For decades, C. Montgomery Burns has been one of the most nefarious examples of animated villainy thanks to the old Power Plant Executive’s portrayal in The Simpsons. While Mr. Burns has had his fair share of brushes with the Grim Reaper, the elderly antagonist has kept on ticking to villainize Springfield and keep Homer employed. Shockingly, a major real-world nuclear power plant has had enough of the villain’s nefarious deeds, giving its industry a bad name, and has been more than willing to speak out for the nuclear world as a whole.
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In Suffolk, England, the nuclear power plant known as Sizewell C, which first began construction in 2023, had some harsh words to share regarding the Fox animated series. Julia Pyke, joint managing director of Sizewell C, stated in a new interview with the BBC that while she enjoys the franchise, it has caused some big problems for the nuclear world: “I definitely think The Simpsons, which I very much enjoy, has done the nuclear industry a big disservice. I am not [cartoon power plant owner] Mr Burns. We have to communicate better the social benefits of nuclear power and what it is going to contribute to society, focusing on opportunities for people.”
The Power of Nuclear
Pyke, on top of confirming that the nuclear industry needed to work on its messaging, promoted the energy to help place Sizewell C in a better light: “Nuclear is one of the safest ways of making electricity, and it is a bit like the fly-drive analogy – people worry about flying but statistically it is extremely safe. We just need to do a much better job of publicising it in a softer way and not being too technical in the way we explain things. We need to move to much more emotionally resonant ways of communication so people feel much warmer towards the industry.”
Despite the nuclear industry’s annoyance with The Simpsons, the long-running animated series appears to be here to stay for the foreseeable future. The show’s next season, season thirty-seven, will premiere on Sunday, September 28th at the end of this month, while Fox has already confirmed that The Simpsons will run until at least season forty. Planning to house seventeen episodes in total, the next season will also house the 800th episode of the series, and is planning to celebrate in quite a few ways.
As far as we know, Homer will continue working at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, though this fact hasn’t stopped the head of the Simpsons family from taking on new occupations in the past. In his long animated career, Homer Simpson has been an astronaut, a bowling alley employee, a boxer, a voice actor, a salesman, and so much more. Most likely, he’ll get new roles in season thirty-seven, though what they will be is anyone’s guess.
What do you think of this unexpected conflict between The Simpsons and the nuclear industry? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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