An analysis by Coury Turczyn

For the past decade, America has been captivated by the antics of television's The Simpsons. Set in the fictional town of Springfield, the show has mercilessly satirized the shortcomings of modern life in a small city. But how fictional is Springfield? In many episodes, the would-be metropolis and its dysfunctional citizens looks very familiar—and not just as "Everytown, U.S.A.," but rather this town in particular. Could Springfield actually be based on Knoxville itself? Or are we in fact living in a cartoon town?

You be the judge. But here's the evidence:

	Springfield	Knoxville
A nonsensical motto	"Suddenly, Springfield!"	"Knoxville, Naturally!"
An oddly-shaped mayor	Mayor Quimby	Mayor Ashe
A nefarious old captain of industry who made millions in the energy business and controls the city from behind the scenes	Montgomery Burns	Jim Haslam
Well-run nuclear power plants that are perfectly "safe"	Springfield Nuclear Power Plant	Watts Bar Nuclear Power Plant
Folksy TV news anchor	Kent Brockman	Bill Williams
Founded by a crusty frontiersman	Jebediah Springfield	James White
Crafty TV lawyer	Lionel Hutz	Ward Welchel
A desperate mass transit plan that will "save" downtown	Monorail	Electric Trolley
An unusually cool jazz musician who'd make a lot more money living in Paris	Bleeding Gums Murphy	Donald Brown
A self-righteous church leader	Rev. Timothy Lovejoy	Rev. Doug Sager
Bumbling police chief	Chief Wiggum	Chief Keith
Barely intelligible resident movie star	Rainier Wolfcastle	Brad Renfro
Royally named mini-golf center	Sir Putt-a-Lott's Merrie Olde Fun Center	Sir Goony's Golf and Go-Carts

Any others come to mind? Let us know!