# \[i\]The Simpsons\[/i\] voice actors on \[b\]Bravo\[/b\] Sunday night **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 9, 2003, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-the-simpsons-i-voice-actors-on-b-bravo-b-sunday-night/153855 "2003-02-09T08:08:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Murcielago](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Murcielago](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Murcielago)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2003, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-the-simpsons-i-voice-actors-on-b-bravo-b-sunday-night/153855/1 "2003-02-09T08:08:12Z")
Just a heads up for the _Simpsons_ fans. The cast will be on “Inside the Actor’s studio,” at 8PM with a repeat at midnight. A few details [here](http://www.bravotv.com/series/actorsstudio/frames/index_ad.html) . I’m sure there will be a thread discussing this show, I’m curious to see how James Lipton will manage to fawn over six actors simultaneously. ---
**Author:** ![Santos\_L\_Halper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/santos_l_halper/32/1_2.png) [@Santos\_L\_Halper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santos_L_Halper)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2003, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-the-simpsons-i-voice-actors-on-b-bravo-b-sunday-night/153855/2 "2003-02-09T12:02:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Murcielago \* > \*\*I’m curious to see how James Lipton will manage to fawn over six actors simultaneously. \*\* Hey, if anyone can manage it, he can… 🙂 Thanks for the heads up. I probably would have missed it because I was watching something else Sunday at 8… Like the Simpsons! Good scheduling, Bravo network! 🙂 Eric ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2003, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-the-simpsons-i-voice-actors-on-b-bravo-b-sunday-night/153855/3 "2003-02-09T17:25:39Z")
Our good friends at The Simpsons Archive ([snpp.com](http://snpp.com)) give other showtimes coming up (all times Eastern and Pacific): Midnight tonight 1 am Feb. 15 11 am Feb. 16 11 pm Feb. 16 It should be interesting, as Lipton will not only interview the actors, but their characters as well. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2003, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-the-simpsons-i-voice-actors-on-b-bravo-b-sunday-night/153855/4 "2003-02-10T02:04:08Z")
This was hilarious. I haven’t even laughed at a Simpsons episode that much in a while. What happened to Julie Kavner (Marge, et al) about halfway through? ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2003, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-the-simpsons-i-voice-actors-on-b-bravo-b-sunday-night/153855/5 "2003-02-10T04:13:50Z")
It was very funny, but poorly edited. I don’t understand why they gave two hours to Mike Myers but just one hour to the cast of the Simpsons. I felt robbed. ---
**Author:** ![ElwoodCuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/edb3f5/32.png) [@ElwoodCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElwoodCuse)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2003, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-the-simpsons-i-voice-actors-on-b-bravo-b-sunday-night/153855/6 "2003-02-10T05:38:46Z")
I liked it a lot, but it was weird to see Simpson voices coming out of real people. Was James Lipton himself really a guest voice on the Simpsons (the McBain joke they showed)? Maybe that was part of the deal for getting this broadcast in the first place? ---
**Author:** ![Santos\_L\_Halper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/santos_l_halper/32/1_2.png) [@Santos\_L\_Halper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santos_L_Halper)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2003, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-the-simpsons-i-voice-actors-on-b-bravo-b-sunday-night/153855/7 "2003-02-10T06:03:38Z")
Yep, Lipton was a guest voice last year. I just finished watching it. It was great, but too short. With six people, they couldn’t spend much time with anyone. They should have made it longer. Eric ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2003, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-the-simpsons-i-voice-actors-on-b-bravo-b-sunday-night/153855/8 "2003-02-10T07:49:18Z")
Great show, although Lipton is annoying as hell. I’ve always wanted to see the faces behind the voices. I wonder why Yeardley Smith only does one voice, while the rest of them do multiple characters. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2003, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-the-simpsons-i-voice-actors-on-b-bravo-b-sunday-night/153855/9 "2003-02-10T17:01:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by USCDiver \* > \*\*What happened to Julie Kavner (Marge, et al) about halfway through? \*\* Kavner does not like doing the Simpsons voices in public. It was good that she was able to do a couple. I read she was really annoyed and wanted to leave. ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2003, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-the-simpsons-i-voice-actors-on-b-bravo-b-sunday-night/153855/10 "2003-02-10T22:51:04Z")
I don’t blame Kavner for being annoyed. I thought some of Lipton’s questions were really inane. Like asking Azaria’s “Apu” character what the prices are for several different items in the Quicky Mart. Yeah, we get it - he overcharges for stuff; you only need to do the bit once. I felt uncomfortable watching them all being put on the spot like that. They have writers for The Simpsons - it’s not improv. To expect them to come up with funny stuff _in character_ off-the-cuff like that was a little unfair, although they all did an admirable job of it. The other thing that bugged me was that they played clips _while_ the guests were talking, so most of the time you didn’t get to see them doing the voices. Not only that, but they didn’t turn the sound off all the way, so you had this annoying background noise while the guests were doing their thing. WTF? ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2003, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-the-simpsons-i-voice-actors-on-b-bravo-b-sunday-night/153855/11 "2003-02-10T23:00:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by blowero \* > \*\* I thought some of Lipton’s questions were really inane. Like asking Azaria’s “Apu” character what the prices are for several different items in the Quicky Mart. \*\* That was so painful to watch. You could see the look of “Dude give me something to work with!” on Azaria’s face. Lipton has zero sense of humor. BTW the reason I think they played the clips when they were doing the bulk of their voices is probably due to contract. Most voice actors can’t say a single word in their respective character in public - I was surprised to see them even say a few words. ---
**Author:** ![Murcielago](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Murcielago](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Murcielago)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2003, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-the-simpsons-i-voice-actors-on-b-bravo-b-sunday-night/153855/12 "2003-02-10T23:12:03Z")
I enjoyed the show, but it was oddly edited (as **blowero** pointed out) and it should have been extended to two hours. I mean if they can give a full hour to Will Smith, you would think six _talented_ people would merit at least two. Yeardly Smith came across as somewhat humorless to me (probably due to the editing). Shearer is one of my favorite comedic actors, he deserves an hour by himself. BTW, you can hear his weekly radio show, _Le Show_, [here](http://www.kcrw.com/cgi-bin/db/kcrw.pl?tmplt_type=program&show_code=ls). P.S. Sorry 'bout uglifying the board with that sloppy subject line, I forgot that you can only _italic_ and **bold** in the post body:smack: ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2003, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-the-simpsons-i-voice-actors-on-b-bravo-b-sunday-night/153855/13 "2003-02-10T23:32:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mobo85 \* > \*\*I read she was really annoyed and wanted to leave. \*\* Do you (or does anybody) happen to have a cite for where you read that? I also noticed that she had disappeared, and I’ve been trying to find out why on Google with no luck. I notice she stuck around for the part where they highlighted some of her earlier work… ---
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-the-simpsons-i-voice-actors-on-b-bravo-b-sunday-night/153855/14 "2003-02-11T00:08:24Z")
[here](http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,70971,00.html) > [@](#): > > Lipton was so thorough in his zeal to include as many of the show’s characters as possible on his show, that when Kavner tried to run to the bathroom he ordered her to sit back down and channel the voices of Marge Simpson’s sisters, Patty and Selma. > > Afterwards, Kavner didn’t return to the stage. I wouldn’t have returned, either. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-the-simpsons-i-voice-actors-on-b-bravo-b-sunday-night/153855/15 "2003-02-11T00:20:28Z")
Thanks for the link **Tars Tarkas**. Well, that would do it. I’m no professional interviewer, but I don’t think **ordering** your guest to do anything would be a good idea. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-the-simpsons-i-voice-actors-on-b-bravo-b-sunday-night/153855/16 "2003-02-11T00:24:25Z")
A few years ago when Julie Kavner was on Letterman he asked her to do Marge and she said she didn’t really want to because she didn’t want to shatter the illusion for the fans of having such a famous character’s voice come out of her face. To which, in classic Letterman style, Dave replied, “Ah that’s a load of crap - Do the voice”. This got a huge laugh so Kavner turned away from the camera and did a few lines. She didn’t seem annoyed. I agree Lipton is the most humorless person on Earth, but I didn’t think the ‘improv’ Q&A was all that bad. Some were so good I thought they might have been scripted ahead of time (Yeardly Smith’s poem bit obviously was). I thought Dan C. and Harry Shearer were pretty quick on their feet. I loved Shearer telling the audience member to find his seat when he did Principal Skinner. And when asked what his favorite swear word was having Krusty say, “Aw f\*\*\* it!” My biggest disappointment, besides the show not being 2 hours or at least 90 minutes, was Lipton not having a question for Groundskeeper Willie. I can only imagine how Willie would react to one of his inane inquiries! ---
**Author:** ![ElwoodCuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/edb3f5/32.png) [@ElwoodCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElwoodCuse)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-the-simpsons-i-voice-actors-on-b-bravo-b-sunday-night/153855/17 "2003-02-11T06:23:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KidCharlemagne \* > \*\*That was so painful to watch. You could see the look of “Dude give me something to work with!” on Azaria’s face. Lipton has zero sense of humor. \*\* You guys do know that the questions and answers about prices came verbatim from an episode, right? ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-the-simpsons-i-voice-actors-on-b-bravo-b-sunday-night/153855/18 "2003-02-11T14:42:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ElwoodCuse \* > \*\*You guys do know that the questions and answers about prices came verbatim from an episode, right? \*\* I did notice some similarities but, no, I didn’t know that. Nonetheless, it was awkward in the context. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-the-simpsons-i-voice-actors-on-b-bravo-b-sunday-night/153855/19 "2003-02-11T16:16:52Z")
This show emphasized once again why I quit watching it in the first place, because Lipton seems more interested in interviewing characters that actors play than the actors themselves. And it gets painful to watch. His interview with Michael Myers left me squirming because it ignored a genuine, funny man and focused on characters that man had created. An utter waste. The same was true for this episode. I want inside the ACTOR’S studio, not inside the characters studio. I can now go back to ignoring it. Shame really.