Kang and Kodos

The Simpsons character
Kang & Kodos
Gender Unknown[1]
Job Plotting galactic conquest
Relatives Kang and Kodos are siblings.
Voice actor Harry Shearer (Kang), Dan Castellaneta (Kodos)
First appearance
The Simpsons "Treehouse of Horror"

Kang and Kodos are a duo of recurring characters in the animated television series The Simpsons. Kang is voiced by Harry Shearer while Dan Castellaneta provides the voice of Kodos. They are aliens from the fictional planet Rigel VII and almost exclusively appear in the "Treehouse of Horror". The duo has appeared in at least one segment of all nineteen episodes. Sometimes their appearance is the focus of a plot, other times a brief cameo. Kang and Kodos are often bent on the conquest of Earth and are usually seen working on sinister plans to invade and subjugate humanity.

The duo first appeared in season two's "Treehouse of Horror". The first drawing of Kang and Kodos came from writers Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky. The finished design was based on an EC Comics issue cover. Kang and Kodos had brief cameo appearances in several non-"Treehouse of Horror" episodes and have appeared as villains in several of The Simpsons video games.

Contents

Role in The Simpsons

Speaking "Rigellian", which coincidentally sounds exactly like English, Kang and Kodos are Rigellians and from the planet Rigel VII.[2] Virtually identical in appearance, one of the few distinguishing characteristics concerns the duo's voices as Kang's is deeper. In most appearances, they are antagonists. One exception is Kang and Kodos's first appearance in "Treehouse of Horror", where they capture the Simpson family and feed them exquisite cuisine. Lisa becomes suspicious of their intentions and accuses Kang and Kodos of wanting to eat the Simpson family. Kang and Kodos deny this accusation and are outraged. Afterwards both take the Simpsons back to Earth.[2] Kang and Kodos have invaded the Earth on several occasions, with varying results. In 1996, Kang and Kodos impersonated Bill Clinton and Bob Dole and ran against each other in the 1996 election. At first, the Americans declared to vote for a third party candidate, but Kang convinced them that the option would be a waste of a vote. As a result, Kang was elected president.[3] In their second appearance, they decided to take over the Earth after citizens had declared world peace, but ultimately failed.[4] Kang and Kodos's religion is "Quantum Presbyterians",[5] although Kodos later claims to be Jewish.[6] Other Rigellians that have appeared include Serak the Preparer, who was voiced by James Earl Jones and only appeared in "Treehouse of Horror".[2]

Kang and Kodos have appeared in every "Treehouse of Horror" episode and have played major roles in "Treehouse of Horror",[2] "Treehouse of Horror II",[4] "Treehouse of Horror VII", "Treehouse of Horror IX", "Treehouse of Horror XVII"[7] and "Treehouse of Horror XVIII".[6] The rest of their appearances were cameos, although both appeared in the opening segment of "Treehouse of Horror X",[8] "Treehouse of Horror XIV",[9] "Treehouse of Horror XV"[10] and "Treehouse of Horror XVI".[11] Kang and Kodos' cameo appearances normally occur in the midst of the segments which will suddenly cut away to the duo. For example, Kang and Kodos observe zombies attacking Earth from space. The duo laugh maniacally at the Earthlings' suffering, before the scene is switched from space to Earth.[12] Kang and Kodos have made rare appearances in non-"Treehouse of Horror" episodes, such as "Behind the Laughter"[13] and "Gump Roast", [5] and had a non-speaking cameo in "The Springfield Files".[14] The smallest appearance was in "Treehouse of Horror XIX" where they only appeared dancing at the halloween party for a few seconds.

Character

Creation

Harry Shearer, the voice of Kang

Kang and Kodos first appeared in the second season in "Treehouse of Horror". Every "Treehouse of Horror" episode must have Kang and Kodos as characters, states an unofficial Simpsons' rule.[15] Despite this rule, the writers say the duo will often be forgotten and are added at the last second, leading to brief appearances.[16] The idea of Kang and Kodos came from Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky, writers of "Hungry are the Damned".[17] In the script, Kang and Kodos were shown as "an octopus in a space helmet with a trail of goo".[17] The finished design was based on EC Comics cover issue.[18] Although originally designed to constantly drool, Matt Groening suggested that they not drool all the time to make the animation process easier. However, the animators did not mind the work, leading to the drooling staying in the script.[16] Kang and Kodos's names are derived from two Star Trek characters. Kang was a Klingon captain portrayed by actor Michael Ansara in "Day of the Dove" whereas Kodos the Executioner, was a human villain from "The Conscience of the King".[19] Harry Shearer voices Kang, and Dan Castellaneta voices Kodos.[16]

Development

Traditionally, Kang and Kodos appeared in every single "Treehouse of Horror" episode as a part of a story's plotline or as cameos. Both almost did not make the cut in "Treehouse of Horror VIII", but David X. Cohen managed to persuade the producers to keep the scene.[20] Kang and Kodos were originally going to make regular appearances in the show. One idea was only Homer would be able to see them and everyone else thinking Homer is crazy when he talked about the aliens. However the concept was "too far out", leading to characters only featured in the "Treehouse of Horror" specials.[21] In some appearances, Kang and Kodos will laugh hysterically for several seconds. This was suggested by Sam Simon, who comically thought making them laugh a long time. Often the shows would run short. To make more time, laughter was lengthened.[22]

Kodos's gender has come into debate from several fans. In "Treehouse of Horror VII", Kang introduces Kodos with "This is my sister Kodos". The line was pitched by George Meyer[23] and was even somewhat followed in later episodes as the writers tried to make Kang the more dominant of the two.[24] In previous and subsequent episodes, Kodos has been referred to as a male.[6]

Other appearances

Kang and Kodos have appeared in several different The Simpsons video games. The duo appear in the The Simpsons Road Rage ending, and Kang appears as the final boss character in The Simpsons Wrestling game. Kang and Kodos appear in cutscenes as the main villains 2003's The Simpsons Hit & Run. In an attempt to collect new material for Foolish Earthlings, Kang and Kodos plan to drug Springfield with a mind-control serum distributed through their "New and Improved Buzz Cola" product. After drinking the cola, the brainwashed people performed stupid stunts under the watchful view of wasp-like surveillance cameras, all for the sake of better ratings for their failing reality TV show.[25] They also appeared as villains in The Simpsons Game along with an army of other Rigellians, but like Hit & Run Kang and Kodos only appear in cutscenes.

In 2001, Kang and Kodos were made into separate action figures in the World of Springfield toy line. Along with their spaceship, Kang and Kodos were included with the "Treehouse of Horror II" set exclusive to Toys-R-Us.[26][27][28] The two also have a brief cameo in The Simpsons Ride.[29]

Reception

Several of the "Treehouse of Horror" episodes featuring the duo have been well-received. In 2006, James Earl Jones, voice of Serak the Preparer in "Treehouse of Horror", was named seventh on IGN's "Top 25 Simpsons Guest Appearances" list.[30] Jones also appeared on AOL's list of their favorite 25 Simpsons guest stars.[31] "Treehouse of Horror VII" is Simpsons creator Matt Groening's seventh favorite episode. Groening's favorite line from the episode is Kodos's "We have reached the limit of what rectal probing can teach us."[32] In 2006, IGN.com published a list of the top ten Treehouse of Horror segments, and several segments that feature Kang and Kodos were placed, including "Hungry Are The Damned", "Citizen Kang" and "Starship Poopers".[33]

References

  1. ↑ While Kang has consistently been referred to as a male, in "Treehouse of Horror VII" Kodos was introduced as Kang's sister. However, this has been contradicted in several episodes both before and since.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Treehouse of Horror". Swartzwelder, John; Kogen, Jay; Wolodarsky, Wallace; Simon, Sam; Archer, Wes; Moore, Rich; Silverman, David. The Simpsons. Fox. 1990-10-25. No. 03, season 2.
  3. ↑ "Treehouse of Horror VII". Keeler, Ken; Greaney, Dan; Cohen, David S.; Anderson, Mike B.. The Simpsons. Fox. 1996-10-27. No. 01, season 08.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Treehouse of Horror II". Swartzwelder, John; Meyer, George; Reiss, Mike; Jean, Al; Martin, Jeff; Simon, Sam; Reardon, Jim. The Simpsons. Fox. 1991-10-31. No. 07, season 3.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Gump Roast". Lacusta, Deb; Castellaneta, Dan; Kirkland, Mark. The Simpsons. Fox. 2002-04-21. No. 27, season 13.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Treehouse of Horror XVIII". Wilmore, Marc; Sheetz, Chuck. The Simpsons. Fox. 2007-11-04. No. 05, season 19.
  7. ↑ "Treehouse of Horror XVII". Gaffney, Peter; Silverman, David; Faughnan, Matthew. The Simpsons. Fox. 2006-11-05. No. 04, season 18.
  8. ↑ "Treehouse of Horror X". Cary, Donick; Long, Tim; Hauge, Ron; Michels, Pete. The Simpsons. Fox. 1999-10-31. No. 04, season 11.
  9. ↑ "Treehouse of Horror XIV". Swartzwelder, John; Moore, Steven Dean. The Simpsons. Fox. 2003-11-02. No. 01, season 15.
  10. ↑ "Treehouse of Horror XV". Odenkirk, Bill; Silverman, David. The Simpsons. Fox. 2004-11-04. No. 01, season 16.
  11. ↑ "Treehouse of Horror XVI". Wilmore, Marc; Silverman, David. The Simpsons. Fox. 2005-11-06. No. 04, season 17.
  12. ↑ "Treehouse of Horror III". Jean, Al; Reiss, Mike; Kogen, Jay; Wolodarsky, Wallace; Simon, Sam and Vitti, Jon. The Simpsons. Fox. 1992-10-29. No. 05, season 04.
  13. ↑ "Behind the Laughter". Long, Tim; Meyer, George; Scully, Mike; Selman, Matt; Kirkland, Mark. The Simpsons. Fox. 2000-05-21. No. 22, season 11.
  14. ↑ "The Springfield Files". Harrison, Reis; Moore, Steven Dean. The Simpsons. Fox. 1997-01-12. No. 10, season 08.
  15. ↑ Jean, Al. (2002). The Simpsons season 2 DVD commentary for the episode "Treehouse of Horror" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Groening, Matt. (2002). The Simpsons season 2 DVD commentary for the episode "Treehouse of Horror" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Kogen, Jay. (2002). The Simpsons season 2 DVD commentary for the episode "Treehouse of Horror" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  18. ↑ Reiss, Mike. (2003). The Simpsons season 3 DVD commentary for the episode "Treehouse of Horror II" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  19. ↑ Reiss, Mike. (2003). The Simpsons season 3 DVD commentary for the episode "Treehouse of Horror" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  20. ↑ Cohen, David X.. (2006). The Simpsons season 9 DVD commentary for the episode "Treehouse of Horror VIII" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  21. ↑ Joe Rhodes (2000-10-21). "Flash! 24 Simpsons Stars Reveal Themselves", TV Guide. Retrieved on 2007-08-15. 
  22. ↑ Jean, Al. (2006). The Simpsons season 9 DVD commentary for the episode "Treehouse of Horror II" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  23. ↑ Cohen, David X.. (2006). The Simpsons season 9 DVD commentary for the episode "Treehouse of Horror VII" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  24. ↑ Cohen, David X.. (2006). The Simpsons season 9 DVD commentary for the episode "Treehouse of Horror IX" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  25. ↑ Douglass C. Perry (2008-08-23). "The Simpsons: Hit and Run", IGN. Retrieved on 2008-05-11. 
  26. ↑ "Kang". Simpsons Collectors. Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
  27. ↑ "Kodos". Simpsons Collectors. Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
  28. ↑ "THOH II, Alien Ship". Simpsons Collectors. Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
  29. ↑ Brady MacDonald (2008-04-09). "Simpsons ride features 29 characters, original voices", Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 2008-05-11. 
  30. ↑ Goldman, Eric; Dan Iverson, Brian Zoromski. "Top 25 Simpsons Guest Appearances". IGN.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-09.
  31. ↑ Potts, Kimberly. "Favorite 'Simpsons' Guest Stars". AOL. Retrieved on 2008-11-24.
  32. ↑ Dan Snierson (2000-01-14). "Springfield of Dreams". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2007-11-09.
  33. ↑ Goldman, Eric; Iverson, Dan; Zoromski, Brian (2006-10-30). "Top 10 Segments from The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror". IGN. Retrieved on 2006-11-25.

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