Santa's Little Helper real-life breed will paint a different picture — of dogs that are peaceful, affectionate, [and] not given to drooling, panting". Some ideas for episodes featuring Santa's Little Helper come from reality. The plot of "Dog of Death" was based on Swartzwelder's experiences with his own dog, which had also suffered from bloat. However, unlike the events in the episode, Swartzwelder's dog did not receive treatment as the operation was too expensive and the dog was too old. "The Gold Coast Bulletin"s Ryan Ellem commented in 2005 that the Simpson family's dilemma with the cost of the veterinary procedure is a
Media in The Simpsons no "Top Cat"!. Huckleberry Hound, Chief Wiggum, Yogi Bear? Andy Griffith, Edward G. Robinson, Art Carney!" The character Kent Brockman functions as "The Simpsons"s main character for news parodies. He was based on Los Angeles anchormen Hal Fishman and Jerry Dunphy, and modeled after anchorman Ted Koppel. Another influence on the character was "The Mary Tyler Moore Show"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Ted Baxter, played by Ted Knight. His role on "The Simpsons" is to host the news as the fictional television channel, Channel 6's anchorman. In addition to the news, he also hosts the programs "Eye on Springfield" and "Smartline". In most of