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Revision as of 16:58, December 22, 2007
| Carl Carlson
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| Character Information
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Carlton "Carl" Carlson, MPhys is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. Along with Lenny, Carl is not just Homer's co-worker (sometimes identified as Homer's supervisor) at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant but one of his best friends since childhood, and he likes to call himself "an urban Lenny". He also attended Springfield A&M University.
Carl is an African-American, and a Buddhist with a master's degree in nuclear physics, fond of bowling and drinking at Moe's Tavern. Carl demonstrates his talent for science in the episode Fat Man and Little Boy. Carl is frequently said to be among the most attractive men in Springfield, notably in Principal Charming where Homer concludes that Carl is too attractive for Selma. According to "They Saved Lisa's Brain", he might be diabetic.
Character origins
In the early seasons, Carl was rarely seen with Lenny and did not have a consistent voice - on some occasions, he can be heard with Lenny's voice and vice versa. In an early 1991 episode,
Principal Charming, Carl's name is spelled "Karl".
Personality
Carl often serves as a taciturn straight man to Homer and company, probably because of his harsh opinions of others, as seen in Pygmoelian when he makes everyone in Moe's Tavern cry and then turns to the camera, explaining: "See, this is why I don't talk much."
There is a constant allusion to homoeroticism in Lenny's and Carl's relationship, although no one seems to care much about it. In Half-Decent Proposal, Lenny dreamily recalls carving "Mount Carlmore", a huge bust of Carl in the side of a hill, during "one wonderful summer". When Homer asks Lenny what Carl thought of it, Lenny replies "You know, we've never discussed it."
In another episode, 'Scuse Me While I Miss the Sky, various characters look at the stars to "see into their souls". Lenny sees an image of Carl, and Carl sees an image of himself. In another episode, Lenny recalls Bart offering Carl and Lenny $1,000 to kiss, and Carl asks Lenny, "Hey, did we ever get that money?" (Although this was in the non-canon Behind the Laughter episode, where the characters are shown as actors portraying themselves). On another occasion, Lenny and Carl are at the Springfield Baseball Stadium, watching the Kiss Cam, and Lenny says: "Hey Carl, remember when we used to kiss like that...[pause] with our respective girlfriends?" In the episode Ice Cream of Margie, Lenny says he can't tell apart the remains of his sculpture with Carl's remarking "I don't know where Carl ends and I begin!", Carl then says "it's stuff like this that makes everyone think we're gay." At times, Carl gets annoyed at Lenny. In Mountain of Madness, when Carl learns that he is paired with Lenny in a team-building exercise on a power plant retreat, his irritated response is, "Aw, nuts. I mean... aw, nuts." Carl, along with Lenny share a similar sounding surname: Carlson and Leonard. In the Simpsons Game, Carl and Lenny are shown arguing while bird-watching, and having forgotten Lisa and Bart's names when they save Lenny and Carl from logging machinery, even though Lenny and Carl have known them all their lives. During a conversation in the Springfield Hub, Carl and Bernice Hibbert are hinted to have had a past relationship, that Carl wants to rekindle.
See also
