‘Simpsons’ Writer Calls Out ‘Jeopardy!’ for Botching A Piece of Sideshow Bob Trivia

mars 16, 2024

March 16, 2024 | Read Online

Welcome to the Cracked newsletter!

This issue is about strange rules, devious tales, funny anger, on-set stories, and much more.

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.

'Simpsons' Writer Calls Out 'Jeopardy!' for Botching A Piece of Sideshow Bob Trivia

Boy, I really hope somebody got fired for that blunder – but not Ken Jennings, obviously. No one wants Mayim Bialik back.

With 762 total episodes, a massive cultural footprint and a seemingly endless well of behind-the-scenes stories and fun facts available to the public, The Simpsons is an absolute gold mine for trivia shows. On Jeopardy!, The Simpsons has commanded entire categories in some competitions, and the admiration has even gone both ways on some occasions – the late, great Alex Trebek appeared in the Season Nine Simpsons episode "Miracle on Evergreen Terrace" playing himself, and the show's current host and former repeat champion Ken Jennings had the same honor in Season 28's "The Caper Chase." Unsurprisingly, there is a shared demographic between the two TV institutions, which makes a recent spelling error in a Simpsons-themed Jeopardy! question absolutely unconscionable, or so says Bill Oakley.

Hurray? There's going to be a new Cat in the Hat animated film, with Saturday Night Live's Bill Hader voicing the titular feline. It's hard to get too excited about this one, considering the last time an SNL alum played the top-hatted character, it was Mike Myers in a debacle that critics called "about as creatively inspired as a giant hairball."

Unless… there might be a way to jazz up that 16-page epic for the big screen. And the only inspiration needed is a callback to the first time Hader played the Cat in the Hat in this 2014 SNL sketch.