DOH!n’t Miss These Super Simpsons Sites

© NetGuide, 1999.

Few television shows have developed a cult following as rabid as that of The Simpsons. Once mainly notable for inspiring those annoying Bartman T-shirts, the show's now considered to be the hippest, funniest -- and most biting -- comedies on the tube today. The Simpsons' loyal viewership has spawned literally thousands of websites in its homage. Unfortunately, the show's parent network Fox has been working hard at shutting down sites that use Simpsons icons without authorization -- whether they're out to make a profit or not. (For more details on this misguided campaign -- after all, fan sites benefit their subjects, and you'd think Fox would work hard to promote them -- check out Fist.) [site no longer available -JP] Fortunately, several of the best sites have eluded Fox's noose; here's a guide to which ones are most worth checking out, while they're still around.

To its credit, Fox offers a pretty nice site of its own. The Simpsons presents information on practically all the characters and important landmarks of Springfield, a guide to the show's numerous guest stars, a schedule of shows in syndication and more in an attractive, cartoony format (it's enhanced for the Macromedia Flash plug-in).

Even better, though, is the completely unofficial The Simpsons Archive. Produced by those great guys at the alt.tv.simpsons newsgroup, it offers an astounding amount of content. The most notable features include its collections of FAQs, bibliographies and episode guides, interviews, critical essays, fanatically detailed "files" on various characters and "The Simpsons Bulletin," a weekly newsletter. Practically every question you possibly could ask about the show can be answered here; it's a must-see site for Simpsons fanatics and casual viewers as well.

The British site 100% Guaranteed Unofficial Simpsons Home Page [site no longer available -JP] tosses in a Java chat room, as well as detailed descriptions and script excerpts of every episode. There's also a detailed guide to the Simpsons' cartoon-within-a-cartoon, the ultra-violent Itchy and Scratchy Show. Another site worth checking out (for its title alone) is Shut Up Brain or I'll Stab You With a Q-Tip, which offers a great collection of sounds and photos, as well as a trivia contest.

If you need more to satisfy your Simpsons craving, check out one of the many Simpsons Web Rings. The fact that a search of Simpsons at Webring turned up 327 separate webrings proves that if Fox wants to shut down all of its official site's competition, it's got a lot of work to do.