The Best, Bar None

The Moe The Merrier

A US comedian claims he is the inspiration behind Moe the Barman, one of the best-loved characters on The Simpsons. Rich Hall, 53, has always thought the cartoon landlord - who is obsessed with Homer's wife Marge - was rather like him. "I suspected that Moe was based on me because I used to write with George Meyer back when he was one of the original writers on the show," he said. "Matt Groening was a fan of my stuff. Other people said 'You look and sound just like Moe'. Then Matt confirmed it. It's an honour, once you get over the shock of seeing yourself as a horrible, yellow caricature." To see a composite image of Rich Hall and Moe, go to Ananova.

FOOTNOTE: This bloke is really Rich - and famous.

InterNed Explorer

My Test Of Character

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON

Thank you to OzLady, whose amusing post Are You A Simpson?, and to Diesel, whose Simpsons Caption Contest both reminded me of a Simpsons link in my own life.

About eight or nine years ago, before I got into The Simpsons, the conversation at home turned to nicknames. I puffed up my chest. ``My nickname at work is great. They reckon I remind them of a really well-known character on television,'' I said with pride.

My wife and kids were pretty impesssed. Then we sort of got down to the nitty-gritty. They wanted to know what the character's name was.

``Ned,'' I replied.

``Ned?'' There was a querulous note in their chorus.

``Yep, Ned,'' I replied, ``like Ned Kelly the bushranger. This bloke's really famous too.''

``Which TV show is he on?'' They were starting to sound like Inspector Columbo in unison.

``The Simpsons,'' I replied. And then they all guffawed. That's when they took me off to watch the show, and I've been hooked on it ever since. But you know what the really funny thing is? Every time I've told this story to other people, the universal response has been, ``Yeah, you actually do have a lot in common with Ned.''

So tell me, gentle readers. Do I take this as a compliment? I'd like to know what you think ....

Home Malone

So, Who Does Your Boss Remind You Of?

Cheers was the place where ``everybody knows your name'' indeed. But have alook at this list of TV characters' names and tell me if any of their characteristics sound familiar. A survey of more than 5700 US workers has found similarities between real-lie bosses and the TV characters. The most popular responses included Sam Malone from Cheers (amicable, fun), Charlie from Charlie’s Angels (absentee), Judge Judy (no nonsense), Donald Trump from The Apprentice (demanding, powerful), Simon Cowell from American Idol (judgmental, insulting) and Mr Burns from The Simpsons (sinister). So who does your boss remind you of?