Fans outraged as major Simpsons character ‘killed off'
Fans of The Simpsons are up in arms over the unexpected death of one of the long-running series' main characters.
In the final episode of season 36 of the cartoon, titled 'Estranger Things', the fate of the Simpsons' matriarch, Marge, is revealed.
While focusing on Bart and Lisa's relationship, it
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The Spinoff
04-07-2025
- The Spinoff
Review: The SpongeBob SquarePants musical is more than nautical nonsense
Alex Casey heads along to SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical and reflects on the enduring power of the optimistic sea sponge. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. When I was a kid, I would sit agape in front of SpongeBob SquarePants after school everyday, a small bag of sour cream and chive-flavoured chips in one hand and the VCR remote in the other. With the arrival of each ad break, I'd diligently hit pause on the first frame, determined to craft the perfect ad-free omnibus tape to enjoy again and again and again. I felt as absorbent and porous as the titular sponge himself, wanting to soak up every moment of the subversive, optimistic, anarchic and sometimes demented undersea shenanigans of Bikini Bottom. Creator Stephen Hillenburger was a failed marine biologist, who first swapped the scuba mask for a pencil on the equally surreal 90s Nickelodeon cartoon Rocko's Modern Life. Soon he started pitching a cartoon about a wide-eyed 'spongeboy' who loved his job and his friends, and was surrounded by all manner of characters including a dim-witted bestie (Patrick Star) and a perpetually aggrieved neighbour (Squidward Tentacles). In 1999, SpongeBob wandered onto our screens in his shiny black shoes and notably square pants, and basically never left. While he still ropes in kids with his colourful world and silly faces, there's also plenty of adults out there who still believe in the power of the sponge. 'I think SpongeBob SquarePants is better than The Simpsons,' David Correos recalled during his My Life in TV interview last year. 'Spongebob is way deeper and way more intellectual.' Correos isn't alone in this thinking – much has been written about the show's postmodern ethos, fascinating patterns of masculinity, deeply Marxist ideas and construction of The American Dream. It's also just really funny, too. With all this in mind, I toddled along to Ōtautahi's Court Theatre to see SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical live on stage this week. Directed by Dan Bain, it was a kaleidoscopic trip, centred around the quest of 'a simple sponge' to stop a deadly volcano from destroying Bikini Bottom. The rich folk (Mr Krabs) capitalise on the chaos, the tyrants (Plankton) use it as an opportunity to seize control, the government flails around in incompetence and the media turns the whole thing into sensationalist frenzy. Sound familiar? Meanwhile, Sandy Cheeks (Libby McMahon) turns to science, SpongeBob (Cole Moffatt) stays eternally optimistic, and Patrick (Bill Cross) becomes a dim-witted distraction for those desperate for a saviour (reminiscent of Katy Perry saving the world by going to space). All of this is couched with staggering musical numbers, impressive costuming (Squidward's legs were a highlight) and classic gags ('Is that something we should worry about?' a concerned citizen asks. 'Breaking news: that is something we should worry about' the newsreader bellows.) Other highlights of the show included the pipes on Mr Krabs' daughter Pearl (Olivia Skelton) in her own 'Defying Gravity' moment, and a couple of scene-stealing cameos from kids in the chorus line. I couldn't help but feel envious of the excited little kids in the crowd being exposed to such big, bold themes and glittering production design before they've even got all their damn teeth. My earliest theatre experience was a weird old fella doing Punch and Judy in the chilly school hall, now it's all An Evening With Peppa Pig and Bluey doing arena spectaculars. Then again, these big, bold stories are precisely what kids – and, more crucially, adults – need to see right now. The youth edition covered a lot of ground in its truncated 60 minute runtime, sneaking complex ideas about capitalism, community and climate change under a dazzling spectacle of bubbles, fairy lights, sequins and imagination. Not bad for a simple sea sponge.
NZ Herald
25-06-2025
- NZ Herald
Fans outraged as major Simpsons character ‘killed off'
Despite the dramatic episode, The Simpsons has been renewed for four more seasons. Picture / © 20th Century Fox. Courtesy Everett Collection Fans of The Simpsons are up in arms over the unexpected death of one of the long-running series' main characters. In the final episode of season 36 of the cartoon, titled 'Estranger Things', the fate of the Simpsons' matriarch, Marge, is revealed. While focusing on Bart and Lisa's relationship, it
The Spinoff
30-05-2025
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‘Who's this idiot?': Courtney Dawson on the irresistible pull of reality TV
The comedian and star of TVNZ series new series Don't, takes us through her life in television. In one of the funnier scenes from TVNZ's new documentary series Don't, Courtney Dawson gets dressed up to face one of life's greatest challenges: buying a house. With a charming purple feather fascinator atop her head, Dawson and comedian Bubbah (resplendent in a pair of pink lace gloves) meet with an Auckland real estate agent to find out exactly what people need to do today to buy a home – other than look the part of a wealthy homeowner. 'We thought we better get dressed up like ladies from Remuera,' Dawson laughs over Zoom. 'So we got some gorgeous wee crowns and silly little jewels, and we had a great time.' In Don't, Bubbah is joined by Dawson, Rhiannon McCall and Bailey Poching as they tackle the big issues facing young New Zealanders today: getting married, having children and buying a home. They speak to a variety of experts to learn what their options are, and consider what 'living the dream' in Aotearoa really means for our younger generations. It's the latest TV project for Dawson (Ngāti Kurī, Ngāti Amaru) who, as well as being an award-winning comedian, has appeared on shows like Rags are Riches, Have You Been Paying Attention NZ, Paddy Gower Has Issues and Celebrity Treasure Island. Not only was Don't a chance for Dawson to work with her friend Bubbah ('as soon as I got asked to be part of the project, I was like, 'if Bubba's in, I'm in''), Dawson appreciated how the docuseries offered a variety of perspectives from young people. 'It was nice to think it's actually all good if you don't want to own a home. There's lots of different ways to live a life.' That includes living your life through television, of course, so we sat down with Dawson to delve into a past filled with a nightmarish alien experience, an empowering Celebrity Treasure Island moment and a strong yearning to watch Love Island at the pub. My earliest TV memory is… My nan had a strong VCR game and she recorded all the episodes of the BBC's The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. I have vivid memories of going to this beautiful mid century cabinet and picking out the videos with the labels all peeling off and her beautiful handwriting. I would watch it and be completely transported. The TV show I loved as a kid was… The Simpsons was a big thing in my family, but we also had long periods of having no TV as well, probably because we were homeschooled. The Simpsons was the one that we would all stop and watch. My earliest TV crush was… Jonathan Taylor Thomas from Home Improvement, but I was a hard out tomboy so I would never admit that I had a crush on him. My best friend did, and I'd be like, 'oh, you're yuck', but really, I had a secret poster of him in my room from a Girlfriend magazine. The TV moment that haunts me is… Like lots of kids who grew up in the 90s, I was terrified of The X-Files. Whenever I used to hear theme music, I would run into my room. One night I was brave and sneaky and I peeked out – with just one eye – to look at the TV. As I was doing it, there was an alien that was peeking out from behind a drainpipe. I had nightmares that night, and I've had a recurring nightmare about that alien for years. My TV guilty pleasure is… Love Island. I thought reality TV was a waste of time, but my flatmate is a big reality TV fan. I'd walk in the lounge when she was watching Love Island and be like, 'who's this idiot?' Before I knew it, I was fully invested in all of these people's lives and looking them up on Instagram. I don't know whether I like Love Island, or I just like yelling at the TV. That's the only thing that I'm jealous of with men, is that they get to watch their programmes in bars and yell at the TV in public. I would love to do that with Love Island. My favourite moment from my own TV career is… Celebrity Treasure Island. It was an amazing but real harrowing experience. There was one challenge where we had to throw sacks of sand at a pole and knock it off. I was hanging back, but as soon as I threw it, all of this muscle memory came back from when I used to play softball, and I ended up knocking both the poles off. I felt like the most powerful woman alive. The funniest person on TV is… Bubbah, and I'm not just saying this because we made a show together. She's so funny on stage and television, but she's also a genuinely crackup person in her normal life. She's done something similar to Tofiga [Fepulea'i] in that she's built this beautiful, amazing career on her terms, in her own community, which is a real testament to the natural charisma that she has and the strong values that she has. She's a really inspiring, awesome person. My favourite TV show that I've ever been involved with is… My first TV show that I ever did, Rags are Riches. It was this little Māori TV show that Joe Daymond made. The only person on the cast and crew who had ever done TV before was the soundie. None of us had any idea, but it was so fun. The most stylish person on TV is… Janaye Henry. She made a show called 2 Cents 2 Much, and far out, the outfits and the styling of the set was so good. I re-watched it recently just to look at her outfits for inspiration. The TV show I wish I was involved with is… Taskmaster. It looks so fun. If I can make a career out of playing games on television, that would be awesome. What is your most watched TV show of all time? I've watched every season of Black Mirror because I'm terrified of AI and I like scaring myself. The show I'll never watch, no matter how many people tell me to is… Game of Thrones. The more someone tells me to watch something, the less likely I am to watch it. I'm happy you guys got to enjoy your dragons, but that's just not going to happen for me. The last thing I watched on TV was… Black Mirror, and before that, Severance, because I'm scared of computers. I'm scared of the robots. I love horror stuff, so combining fake horror with potential real life horror, that's my favourite.
