What follows is an exclusive excerpt from the new book, The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History (Faber & Faber) by John Ortved

Matt Groening, whose cynical, amusing Life in Hell cartoons managed to catch the eye of uber-producer James L Brooks in 1986, has always been credited as being The Simpsons “creator,” but the story is more complicated than that.  Groening came up with the original drawings of the Simpson family, but their characters and the genius writing that has defined the series, came form other sources, particularly the writing room and its original…

You’re a karate instructor in Alabama.  What do you say when your new student, a European television personality, asks you how to defend yourself against a homosexual?  How about one with a dildo? A black dildo?  Two dildos?

Cohen is back, and this time it’s homosexual.  Mincing on to the big screen this Friday, “Bruno” introduces Sacha Baron Cohen’s third alter ego — the insipid, flaming, Austrian fashion reporter Bruno — as he  makes his way across America, seeking fame, fortune, and love.

The bad news: it’s no “Borat.”  The good news: it is still the funniest thing…

Oh, those boys and their wands.  The sixth installment of the Harry Potter series, which broke records with the $22.2 million earned after the witching hour this Wednesday, has as much sexual tension as it does wizardry, which is almost as awkward as it sounds.

Despite the best efforts of the costumer, cameraman, director, and (most likely) the producers, the little wizards are unmistakably teenagers, and showing it, resulting in a very satisfying, very PG teen sex-romp that only occasionally strains against its limitations.

It’s a new year.  The kids are back at Hogwarts. Dumbledore…