Super Bowl Punts Ratings
By Jouni Paakkinen (jouni@snpp.com) - February 2, 1999
     The Fox network scored bang-up ratings Super Bowl Sunday, significantly boosting the stats for The Simpsons. While approximately 127.5 million viewers watched the Super Bowl that evening, many hung around for the preview of the network's new animated series, "Family Guy," followed by a special football-themed Simpsons episode.
     The episode, entitled "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday," scored the best rating (10.4) in the key 18-49 demographic in four years, and the best young-male numbers in eight years.
     Despite the exceptionally high ratings for "Family Guy," which is scheduled to begin its regular season in March, The Simpsons series debut in 1990 remains the highest rated 18-49 premiere ever on the Fox network, with a 12.4/26 percent share.

Syndication Jeers Turn to Cheers
By Brian Petersen (brian@snpp.com) - December 14, 1998
     Fans of The Simpsons displeased by the heavy rotation of newer episodes in syndication take note. The return of the classics is finally just over the horizon.
     Sources at New World Television, which distributes The Simpsons in domestic syndication and to the Canadian Global system for weekday repeats, have reported that the first--and now only-- nationally scheduled syndication run will terminate in September, 1999. This news comes on the heels of the second national run's conclusion earlier this year.
     For contractual reasons, New World ceased scheduling of episodes from the first five seasons in late 1997. Since then, followers of the show whose affiliates broadcast only nationally-scheduled episodes were scarcely able to catch a glimpse of the first 100 shows. While many stations have in recent times begun scheduling episodes locally (where broadcasting of old episodes is permissible), others were left in the dark, suffering through the 99th rerun of "A Star Is Burns."
     At last, with the end of the remaining national run in sight, all stations will soon begin strictly-local runs, and with that, regular scheduling of classic episodes from years past. Stay tuned.

Hawking and Murdoch in the Studio
By Jouni Paakkinen (jouni@snpp.com) - December 14, 1998
     Two of this season's biggest guest stars have recently paid visit to The Simpsons' production studios for the recording of their upcoming appearances on the show.
     Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, owner of the Fox television network, lent his voice to an episode scheduled to air on January 31, 1999, after the Super Bowl. In the episode, entitled, "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday," Murdoch stumbles across Homer and his cohorts soiling the onion dip in his private box. Security personnel are ordered to haul them away.
     Professor Stephen Hawking, who recorded his voice cameo in early December through the use of his electronic speech synthesizer, will comment on the universe in "They Saved Lisa's Brain," scheduled for broadcast in mid May.
     Sources at Fox have confirmed the latter episode will run 30 minutes in length, despite reports from British papers that it is to be an hour-long special.
     For more information on forthcoming episodes, visit our season 10 information page.

In Geffen We Trust
By Jouni Paakkinen (jouni@snpp.com) - October 29, 1998

Who would have imagined? In 1998, when even the most optimistic of fans had given up hope for the lost Simpsons album, Geffen Records surprises us with the most thrilling piece of Simpsons news one could imagine!      It is now official. Approximately six years after “The Yellow Album” was produced, Geffen has dusted off the original masters and is now planning to release the album on November 24, 1998.      While “Go Simpsonic with The Simpsons”--the follow-up album to “Songs in the Key of Springfield”--remains on hiatus, “The Yellow Album” (a follow-up to the 1990 album “The Simpsons Sing The Blues”) is sure to tide over fans throughout

the arduous waiting game. Produced by John Boylan, the album features 10 tracks sung by our favorite family with the help of several guest voices and producers, including Ann & Nancy Wilson, Linda Ronstadt and George Clinton. For more track information, please read the press release furnished by Geffen Records.

UPDATE (11/18/98)
     The album will be released as planned. For more details, read William LaRue's review at "Collecting Simpsons!".

'Simpsonic' News Update
By Dave Garcia (dave@snpp.com) - October 4, 1998
     It was reported last month that "Go Simpsonic With The Simpsons" - the new CD featuring songs and music from the show (a la "Songs in the Key of Springfield") was put on definite hold. Well, some new insider information received this week from a high-level record industry employee clarifies and complicates the whole situation.
     First off, it's true: The release has been put on "definite hold", with the general idea that it won't be released by Rhino at all, though Rhino still holds the "option" until the end of this year. The reasoning for this is that it was a multi-disc deal, between Fox TV, the Simpsons production team, and Rhino. The other discs of this multiple deal were to include the discs for a 3rd and possibly 4th Simpson's disc, a disc for an unamed Simpson's spin-off, an option for an "as-yet-to-be-planned" Simpson movie disc, a re-issue of Simpson's Sing the Blues, as well as an entirely new Simpsons disc of original material not from the show. (It has been rumoured that ultra-secret "demo" recordings for this disc had already begun.)
     Because of the hard postions taken by all 3 parties, and because of the number of discs involved, negotiations have broken down between all 3 parties, and we keep hearing that no one of the 3 can agree on even the most basic of terms. It's heavily rumoured that when the Rhino option expires at the end of this year, Rhino will divest itself of its involvement altogether.
     At that point, the others two parties, Fox and the Simpsons producers, will have the choice to take the project elsewhere. It is likely that the Simpsons team may already have a company in mind to produce and distribute these albums.