Springfield Googolplex: The Movie Podcast for Fans of The Simpsons

In this bonus minisode, Nate and Adam give their bite-sized reviews of the recently released The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and how it stacks up against Superman.

Our latest special summer episode covered the scandalous story of Roger Corman’s unreleased The Fantastic Four (1994), alongside Stan Lee’s guest star appearance in The Simpsons episode “I Am Furious (Yellow).” So with that in mind we ask, did the MCU break it or make it better?

Lobby Chats are short bonus mini-episodes where Adam and Nate share their thoughts on new releases, what they’re watching besides movies parodied on The Simpsons, and more.

For more Simpsons movie parody content, check out SpringfieldGoogolplex.com, or follow us @simpsonsfilmpod on Instagram, Bluesky, TikTok, YouTube, and Letterboxd. Discover more great podcasts on the That Shelf Podcast Network. 

With The Fantastic Four: First Steps in theaters this week, Nate and Adam felt inspired to cover the latest MCU blockbuster. But in the absence of a press pass, we decided to watch Roger Corman’s unreleased The Fantastic Four (1994) instead! We also revisit “I Am Furious (Yellow)” (S13E18), the most Marvel-icious episode of the classic era of The Simpsons.

Also in this episode:

• The behind-the-scenes Hollywood shenanigans that kept this film from seeing the light of day 

• Is Stan Lee one of the best guest stars ever on The Simpsons?

• Roger Corman’s surprising influence on The Simpsons movie references

• An ode to the golden era of internet cartoons

Plus, check out our show notes for a complete list of Simpsons references, double feature suggestions, and further reading

We will return with regular biweekly episodes in September. Until then, keep an eye out for more special one-off episodes and new articles on our blog.

For more Simpsons movie parody content, check out SpringfieldGoogolplex.com, or follow us @simpsonsfilmpod on Instagram, Bluesky, TikTok, YouTube, and Letterboxd. Discover more great podcasts on the That Shelf Podcast Network.

With the 36th season of The Simpsons recently wrapping up, we invited the current showrunner Matt Selman to sit down with us and talk all about the most recent season, its many movie parodies, his own relationship with the movies, and more. We even got a sneak preview of a few upcoming episodes of season 37!

Also in this episode:

• Why movie parodies on The Simpsons these days are longer, more elaborate, and more niche than ever

• Is prestige TV displacing cinema as the parody of choice?

• The most Simpsons-y part of Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning

• A lightning round about possible movie references in season 36 

Plus, check out our blog for instructions on how to run a movie box office draft like The Simpsons writers room

We will return with regular biweekly episodes in September. Until then, keep an eye out for more special one-off episodes and new articles on our blog.

Watch season 36 of The Simpsons on Hulu and Disney+, including a new collection page and non-stop stream on Disney+.

For more Simpsons movie parody content, check out SpringfieldGoogolplex.com, or follow us @simpsonsfilmpod on Instagram, Bluesky, TikTok, YouTube, and Letterboxd. Discover more great podcasts on the That Shelf Podcast Network.

In our season finale, Adam and Nate celebrate the 30th anniversary of one of The Simpsons’ most famous season finales, “Who Shot Mr. Burns? Part One” (S6E25). To complement Mr. Burns’s fiendish scheme to block out the sun, we paired it with Goldfinger (1964), the James Bond movie that invented much of the formula that every later movie in the series either imitates or plays against.

Also in this episode:

• The brassy music of John Barry and Shirley Bassey that became synonymous with espionage and gadgetry

• What set pieces hold up best, and why is the correct answer the industrial laser scene?

•The imperceptible craft that pulls together the behind-the-scenes patchwork of this movie

• Can James Bond survive his latest encounter with an ambitious bald billionaire?

• Plus, check out our show notes for a complete list of Simpsons references, double feature suggestions, and further reading.

Springfield Googolplex will return in September 2025 with the thrilling conclusion to “Who Shot Mr. Burns?” (S7E1), alongside a mystery movie pairing. In the meantime, we will be taking a break to produce our next season, but keep an eye out for a few very special summer episodes.

For more Simpsons movie parody content, check out SpringfieldGoogolplex.com, or follow us @simpsonsfilmpod on Instagram, Bluesky, TikTok, YouTube, and Letterboxd. Discover more great podcasts on the That Shelf Podcast Network.

What more can be said about Jaws (1975)? For the 50th anniversary of the original summer blockbuster, we invited filmmaker and podcaster Devan Scott to help us unpack how it quietly became one of the most referenced movies in the classic years of The Simpsons.

Also in this episode:

• The many parodies of Quint and his iconic introduction, including our Simpsons double feature, “The Joy of Sect” (S9E13)

• A deep dive on the dolly zoom, from Hitchcock to Spielberg to The Simpsons

• How Amity provides a template for the small-town politics of Springfield

• Why does The Simpsons leave the climax of this movie untouched by parodies?

• Plus, check out our show notes for a complete list of Simpsons references, double feature suggestions, and further reading

Next time, for our season finale, we celebrate the 30th anniversary of one of the most memorable Simpsons finales of all time, “Who Shot Mr. Burns? Part One” (S6E25) and its parody of Goldfinger (1964).

For more of Devan Scott’s film content, check out the complete podcast How Would Lubitsch Do It? and his video essays on YouTube, or follow him on Bluesky, Letterboxd, and Instagram. Plus, check out Arrow Video’s new definitive 4K UHD release of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966), which Devan consulted on as part of a “weird Leone amateur brain trust.” (Nate has already pre-ordered.)

For more Simpsons movie parody content, check out SpringfieldGoogolplex.com, or follow us @simpsonsfilmpod on Instagram, Bluesky, TikTok, YouTube, and Letterboxd. Discover more great podcasts on the That Shelf Podcast Network.

Why does “Bart Gets Hit by a Car” (S2E10) show the episode title on screen at the beginning, unlike nearly every other episode of The Simpsons? We think we found an answer in The Fortune Cookie (1966), the very first pairing of longtime comedy duo Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. They’re the original odd couple! This forgotten movie provided the plot for this early episode of The Simpsons, and possibly much more.

Also in this episode:

• A classic example of “homage, French for theft”

• How this movie may have inspired the origins of Lionel Hutz and Dr. Nick Riviera

• When does Walter Matthau sound most like season 1 Homer in this movie?

• Adam and Nate unwisely try to rewrite Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond, two masters of comedy writing

Plus, check out our show notes for a complete list of Simpsons references, double feature suggestions, and further reading

Next time, filmmaker and podcaster Devan Scott returns to discuss Jaws (1975) on its 50th anniversary, alongside its culty parody in “The Joy of Sect” (S9E13).

For more Simpsons movie parody content, check out SpringfieldGoogolplex.com, or follow us @simpsonsfilmpod on Instagram, Bluesky, TikTok, YouTube, and Letterboxd. Discover more great podcasts on the That Shelf Podcast Network.

Sean Baker’s movie had heart, but Football in the Groin had a football in the groin. Adam and Nate review the 97th Academy Awards, and compare their top five movies of 2024.

Also in this episode:

• The biggest surprises, snubs, and satisfying wins of the night

• Does former Simpsons writer Conan O’Brien work as host of the Oscars?

• A round-up of the night’s best Simpsons memes

• A trivia game about the most reference Best Picture-winners on The Simpsons, fresh from the Simpsons Movie Reference Database 

Plus, check out our show notes for our top five lists, trivia answers, and more bonus content

Next time, we’re back to our regularly scheduled programming with The Fortune Cookie (1966), a Billy Wilder joint that had its plot stolen for The Simpsons episode “Bart Gets Hit By a Car” (S2E10).

For more Simpsons movie parody content, check out SpringfieldGoogolplex.com, or follow us @simpsonsfilmpod on Instagram, Bluesky, TikTok, YouTube, and Letterboxd. Discover more great podcasts on the That Shelf Podcast Network.

When Jay Sherman showed up as a guest judge for the Springfield Film Festival, it created the perfect platform for one of the most movie parody-packed episodes of The Simpsons ever. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of “A Star Is Burns” (S6E18), Adam and Nate explore an equally epic movie—Ben-Hur (1959)—as well as The Critic, an even more movie-saturated series developed by several Simpsons alumni.

Also in this episode:

• Is this movie actually as Christian as it seems, or is there very little meat in this gym mat?

• Which actor is more Troy McClure-ish, Charlton Heston or Stephen Boyd?

• Does the chariot race that launched a thousand homages hold up today?

• Are the lepers in Ben-Hur as scary as Maude Flanders thinks?

Plus, check out our show notes for a complete list of Simpsons references, double feature suggestions, and further reading

Next time, Nate and Adam look back on our favorite movies of the year and recap the surprises, snubs, and the Simpsons-related host of the 97th Academy Awards. 

For more Simpsons movie parody content, check out SpringfieldGoogolplex.com, or follow us @simpsonsfilmpod on Instagram, Bluesky, TikTok, YouTube, and Letterboxd. Discover more great podcasts on the That Shelf Podcast Network.

The year 1999 was a big one for film. Star Wars returned to the big screen, The Matrix changed action movies forever, and notorious producer Jon Peters finally got his giant spider in a movie.

In our first episode of 2025, Nate and Adam revisit Peters’ and Barry Sonnenfeld’s notorious flop Wild Wild West (1999) and its eight-legged parody in “The Sweetest Apu” (S13E19). Is this movie as bad as you remember, or has Hollywood lowered our standards to meet it halfway? Let’s find out.

Also in this episode:

• One of the greatest Simpsons episodes of season 13

• Special effects and production design that have aged like fine wine

• Sexual politics that have aged like milk

• Is this the height of the ‘90s trend of end-credits raps that summarize the plot?

Plus, check out our show notes for a complete list of Simpsons references, double feature suggestions, and further reading

Next time, Adam and Nate revisit the Simpsons-Critic crossover “A Star Is Burns” (S6E18) on its 30th anniversary and Mr. Burns’s rip-off of Ben-Hur (1959).

For more Simpsons movie parody content, check out SpringfieldGoogolplex.com, or follow us @simpsonsfilmpod on Instagram, Bluesky, TikTok, YouTube, and Letterboxd. Discover more great podcasts on the That Shelf Podcast Network. 

For our annual Non-Denominational Holiday Fun Fest this year, we unwrap “Grift of the Magi” (S11E9)—the Simpsons episode that gave us the name of this special—and its climactic spoof of James Cameron’s The Terminator (1984). Podcaster and prolific Letterboxd reviewer Matt Lynch joins us to break down the greatest movie ever made about a son sending his father back in time to have sex with his mother. (Oh yeah, and save the world in the process.)

Also in this episode:
• The delicious stone soup of Cameron’s budget filmmaking and special effects

• Is this a slasher movie? Does it simply borrow slasher tropes? Did those tropes exist in 1984?

• How James Cameron makes corniness as well as Frank Capra

• Why ‘90s kids saw T2: Judgment Day first, and why we need to break the cycle

• Plus, check out our show notes for a complete list of Simpsons references, double feature suggestions, and further reading

Springfield Googolplex is taking a break for the holidays, but we will be back on February 18, 2025, with a new batch of episodes. In the meantime,  have a merry Christmas, a happy Hanukkah, a cwazy Kwanzaa, a tip top Tet, and a solemn and dignified Ramadan.

For more of Matt Lynch, check out his popular Letterboxd profile, his thriller movie podcast The Suspense Is Killing Us, Scarecrow Video’s YouTube channel VIVA! Physical Media, or the massive library of Scarecrow Video itself and its awesome rent-by-mail program.

For more Simpsons movie parody content, check out SpringfieldGoogolplex.com, or follow us @simpsonsfilmpod on Instagram, Bluesky, TikTok, YouTube, and Letterboxd. Discover more great podcasts on the That Shelf Podcast Network.