The Connecticut Courant has a nice article on Simpsons Trivia today. Included in the list is the catch phrase Nancy created at a table read many years ago.
Fanatics of “The Simpsons” may think they know everything there is to know about the show. Mike Reiss, who has been a writer, producer and show-runner for the series from the day it began nearly 30 years ago to the present, has written a book titled “Springfield Confidential: Jokes, Secrets and Outright Lies From a Lifetime of Writing for ‘The Simpsons’.” Here are a few fun facts even the most loyal fans may not know.
The Opening
Writes Reiss: “Since season one, January 1990, each Simpsons episode begins with a joke that is missed by tens of millions of fans in hundreds of millions of viewings. When The Simpsons title card emerges from the clouds, you see the first half of the family’s name, “The Simps,” before the rest of the word. So what? Well, “Simps” is short for simpletons — stupid people — like the ones you’re about to see in the show. If you never caught this, don’t feel bad; most of our current staff didn’t know it, either.”
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The Only Original Catch Phrase
“The Simpsons” has many catch phrases but only one is truly original. No, not “cowabunga,” “Don’t have a cow,” “Ay caramba” or even “D’oh.” The original one? “Nelson Muntz’ ‘haw-haw!’,” writes Reiss. “There are a million ways to read that word, but the way Nancy Cartwright did it was as a two-note bray: E-sharp, C-sharp. That first ‘haw-haw’ produced an explosion of laughter at the table read, and a classic was born.”
