Al Gore in Futurama and The Simpsons

[on:]

I've noticed this a lot. It seems like the producers of The Simpsons and Futurama (probably mainly Matt Groening) is always trying to get stuff about Al Gore in the two shows. In Futurama there was "Anthology of Interest I" with Al Gore as a guest star. He'll be guest starring in another episode too as a head trying to stop Global Warming in 3003. He was also pictured in an episode on a $500.00 bill. I thought that was weird but then I noticed The Simpsons as well. I mean I saw a subliminal message in the opening credits when Bart was writing on the blackboard! It said "I WILL NOT PLANT SUBLIMINAL MESSAGORES" The 'AL' in SUBLIMINAL and the 'GORE' in MESSAGORES was highlighted in green. This episode was "A Tale of Two Springfields." There have also been other references to him in Simpsons episodes. The only bad one I can think of was in "Grandpa vs. Sexual Inadequacy" when Lisa bought Al Gore's book and as soon as the bar code on it was scanned word got to Al Gore at the White House that someone had finally bought a copy of his book. So is it just me or do the producers of The Simpsons and Futurama have a thing for Al Gore?

[Reply #1 on:]

This might have a little something to do with it.

[Reply #2 on:]

Yeah. I forgot to mention that too. I looked into it and she is Al and Tipper Gore's daughter. Read more about her here, http://us.imdb.com/Bio?Gore,+Kristin  . Still, that doesn't explain the Al Gore references I saw in The Simpsons. I don't recall any of the people in the credits with the last name Gore. I smell a conspiracy that goes farther then just Kristin Gore...

[Reply #3 on:]

A) Picking on Al Gore (especially when he "appeared" on the Simpsons) is easy.

B) Kristin Gore is the fruit of Al and Tipper's loins.

[Reply #4 on:]

4ACV08 : Crimes of the Hot
The Earth faces a global warming crisis.

Show spoiler

From David X. Cohen's Sci-Fi Weekly interview: "We're having Al Gore back on the show [...] he will be hosting the Global Warming Conference of the Earth 3003 when global warming takes a sudden turn for the worse. It's about the year 3002 roughly, and so they have to take action, of course, and they rescue our periodic guest star, Al Gore"

[Reply #5 on:]

Hollywood is full of liberals, and the Simpsons staff wanted the democrats in office, which is why they had the subliminAL messaGOREs thing right before the election.

Other Al Gore references can be chalked up just to the fact that he was vice president, and therefore a big famous celebrity. I don't think they've featured him any more than they have Clinton or Bush.

[Reply #6 on:]

FJ hit it on the head, and The Simpsons at times has been labeled as "The Most Liberal Show on TV." Anyway, it's not a big deal that they support Gore, in this interview Mike Scully comes right out and says that the Simpsons staff prefers Gore.


George W. Bush may want to make a last-minute campaign stop in Springfield, USA. This Sunday's season premiere of The Simpsons (8 pm, Fox) contains a blink-and-you-miss-it pro-Al Gore reference. During Bart's trademark chalkboard sequence in the show's opening, the proud underachiever writes: "I will not plant subliminal messagores."

Simpsons executive producer Mike Scully makes no apologies for the blatant display of political partisanship. "To be honest, the staff does lean toward Al Gore," he tells TV Guide Online. "I don't want to speak for everyone who works for The Simpsons, but there are many people on the writing staff who can't believe that this election is as close as it is."

What effect Bart's endorsement has on the undecided vote remains to be seen, but Scully admits that the timing of the plug was carefully thought out. "We were in the writers room trying to come up with a chalkboard joke for the show. Realizing that it would air two nights before the election, we thought it should be politically oriented," he says. "We had several great ones pitched — that I will not share with you — that were unairable. Ultimately, we liked this one."

In addition to playing up Gore, Scully explains that he liked how the "subliminal" joke takes aim at the Republican's now-infamous anti-Gore television spot in which the word "rats" was flashed across the screen. "And then Bush did his subliminable message quote," notes Scully, "so we wanted to do something on the subliminal message idea." Calls to the Bush and Gore camps were not returned at press time.

Conspiracy theorists, however, are likely to suggest that nepotism played a role: Al Gore's daughter, Kristen Gore, is a writer for Fox's Futurama — which just happens to be helmed by Simpsons creator Matt Groening. Scully denies that the family connection played any part in the decision. "I didn't check with Matt on it," he insists, "and I never met his daughter, so that really had nothing to do with it.

"It also has nothing to do with the fact that [former President] George Bush Sr. once blamed The Simpsons for what's wrong with America," Scully adds with a hearty laugh. "It has absolutely nothing to do with that... That's for sure."

[Reply #7 on:]

That's true that The Simpsons tends to be liberal, but still it just seems like they really like to endorse Gore. This is fine and all, but it was just a bit weird and I wanted to know if anyone could shed some light on it for me. I think the TV Guide Online interview best explained it. Also, they do feature Clinton and Bush on The Simpsons, but usually they poke fun at them. Still thanks for all your answers. They were helpful in a sense.

[Reply #8 on:]

"The Simpsons" has also whaled very heavily on Democratic presidents--namely President Clinton, who tried to get Marge to meet him "in the tool shed out back, I'm there most of the day"--and told her in another, "well, I'm a pretty lousy president." They are somewhat less acidic towards President Carter (probably out of respect for his tireless good works), and, for that matter, Presidents Ford and Reagan (probably out of pity for their "special" conditions). President Bush #1 brought his whaling upon himself, as Cellery notes at the end of the quote...

[Reply #9 on:]

If you read Life in hell you will see that Groening is very very liberal.

[Reply #10 on:]

Wow, the second time Cellery solved a problem with a screenshot of Futurama's credits! Let's go for three!

[Reply #11 on:]

...it seems to me that maybe they're making fun of the liberals. Like, they have to keep the wacky VP busy, so they tell him to take care of the time/space continuum. and Clinton in the tool shed? really a jibe at him, and how he's a scum bag loser.
but really, its probably because of the 'fruit of the loin' thing.
EEWW! Al Gore's loins!

[Reply #12 on:]

Actually Binder, the screenshot just gave away why there's stuff about Gore in Futurama, but it still doesn't explain all of the Gore stuff going on in the Simpsons.

[Reply #13 on:]

Al Gore on Futurama is becuase of Kristen Gore AND because he has admitted that he is a fan of the show (most likely because his daughter writes for it.  )  I remember reading in the New York Times that he said he was a fan when he did the guest spot for AOI1.

Al Gore jokes on the Simpsons are because it's a show about American culture and taking jabs at political figures has always been a cornerstone of American culture.  He hasn't been mocked anymore or less than any other political figure on the show.

Matt's Life in Hell comics are very liberal, but honestly, I think that if someone was that liberal as the comics make him out to be I doubt that they would enter into the shading realm of politics to began with, so I don't think Matt has strong political leanings to either of the major parties.  That's all just opinion n my part though.  I love Life in Hell BTW.

[Reply #14 on:]

Maybe he's just somebody that everbody knows about, so the staff find it easy to take off the current politics of America from Gore than anybody else (Simpsons references up to S12 explained!)

[Reply #15 on:]

B.Frankendorfer, what I was saying is that whenever I see an Al Gore reference in The Simpsons, it's ususally a good one. Whenever it's something about Bill Clinton or George Bush Senior (I don't think there was an episode yet with George Bush Jr.) it's usually something to poke fun at them with. Whenever it's Gore it's always something nice, with the exception of the one I mentioned above. It's like the writers of The Simpsons are like "Let's make fun of Bill Clinton in this episode." Someone says, "Hey let's make fun of Gore too." Then all the writers are like, "Oh no. We can't make fun of Gore. Gore is perfect in every way. Why don't we shed some light on how great he is instead?" That's the thing I don't get. I do get that Kristin Gore is Al's daughter so that's why there's so many references to him in Futurama, but all the Simpsons' Gore references are still unexplained.
 

[Reply #16 on:]

I dunno, I never thought that the Gore references on The Simpsons were any better than the ones they have done for Bush or Carter.  I mean they seem really hard on Clinton and Nixon.  I think the gag with that is the fact that the world has really demonized the two of them beyond the point where they are even human beings anymore.

The Gore stuff seems kinda derogatory though.  Like all the jokes about how he's boring, or a robot, or monotone and emotionless.

Like they said before though, they are mostly liberal on the writing staff, so it's only natural that they have a slant.

[Reply #17 on:]

"I spent the rest of our money on this Al Gore doll."

[Reply #18 on:]

"You are hearing me talk."