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The Internet’s Best Remixes of THE SIMPSONS’ “Steamed Hams”

Earlier this year The Simpsons‘ writer Bill Oakley shared the original draft to the infamous Seymour Skinner/Superintendent Chalmers “steamed hams” luncheon. Not only was it a great inside look into the making of the sequence, it renewed interest in one of the show’s best moments from its earlier seasons. (Yeah, season seven qualifies as “early” for a show that’s been on almost three decades). But we don’t mean people are merely re-watching it and enjoying it all over again, we’re talking about how it has becomes the internet’s best meme. And they are unforgettable.

Fans have started editing the scene in the style of famous movies, shows, and video game, like this one that presents it as a Blade Runner movie.

There’s the one edited in the style of the original Dragon Ball Z.

This is the story all about how Seymour Skinner’s lunch got burnt, flipped upside down.

Things really catch fire in this one inspired by Metal Gear Solid.

What’s a steamed ham though? It’s just a tasty burger.



Like your steamed hams served as a novel adventure game? Then this Ace Attorney one is for you.

But really what is this scene if not a battle between two fierce combatants. Seymour Skinner I choose you!

The key to any good lie is hitting the right note.

You can even sit down to a meal of French New Wave.

Superintendent Chalmers thought he was going to be eating steamed clams. He was not.



If you are tired of seeing Skinner and Chalmers faces and yadda yadda yadda you want to see something else, you can even get the scene via another classic sitcom.



Of course at this point Steamed Hams is so old that it happened a long, long time ago in a kitchen far, far away…

But if you think a Star Wars crossover is peak internet, you forgot that only one pop culture reference can be the true meme “All Star.”

Hmm, mouth-watering Smash Mouth. Now that’s a good steamed ham meme.

What’s the best steamed ham video you’ve seen? Share it with us in the comments below.

Featured Image: 20th Century Fox

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Celebrate THE SANDLOT’s 25th Anniversary with New Funko Pops!

Are you feeling super old today, like it’s been for-e-ver since you were a carefree kid spending your summer playing baseball with your friends? If you’re not feeling that way already, you might after you hear this: The Sandlot turns 25 on April 1. Yeah, twenty-five. But we’re not telling you this to make you feel old; we also have awesome news, too: Funko is celebrating the anniversary of the beloved kid’s classic with all new Pop! figures for the film.

In celebration of this week's Opening Day of Baseball and the upcoming 25th Anniversary of Sandlot we're excited to announce our new Sandlot Pop!s, coming this June! pic.twitter.com/OxwYcZI3WJ

— Funko (@OriginalFunko) March 27, 2018

The newest announced figures from Funko, which we first saw at EW, include Scotty Smalls sporting a black eye and wearing his ridiculous large-brimmed hat, Benny “the Jet” choking up on the bat to try and make contact so he can utilize his speed, Squints looking ready for battle—both on the field and verbally—and Ham pointing to the fences in his best impression of that lady “Baby Ruth.”

Of course you can’t pay tribute to The Sandlot without honoring The Beast.Complete with a lost baseball in his mouth, Hercules the dog will be available as a GameStop exclusive. And in honor of one of the creepiest kisses in movie history, Target will have a special two-pack featuring poolside Smalls and lifeguard Wendy Peffercorn.

All figures will be available in June, just in time for summer vacation.

So yeah, we feel a little weird knowing the movie is now old enough to have a kid of its own playing at the Sandlot, but that doesn’t mean these won’t help remind us of a time when our biggest concern was whether we should play baseball or go to the pool.

What other character from the movie would you like to see get added to the line? Step up to the plate of our comments section and let us know.

Images: 20th Century Fox, Funko

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Mark Hamill’s Love for The Muppets Is Why Yoda Seemed So Real in STAR WARS

Last week in New York two legends from the galaxy far, far away came together at the Kaufmann Concert Hall for 92Y’s event titled “Star Wars: The Last Jedi – Mark Hamill in Conversation with Frank Oz,” and then they hardly talked about the movie at all. And yet the legendary puppeteer said something that will not only change the way you watch their reunion on Ahch-To, it will change the way you watch every scene Luke Skywalker and Yoda ever had together. Because while fans have always celebrated Oz‘s amazing work bringing the Jedi Master to life, he says just as much credit should go to Hamill for making audiences believe Yoda was real. He’s long had a respect for puppets after all.

Frank Oz’s work with Yoda is so iconic and beloved that when the character made his surprise appearance in The Last Jedi half the excitement of the moment was realizing it was Oz’s puppet Yoda again, and not the much maligned CGI version of the character he voiced in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. But when the two discussed originally working together on The Empire Strikes Back, Oz said a huge reason Yoda feels so authentic is because of how Hamill interacted with his unlikely mentor. “About half of Yoda was him,” Oz said, “If he didn’t believe in Yoda it wouldn’t work.” That’s a dramatically different perspective than the way we usually watch their scenes together, thinking Oz made it possible for Hamill to treat him that way, instead of attributing Hamill’s sincere performance to Yoda’s impact

As you might expect Hamill tried to brush this praise aside, but his own comments about Yoda showed just how true Oz’s statement was. “Yoda was like a revelation to me. He was such a deep, cerebral character; he was spiritual. It was like taking Obi-Wan character and really moving those ideas forward,” Hamill said. “He was real to me from day one. He couldn’t have been any better than I imagined.”

His sincere belief in Yoda originates in his childhood love for The Muppets.  “I was so excited to be working with Frank because I idolized The Muppets all my life,” he said, “This was big for me, it was like, ‘Oh my god I’m working with Miss Piggy!’ She was as big a star as Meryl Streep to me.” That’s why he said he used to make sure he finished his homework as a kid so he could stay up an extra half hour past his bedtime to see The Muppets when they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. Yoda wasn’t hard for him to accept because Kermit and the gang had been real to him his entire life.

However, Hamill’s performances on Dagobah deserves more credit than that, because often he had to act without Oz’s Yoda. “The puppet was so sophisticated it would malfunction, and the eyes wouldn’t work right, or the ears, and they would rush the puppet up to the steward’s workshop to fix it, and they would say, ‘Okay let’s turn around on Mark,'” which meant often he was being filmed while talking to the “dead” Yoda puppet, or a stick in the ground to help him get the right eye line.



That’s why it was no surprise Hamill said it “was such a thrill” when director Rian Johnson tapped Oz to resurrect the practical effect Yoda for The Last Jedi. “There’s something about a physical presence- the depth, the weight,” Hamill said, “It’s just so much more real.” To Star Wars fans Yoda always has been, and we’ve always given credit to Frank Oz for that. But as he said, if Mark Hamill didn’t fully believe in Yoda we probably wouldn’t either.

We didn’t realized the galaxy far, far away owed so much to a kid loving Miss Piggy, but we’ll be thinking about that the next time we watch Luke sincerely tell his old Jedi Master he is ready, because Mark Hamill had been ready to meet Yoda his whole life.

What do you think about Frank Oz’s comments about the importance of Mark Hamill believing in Yoda? Tell us, you will, in the comments below.

Featured Image: Lucasfilm

92Y Images: Laura Massa/Michael Priest Photography

You Can Now Apply to be a NASA Mission Control Director

Take yourself back to 1995, when the entire world was in the grip of Apollo 13 fever. Everyone was fixating on Ron Howard‘s film about the 1970 NASA mission to the moon that had to be aborted due to an oxygen tank explosion—and the astronauts that needed help getting back home. Remember when Tom Hanks’ Commander Jim Lovell says “Houston, we have a problem,” and Ed Harris and all the other people at Mission Control had to work together to figure out a way save them? Well, now you can be Houston. In that scenario, you could be the one what gets told there’s a problem.

NASA is now looking to hire new mission control flight directors for the famed Johnson Space Center in Houston, meaning it’s not out of the realm of possibility that you could one day sit in that huge room full of computer monitors and stuff. According to Fast Company, if chosen, you could head human spaceflight missions to the International Space Station, as well as Orion missions to the Moon–and maybe even Mars.

“Flight directors play a critical role in the success of our nation’s human spaceflight missions,” said NASA’s director of flight operations at Johnson, Brian Kelly. “The job is tough, the responsibilities are immense, and the challenges can seem insurmountable. But the experiences and personal rewards are incredible.”

Before you start redoing your resume, you’ll need to make sure you meet certain requirements, namely degrees in biological science, engineering, computer science, mathematics, or physical science. So I guess my theatre studies degree with a minor in film theory probably don’t fit the bill. You also need to have some kind of experience in super tense jobs, “including time-critical decision-making experience in high-stress, high-risk environments.” And if you’ve been a NASA flight controller in that past, that’s a plus but not a requirement. (Oh, thank you for that tiny glimmer of hope.)

If you are a U.S. citizen and all that other stuff applies to you, then you might be just who NASA is looking for. You have until April 17 to apply (you can do that here) and you could be the next Gene Kranz!

Images: Universal

Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Twitter!

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The New HANDMAID’S TALE Trailer is Harrowing AF

Some people find The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu—the adaptation of the Margaret Atwood novel of the same name—hard to watch. I am not one of those people. There is a harrowing, exacting catharsis and thrilling terror that fills me during every episode I watch, to be sure, but I find it to be such engaging storytelling that anything I may find upsetting is instantly rendered brilliantly necessary given its emotional resonance to the story.

And season two looks to be all that and a bag of flaming red dresses, as evidenced by the truly riveting trailer just released for the upcoming sophomore installment:

In it, Offred is now defiantly sticking by her given name, June Osbourne, and it shows the tonal shift of what’s to come: these handmaids are not going to go all that quietly into the good night. In fact, they’re going fight. Hard. Harder than any of them probably ever thought they were capable of fighting—and yet here they are. It’s an all-too-resonant sort of sentiment for these modern times.

But even more than that, we’re intrigued by the flashes of images we can’t really explain: like the images of the Colonies, the women standing in the snow, Moira and her sign, the flashbacks featuring more of Yvonne Strahovski’s Serena Joy. So much feels so important and yet…we have no idea what’s to come. And we are here.for.it.

Handmaid’s Tale returns April 25th—are you looking forward to it? Let us know in the comments below.

Alicia Lutes is the Managing Editor, creator/host of Fangirling, and resident Khaleesi of House Nerdist. Find her on Twitter!

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Images: Hulu

Jeff Goldblum Gives the Internet Some Vital Answers

You might think, at this point in time, that we’re at peak Jeff Goldblum, and that the actor has no secrets any more. He has discussed the origin of his “Goldblumisms.” He has read thirst Tweets aloud. He has even fondled his own shirtless action figure on late-night TV. And yet, somehow, Google still has questions. And as they so often do to hilarious effect, the folks at Wired magazine have presented the Grandmaster with the most popular autocomplete questions about Goldblum, for Goldblum.

Perhaps the key takeaway is that Goldblum does not, uh, ah, stutter, at least…um, not if you ask him. What he does, in fact, is fumfer, a Yiddish word meaning “to temporize and mumble; dither; waffle.” What he does do is sing, or rather, per the question, he “songs.” And you get to hear him do it twice.

There’s some unfortunate phraseology that ruins a potentially tough, spoilery question: “Does Jeff Goldblum die in Jurassic Park 2?” Well, obviously not, but we suspect the questioners mean Jurassic World 2, which, ah, well, you know, if he, uh, dies, we’re gonna have to, em…riot! But long before that, you can see him in Isle of Dogs, which the actor did not realize was a homophone for “I love dogs” until he was well into the publicity cycle. Now you can watch him reenact the very moment that notion occurred to him.

Is this, then, true peak Goldblum? Are there more mysteries yet to be unearthed? Let us know what questions you’d, ah, ask him, in the comment space, down there.

Image: Wired

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Is George R.R. Martin Trolling Us About the GAME OF THRONES Spin-Offs?

If George R.R. Martin announced he was having chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast instead of eggs we’d likely read way too much into it. “Starting his day with a special meal? Is he celebrating finishing The Winds of Winter!?” Which is why we’re already obsessing over a new cryptic message he posted on his “Not a Blog” LiveJournal, which might hint at the future of Game of Thrones on HBO–or not.

Martin shared a new post yesterday titled “Yowza,” that we first saw at Winter is Coming. He opened with a strange message, “Hiya, kids, hiya, hiya. Never mind The Count. Here’s counting the Gremlin’s Way. OFF WE GO!” before sharing a series of four photos of hands counting.

Yup that’s weird.

He then ended with a pseudo-poem:

One for all and all for one.

The dragon has three heads.

Plunk your magic twangers.

I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.

Now, assuming he isn’t cracking under the pressure of millions of fans pleading with him to finish A Song of Ice and Fire, our best bet is this has something to do with the potential HBO Game of Thrones spin-offs, because he used that photo of hands counting to five in a post last September announcing five prequel series ideas were in development. That doesn’t rule out this having something to do with his work on the novels, or his soon to be released two-part history of House Targaryen, only that there’s almost no evidence it does. So if this is about the spin-offs, what the seven bloody hells does it mean? Reddit User PrestonJacobs notes where those last four lines come from which might be a hint. (Four photos and four lines?)

“One for all” is from the Three Musketeers, “the dragon has three heads” is a reference to the Targaryen sigil, “plunk your magic twangers” comes from the ’50s kids show Andy’s Gang (a line “said to summon Froggy the Gremlin who manipulates people’s minds”), and “I’d have to kill you” is from The Hound of Baskervilles.

As you can imagine, fans are already guessing what prequel ideas those could be about. The Night’s Watch? The Kingsguard? Rhaegar’s invasion? A famous Targaryen civil war? Maggy the Frog? The Faceless Men? Wargs? Some kind of…..Westerosi detective, maybe like Bloodraven? But what do the total hands have to do with any of it? Is HBO doing three, four, or five of them? And why did he set his location to the imaginary “The Lonely Mountain?”

It’s so broad and so intentionally vague it’s almost impossible to read into this. Which is why we’re going to keep doing so until he actually explains it. Sure we might not get anywhere, but it’s more interesting than deciphering his breakfast.

What do you think this is all about? Tell us your best theory in the comments below.

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Images: HBO

Owl Makes a Terrible Wedding Ring Bearer But This Video is a Real Hoot

Most couples elect for one of two classic wedding ring delivery systems during their vows: “little boy in a tuxedo” or “not-paying-attention Best Man.” And you know why? Because they work! Slightly less reliable is having an actual owl bring them up to the altar, as this video of one totally freaking out in a church proves. Although watching this disaster is a real hoot if you aren’t the bride or groom.

We learned about this hilarious matrimony misstep at The Guardian; it took place on March 17 at the wedding of Jeni Arrowsmith and Mark Wood at Peckforton Castle in Cheshire in northwest England. The plan was for the owl to fly down the aisle, drop off the rings, and then fly back to its handler. But right away it’s obvious the owl was skittish, and what followed was not an easy return flight but a hilarious attack.

Okay, first that’s the one of the greatest things to ever happen at a wedding. Two, was Josh Radnor the owl keeper? Go ahead, go look again, we’ll wait.

…Right? Why didn’t Ted ever tell his kids this story on How I Met Your Mother?

Maybe even more amazing is that somehow this video doesn’t even capture how absurd this whole thing really was. This photo does a better job at painting the picture.

Here's a photo from yesterday's wedding the owl ring bearer making the best man scream @Peck1 #WeddingDayChat pic.twitter.com/dIVVbIbpmy

— Stacey Oliver Photos (@Staceyoliver13) March 18, 2018

A perfect photo? Or the most perfect photo?

After the owl fled the scene of the attack, he apparently went missing for a short time. At one point he stood on a table with the wedding registry book staring at the wedding goers. So you know what? I was wrong. Forget a cute kid or confused Best Man, this is the only type of ring bearer that should be used at weddings.

Which bird would make for the worst ring bearer? Tell us in the comments below.

Featured Image: Warner Bros.

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Why Do the X-MEN Movies Keep Getting Pushed Back?

Fox has pushed back the release date for both Dark Phoenix and New Mutants. On today’s Nerdist News Talks Back we discussed if this is a bad sign for the future of the X-Men, along with which old MCU characters we can’t wait to see in Captain Marvel, and our reaction to the new Scooby-Doo prequel Daphne & Velma.

Today’s guest host Amy Vorpahl was joined by Nerdist News writer Aliza Pearl, editor Kyle Anderson, and producer Jesse Gill, and they started with news of Captain Marvel, which will be set in the ’90s, will bring back some old MCU characters, like Ronan the Accuser, Korath the Pursuer, Agent Coulson, and “no eye patch” Nick Fury. Which of these characters are we most excited to see? Do we expect they’ll de-age them like they did with Tony Stark in Civil War? Should they? If Ronan is the main antagonist will that lower the film’s stakes because we know he’ll survive? And how important will the Kree-Skrull war be in the movie?

We also got word Fox has delayed their next two X-Men movies, with Dark Phoenix going from this November to next February where New Mutants was set to hit theaters. That’s now slated for an August 2019 release. New Mutants was originally supposed to come out this April, making this the second delay. Is this a bad sign for the movie? Or is Fox merely adjusting to a busy superhero slate? Could this all be about the pending merger with Disney? Does this bring the MCU into play for the movies? And are we still excited for the New Mutant‘s new horror-themed approach to the X-Men?

Finally, Warner Bros. released a trailer for their new Scooby-Doo prequel Velma & Daphne, which meets the girls in high school before they joined the mystery-solving gang. What do we think of it? Does it look fun? Was targeting a younger audience the right approach? And what other childhood characters deserve a backstory?



As always Nerdist News Talks Back airs Monday through Thursday at 1 p.m. live on our YouTube and Alpha channels, and Nerdist News What the Fridays, our expanded recap of the week in pop culture, ends the week at 1 p.m. PT only at Alpha. Which means we’ll be there when the next X-Men movie comes out–whenever that is.

We still want to hear from you now though, so share your thoughts on today’s show in our comments section below.

Featured Image: 20th Century Fox

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“Weird Al” Yankovic Makes Guitar-Playing Debut with Neil Young Cover

With the possible exception of Tiny Tim and the ukulele, no musician is as closely associated with an instrument the way “Weird Al” Yankovic is with the accordion. However what made a recent performance of his memorable was when he didn’t use his signature musical tool, because after 35 years as a performer he made his guitar-playing debut with a rocking cover of Neil Young’s “Cinnamon Girl.” And let’s just say he definitely hit the right note.

This video, that we first saw at The Wrap, was shared by YouTube user Richard Green. It’s from Yankovic’s show on March 23rd at the famed Apollo Theater in New York. Calling it “a very, very special night,” Yankovic said that after a lifetime of not knowing how to play the guitar he “figured” it was time to fix that. “I’ve been in entertainment, I’ve been a recording artist, and a professional musician for most of my life, and I should know how to play the guitar,” he said. Telling the audience he had been studying for “the last several months” he then busted out a great rendition of Neil Young’s song that featured him playing the guitar solo. All one, repeated note of it.



Hey, you got to start somewhere, right? You can’t play two notes until you master one.

But before all you fellow Weird Al fans freak out, we also don’t know if this technically qualifies as his debut, because he appeared to play the guitar in his video for “The Saga Begins.”

In fairness, that was a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. No wonder he had to learn how to “play” the guitar all over again. And if you don’t think that was impressive, I bet Tiny Tim couldn’t play even one note on the accordion.

What “Weird Al” song would you most like to hear him play on the guitar? Shred our comments section with your best idea.

Featured Image: RCA Records

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