'Simpsons' producer to speak

When Mike Reiss, longtime producer of "The Simpsons" and co-creator of "The Critic," speaks at 7 p.m. tonight at the Indiana Memorial Union in Alumni Hall, he need not worry about shouts of "Boo-urns" streaming from the crowd.\nThe audience promises to be full of fans of Homer, Apu, Moe and Disco Stu as Reiss speaks about the highlights of a career that has garnered four Emmy awards. Among the topics Reiss will discuss are the near-cancellation of the Simpsons before it even aired, secret trivia of the show, the current state of television and "juicy gossip" about celebrity guest stars.\n"He apparently has a really good story about Oprah," said sophomore Cody Bell, Union Board director of comedy.\nReiss' presentation won't purely involve anecdotes, though, as he will also be getting interactive with the audience. There will be trivia contests as well as a contest for the best impression of a Simpsons character.\nSenior Sean Little, a self-described Simpsons fanatic, plans to attend Reiss' presentation. Little has seen every Simpsons episode from the show's first 12 years (most multiple times), missing only a few that have aired in the past couple years. His favorite episodes are "Marge's Fear of Flying" and "Cape Fear." \nWhile he feels well-versed for a trivia contest, Little has no aspirations of trying to imitate a character.\n"I used to be able to do Professor Frink, but that's basically just doing Jerry Lewis," Little said.\nPrizes for the contest winners include Simpsons paraphernalia varying from animated cells to show scripts.\nReiss will also be showing previously unseen scenes from the Simpsons rescued from the cutting room floor. He will end the presentation by taking questions from audience members.\n"I would like to see if Sideshow Bob and Sideshow Cecil will be coming back," Little said.\nBefore his presentation, Reiss will speak to Michael Kerchner's class, who teaches an anthropology course on the Simpsons offered at Collins Living-Learning Center. Kerchner's course looks at how the show covers topics like religion, violence, sports and other aspects of society.\n"I thought it was an amazing opportunity for students at IU to hear a writer from one of the No. 1 shows in the country," Kerchner said.\nKerchner is interested to see what Reiss will have to say to the class, though.\n"He did say the worst thing to happen to the Simpsons is academics, and we'll be confronting him on that."\nThe Union Board booked Reiss through Greater Talent Network, the same agency that brought "The Daily Show's" Mo Rocca to campus last year. Bell said the fact the Union Board has a working relationship with the agency meant bringing Reiss to campus was a pretty cut-and-dry deal.\n"We've been working with them a lot," Bell said. "They've got lots of funny people."\nBell is excited about the possible turnout for the show, as it has carried a bit of a buzz.\n"I'm hearing people talk about it, and that's a good sign," he said. "I'm thrilled with the word of mouth." \n-- Contact senior writer Alex Hickey at ahickey@indiana.edu.