Springfield Googolplex: The Movie Podcast for Fans of The Simpsons

Holy Dutch angles, Batman! Inspired by the Simpsons episode, “Radioactive Man” (S7E2), Adam and Nate are taking on their first double feature focused on two versions of Batman. In the first installment, they’re teaming up with special guest Daniel Grant (Spoiled Rotten, Uncolonized Podcast) to revisit Batman: The Movie (1966), its TV origins, and its Simpsons parody in the campy sixties version of Radioactive Man.

Also in this episode:

• What is camp? The tragically ludicrous? The ludicrously tragic? Something else entirely?

• The stacked cast of character actors that flocked to this silly superhero romp.

• The Batcave, the Batmobile, the Bat Repellent Shark Spray—we unpack the Batman arsenal, and what makes this rendition of the Caped Crusader unique.

• A slew of sign gags and other shared comedy DNA with The Simpsons.

Plus every Simpsons reference to Batman: The Movie and more bonus content at SpringfieldGoogolplex.com

Next time, Adam and Nate complete their double feature with Tim Burton’s Batman (1989) and “Last Exit to Springfield” (S4E17). Tune in two weeks from now! Same Plex time, same Plex channel!

For complete show notes, including a complete list of Simpsons references, extra credit, and further reading, be sure to visit this episode’s show notes.

Follow us @simpsonsfilmpod on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter, and Letterboxd.

Few movies have been as shaped by their pop culture legacy as Godzilla (1954), and hey, that’s the premise of this podcast! Adam and Nate watch this influential monster movie for the first time on its 70th anniversary alongside “Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo” (S10E23), the Simpson family’s controversial vacation to Japan.

Also in this episode:

• Godzilla vs. Kong (or is it Godzilla x Kong?): We compare the rampages of these two iconic movie monsters

• How the American adaptation, Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956), influenced how the world understood the original for 50 years

• What movie has the most Simpsons actors besides The Simpsons Movie?

• Something called an “oxygen destroyer”

After a short break, we’ll be back in June with Batman: The Movie (1966)—the Adam West one—and the Simpsons send-up of superhero movies, “Radioactive Man” (S7E2).

Ah, The Natural (1984), a classic American tale about… an underdog baseball team, a serial killer, a love triangle, a match fixing scandal, a freak accident in the outfield, and a magic baseball bat? We’ll get into it, along with “Homer at the Bat” (S317), a star-studded Simpsons episode that stretched the reality of the show.

Also in this episode:

• Randy Newman (yes, of “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” fame) delivers a banger of a score that The Simpsons parody again and again

• Is all the plot nonsense worth it for that astonishing Hollywood ending?

• Bump Bailey and other old-time Swartzweldian baseball nicknames

• How can a star like Robert Redford get beyond roles like “baseball Jesus”?

Next time… GODZILLA. 

…The 1954 version. Also, “Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo” (S10E23).

With the 96th annual Academy Awards complete, Adam and Nate review the night’s festivities and finally get a chance to talk about recent movies for a change. 

Also in this episode:

• Highlights from the show, from its “perfectly cromulent” host* to Al Pacino’s big moment—hoo-ah!

• Adam and Nate’s (very different) lists of top 10 movies of 2023

• A trivia game about Best Picture Winners parodied on The Simpsons, fresh from the Simpsons Movie Reference Database 

Next time, we return to our regularly scheduled programming with The Natural (1984) and The Simpsons’ ode to baseball “Homer at the Bat” (S3E17).

On its 40th anniversary, Adam and Nate endured Police Academy (1984) so you don’t have to! They also give a rundown of the many times The Simpsons has slammed this movie, with a deep dive into the episode, “Marge Be Not Proud” (S7E11), a hilarious and heartbreaking classic that Adam can barely watch.

Also in this episode:
• Trying to empathize with the fans who give this 10/10 on IMDb
• What makes good low-brow humor?
• Speculation about why the Simpsons writers hate this movie so much
• CanCon corner: Toronto on film, playing itself and others 
• Plus every Simpsons reference to Spinal Tap at SpringfieldGoogolplex.com

Next time, Adam and Nate take a swing at The Natural (1984) and The Simpsons’ ode to baseball “Homer at the Bat” (S3E17).

Follow us @simpsonsfilmpod on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter, and Letterboxd.

Film and music writer Marko Djurdjic joins Adam and Nate to revisit Rob Reiner’s groundbreaking rockumentary This Is Spinal Tap (1984), alongside the band’s Simpsons cameo in “The Otto Show” (S3E22).

Also in this episode:

• How mockumentaries became the baseline in contemporary comedy

• The attention to detail that make this the best faux documentary around

• Marko’s guide to the sublime and the ridiculous in heavy metal

• Why do we poke fun at the things we love?

Plus every Simpsons reference to Spinal Tap at SpringfieldGoogolplex.com

Next time, Adam and Nate enroll in Police Academy (1984) and one of the many Simpsons slams on this movie in “Marge Be Not Proud” (S7E11) to celebrate (or lament?) the movie’s 40th anniversary.

Follow us @simpsonsfilmpod on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter, and Letterboxd.

Adam and Nate take a trip to Westworld (1973), Michael Crichton’s somewhat forgotten directorial debut with a long shadow that reaches into sci-fi and slashers movies, theme parks, and open-world video games. Along the way, they dig into The Simpsons’ full-length parody, “Itchy & Scratchy Land” (S6E4).

Also in this episode:

• The incomparable influence of Michael Crichton on 1990s culture

• Special effects that changed the face of movie-making 

• The Simpsons’ many unclear movie references, including Principal Skinner’s walk through the river in “The Boy Who Knew Too Much” (S5E20)

• Our memories of Disneyland, including its recent shift toward role playing

Next time, special guest Marko Djurdjic joins Adam and Nate to turn it up to 11 with This Is Spinal Tap (1984) and “The Otto Show” (S3E22).

To celebrate the festive season, Adam and Nate revisit a classic Christmas movie on its 50th anniversary—The Exorcist (1973)! Considered by some to be the scariest movie ever made, this The Simpsons has mostly parodied this William Friedkin joint with blink-and-you-miss-it references, including in “Faith Off” (S11E11).

Also in this episode:

• Why the heck was this movie released the day after Christmas?

• What’s scarier, the demon inside Regan or the medical treatments to get it out?

• How a slow-moving movie can satisfy even an impatient editor’s standards for pacing

• When great directors can’t stop messing with their movies—and can’t keep their stories straight

The boys will be taking a short break for the holidays, but the podcast will return Tuesday, February 13, 2024, with a brand new season of movie and their Simpsons parodies.

“Unwittingly, he trained a dolphin to kill the president of the United States.” What a tagline. This episode, Adam and Nate dive into The Day of the Dolphin (1973), a forgotten entry from director Mike Nichols (The Graduate, The Birdcage) that’s celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Does this forgotten movie deserve a second look, or is its parody in The Simpsons’ “Treehouse of Horror XI” (S12E1) segment “Night of the Dolphin” enough?

Also in this episode:
• How the great Mike Nichols and George C. Scott ended up making a movie about talking dolphins

• Who is this movie for? Is it a political thriller or an animal movie for kids?

• Adam finds out whether or not dolphins can actually talk

• A preposterous plot… or is it?

• Plus, every Simpsons reference to The Day of the Dolphin and more bonus content at SpringfieldGoogolplex.com 

Next time, Adam and Nate celebrate their second Non-Denominational Holiday Fun Fest with a surprise episode under the festive bush!

Follow us @simpsonsfilmpod on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Letterboxd, and YouTube.

Gonna fly now! Adam and Nate step into the ring with Rocky (1976), a classic that not only changed the boxing genre, but may surprise some with its human drama. They compare and contrast with to The Simpsons episode “The Homer They Fall” (S8E3), a mashup of boxing movie parodies.

Also in this episode:

• Parodies of convenience: When a movie reference is just a means to an end

• Is every memorable moment in Rocky thanks to director John G. Avildsen?

• Five stellar performances that balance quirky character with emotional realism

• How Rocky changed cinematography and editing in the boxing genre and beyond

• Nate gives Adam a lightning round on the sequels he’s never seen, from Rocky II to Rocky VII: Adrian’s Revenge!

Next time, Adam and Nate celebrate the 50th anniversary of a classic of American cinema, with Simpsons references in “Treehouse of Horror XI” (S12E1)!