I had seen the Simpsons many times over the years but I never really liked the show. It took an ex girlfriend saying to me, "You’re not watching it right," for me to really understand it. The underlying political humor, the constant jabs at Fox management, the writers indirectly poking fun at The Simpsons themselves. The writing is some of the best I have ever seen on television. A coworker of mine, Hugh Brown, who seems to collect every toy that is released, showed me one of the Simpsons sets and I was completely hooked. You see, they are not just plastic figurines but they each have a computer chip in their foot. The chip interacts with the playset and the characters say different lines from the show in relation to the environment you put them in. For example, Homer will say one thing in the nuclear power plant, then take him out and put him in Moe’s Bar and he says an entirely different line relevant to the bar. I thought this was brilliant, so Hugh and I started collecting them together and my collection grew and grew. They have 14 years of episodes, so I don’t think they will run out of ideas for toys anytime soon.
Anthony Soroka
Script
Back in October of 2001 I had the unique opportunity to sit in on a Simpsons table reading. This is where all of the actors (or voice actors in this case) read through the script, and the writers, producers and actors get a feel for how the script reads. The reading happens in a room with a large conference table in the middle where the actors sit. Surrounding the table are chairs where assistants and various staff sit, as well as guests. I must say that it was a hilarious experience to see the actors play out their characters in person. There were many adlibs that often made things quite hilarious. After the reading ended, I had the opportunity to meet Nancy Cartwright (voice of Bart Simpson, Ralph Wiggum, Nelson and others), Dan Castelenetta (voice of Homer Simpson, Krusty The Clown, Barney, and others) and the show’s creator, Matt Groening.
Boxing Homer, Pin Pal Moe, Pin Pal Burns
These are limited-edition items. They were really hard to get -- a game of chance as to whether your order goes through or you get the slip back in the mail saying, "Sorry." The one I am missing is Radioactive Homer, which goes for upwards of $100 on eBay
Poster
This poster was given to the musicians who perform the music for the show. I had the opportunity to go to a scoring session and watch the full orchestra score an episode. I am grateful they gave me one of the posters while I was there.
Chess Set
This set was a gift. So many people have complimented me on it. I have played a few games on it, and it is definitely a lot more fun than those boring pawns!
Halloween Set
This is one of the first World Of Springfield toys released and the first Halloween-themed set. It’s a rare set that was an exclusive to Toys ’R’ Us. It’s fairly expensive on eBay now, even opened. It features Mr. Burns as Dracula, Bart when he was half boy-half fly, Ned Flanders as The Devil and Homer as King Kong.
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