One of the shows that put Fox on the map is gearing up for its 20th anniversary celebration. And this week, the celebration is taking place across every show on Fox.
The New York Times reports that Fox is slipping in homages to the long-running animated comedy, “The Simpsons” on all its shows this week. the homage extends not only to shows produced by 20th Century Fox studios but every show from every studio.
And there’s a contest involved as well. Sharp-eyed viewers are encouraged to tune in and keep up with all the references–some obvious, others not as much Then you can surf over to Fox’s web site and enter a contest to win “Simpsons” prizes.
The contest began last night and runs until Friday evening.
“Many times in TV, there’s a competitive nature between shows,” but “The Simpsons” is on another level, said Joe Earley, the executive vice president for marketing and communications at Fox. “I would guess that many writers on many TV shows grew up watching ‘The Simpsons.’ ”
When the producers on “Fringe” were asked if they wanted to participate, they agreed immediately, even though the show is produced by Warner Brothers, Jeff Pinkner, an executive producer, said.
“We’re all huge fans — I mean, come on, the show is brilliant and, at this point, a part of the culture,” Pinkner said.
All the shows were asked a month ago to slip the references into the shows for this week, something all the shows agreed to do.
The celebration will culminate on Jan. 10 with a mock-documentary about the series.
Some of the mentions will be more obvious than others. Pinkner said the “Fringe” producers “decided to make references that wouldn’t be too obscure, though still fun to spot.”
Some shows cite names of “Simpsons” characters, Earley said; others incorporate one of the show’s licensed products into a plot line; and others have cameos. One show, the high school musical drama “Glee,” could not script a specialized reference, because the episodes were shot in the spring, well before the hunt was conceived.
“We worked with them to find something in the episode which is also true for ‘The Simpsons,’ ” Mr. Earley said slyly.
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