14 metrolife Monday, January 11, 2010 D About Town THE HOTTEST TICKETS IN TOWN We have two sets of family tickets to see A CHRISTMAS CAROL tomorrow at The Gate, 8pm For a chance to win, e-mail your answer to the question below to life@ metroireland.ie by noon today with Hot Tickets in the subject line. With the answer include your name, address and a number where you can be contacted between 1pm and 3pm. Strictly one entry per person; entrants must be age 18 or over. Q. What is the name of Scrooges deceased business partner? A Jacob Marley B Old Fezziwig A Christmas Carol Yuletide may have come and gone but this cockle-warming take on Dickens redemptive classic continues. See Ebenezer Scrooge visited by ghosts of Christmas past, present and future Until Jan 23, Gate Theatre, 1 Cavendish Row D1, 8pm (Jan 23 mat 3pm), 15 to 35. Tel: (01) 874 4045. www.gate-theatre.ie The Bacchae Jimmy Carr Already pigeonholed as the Irish Muse, Dublin four-piece Codes are nonetheless carving their own niche, last years Trees Dream In Algebra arguably one of the most accomplished debuts in recent years. Recorded by Manic Street Preachers and Super Furry Animals producer Greg Haver, the record was voted Best Irish Album of 2009 by Phantom FM listeners, thanks to soaring anthems, epic arrangements and electronic noodlings the perfect ingredients for an arena tour, but until then, make do with this intimate gig next month Feb 27, The Academy, 57 Middle Abbey Street D1, 7.30pm, 20. Tel: 0818 719 300. www.codes.ie Book Now Codes metrometro lifeStaying In & Going Out The Big Interview Matt Groening If I walked into the Simpsons animation studio in disguise and took the drawing test, they wouldnt hire me AYE CARUMBA! Our pick of the best Simpsons episodes Its their big two-Classic Stage Ireland present Euripedes final drama about the wrath on Pentheus, king of Thebes, who refuses to worship wily god Dionysus and his rampant women, the Bacchae Until Jan 23, Project Arts Centre, 39 Essex Street East D2, 8.15pm, 16 to 20. Tel: (01) 881 9613. www.project.ie Proof that theres no such thing as bad publicity, the rapier-witted comedian is having the last laugh post paralympics-gate both Dublin dates are sold out Tonight & tomorrow, Olympia Theatre, 72 Dame Street D2, 8pm, 32.60 to 34.60 (returns only). Tel: 0818 719 300. www.jimmycarr.com The man behind the worlds most famous cartoon tells SHARON LOUGHER about 20 years of making The Simpsons ts 1987: a down-on-his-luck Matt Groening is drawing a cartoon creation on a wobbly card table while police helicopters hover noisily over his lousy apartment at the wrong end of Hollywood. If youd told him then that this month the world would be cracking open a Duff beer or two to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his creations first full- length episode on prime-time TV, hed have probably told you to eat his shorts. I didnt expect to be here after 20 years, admits the 55-year-old Simpsons creator, who isnt wearing shorts, but still looks endearingly scruffy in a modest shirt and jacket. I was convinced the show would be a hit. I thought kids would love it. But I also thought that, like all fads, it would dissipate and eventually just fade away. Turning 20 meant a busy 2009 for the Simpsons team. In May, the US Postal Service launched a series of commemorative stamps featuring Bart, Homer, Lisa, Marge and Maggie, which Groening is proud to declare he drew himself. But I cant draw the Simpsons strictly to template, he explains. If I walked into the Simpsons animation studio in disguise and took the test, they wouldnt hire me. There are now rules to drawing the Simpsons, but I dont actually draw that way. I dont know if Bart has nine points of hair or whatever. Last year also saw him given the keys to Cannes, during which time the hot-to-trot French destination virtually turned yellow in the Simpsons honour. Cartoonists dont expect to be given the keys to the city, he chuckles. If you have the impulse to go into cartooning, it means youre socially maladapted. You are either using cartoons to avoid life, or you have a secret scheme to take over the world, like Walt Disney. Needless to say, kids did indeed love The Simpsons. But it was Groenings pioneering inclusion of razor-sharp gags for grown-ups that is, arguably, the key to its enduring appeal. Its always been my goal to reward people for paying attention if you do there are tiny subtle jokes off in the corners, he says. Groening likes the competition from the other daring animated propositions that he paved the way for, such as South Park and Family Guy: I really appreciate the fact there are cartoons now that dont look like anything else and are doing all sorts of wild stuff. Im a fan of everything. The savage humour that is now so prevalent in animation makes him look back at past Simpsons controversies with a wry smile. The original one was the Bart Simpson, Underachiever And Proud Of It T-shirts. It was a satirical comment because no kid calls themselves an underachiever its a label put on by educators. My temptation is not to apologise. Apologies are perhaps due to his family, though, after whom his famous characters are named. It was an elaborate practical joke, he confesses, and they were taken aback. I should have realised that its a joke that lingers so if you name characters after real people, they have to put up with it for as long as those characters are around. I dont know in retrospect if I would have done that. But theyre good sports. My father Homer was proud of it even though Homer Simpsons an idiot and my father is not. His family was full of witty but intense personalities. Given the drama that me I Homers Enemy (pictured): There will probably never be another episode as jaw- dropping as this one, a vertiginous exercise in considering what working with Homer might actually be like in the real world and discovering that it would drive a decent man to insanity and suicide. Every absurd assumption on which the show depends is made startlingly explicit in the horrified reactions of Homers nemesis Frank Grimes, or Grimey, as he liked to be called. Rosebud: This extraordinary homage to Citizen Kane, with Mr Burns as the captain of industry tormented by nostalgia, is a prime example of how the series not only surpasses its rivals in comedy, but shows more narrative skill in half an hour than many drama series do in their entire run. Deep Space Homer: A sometimes overlooked episode with an astonishing number of great gags. Nasas plan to renew interest in the space programme by offering an ordinary Joe the chance to become an astronaut coincides with one of Homers recurring quests to make Bart proud of his father. Even the happy ending isnt too sappy. Cape Feare: Many of the Sideshow Bob episodes are classics, but this remains his definitive appearance. When a court accepts Bobs claim that the death threat Die Bart, Die is only German for The Bart, The, the evil genius is set free to kill his nemesis for index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html