Carl Carlson
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Template:Simpsons character Carlton "Carl" Carlson, MPhys is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons voiced by Hank Azaria. Along with Lenny, Carl is not just Homer's co-worker (sometimes identified as Homer's supervisor) at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant but also his friend. He likes to call himself "an urban Lenny." He attended Springfield A&M University.
Carl is an Icelandic-African-American, 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. According to "'Scuse Me While I Miss the Sky," Carl spent at least part of his boyhood in Iceland. In the episode "The Dad Who Knew too Little", Carl mentions that he suffers from schizophrenia.
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. One example of Carl having Lenny's voice is in episode 218 "Brush With Greatness". 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, because of his harsh opinions of others,[citation needed] 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." He is offended when people stereotype him even though their stereotypes are usually correct. In "The Great Wife Hope," Homer asks Carl if he knows African-American boxer Dedrick Tatum; Carl takes offense, saying that just because he is African American, he doesn't know all the other African-American citizens in Springfield. Carl then says that he met Dedrick Tatum while he was at a party with Dr. Hibbert at Bleeding Gums Murphy's house (both of those characters are also African-American). He is the intellectual one, but apparently, Lenny Leonard, his best friend, dumbs him down for his own sake. In the episode The Girl Who Slept Too Little, he tells Lenny to shut up as he was tired of "dumbing [him]self down for [Lenny]."
Relationship with Lenny
There are occasional homosexual overtones in Lenny's and Carl's relationship. 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 and Carl see pictures of each other. 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 " See, it's statements like that 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." In the Simpsons Game, Carl and Lenny are shown arguing while bird-watching.
During a conversation in the Springfield Hub, Carl and Bernice Hibbert are hinted to have had a past relationship, that Carl wants to rekindle. It is implied, however, that he has a wife in Sunday, Cruddy Sunday, when he says he'll give a ring to his wife for their anniversary. Also, he is shown with a woman (presumably his wife) attending Homer's marriage class in Secrets of a Successful Marriage.
Reception
Alongside Lenny, Carl makes 6th on IGN's Top 25 Simpsons Peripheral Characters.[1]