BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — We all know that one guy (or gal) who has an uncanny (occasionally annoying) knack for recalling lines from just about every episode of “The Simpsons” — of which there are currently 552 and counting.
That person is about to be replaced by a tricked-out, multiplatform “Simpsons World” library available this fall from FXX that will allow TV subscribers to have access to every episode of the show since its 1989 debut, searchable and clippable by scene and subject, on any device.
Expect your social network feeds to soon be filled with lines from “The Simpsons” as users try to impress their friends with apropos dialogue once uttered by Bart, Homer, Sideshow Bob, Mr. Burns, Marge’s sisters, Apu, Maggie and Ralph. No stone in Springfield appears to have been left unturned. No more will you search YouTube hoping for fuzzily replicated clips of, say, the show’s “Planet of the Apes” musical. (“I hate every ape I see/ From chimpan-A to chimpan-Zee …”)
Hard-to-impress reporters at the Television Critics Association’s annual summer press tour were slowly roused from their indifference (yawn. Another on-demand viewing app?) during a demo Monday morning of “Simpsons World.” For a moment, it felt a little bit like a scene out of HBO’s “Silicon Valley,” where every new product is touted for its ability to make the world a better place.
“Simpsons World” will be accessible to users who get FXX through their cable or satellite providers. The network told reporters it estimates that about 60 percent of TV subscribers will be able to get it, with more expected. (A deal has yet to be reached with Verizon FiOS.) If you post a “Simpsons” clip on your social network accounts, all your friends and followers will see it, whether or not they get FXX.
For people who want to indulge in “The Simpsons” the old-fashioned way, FXX (which won exclusive cable and on-demand rights to “Simpsons” reruns in a 2013 bidding war) will air every episode in order, continuously, for 12 days starting at 10 a.m. Aug. 21.
American ‘Broadchurch’ much like Brit version
When Fox announced last summer that it was going to remake the British hit miniseries “Broadchurch” (retitled as “Gracepoint,” premiering on Fox on Oct. 2) everyone wondered if that was such a smart idea. The original, which aired on BBC America, was pretty perfect that way it was. But Fox said the American version would be different enough to lure viewers who would be judging it against the British version.
Well, TV critics have now seen the first two episodes, and they’re remarkably similar to the original — sometimes down to the pauses.
David Tennant, who starred in the British “Broadchurch,” also plays the same role (with an American accent) in “Gracepoint,” a murder mystery set in Northern California.
After a number of questions about the similarities (and whether or not the ending will be a surprise), executive producer Carolyn Bernstein finally was compelled to point out the hard truth: BBC America’s viewing audience for “Broadchurch,” Bernstein said, “represents, really, truly less than 1 percent of the American television viewing population. We’re not particularly worried about the overlap.”
The show’s other executive producer, Dan Futterman, added: “My mom is right down the alley of the BBC America audience, and she started watching ‘Broadchurch’ and she’s like, ‘I can’t understand a word they’re saying.’ “
“How rude!” Tennant said.
