: are all seasons coming out on dvd?             a: as long as dvd's are the primary viewing format, fox             will continue to release them season by season. fox once promised             that a new season would be out every six months, but as it turns             out, it's becoming more of a year in between releases. at the current             rate, it will take eleven more years for the season we've just watched             on tv to be released on dvd, and then there will be future seasons             to release as well. it is important to remember, though, that dvd's             are still considered new technology, and production companies are             using their resources to release other shows and classic movies on             dvd as well.                          q: when will season 5 be released?             a: all we can do is make predictions and at the current             release rate it will be released as early as christmas 2004 or jan/feb             2005.                  submit a question         send your questions to me via email. click the 'email us' link in the navigation and change the topic of your email to 'ask the expert'. if you have submitted a question that i've already answered it will not be posted here so make sure you check the archives first.                                                    your latest questions                                                                                                                                                                                                       mid                               2004 edition                                                                                                                                                                 q:                                     what is the key missing from homer's typewriter?                                a:                                   the letter  e  is missing from the                                   typewriter, so when homer writes his restaurant                                   review, words like  pasghetti" and "momatoes" come                                   out. it's difficult to say why the words came                                   out like that seeing                                   how they use 'e's anyway and the missing letter                                   wouldn't have affected the beginning letters.                                                                                                              q:                                       what does off stand for?                                a:                                   off is a commonly used term on the internet                                   when it comes to simpsons, and it simply means                                   'our favorite family'.                                                                                                              q:                                       is the song  jazzman  performed                                       by bleeding gums a real song and who is                                       it by?                                a:                                   the song was written and performed by carole                                   king (with tom scott on sax) on her 1974 album                                   `wrap around joy'. the song hit #2 on the billboard                                   chart.                                                                                  q:                                       in  diatribe of a mad housewife ,                                       marvin monroe appears. isn't he dead?                                a:                                   the writers are playing tricks on fans. lets                                   face it, they like to confuse you. he was inserted                                   into this episode to create a bit of controversy                                   and arguments for and against him being alive.                                   the programme never showed him dying and there's                                   only been subtle references since, so unless                                   we see him again, regularly, we can still assume                                   he's dead.                                                                                                                    q:                                           in which episode does homer dream of                                           being gold? can you post a                                           pic?                                    a:                                       homer dreams of winning the lottery and                                       spending his money on becoming the tallest                                       man in the world, covered in 14 carat gold.                                       it appears in season 3's  dog of death.  a                                       pic has been posted to the right.                                                                                       q:                                     in  milhouse doesn't live here anymore ,                                     who is the character never returning?                                                                                                 a:                                   the fox promos said that one character would                                   leave for good, and since milhouse came back,                                   it's a safe bet that they were referring to                                   luanne van houten, who hasn't had many lines                                   since her voice actress left the show. in  my                                   big fat geek wedding , luanne appears                                   at edna's wedding and hen's night, but she                                   could have just been visiting.                                                                                                              q:                                       what are the lyrics to homer's  animal                                       house  song?                                a:                                   sung in season 15's  margical history                                   tour : animal house, house, house. nobody                                   ever went to class. then we saw donald sutherland's                                   ass! animal house, house, house, animal house,                                   house, house. then they did the end like american                                   graffiti, where you find out what happened                                   to everyone.                                                                                                                       q:                                           how old is matt groening?                                    a:                                       matt turned fifty earlier this year.                                                                                      q:                                     what does homer read off his sweaty hand                                     to mindy simmons?                                    a:                                       from the episode 'the last temptation of                                       homer':  muh...murphy: use...you are                                       a elf...uncontrollably...i think ...a we                                       nom yo ho renge kyo                                                                                                  q:                                               what is lisa's email address?                                        a:                                           lisa revealled her email address in                                           a song during the episode  the                                           president wore pearls . if you                                           didn't catch it, it was smartgirl63_\@yahoo.com                                           . we're not sure if it'll work, back                                           slashes are probably an invalid character                                           that email addresses are unable to                                           use.                                                                                                                                          q:                                                   what song does michael jackson                                                   sing to homer to put him asleep?                                            a:                                               the song was michael jackson's                                               own  ben , which was                                               one of his very first hits that                                               he sung in his early days.                                                                                                                                                     q:                                                       what cards does homer have                                                       when he's told he has the                                                       royal sampler?                                                a:                                                   when homer and the stonecutters                                                   are playing poker in homer                                                   the great, homer's  royal                                                   sampler  consists of a                                                   three, six, ten, jack, and                                                   king.                                                                                                                                                                 q:                                                           what song is played                                                           during channel six's  60's                                                           montage                                                    a:                                                       this song has been used                                                       twice on the show now,                                                       once in the montage you                                                       mentioned in my mother                                                       the carjacker, and in mother                                                       simpson. it's  all                                                       along the watchtower  by                                                       jimi hendrix.                                                                                                                                                                             q:                                                               what does the 'dead                                                               beat dad' statue                                                               say and what does                                                               kirk say to it?                                                        a:                                                           the statue shows a                                                           dad emptying his pockets                                                           and the quote  i                                                           just don't have it .                                                           kirk says  that's                                                           all? just a statue?                                                           this country makes                                                           me sick!                                                                                                                                                                                          q:                                                                   when rainier                                                                   sings the oscar-meyer                                                                   weiner-like                                                                   song, what                                                                   is spelt out?                                                            a:                                                               in the episode  simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala-d'oh-cious ,                                                               a young rainier                                                               sings about  fritz                                                               schnackenpfefferhausen                                                                                                                                                                                                      q:                                                                       why did                                                                       dustin                                                                       hoffman                                                                       and michael                                                                       jackson                                                                       use fake                                                                       names?                                                                a:                                                                   dustin used                                                                   a fake name                                                                   because at                                                                   the time, guest                                                                   starring on                                                                   the simpsons                                                                   was an unknown                                                                   venture and                                                                   he wasn't sure                                                                   if people would                                                                   praise or laugh                                                                   at him for                                                                   doing it. michael                                                                   did it so that                                                                   the media wouldn't                                                                   follow him                                                                   around, at                                                                   least we assume                                                                   so. it could                                                                   be that he's                                                                   weird.                                                                                                                                                                                                                 q:                                                                           in                                                                           which                                                                           episode                                                                           was                                                                           it                                                                           april                                                                           fools                                                                           day                                                                           and                                                                           bart                                                                           shook                                                                           up                                                                           a can                                                                           of                                                                           beer?                                                                    a:                                                                       this was                                                                       the series'                                                                       very first                                                                       clip show                                                                       titled                                                                       'so it's                                                                       come to                                                                       this: a                                                                       simpsons                                                                       clip show'.                                                                       it aired                                                                       during                                                                       season                                                                       4.                                                                                                                                                                                                                             q:                                                                               in d'oh-in in the wind, what                                                                               song does young homer dance to                                                                               at woodstock?                                                                        a:                                                                           another                                                                           jimi                                                                           hendrix                                                                           song.                                                                           this                                                                           time                                                                           it                                                                           was  star                                                                           spangled                                                                           banner                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          q:                                                                                   how long does it take to                                                                                   complete an episode of the                                                                                   simpsons?                                                                            a:                                                                               after recording the voices, it                                                                               takes nine months for the episodes                                                                               to be animated and completed.                                                                               so adding on writing the episode                                                                               and changing the stories, it's                                                                               about a year per episode, but                                                                               they do many at a time.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     q:                                                                                       can you post a picture                                                                                       of gina from the wandering                                                                                       juvie?                                                                                a:                                                                                   i wont post it here, but                                                                                   there's one in our promo                                                                                   cards section under season                                                                                   15.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           q:                                                                                       in which episode does                                                                                       lisa simpson say "i                                                                                       am the lizard queen"?                                                                               a:                                                                                   she says this in the episode                                                                                   'selma's choice'.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           q:                                                                                       in which ep did homer                                                                                       sing "christmas                                                                                       in december?" do                                                                                       you have it as a sound?                                                                               a:                                                                                   it's from last season's "dude,                                                                                   where's my ranch" when                                                                                   he's trying to write a christmas                                                                                   carol. and no, we don't have                                                                                   it on the site yet.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          archived questions                                                                                                                             legal notice and disclaimer: "the simpsons" tm and   fox and it's related companies. all rights reserved. this site, it's operators, and any content on this site relating to the simpsons are not authorized by fox.                         