Quiz: Tom Berenger or Troy McClure Film Title?

Earlier this week, the name of Tom Berenger came up in a conversation I was having. And I wondered exactly what happened to him between the time he made Major League II in 1994 and Inception in 2010. After all, that’s a long stretch of time, and he had been something of a star in the late 1980s. Since he’s a graduate of the University of Missouri, my home state, I’ll always have a soft spot for Berenger. What I unearthed on his IMDb page was a series of movie and made-for-tv movie titles that sounded like they were straight out of the fictional list of films starring Troy McClure on The Simpsons. Just in case you’ve been living under a rock for the last two decades, McClure was a fictional actor on The Simpsons, and he was fond of rattling off a series of fake films with outlandish titles in which he had starred. A prime example: “Hi, I’m Troy McClure and you may remember me from such films as The Erotic Adventures of Hercules and Dial ‘M’ for Murderousness“. Seeing the similarity between the work of Berenger and McClure gave me an idea. Here’s a quiz. Can you tell the difference between real Tom Berenger films and fictional Troy McClure films? Take the quiz to find out:

Fictional Holiday Specials That I Wish Were Real

We’re officially in the throes of Hanukkah, and just a few days away from Christmas. This means that if you haven’t finished your shopping, you’re probably boned. It also means that holiday specials are in full bloom. Everyone is familiar with the real holiday specials–Rudolph, Frosty, the Grinch–but how about the satire versions that appear in our favorite movies and TV shows? Here are some fictional holiday specials that I wish were real.

The Nine Best Sitcom Couches

The sitcom has evolved a great deal through the years, ever since Jackie Gleason used space travel as a metaphor for beating his wife on The Honeymooners (credit: another sitcom, which first pointed out the metaphor, Futurama). Characters have changed, humor has changed, animation has been added, family dynamics are a bit different, settings are different, jobs are different… And yet, one thing has remained the same. They’ve all needed somewhere to sit. Couches are an aaaaaawesome place to sit. Here are the nine sitcoms with the best couches in TV history.

The Holiday Specials Quiz

In just a few short days, America will celebrate Thanksgiving. And a few short hours after that, the wonderful onslaught of holiday specials will begin. For a month, networks will march out every conceivable claymation and animation character and every holiday story to put you in the mood to BUY BUY BUY! To help you prepare, I’ve created a holiday specials quiz. How will you fare? Are you a grinch? A magical snowman? Santa?

A Problem Embiggened: The Simpsons Quandary

Have you ever had a dog that grew old? At the dog’s peak, it was your best friend. There are no other creatures on earth capable of giving so much unquestioned devotion. And you love it back for that very reason. They’re marvelous animals. And then one day, it begins to grow old. You ignore it at first. After all, your dog is your pal. It’s man’s best friend. You just want the good times to continue in whatever way they can. But time marches on, and the dog’s physical afflictions pile up. Things get serious. You begin to think things like “Ol’ Blue won’t be around much longer so I have to enjoy the time I have left with him.” And yet, you’d never dream of giving up on the mutt. They wouldn’t give up on you, would they? You’re going to see it through no matter what happens. Finally, a day arrives where you realize that the dog is suffering merely by being alive. That is precisely how I feel about The Simpsons these days.

Using Pop Culture to Reimagine Tony LaRussa’s Bullpen Call

The World Series has come to St. Louis. The fifth game of the seven game series, played Tuesday night, featured one of the stranger odysseys in baseball history. Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa reached for the bullpen phone and informed the coaches in the bullpen to warm up Mark Rzepczynski and Jason Motte. The plan was to use the left-handed Rzepczynski against the left-handed hitting David Murphy, and then bring in Motte to face the dangerous Mike Napoli. But all hell broke loose. For whatever reason, LaRussa’s phone call was misinterpreted on the receiving end and Rzepczynski faced Napoli, who crushed what proved to be the game-winning double. Lance Lynn, who was supposed to have the night off, inexplicably showed up on the mound when LaRussa finallly relieved Rzepczynski. The next day, someone created a photo (to the right) reimagining how that phone call must have gone and it added much needed levity to a disappointing defeat on baseball’s biggest stage. I’ve decided to carry on with the levity using other famous phone calls from pop culture.

He Had Hart, Man: The 11 Best Phil Hartman Characters

This Saturday would have been Phil Hartman’s 63rd birthday. I miss the guy a lot. He was the utility player on SNL during my formative years. He voiced some of the most memorable characters in the history of The Simpsons, and the show hasn’t quite been the same since he died. Every movie he was in- no matter how bad- was made better by his presence. The world was robbed of a lot of laughs when he died. To honor the birthday of one of history’s most underrated comedic actors, here are my eleven favorite Phil Hartman characters.

The Eleven Best Fake Names from The Simpsons

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One of the things that has made The Simpsons so wonderful through the years- mostly through the first ten years- is that the humor is so rich. It shows up everywhere- on street signs, storefront names, spinning newspapers, etc… Along those lines, there has been a flood of hilarious and wonderful fake names given by various characters throughout the show’s run. Here are the eleven best. It is, admittedly, a very Homer-and-Bart-centric list. Also noteworthy is that this should not be confused with the names from Bart’s prank calls to Moe’s, or with the various animal names that have shown up through the years:

Ho-Ju
When Homer successfully becomes a monorail conductor, Bart expresses pride. This prompts Homer to offer Bart a name change to Homer, Junior. “The kids can call you Ho-Ju!”, he urges.  

The Ten Best Gibberish Words in TV Scrabble

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It’s a time honored tradition in sitcoms. A family sits around a table, preparing for family game night. The Scrabble™ board is placed on the table, and the family begins connecting words. And then, someone plays a gibberish word that doesn’t exist. Here are the ten best:

#10. The Show: Family Ties
The Character: Alex P. Keaton
The Word: ushnuu
The Definition/Used in a Sentence: “It’s Greek for… towel off”

10 Films Spoofed by Itchy and Scratchy

The violent cat and mouse from The Simpsons, Itchy and Scratchy, have been a favorite part of the show ever since their first appearance in the debut season. The cartoon-within-a-cartoon structure is brilliant- using a very violent cartoon show, on a cartoon show, to spoof other violent cartoon shows. As The Simpsons and Itchy and Scratchy grew in popularity, it opened up the possibility to spoof pop culture. Here are ten movies that have been spoofed by Itchy and Scratchy:

1. JFK (1991)
Simple but effective, it pops up in an untitled Itchy and Scratchy episode that’s “directed by guest director Oliver Stone”. It features Scratchy, in black and white footage, being led Lee Harvey Oswald-style through a room full of reporters before Itchy appears just in time to shoot him. It fades to black and someone is overheard saying, “Oh God! Get his gun!” before the end credits are heard. Sadly, Bart can’t be bothered with it because he’s reading Johnny Tremain.