are scientologists backing the simpsons?

[karyn]

"Simpsons" beat "South Park" in early Emmy race
from yahoo

"The Simpsons" claimed U.S. television's highest honor for a prime-time cartoon on Saturday as Emmy voters shied away from giving the prize to "South Park" for an episode lampooning Scientology and Tom Cruise.

It marked the ninth year that "The Simpsons," airing on the News Corp. Ltd.-owned Fox network for 17 years as the longest-running comedy series in prime time, was named best animated show.

Appropriately enough, the hit cartoon about a lazy, dim-witted, donut-chomping family man named Homer Simpson won its latest accolade for an episode titled "The Seemingly Neverending Story."

Former "Frasier" star Kelsey Grammer also claimed an Emmy for his voice work as "The Simpsons" character Sideshow Bob. The show's victories came near the end of a nearly four-hour presentation of the 58th annual Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

The ceremony, mostly honoring achievements in categories like makeup, costumes, sound editing and art direction, serves as a prelude to the higher-profile Primetime Emmy Awards that get handed out on a live NBC broadcast August 27.

But this year's animation award drew more attention than usual due to the furor surrounding a "South Park" parody of the Church of Scientology and Cruise, one of its most famous adherents, that was nominated opposite "The Simpsons."

A rerun of the "Trapped in the Closet" episode, originally telecast in November, was abruptly canceled by the Comedy Central network in March after soul singer Isaac Hayes, also a Scientologist, quit his job on the show as the voice of the character Chef in protest.

"South Park" creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker have said they believe the "Closet" repeat was pulled because Cruise threatened to boycott promotion of his own film "Mission: Impossible III," for Paramount Pictures, also a unit of network parent Viacom Inc.. Representatives for Cruise and Paramount denied having anything to do with killing the rerun.

Acknowledging the "South Park" flap in his acceptance speech on the stage, "Simpsons" executive producer Al Jean said, "This is what happens when you don't mock Scientology."

LEACHMAN

In another instance of Emmy longevity, veteran performer Cloris Leachman took home the award for best guest actress on a comedy series for her role as the cranky grandmother who sues her own family on "Malcolm in the Middle."

The prize marked the eighth Primetime Emmy of Leachman's prolific career, the most amassed by a single actress, surpassing the seven earned by Mary Tyler Moore, on whose show Leachman became a household name in the 1970s.

"I'm 80, and if your heart doesn't stop beating, and you stay up with it, look what can happen," said Leachman, an Oscar winner the 1971 film "The Last Picture Show" who will appear next week in the big-screen comedy "Beerfest."

Leachman has a chance to extend her Emmy winning streak on the August 27 show as a nominee for her supporting role on HBO's made-for-TV movie "Mrs. Harris."

Leachman's prize was one of just four acting awards given out as part of Saturday's awards. The guest actress Emmy in a drama series award went to big-screen performer Patricia Clarkson for role as Aunt Sarah in HBO's "Six Feet Under."

Michael J. Fox and James Woods lost to lesser-known "Boston Legal" guest star Christian Clemenson in the race for best guest actor in a drama.

The Emmy for guest actor in a comedy went to Leslie Jordan for his recurring part as the snide, obviously gay, but steadfastly closeted comic foil to Karen Walker on NBC's "Will & Grace."

The HBO miniseries "Elizabeth I" about the English monarch, claimed the most Emmys on Saturday with five wins, followed by HBO documentary "Baghdad ER," which won four.

HBO, a Time Warner Inc.-owned cable channel, was the winningest network overall, collecting 17 of the 63 prizes handed out, followed by Disney-owned ABC with 10.

In other highlights, ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" was named best noncompetitive reality show, while the prize for best children's program was shared by the Disney Channel's "High School Musical" and the HBO documentary "I Have Tourette's But Tourette's Doesn't Have Me."

The Emmy for best variety, musical or comedy special went to NBC's telecast of the Winter Olympic Games' opening ceremony. The History Channel clinched the nonfiction special and series awards -- for "Rome: Engineering an Empire" and "10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America," respectively.

The Creative Arts Emmys, hosted by Penn & Teller, will air in a two-hour special August 26 on cable's E! Entertainment Television.

Reuters/VNU

[GnArKiLL]

The simpsons need\ to be cancelled already, theyre about 5 years overdue

[TheQuietPlace]

Tom Cruise needs to die. Anyways...thats fucked. South Park is the better show by far!

[Kidthorazine]

yeah nowadays south park is a better show, though not by much anymore, both showshave sort of run out of steam, southpark needs to end soon and the simpsons should have ended like 5 or 6 years ago.

[OliX]

simpsons have a much biger range of viewers and in some way it became families tradition (rean addiction)
and looking from my perspective lots of non american people will see more simpsons than south park because of jokes in south park which is mostly targeting US issues and people...

btw what about Family Guy

[keiko]

You have to give simpsons/groenig credit where credit is due. Fresh material even after all these years is hard to do. there isn't a live action show that has managed to pull that off. I will say that SP though being a better episode doesn't have the staying power of Simpsons. Don't get me wrong Parker and Stone are comic master minds, watch Cannibal! The Musical if you don't belive me. I just don't think that starting a rivalry between two good shows is really going to make either one "better" nor will one ever "win".

And yeah, what about Family Guy, and American Dad and the rest of the good funnies... oh wait that's all four that are current. South Park, Family Guy, Simpsons, American Dad.... Futurama is in reruns nightly on the Cartoon Network with rumors of new episodes/miniserise/movie in the works.

Does it matter? they're CARTOONS for Zenu's sake!

K

[Pull~My~Hair]

personally im not a fan of South Park any more, it got old to me. I still like the simpsons and family guy, and american dad but Futurama is my favorite I think.

[sheramil]

just because the Simpsons doesn't attack the Clams, doesn't mean they're affiliated with them. i don't publically attack Scientology because i know what kinds of insane shit-storms they can call down on people at their leisure. it's a matter of how long you want to spend in court fighting pointless suits and getting bogged down in inane legalisms.

[keiko]

Actually Nacy Cartwright, the voice of Bart, is a scientologist.

K

[sheramil]

Actually Nacy Cartwright, the voice of Bart, is a scientologist.

K

and of course, she writes all the scripts and enforces policy on what they can attack and what they can't.

[keiko]

well Issac Hayes, the voice of Chef, didn't do any of that either, but after the "Trapped" episode he quit and is now doing Lays poptato chip commercials. They need the voie of Bart Simpson to stay on atelast as long as hte show is contracted for new episodes so yeah I'm sure Ms. Cartwright has some say in what she will and won't do for the sake of a joke.

K

[kellie]

well Issac Hayes, the voice of Chef, didn't do any of that either, but after the "Trapped" episode he quit and is now doing Lays poptato chip commercials. They need the voie of Bart Simpson to stay on atelast as long as hte show is contracted for new episodes so yeah I'm sure Ms. Cartwright has some say in what she will and won't do for the sake of a joke.

K

Im sure they can find someone else to do Barts voice if they really wanted to

[Mr Karl]

I still get a laugh out of the simpsons

[sheramil]

or they could do with Bart's voice what they did on Southpark with Chef's voice, after he quit - just use samples.

[Lady Alias]

Bart and Chef? Well now, they're just taking over, aren't they.

[Kind of ironic, though.]

[GnArKiLL]

well Issac Hayes, the voice of Chef, didn't do any of that either, but after the "Trapped" episode he quit and is now doing Lays poptato chip commercials. They need the voie of Bart Simpson to stay on atelast as long as hte show is contracted for new episodes so yeah I'm sure Ms. Cartwright has some say in what she will and won't do for the sake of a joke.

K

from what ive heard and read Hayes was forced to quite the show by fellow scientologists

[keiko]

from what ive heard and read Hayes was forced to quite the show by fellow scientologists

That's what happens when you anger the Celebrity Cult. They're everywhere. I don't think there's a show out there that doesn't have at least one Zenu believer on staff, wither as an actor or someone behind the scenes.

K

[sheramil]

screw the damn scientologists. i stopped eating at the Pancake Parlor when i heard they owned it. i am not giving up any more of my simple pleasures just because someone says "o no the Clams own that".

[keiko]

Neopets is oned by them too.

K

[Mr Karl]

yep, good ol scientologist's

fun fact .... thier office infrastructure is layed out based on the major arcana

another fun fact..... if you've ever dropped acid you can't work for them