On Sunday night, Fox will air the 500th episode of The Simpsons. The show is already the longest running scripted primetime series in American television history. To celebrate, Voice looks back at the other milestone episodes of the show. #1: “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire” (Dec. 17, 1989, Season 1) – With no Christmas bonus, Homer has no money to buy presents for the family. Hoping to win some money at the dog track, he instead adopts one of the racers, Santa’s Little Helper, [...]

There are movies that people hate, and there are movies that people hate with a passion, devoting countless hours to shooting down and destroying. Whether it’s “Spiderman 3,” “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” or “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,” certain films are remembered only for the rage they inspire in most everyone that comes across them. One movie reigns supreme over all the love-to-hate films, a movie that has been deemed so detestable that it is commonly recognized as a [...]

Van Halen has one of the craziest rock and roll stories this side of Guns ‘N’ Roses.  From the public divorces of every member without the last name Van Halen to the wild live shows, VH has been captivating audiences for a long time, even after “1984” was released. I still remember the first time I heard VH. I was in the car with my dad and “Jamie’s Cryin’” came on the radio and I was blown away.  Everything from David Lee Roth’s sing/speak style [...]

Services like Netflix and YouTube have made the most recent films readily available to anyone. Can we find anything of value in the muck of b-movies, ambitious failures and exploitative crap-fests? We’re going to find out in Dispatches from Instant View Purgatory. What’re we watching: “Manic,” a 2001 psycho-drama and Sundance nominee starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel and Don Cheadle. What does it look like: Remember that girl in your high school who used every English class assignment as a way to show that she [...]

The dead have taken over AMC, and people just can’t seem to get enough. Based on the popular series of graphic novels by Robert Kirkman, The Walking Dead continues to be a hit with critics and audiences since its inception back in October 2010. This past weekend the series returned from its second season hiatus, picking up after the shocking cliffhanger that left Deputy Rick Grimes and his band of survivors killing an entire barn filled with the ravenous undead. Five episodes remain before the [...]

With Valentine’s Day coming up this Tuesday, here are ten great romantic movies to enjoy as a couple. “(500) Days of Summer” – A manic pixie dream girl meets a Zach Braffian manic depressive and guess what? They fall in love. Except they don’t. I don’t really know. “An Education” – “An Education” is a coming-of-age story featuring a pedophile pursuing a 16-year-old cello player. Perfect for a romantic Valentine’s evening. “Blue Valentine” – Two people fall in love then hate, beat, and awkwardly have [...]

Centered in New York City, the city of dreams and inspiration, Smash is not so inspirational, despite fan favorites Debra Messing and Anjelica Huston playing lead roles. From Steven Spielberg, Smash is the newest musical television show. Messing, who plays Julia Houston, is struggling to find the balance between managing her family and writing a musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe. Huston, who plays Eileen Rand, is a producer eager to start production, while also in the process of divorcing her husband whose [...]

I remember the day of the Columbine High School shooting better than I remember Sept. 11. I remember seeing my fourth grade math teacher sobbing. I remember being told in sanitized detail about what had happened in Colorado. I remember being confused, being sad and being scared. What happened at Columbine was a national tragedy, and it’s one that I have read about and watched far too many documentaries on. What Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold did on April 20, 1999, is something that is [...]

Services like Netflix and YouTube have made the most recent films readily available to anyone. Can we find anything of value in the muck of b-movies, ambitious failures and exploitative crap-fests? We’re going to find out in Dispatches from Instant View Purgatory. What’re we watching: “Tokyo Gore Police,” a 2008 Japanese action film that’s probably best described as splatter porn. What does it look like: Think about the weirdest dream you ever had. Now add chainsaws, dancing police dispatch women, schoolgirl outfits, tumors shaped like [...]

One of the most talked about TV shows of the past year takes place in England in the 1910s and is primarily set in a large estate where the extravagantly rich and their servants are the main characters. Downton Abbey is entirely dialogue-based, with very little physical action to move the plot forward. It’s a soap opera that has more than four million viewers weekly for PBS, and even more people watched the series when it aired in the UK. So why has this English [...]