American Idol Cast Gets The Simpsons Treatment

Check out the American Idol judges and host Ryan Seacrest all Simpson-ized!

Randy Jackson, Simon Cowell, Kara DioGuardi and Ellen DeGeneres will invite Springfield bartender Moe Syzslak to join them on the Idol stage, according to People!

“Judge Me Tender,” starring the Idol cast, will air May 23rd on FOX.

FYI: This isn’t Simon’s first time as a Simpsons guest! He made a cameo on the show back in 2004, playing an admissions screener at a Springfield pre-nursery school where Homer and Marge hoped to send Maggie.

David Beckham Wasn't Famous Enough for a Cameo on 'The Simpsons'

David Beckham was rejected for a role on The Simpsons because producers didn't think he was famous enough for the show's American audience. The soccer star, who lives in Los Angeles with his wife, former Spice Girls singer-turned-fashion designer Victoria Beckham, and their three sons, apparently requested a cameo on the program, but was turned down.

Al Jean, the show’s principal writer and executive producer, said: “We get a lot of requests from celebrities, and it's always a shame when we have to turn people down. We had a request from David Beckham and I had to phone him up and tell him sorry but I didn't want him on the show right now. I didn't think he was a big enough star for an American audience. I got a lot of grief about that. Some people got really angry about it and I was told, ‘I bet you would have put George Best on.’ I can pretty much say I would have turned him down too.”

David isn’t the only star to have left the team behind The Simpsons unimpressed, with Rolling Stones rocker Mick Jagger’s diva-like attitude leaving many unhappy when he recorded a guest role. Actor Hank Azaria, who voices characters including Chief Wiggum, Apu and Moe, revealed to Live magazine: “They sent me down to greet Mick Jagger when he arrived to record his part, and I said, ‘Hey, Mick, we're thrilled to have you here.’ And he kind of blew right by me like I was the greeter, and went, all dismissively, ‘Yeah, we'll get it.’ It made me a little bit annoyed. I knew it was going to get awkward, because I was about to walk upstairs and record with him.”

Fall TV Premieres: Sunday Night

As the official Fall TV premiere comes to a close we have several of our favorites coming back to another season of love, betrayal, laughter, and mysteries...and that's only what "Desperate Housewives" has in store for us.

Here are the new and returning shows for tonight.

THE AMAZING RACE (CBS 8:00 pm): Contestants in The Amazing Race's 15th installment begin their frenzied spirit around the world from Los Angeles and immediately jet off to Tokyo, where things get rather spicy. The 21-day race offers an array of contestants including Harlem Globetrotters, female professional poker players, a man with Asperger's syndrome and of course, a highly combustible husband/wife tandem.

AMERICAN DAD (FOX 9:30 pm): Dad's fifth season his hard on Son Steve, who goes to a Vietnam War restaging and gets a case of Post-Traumatic-War-Reenactment Stress Disorder. On the Christmas episode, CIA agent Stan Smith spends the end of the holidays trying to rescue his wife Francine from the Antichrist.

BROTHERS & SISTERS (ABC 10:00 pm): Another health crisis kicks off season four and all bets are on Nora (Sally Field) to be the won stricken by the crisis. In other story lines, Kevin (Matthew Rhys) and Scotty (Luke Macfarlane) pursue parenthood via surrogacy; Kitty (Calista Flockhart) and Robert (Rob Lowe) try to mend their marriage; Sarah (Rachel Griffiths) gets luck with a stud (Gilles Marini); and Nora and Holly (Patricia Wettig) lock horns over planning Justin (Dave Annable) and Rebecca's (Emily VanCamp) wedding.

CALIFORNICATION (Showtime 10:00 pm): With Karen (Natascha McElhone) away, Hank (David Duchovny), who takes a job teaching writing at a university, will play with three women: a twentysomething student/stripper (Eva Amurri); his thirtysomething teacher's aide (Diane Farr); and the fourtysomething head of the English department (Embeth Davidtz), who's married to the college dean (Peter Gallagher). It will be an interesting third season.

THE CLEVELAND SHOW (FOX 8:30 pm): Family Guy's Cleveland Brown and his son, Cleveland Jr., return to their hometown of Stoolbend, Virginia where he marries his first love, Donna, who has two kids of her own. This show will tell the story that "The Brady Bunch" never told.

COLD CASE (CBS 10:00 pm): Season seven finds Detective Rush (Kathryn Morris) off her game. Things will go haywire in her life. A military-academy official (Daniel Baldwin), who almost killed Rush, will remain a thorn in her side. And as she reconciles with her father (Raymond J. Barry), she'll have mixed feelings about her new found step mom and half siblings.

DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC 9:00 pm): Season six's central plot stems from an attack on a "beloved character" in the premiere. Suspects will include the Bolens, Wisteria Lane's newest clan headed by Drea de Matteo (The Sopranos) and Jeffrey Nordling (24) who are running away from something. In other story lines, Lynette (Felicity Hoffman) will hide her pregnancy from boss Carlos (Ricardo Antonio Chavira), Gaby (Eva Longoria Parker) will battle with niece Ana (Maiara Walsh), and Bree (Marcia Cross) will discover her sexuality in a major way through her affair with Karl (Richard Burgi). Plus, last season's cliffhanger of who is Mike (James Denton) marrying, either Susan (Teri Hatcher) or Katherine (Dana Delaney), will be answered in the first minute of the premiere show.

DEXTER (Showtime 9:00 pm): Showtime's crafty drama, about a Miami police blood-splatter analyst who satisfies his own sociopathic blood lust by killing murderers on the side, returns for season four with Dexter (Michael C. Hall) facing down his biggest nemesis yet...fatherhood and an intriguing mass murderer Arthur aka the Trinity Killer (John Lithgow).

EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION (ABC 8:00 pm): Season seven will bring more celebrities on the "Get on the Bus" campaign, including Patricia Heaton, Mary J. Blige and Ashley Tisdale.

FAMILY GUY (FOX 9:00 pm): During the eighth season, Family Guy's creator will have a "Spies Like Us" reunion with Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase, the return of James Woods, and an "Empire Strikes Back" spoof.

THE SIMPSONS (FOX 8:00 pm): The 20th anniversary of the longest running prime-time cartoon series stars with Homer getting a whipping from a personal trainer (Seth Rogen) in order to get him into shape to play a big-screen superhero. Later int he season Bart also gets a girlfriend (Sarah Silverman), an older prankster (Jonah Hill) serves as a cautionary tale to Bart, and Krusty finds romance when a princess (Anne Hathaway) joins the show.

All show times are based on Eastern Time.

The Simpsons 44 cents Postage Stamps Revealed

We told you last week that The Simpsons have truly "arrived" with the announcement that they will be depicted on the 44 cent postage stamps.

Well, the wait is over and let the buying frenzy begin.

Your local post office should have a supply on hand of the first edition covers for collectors who have been anxiously waiting to purchase the icon postage. Check it out and buy online at the USPS website.

The Simpsons Go Postal

Bart Simpson is finally going to get that lickin' he so richly deserves. He and the rest of his fun and dysfunctional family will be paid tribute by the U.S. Postal Service – you read that right – which is rolling out five 44-cent stamps, in honor of primetime's longest-running comedy's 2009 20th anniversary.

"The Simpsons are American icons, quite frankly," the Postal Services' spokesman, Mark Saunders, said in a statement on behalf of Bart's relatives: father Homer, mother Marge, and sisters Lisa and Maggie. "We're excited about it, and we think America will be, too. It's a great opportunity for us to reach a new generation of stamp enthusiasts."

The cartoon's creator, Matt Groening, has rendered the artwork for the Simpson stamps, to be previewed April 9. In all, the Postal Service annually receives more than 50,000 suggestions for its special stamp of approval, but issues only 20.

"The Simpsons" to Clinch Television Record

Fox said on Thursday it has ordered two more seasons of animated comedy "The Simpsons," ensuring the show that started in 1989 will surpass "Gunsmoke" as the longest-running prime-time U.S. television series.

"The Simpsons" will start its 21st season in the fall, after last year tying the longevity record of "Gunsmoke," which ended in 1975 after 20 seasons. Its second season in the two-year deal will come in 2010.

The cops and courts show "Law & Order" on network NBC has run for 19 prime-time seasons, starting in 1990.

"The Simpsons" has won 24 Emmy Awards and was already the longest running animated series on prime-time television in the United States. It was created by cartoon artist Matt Groening.
The Simpsons are a family of five made up of dull-witted father Homer, good-intentioned mom Marge and kids Bart and Lisa and Maggie, who all live in a town called Springfield that serves as a microcosm of the United States.

It has featured the voice work of major celebrities in guest starring roles, from Paul McCartney to Elizabeth Taylor, and it casts a comedic glance at weighty issues, including racial discrimination, world affairs and religion.

In 2007, "The Simpsons Movie" hit theaters and went on to make more than $527 million worldwide.

"Gunsmoke," a western about straight-shooting lawman Matt Dillon, began in 1955 during TV's black and white era, and later switched to color. Sam Peckinpah, who went on to make the 1969 western classic "The Wild Bunch," was among the many directors on "Gunsmoke," which starred James Arness as Dillon.

A Macho Character from "The Simpsons" is Outed

Long-running FOX TV comedy show The Simpsons has revealed that the character of Duffman is gay. The revelation comes in the latest episode of the program, now in its 20th series.

The episode, titled "Sweet Conclusions" follows Homer as he sets up a business breaking up with people on behalf of his clients.

The episode marks the return of two gay men that Homer once shared a flat with during a short break, Grady and Julio. "When Grady calls Homer to book his breakup services, he mentions that he's dating someone new just as Duffman steps out of the shower and playfully snaps his towel at Grady," reports AfterElton.com

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"Considering how Duffman parodies the way beer marketing is often drenched in machismo, seeing him in a relationship with Grady strikes me as very subversive."

Duffman is a spokesperson for Duff beer, and his catchphrase "Ooh Yeah!" is a favourite with fans. The character is based on Budweiser's former mascot Bud Man.

The Simpsons has sympathetically tackled gay marriage in an episode that revealed that Marge Simpson's sister Patty is a lesbian.

The character of Waylon Smithers has been a source of much comedy over the years, as he is clearly gay and in love with his boss, evil nuclear plant owner Montgomery Burns.

However, the latest Halloween special angered the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) after school bully Nelson Muntz used the phrase "that's so gay" to character Milhouse Van Houten. GLSEN wants the show's producers to promise not to use the phrase again.

"Nelson's use of 'that's so gay' in a negative way is not surprising considering that 90% of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth say they hear the term used this way frequently or often at school." the group said.

The Simpsons Accused of Homophobia

TV cartoon show The Simpsons has been criticised by a gay advocacy group after a character used the word 'gay' to mean 'bad' or 'rubbish.'

The show, one of the longest-running in TV history, is normally very supportive of the gay community, and even featured an episode where same-sex marrige was legalised in the town of Springfield.

But the latest Halloween special has angered the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) after school bully Nelson Muntz used the phrase "that's so gay" to character Milhouse Van Houten.

GLSEN wants the show's producers to promise not to use the phrase again.

"Nelson's use of 'that's so gay' in a negative way is not surprising considering that 90% of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth say they hear the term used this way frequently or often at school." the group said.

"Nelson should visit ThinkB4YouSpeak.com where he can send an apologetic e-card to Milhouse. GLSEN would also welcome Nelson's participation in our next PSA so he can make amends by helping to educate young people about why such language is wrong."

Article from PinkNews.co.uk