Smartline is a late-night panel discussion show aired on Channel 6, hosted by Kent Brockman.
Description
Smartline is a parody of the TV show Nightline, which premiered on March 24, 1980 on ABC, and was originally hosted by Ted Koppel from 1980 to 2005. It is one of the more highbrow programs on Channel 6, particularly when compared to Eye on Springfield, the opening sequence of which features semi-naked women winking at the viewer. Nevertheless, it usually displays obvious bias toward a particular perspective, and is often presented in a very condescending manner. The show invites numerous guests from the local area, each of whom have strong opinions about a certain issue, and has them to participate in debate. Brockman often presents the show in a manner biased to one side of the debate.
Swear Incident
Once, Kent Brockman had to interview Homer for winning the 1,000,000th Ice Cream Cone. Brockman was not too happy with this because he was intending to get into a heated debate over Iraq; he only did it because the show was sponsored by the same Ice Cream Parlor that he won the cone from. During the interview, while already irritated, Brockman lashes out at Homer, who then accidentally knocked Brockman's coffee cup onto his lap. This caused Brockman to shout out one of America's "worst swears."
Brockman then attempted to apologize on the air, and fully expected to face repercussions for his actions. He was surprised when he learned from Comic Book Guy that no one actually saw his interview, due to it not airing over the internet. Although it was not immediately discovered by the populace aside from the Simpson family, it was eventually discovered by Ned Flanders, who sent it to a Christian group he belonged to. It eventually found its way to the FCC, resulting in Kent Brockman's initial demotion to weatherman (and then firing under the official reason of him using cocaine in his coffee instead of Splenda), as well as the entirety of Channel 6 being slapped with a $10 million fine.
Appearances
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Episode – "Itchy & Scratchy & Marge" - Episode – "Last Exit to Springfield"
- Episode – "Bart's Friend Falls in Love"
- Episode – "Homer the Vigilante"
- Episode – "Lisa the Skeptic"
- Episode – "Midnight Rx"
- Episode – "There's Something About Marrying"
- Episode – "You Kent Always Say What You Want"
- Episode – "There Will Be Buds"
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Video game – The Simpsons: Hit and Run
Gallery
