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Simpsons creator Matt Groening’s mother Margaret Ruth recently passed away at the age of 94. She inspired Groening to create Marge Simpson. This is her obituary.

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This game show host won’t be retiring quite yet.

Who is Alex Trebek? Rumors that the longstanding host of “Jeopardy” will leave the show in 2016 once his contract expires have grown increasingly intense lately, prompting the trivia king to step forth with a denial of his own.

As Trebek told the Times:

“Everybody’s speculating on my retirement and I don’t know why. It’s silly. Somebody asked me if I’ve given any thoughts to retiring. Well, yes, I’ve given thoughts to retiring, for crying out loud. I’ve been doing the show for 29 years. Why wouldn’t I think about retiring? Everybody assumes from my having said that, that he’s retiring. Well, no. I’ve been thinking about it. So allow me to think about it.”

But Trebek will leave the show eventually, something he also spoke to the Times about:

“I hope I’ll be hard to replace. That would be a good thing for my legacy. But anybody can be replaced. I can be replaced.”

Read more over at Show Tracker.

Photo: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times

National Geographic meets Hunter S. Thompson

Friday marks the debut of Vice Media Group’s latest venture - a weekly news magazine on HBO. Vice, known for its print magazine and documentaries, is in a unique position among other media outlets: It’s growing, especially among younger readers.

On Vice’s decision earlier this year to bring Dennis Rodman, of all people, to North Korea as fuel for a documentary:

“We’re not saying Dennis Rodman is Morley Safer. He’s an absurd character and North Korea’s an absurd place,” Smith said over one of his trademark boozy lunches. But, he was quick to add, “I have a one-of-a-kind documentary with one-of-a-kind access to one of the hardest countries in the world to film.”

Read through reporter Joe Flint’s entire interview with Smith over at Company Town.

Photo: Michael Nagle / For The Times

Could Dave Chappelle make another return?

A surprise appearance at New York City’s Comedy Cellar has sparked another round of speculation that the beloved, and reclusive, comedian could make a return to the standup circuit with a joint tour with Chris Rock.

In jeans, a white long-sleeve T-shirt and black jacket, his hands frequently reaching for the cigarettes he’s known to chain-smoke, Chappelle captivated the audience, many of them aspiring comedians. And during an exchange with Rock, he made news when he joked about the two of them doing a long-rumored tour together.

Meanwhile, we’re still waiting for the “Chappelle Show” return that will probably never, ever happen.

Photos: Bravo, Comedy Central / Erin Patrice O’Brien, Jennifer S. Altman / For the Times

Our own Robert Lloyd eulogizes “30 Rock,” the much-loved sitcom that comes to a close tonight after seven years chronicling the exploits of the eccentric (and temporary Muppet) show runner Liz Lemon.

The humor was so unmistakably smart and self-aware that the writers could get away with the most sexist, racist or scatological remarks and still smell fresh: In its large and able cast, abetted by a league of recurring and guest players, there was a voice for every uncomfortable occasion — if each character had her or his own sort of intelligence, or survival instinct, each also had a special sort of stupidity.

Here’s his full write-up on the series and its significance.

What I learned from Andy Griffith: Ron Howard shares memories of Andy Griffith and professional and life lessons learned from him.

He proved hour by hour, episode by episode that creativity and neurotic angst were in fact not inexorably linked. He led by example and we demonstrated that a cast and company could play practical jokes on one another, laugh ‘til they cried and still get 12 pages of the script shot every day while producing a No. 1-rated show.

Photo: Andy Griffith, left, and Ron Howard starred together on “The Andy Griffith Show.”

latimes:

In which Times’ Television Critic Mary McNamara pens a love note to Ron Swanson. A snippet:

3. The bod. Ron Swanson does not look like he weighs less than me. What with the general waifishness of men on TV, I cannot overstate the aphrodisiac effect this has on a woman.

4. The diet. Steak, bacon and Scotch. Three of the best-tasting, best-smelling things in the world.

Photo: Actor Nick Offerman of NBC’s “Parks and Recreation.” Credit: Victoria Will / Associated Press

Reblogging in case you didn’t see this post last night. (Herman Cain GIF via Buzzfeed)

test reblogged from latimes

In which Times’ Television Critic Mary McNamara pens a love note to Ron Swanson. A snippet:

3. The bod. Ron Swanson does not look like he weighs less than me. What with the general waifishness of men on TV, I cannot overstate the aphrodisiac effect this has on a woman.

4. The diet. Steak, bacon and Scotch. Three of the best-tasting, best-smelling things in the world.

Photo: Actor Nick Offerman of NBC’s “Parks and Recreation.” Credit: Victoria Will / Associated Press

Got an interview with Joel McHale, a.k.a. Jeff Winger from “Community,” up in the Entertainment section.

Photo: Joel McHale. Credit: Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times

‘Southland’ puts viewers on L.A.’s mean streets: The gritty TNT crime series uses former gang members and off-duty LAPD personnel to bolster the reality quotient of story lines that are usually filmed on location.

Adding to the sense of realism, the actors playing gangsters are not sent to auditions by their Beverly Hills agents. Most are ex-gangbangers, tatted and menacing, who know how to mad-dog rivals, throw gang signs and dis the cops. During some shoots, the officers who are extras and the gangsters who are extras previously had encounters on the street, which has made for fraught moments.

… “A few of the guys said the gang cops should immediately have the gangsters turn around with their hands around their heads and then search them,” said Daniel. “A few other guys said the cops should make the gangsters sit on the ground and cross their legs so they can’t get up and run. Pretty soon the former gang members started offering advice. They said that as soon as the cops pulled up, a few guys who weren’t holding dope or guns would run. When the cops chased them, the rest of the guys would split in the other direction. We incorporated all of that, and the end result was we had a very realistic scene.”

Whaaat.

Photo: Actress Lucy Liu, center, talks with director and executive producer Christopher Chulack, right, with her on-screen partner Michael Cudlitz, left, between scenes at a car wash in Los Angeles for “Southland.” Credit: Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times

Great interview with LeVar Burton over on Hero Complex. He talks about “Star Trek,” “Reading Rainbow” and “Roots.”

On castmates:

PKD: Who do you see the most?

LB: Brent [Spiner] and Marina [Sirtis]. Jonathan travels a lot directing. Patrick infrequently. I go over there or he comes over here. Gates [McFadden] is busy with her theater. Michael Dorn is out spending his money.

On fans:

PKD: Any notable fans?

LB: Jimmy Fallon is a big fan of the show. He does all of these singer impersonations and a couple of months ago he did Jim Morrison singing the “Reading Rainbow” theme song. It’s really good.

On race:

PKD: It seems like Geordi always got shot down by women. Constantly. Did you ever bring that up to the showrunners?

LB: Mm-hmm. It was frustrating to me. I mean from a writer’s perspective, I get that it was the idea that the nerd or the geek is inept around the feminine form. But I was never comfortable with it. And I also thought there were some other things going on. Sociological things. Everybody had a sexual identity, even Data the robot. But Geordi didn’t. The Klingon did. But the black man didn’t. You’d have to be a black man to have the perspective, because you see that pattern repeated throughout popular culture, so it becomes a familiar pattern that you notice readily.

Bonus nerd thing: Just realized Times’ staffer Patrick Day’s initials are PKD.

Photo: Astronaut Mae Jemison appears in an episode of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” with LeVar Burton. Credit: Robbie Robinson / Paramount Pictures

MSNBC’s Ed Schultz is a rare liberal success in broadcasting: Ed Schultz, who anchors MSNBC’s prime 8 p.m. time slot, has been raising his ratings while talking about the issues of the poor and middle class working people.

Media outlets have tried to speak on behalf of progressive causes before but rarely with success.

Photo: Ed Schultz is presenting himself as the one true advocate for the working man. On the air and in promotional spots, he reminds viewers that he’s standing up for the unemployed and the middle class. Credit: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times

Carrie_Brownstein: Justin: I just felt lucky to go on a fake date with Eddie. He is dreamy. I’m a fan.