The 800th 'The Simpsons' episode is set in Philadelphia. But Portland is in its DNA
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
The 800th episode of the longest-running animated series in U.S. TV history airs Sunday. This landmark installment of "The Simpsons" takes place in Philadelphia.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE SIMPSONS")
DAN CASTELLANETA: (As Homer Simpson) Where every steak is cheesed and every tush is pushed. Even though I've...
INSKEEP: But an American city with closer ties to the show is Portland, Oregon. NPR's Chloe Veltman reports.
CHLOE VELTMAN, BYLINE: "The Simpsons" is not set in Portland. The satirical animated sitcom takes place in the fictional town of Springfield.
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NANCY CARTWRIGHT AND PAMELA HAYDEN: (As Bart Simpson and Milhouse Van Houten, singing) Springfield, Springfield. It's a hell of a town. The schoolyard's up, and the shopping mall's down.
VELTMAN: But Portland is very much part of "The Simpsons'" DNA. Though he no longer lives there, the show's creator, Matt Groening, grew up in the city and...
BILL OAKLEY: Chose to name characters after these streets.
VELTMAN: This is former "Simpsons" showrunner and head writer Bill Oakley. He worked on the series in the 1990s and moved to Portland later. We hopped in a car to tour a few of the locations that provided the "Simpsons" writing team with inspiration during its early years.
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VELTMAN: One of the pit stops on the car journey across town is Kearney Street, which became the name of a character.
OAKLEY: He's one of the three bullies that often give Bart a hard time - Jimbo, Dolph and Kearney.
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NANCY CARTWRIGHT: (As Kearney Zzyzwicz) Never tell a bully you're afraid.
VELTMAN: Another landmark - the Terwilliger Curves.
OAKLEY: One of the most lethal stretches of highway in all of Oregon.
VELTMAN: This serpentine six-lane section of Interstate 5 lends its name to "The Simpsons" character Sideshow Bob, aka Robert Underdunk Terwilliger. Oakley says the moniker makes sense.
OAKLEY: He's a dangerous character not to be trifled with, much like this stretch of highway.
VELTMAN: And no "Simpsons" tour of Portland would be complete without stopping off on Flanders Street.
OAKLEY: Of all the "Simpsons"-related streets in Portland, this is probably the most famous.
VELTMAN: Oakley says the upscale thoroughfare lined with art galleries, fancy restaurants and luxury boutiques inspired the name of "Simpsons" neighbor Ned Flanders.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE SIMPSONS")
HARRY SHEARER: (As Ned Flanders, laughing) Hi-diddly-ho (ph).
OAKLEY: He is extremely friendly, happy, upbeat, chirpy guy to the point of being annoying.
VELTMAN: The city of Portland is so proud of its connection to "The Simpsons," in 2021, the local Bureau of Transportation named - or rather, renamed - a freeway overpass in honor of Ned Flanders.
OAKLEY: It was called the Flanders Crossing, and they changed it officially to the Ned Flanders Crossing.
VELTMAN: There's a bronze plaque on the sidewalk at one end of the crossing engraved with an image of Flanders waving and his catchphrase.
OAKLEY: Hey-diddly-ho, neighborinos (ph).
VELTMAN: Why streets? Oakley says Groening and the team needed a simple and plentiful source of inspiration.
OAKLEY: When you have to make up 50 characters' last names, streets are a good way to go.
VELTMAN: Of course, street names are not the only option. Oakley says he sometimes found names by digging through the phone book.
Chloe Veltman, NPR News, Portland, Oregon.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE SIMPSONS THEME")
UNIDENTIFIED MUSICAL GROUP: (Singing) The Simpsons.
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