Wednesday, February 02, 2005

A vote for Bush....

Was apparently a vote for Ned Flanders, who is preparing to take centre stage in the world's longest-running cartoon:
Before on The Simpsons, Ned was a secondary figure - Homer's cloyingly pious next-door neighbour. But the values he embodies in exaggerated form now monopolize the political scene. In fact, one might say that Homer is Ned's next-door neighbour, not the other way around, so clearly does Ned bask in the mainstream.
"The values he represents have become more visible in American life," agrees Simpsons executive producer Al Jean, "as people who maybe are outward advocates of Ned's values have come into positions of power. We always satirize who's in power and what the cultural zeitgeist is, so currently the point of view Ned has is a little more ripe for satire."
Ned stands front and centre in Sunday's edition of "The Simpsons" when, in an unlikely collaboration with Homer, he co-produces the Super Bowl halftime show as (what else?) a biblical pageant. Homer portrays Noah. The stadium is flooded from a Duff's Beer blimp. Ned preaches the Word. Take that, Janet Jackson.
Okely-dokely-do; I think we can trust there will be no wardrobe malfunctions in this halftime show.

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