Background edit
Planet Simpson was written by Canadian author Chris Turner, who is a big fan of The Simpsons. "I can count on The Simpsons to provide me with a solid thirty minutes of truth, of righteous anger, of hypocrisies deflated and injustices revealed, of belly laughter and joy. It is food for my soul. Seriously. I think many Simpsons fans would agree. And that, as far as I'm concerned, makes it a kind of religion," he explains in the book.[1]
Content edit
The book examines the show's satirical humor and its impact on pop culture.[1] It also looks at numerous episodes of the show.
Chapters edit
- Foreword by Douglas Coupland
- Introduction: The Birth of the Simpsonian Institution
- Chapter 1: The Life & Times of The Simpsons
- A brief history of the show, its creation, its writers and a study of its various styles of humour. Also details the shows descendants and its "ancestors".
- Chapter 2: Homer's Odyssey
- Focuses on Homer Simpson, extended mention of Frank Grimes.
- Chapter 3: Bart Simpson, Punk icon
- Focuses on Bart Simpson, extended mention of Sideshow Bob, Krusty, and Principal Skinner.
- Chapter 4: Citizen Burns
- Focuses on Mr. Burns, extended mention of Jack Larson, Reverend Lovejoy, Lindsey Naegle, Mayor Quimby, Waylon Smithers, Squeaky Voiced Teen, Chief Wiggum, and Wiseguy.
- Chapter 5: Lisa Lionheart
- Focuses on Lisa Simpson.
- Chapter 6: Marge Knows Best
- Focuses on Marge Simpson, extended mention of Ned Flanders and Grampa Simpson.
- Chapter 7: The Simpsons in Cyberspace
- Focuses on the Internet and its influences in the show and the shows influence on the Internet, extended mention of Comic Book Guy.
- Chapter 8: The Ugly Springfieldianite
- Focuses on The Simpsons in the United States and abroad, extended mention of Apu and Groundskeeper Willie.
- Chapter 9: The Simpsons Go Hollywood
- Focuses on the shows take on Hollywood, celebrities and the shows many guest stars, extended mention of Kent Brockman, Krusty, Troy McClure, and Rainier Wolfcastle.
- Chapter 10: The Simpsons Through the Looking Glass
- Focuses on the shows take on pop culture.
- Chapter 11: Planet Simpson
- The conclusion of the series.
Reception edit
Curtis Gloade of The Record described the book as "almost 500 pages of this sort of meticulous, clear, and I believe, accurate rhetoric. It kept me nodding in agreement throughout. And laughing, too."[1] He also wrote that he hopes people will not skip by the book at the bookstore because it is about The Simpsons and assume that it is "little more than a laugh-along-with-me book with lots of pictures and funny quotes." Gloade commented that this is "not the case. I laughed out loud regularly at the many Simpsons quotes, but that's only a small part of the total package."[1] He concluded that Planet Simpson is an "enjoyable reading experience, one that will likely be matchless still for a long time because I highly doubt we'll see such a melding of a stellar pop culture icon (The Simpsons) and eloquent cultural critic (Turner) again for a long time."[1]