For twenty three years, longer than some of the readers of this site have been alive, one of the greatest mysteries on television has carried on with little to no hints as to the truth. Everyone knows who shot JR. Everyone found out the secret behind Twin Peaks.

The Cylons were revealed in Battlestar Galactica. We even all found out just where the survivors ended up in Lost. But no answer was harder to come by than which Springfield the Simpsons actually lived in.

For years, people tried to piece together the landmarks of Springfield and find out just where the Simpsons lived. Which city in the United States out of the 38 cities, towns and townships named Springfield had its own nuclear power plant, gorge, glacier and national forest that was also within driving distance to New York City? People quickly learned the answer is none, but that didn’t stop people from questioning where the Simpsons took place.

When talking to the Smithsonian Magazine, Groening was asked about the generic nature of the name Springfield. Groening replied that, “Springfield was named after Springfield, Oregon. The only reason is that when I was a kid, the TV show Father Knows Best took place in the town of Springfield, and I was thrilled because I imagined that it was the town next to Portland, my hometown.

When I grew up, I realized it was just a fictitious name. I also figured out that Springfield was one of the most common names for a city in the U.S. In anticipation of the success of the show, I thought, ‘This will be cool; everyone will think it’s their Springfield.’ And they do.”

The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a lot like the Golden Globes. It is an honor in and of itself, but it is often awarded to someone whose project has a large advertising budget. This causes many cynics out there to feel it has no merit at all, but at the end of the day it is an honor and is part of the fabric of Hollywood.

The 2,459th star to adorn Hollywood Blvd is officially going to The Simpsons creator Matt Groening. Just in time for the 500th episode airing in two weeks, Groening will be honored with a star devoted entirely to him. A previous star honoring the Simpsons themselves already lines the famed street, close to where Groenings own star will soon be located.

Groening has forever left an indelible mark on society.   Voted the “Best Show of the 20^th Century” by Time Magazine, the [Simpsons] has left a path of catch-phrases (Homer’s “D’oh!” and Bart’s “Eat my shorts”) and societal commentary. It has also given birth to a theme park ride and United States postage stamps, personally designed by Groening. He served as producer and writer during the four-year process of the long-awaited hit feature film The Simpsons Movie, released in July 2007.  

The Simpsons are the kings of prime time animation. Lasting an astounding twenty-three seasons and counting, The Simpsons is an institution that has spanned generations. So the collecting of these episodes is something that fans have enjoyed since the earliest days of TV on DVD. Fox has been releasing these sets for over a decade now and we find ourselves in an interesting era of the show.

Most people consider these early and mid 2000s seasons of the show to be the worst era during the impressive run. The show seemingly was stale and the spark was missing. At the end of the day the show survived and has since rebounded to become a relevant, often hilarious show.

One of the things I was most excited about when I dug into this set was the plethora of special features. The Simpsons sets have always set the standard for insightful and worthwhile special features, anchored by the amazing cast and crew commentaries that have accompanied every single episode since season one, making over 300 episodes worth of anecdotes, insights and inside knowledge of the creation of an institution.

Once thought to be gone forever, Comedy Central has breathed life back into the mouth of the fan favorite Futurama, making fanboys and fangirls across the globe smile once again. Now things are continuing with better news, as the famed sixth season is coming to fans on Blu-ray and DVD.

As the second release on Blu-ray, this season is slated to bring fans even more fun features and extras. Here’s a sample:

Special Features (Blu-ray and DVD):

• Deleted Scenes
• Audio Commentary
• Professor Farnsworth’s “Science of a Scene”
• Reincarnation Explained! With Director Peter Avanzino
• Futurama F.A.Q. (Frequently Axed Questions)
• Christopher’s Big Score: The Music of Futurama
• Futurama Fans: 101 Questions

The set will be out on both Blu-ray and DVD just in time to fill your stocking on December 20th. Take a look at the full, beautiful box art after the jump and let’s hope we can make it more than 4 seasons this time!

I was thinking about long running TV shows the other day and having a discussion with some colleagues. We were impressed to realize that The Simpsons has been on the air for 22 years. That’s longer than some staffers on this site have been alive. Amazing.

Well, the amazing can now continue because Fox has officially given the green light for a 23rd season of the venerable animated comedy featuring Homer, Marge, Lisa, Maggie, Bart and their host of friends and neighbors in beautiful Springfield. The 23rd season will get the show to the impressive 500th episode milestone and then beyond, bringing the total number of episodes to 515. That’s a lot of chalkboards and sofa gags.

“Like many 22-year-olds, The Simpsons is extremely happy remaining at home, on Fox, and hopes it doesn’t have to go out into the real world for many years to come,” said The Simpsons executive producer Al Jean. I’m sure that’s true because, really, what a great gig it must be for the people who make the show.

Sure, it might get a bit tiring doing the same thing for 22 years but in Hollywood, this kind of lengthy work doesn’t come along all that often — especially if your show happens to be on the Fox network. Just ask Joss Whedon.

As an added bonus, I dug up a video of The Simpsons first season opening credits. It’s fun to see how the characters and situations have changed but also stayed remarkably the same as well. Check it out after the jump.

As we’ve done in the past, we’ve got another video for you that we think you should see. Often we will make comments or provide context but in this case, we think the video speaks for itself.

Okay, maybe a little hint. It’s the title sequence for The Simpsons, one of Fox’s longest running shows ever. However, this particular one is a bit different. Really different, in fact. It was directed by noted street artist Banksy if that that help give you a clue to what you are going to see.

It takes you deeper and shows you more than any other one of these ever done for the show. And if you know the show and know how much work they put into the opening titles, that’s saying a lot.

So, click through to check out this amazing video. Let us know what you think in the comments.

Thursday night, Futurama celebrates it’s 100th episode (counting their time on Fox and Comedy Central combined) in a brand new episode with guests galore. Not only with show creator Matt Groening join for the episode, but he’ll be stopping by alongside names like Sergio Argones and even Battlestar Galactica’s Katee Sackhoff.

From Comedy Central:

In this landmark episode, titled “The Mutants are Revolting,” the Planet Express Crew has been hired to make their 100th delivery and Bender begins planning the party of the millennium. Meanwhile, however, the rest of the crew attends a fundraiser where Fry accidentally outs Leela as a mutant who is illegally living above ground. For that, she is banished to the sewers where her fellow mutants reside in futuristic squalor. Feeling guilty about his slip-up, Fry and the rest of the gang – along with the mutated members of Devo – join Leela in an epic mutant revolution against the surface dwellers.

Check out a full clip from the episode in which Groening and his writing staff show off the pilot for a brand new series they’re planning that takes place 1000 years in the future titled Futurella and be sure to catch the 100th episode of Futurama on Comedy Central next Thursday, September 2nd at 10PM.

To the relief and delight of fans everywhere, Futurama finally returned to Comedy Central in June, with an anticipated season of 26 new episodes that will air through the rest of 2010 and into 2011. Riding the wave of elation and acclaim (what Comic-Con wouldn’t be complete without the presence of Groening) Matt Groening (Creator) and David X. Cohen (Executive Producer) shared their ideas for the future of Futurama and what they love most about being in San Diego for Comic-Con.

Groening thanked the fans who are devoted to the show and attributed Futurama‘s return to their persistence. He also teased fans with the vague spoiler of two characters kissing in an upcoming episode, but that it will be completely unexpected and the audience won’t see it coming (anyone want to start a betting pool?).

Fans who are patiently waiting for the early seasons of not only Futurama and The Simpsons to be released on Blu-Ray are going to be waiting for a while. There aren’t any current plans for their release, but they will be available on Laser-Disc very soon!

As for the future of the show, Groening stated that back when he was developing the show with David X. Cohen, they made a list of all the things they wanted to write about, and they still haven’t exhausted that list. Additionally, he revealed that there aren’t any current plans to do direct to DVD movies, but that the ultimate goal would be to develop and release a full-length film that will be released in theaters.

Hard to believe it’s not even a month before San Diego Comic-Con, the annual pilgrimage to the city by the sea for all lovers of comics, movies, TV and everything in between. We’re going to be covering the show in a big way this year and have already started giving you some good information about it.

To continue that trend, we’ve got information about Fox TV’s plans for the event. The network will have a big presence at the Con bringing eleven shows and many of the stars stars from those shows for panels and press events.

Some of their talent scheduled to attend include David Boreanaz, Matt Groening, Seth MacFarlane, Molly Shannon, Katey Sagal, Ron Perlman, Patton Oswalt, Seth Green, Stars of Glee, Terra Nova, Futurama, Cleveland Show, American Dad, Bob’s Burgers and Neighbors From Hell. A pretty impressive list indeed.

Click through for the full press release detailing Fox TV’s schedule. Comic-Con in San Diego runs from July 22-26.

Good news, everyone! Yes…I have to start off every Futurama story with that exclamation. Why? Because we’re only hours away from season premiere of Futurama on Comedy Central. It’s been a tough battle since the days of Fox, but the show creators Matt Groening and David X. Cohen fought hard, made a few DVD movies, and are now back on the air with a full season.

There are plenty of questions that we fans expect to get answered in upcoming episodes, like what happened to the Fry and Leela love story, or Bender’s foree in the League of Robots. Luckily, Comedy Central has put together a special Q&A with Cohen and Groening to answer a few of these questions before the one-hour premiere.

Take a look at the interview after the jump, as the two discuss topics like Fry’s middle name, and what ever happened to Kiff and Amy’s babies. Be sure to catch the hour-long season premiere of Futurama on Comedy Central this Thursday at 10pm/9pm Central.