the simpsons for years. My 8 year old loves it, I love Family Guy.

So the main players' salary is to be cut in half from $8m per season to $4m per seaoson. And in this climate they're complaining about it? That doesn't look too good, does it, when millions - some of their fans among them - are barely scraping by.

Okay, no one wants to take a pay cut, but when you're on that sort of money what posible difference can it make to you?

Greed will perhaps be this show's final undoing.

that Fox makes from the show worldwide its nothing. And its not as if they could sack them and get soundalikes. Or could they? Or would they? etc.

Most cartoon Tv comedy wouldn't be the same or even exist without it yet South Park went through a sticky patch but still has the power to surprise. Family Guy is way past its best IMO.

The Simpsons still shows flashes of genius but I saw my favourite episode "Homerpalooza" the other day and it was line after brilliant line.

*as a giant inflatable pig sails into the air*
'Oh jeeze, there goes Peter Frampton's big finish'

Maybe we could have the spinoff shows with Wiggum battling crime in The Big Easy and the Love Tester Grandpa.

in driving those salaries up simply by paying them. Now that ad revs have dropped talent needs to take a pay cut. What goes around...

Or this could just all be PR spin by agents and network in their annual salary battle.

Spaghettio's.

If Fox are making the same cash from The Simpsons and through the merchandising, why should the cast take 50% pay cuts?

Even in austerity, I fail to see why the key players should bend over and be rogered by Rupert.

they have internet on computers now

I like my beer cold, my TV loud and my homosexuals flaming!!!

...that stopped me watching. I used to LOVE Moe. I loved all the "put the killer whales out back, boys" stuff. I loved the whole thing of the bar, and Barney - like when Moe is out and Barney just plugs himself into the beer tap ("Uh oh. Heart stopped. Hup! There it goes.")

But they started making Moe really, depressingly, suicidally tragic. It bummed me right out. Couldn't watch after that.

Pinchy?

who is totally in your face, proactive, radical and cool.

Unfortunately Poochie died on his way back to his home planet

Not being a Sky subscriber, I'm waaaay behind on The Simpsons. However, I was delighted recently to discover that Channel 4 have got some "new" episodes. They're actually from 2006 of course, being as new as they get, but I'm enjoying these ones. (I'd buy the box sets but they're years behind too.)

Perhaps it was already passed it's peak then, but I'm still enjoying it. I'd be sad to see it go, but at least there are 100+ episodes I'm still yet to see. It has to end eventually of course, but it would be sad to see it end like this. It's always money in the end isn't it.

(By the way, favourite episode? Have to be 'The B-Sharps' one.)

Big fat party animals and gay guys, and Bart doesn't look like a big fat party animal to me.

I don't even believe in Jebus!

.... no groaning in my store.

Yeewww say Chowdah!

Mr Phil Hartman:

When I grow up I want to go to Bovine University!

are the sticky buns?

Best non-verbal line ever!

is it you are American, and get *all* the in jokes.

Homer at the post office trying to retrieve an angry letter to Mr Burns that Bart has posted

That letter being

"Dear Mr. Burns. I'm so glad you enjoyed my son's blood, and your card was just great. In case you can't tell, I'm being sarcastic. You stink! You are a senile bucktoothed old mummy with bony girl arms and you smell like an elephant's butt!"

A lot of the early episodes are emotional, and not just centred around the dysfunctional nature of the family. That's what I like about them.

It makes me laugh that the likes of Nancy Cartwright are turning down £2m a year for doing the voice of Bart because her skill is totally non-transferable.

If she peddled her talent for doing the voice of a 10 year-old boy around there wouldn't be many takers. Sure Fox need her but she needs them much, much more.

Also, it is shown in more than 100 countries, but in the majority is dubbed with the voices of other actors. If they got rid of the likes of Cartwright, etc. and replaced them with actors on say £350,000 pa the rest of the world wouldn't care. I think Fox should call their bluff then hold a reality show to find replacement voices.

I am the Angel of Death.

The Time of Purification is at hand.

Harry Shearer (aka Mr Burns, Flanders, Rev Lovejoy and many more) puts in his 2 cents

For many years now, the cast of “The Simpsons” has been trying to get Fox to agree that, like so many other people who’ve contributed significantly to the show’s success, we be allowed a tiny share of the billions of dollars in profits the show has earned. Fox has consistently refused to even consider the matter. Instead, it’s paid us salaries that, while ridiculous by any normal standard, pale in comparison to what the show’s profit participants have been taking home.

Now, as the show enters its twenty-third season, we are engaged in what will probably be our last contract negotiation with Fox. As you may have heard, the network has taken the position that “The Simpsons” no longer makes enough money and that unless we in the cast accept a 45% pay cut, they are not going to bring the show back for a twenty-fourth season.

Obviously, there are a lot more important things going on in the world right now, in the streets of New York and elsewhere. But given how many people seem to care about what happens to our show – and how much misinformation has been flying around – I thought it might make sense for at least one member of the cast to speak out directly. I should note that I am speaking only for myself, and not for any of the other actors on the show.

Fox wants to cut our salaries in half because it says it can’t afford to continue making the show under what it calls the existing business model. Fox hasn’t explained what kind of new business model it has formulated to keep the show on the air, but clearly the less money they have to pay us in salary, the more they’re able to afford to continue broadcasting the show. And to this I say, fine – if pay cuts are what it will take to keep the show on the air, then cut my pay. In fact, to make it as easy as possible for Fox to keep new episodes of “The Simpsons” coming, I’m willing to let them cut my salary not just 45% but more than 70% – down to half of what they said they would be willing to pay us. All I would ask in return is that I be allowed a small share of the eventual profits.

My representatives broached this idea to Fox yesterday, asking the network how low a salary number I would have to accept to make a profit participation feasible. My representatives were told there was no such number. There were, the Fox people said, simply no circumstances under which the network would consider allowing me or any of the actors to share in the show’s success.

As a member of the “Simpsons” cast for 23 years, I think it’s fair to say that we’ve had a great run and no one should feel sorry for any of us. But given how much joy the show has given so many people over the years – and given how many billions of dollars in profits News Corp. has earned and will earn from it – I find it hard to believe that this is Fox’s final word on the subject. At least I certainly hope it isn’t, because the alternative is to cancel the show or fire me for having the gall to try to save the show by helping Fox with its new business model. Neither would be a fair result – either to those of us who have committed so many years to the show or to its loyal fans who make our effort worthwhile.

Particularly in the re-make episode of Cape Fear.

Being duped by Bart to sing 'The Mikado' Quite the funniest voice work Kelsey Grammer has done.

That and hiding underneath the Simpson's station wagon on the way there.

Homer: 'Who wants me to drive across the cactus strewn desert?'

Family: 'Yayyyy!'

Sideshow Bob: (muted and agonised) 'Nooooo...'

scene where the FBI are trying to train Homer to accept his new identity

scene in the cinema with instead of SSB (as the Mitchum\De Niro villain) uproariously laughing at the film it's Homer's hysterics over a crass joke that has Bob spitting feathers

And when they bought in David Hyde Pierce as Bob's brother Cecil that only added sweet sweet gravy to the dish

I always liked one of Bob's replacements, Sideshow Raheem:

Krusty: Ah... the script says I have to bonk you with this

Raheem: I wouldn't

Eat the pudding eat the pudding eat the pudding eat the pudding

I ever heard was in one of the very early episodes......hired on video (a long time ago) to entertain the kids one afternoon.

The episode saw Homer give Marge a bowling ball for her birthday, she fell in love with the bowling coach and contemplated leaving Homer before a reconciliation scene at the power plant.

To the strains of "Love lifts us up" from An Officer and Gentleman Homer sweeps Marge off her feet and carries her out. One of his colleagues asks Homer what he should say to the boss if he asks where Homer has got to, to which Homer says:

"Tell him I've gone to the back seat of my car with the woman I love and I won't be back for 10 minutes".

Must be 20 odd years since I last saw it and am sniggering now just thinking about it. Such a brilliant line.

" Marge, we're getting some drive-thru, then we're doing it twice!"

that packet of expired gravy I found in the parking lot

Dr Nick Riviera, proud alumnus of the Hollywood Upstairs Medical College:

I'm not a bad man. I don't drink or dance or swear. I've done everything the Bible says, even the stuff that contradicts the other stuff! I've even kept kosher, just to stay on the safe side.

Flanders' Dad: We can't do it, man! That's discipline! That's like tellin' Gene Krupa not to go "boom boom bam bam bam, boom boom bam bam bam, boom boom boom bam ba ba ba ba, da boo boo tss!" We don't believe in rules, like, we gave them up when we started livin' like freaky beatniks!

Dr. Foster: You don't believe in rules, yet you want to control Ned's anger.

Flanders' Mom: Yeah. You gotta help us, Doc. We've tried nothin' and we're all out of ideas.