Arnie Pye
Arnold William "Arnie" Pye is a disgruntled, somewhat eccentric helicopter traffic reporter for Springfield’s KBBL-TV (Channel 6). His segments are titled Arnie Pye with Arnie in the Sky. His accent implies that he may have originated from New York or New Jersey. His name is a play on "Ernie Pyle", a famous news reporter. He was called Bill Pye in "Some Enchanted Evening", and his name is spelled Arnie Pie in some of the Simpsons Comics issues. A running gag is when he is envious of Kent Brockman's TV fame, and argues with him on the air. Arnie Pye is 37 years old.
Biography[]
Dislike of Brockman[]
He has an apparent dislike of anchorman Kent Brockman, with whom he often gets into arguments on the air, because Kent is a much bigger and luckier star. This hatred of Kent first became apparent when, during a newscast, Arnie tried to throw his shoe at Homer from his helicopter, leading Kent to tell him "now's not the time" before Arnie lashed out at him. Arnie then proceeded to respond sarcastically to Kent when asked if the children in the vehicle Homer was driving were safe, claiming he can't see through metal.
Accidents[]
Pye’s helicopter once crashed; he managed to say “Tell my wife I love—” before the live feed was lost. The incident was dismissed with a chuckle by the oblivious Brockman. However, he survived and has been seen in several episodes afterward.
Pye later crashed his helicopter again when he was flying too close to a tornado. He shouted that the worst of all was the fact that Kent Brockman's voice would be the last one he would ever hear, and called him a "pompous snow monkey".[2]
Arnie Pye was also involved in a crash that saw his helicopter stuck on a major road, causing a traffic jam "as far as this reporter (Arnie Pye) could see". Luckily, many Stonecutters were able to bypass the traffic jam due a secret tunnel under a nearby bridge.
Replacing Brockman[]
When Kent was demoted to a Weatherman and eventually fired, Arnie briefly became the new head anchor. He briefly took some joy in usurping Kent Brockman as News Anchorman by drawing a "Kent Stinks" graffiti on the Weather Map while Kent was broadcasting the weather.
However, his joy was short-lived when he learned that in addition to Kent Brockman being demoted, the entire station had to suffer a $10,000,000 dollar fine for Kent Brockman's "shameful swear-nami", especially when the fine also cost their mascot, Newshound, laser eye surgery to fix his lazy eye.
Pye hated Brockman even more as a result, and was also present when Kent Brockman was fired from the station for suspected cocaine use. During his stint as News Anchor, he spoke in a deeper, smoother voice, but returned to his normal register when he got excited near the end of the report. (A similar gag was used in a previous episode with Bumblebee Man, who took over Brockman's desk and spoke perfect English as he delivered the news, right until the end.)[3]
He later temporarily replaced Brockman again, this time as a result of Kent Brockman revealing he lied throughout his news career after someone blew the whistle on him about his claim of serving in Iraq on a late night show. To add insult to injury for his long time rival, Arnie Pye also made sure to broadcast the last words of Brockman's last words and show footage of him being escorted out by security as well as point out his being disgraced. Arnie Pye then stated he will make sure to restore Channel 6's credibility as a result of Brockman's firing, also citing that corporate taxes are too high. He later gave up his seat as news anchor to Kent Brockman after he exposed a genuinely newsworthy report about Krusty the Clown selling tainted candy.[4]
Behind the Laughter[]
"Arnie in the Sky" is a deliberate zigzag away from the more natural title "Pye in the Sky," a play on words with the expression "pie in the sky". Despite this, the segments are commonly referred to as "Arnie Pye in the Sky".
Appearances[]
Note: Many of his appearances are brief, background roles. Episodes in which he has an actual role are in bold.
| The Simpsons: Season Three | ||||
| "Stark Raving Dad": | "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington": | "When Flanders Failed": | "Bart the Murderer": | "Homer Defined": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| "Like Father, Like Clown": | "Treehouse of Horror II": | "Lisa's Pony": | "Saturdays of Thunder": | "Flaming Moe's": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| "Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk": | "I Married Marge": | "Radio Bart": | "Lisa the Greek": | "Homer Alone": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Minor |
| "Bart the Lover": | "Homer at the Bat": | "Separate Vocations": | "Dog of Death": | "Colonel Homer": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| "Black Widower": | "The Otto Show": | "Bart's Friend Falls in Love": | "Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?": | |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| The Simpsons: Season Four | ||||
| "Kamp Krusty": | "A Streetcar Named Marge": | "Homer the Heretic": | "Lisa the Beauty Queen": | "Treehouse of Horror III": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| "Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie": | "Marge Gets a Job": | "New Kid on the Block": | "Mr. Plow": | "Lisa's First Word": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Minor | Absent |
| "Homer's Triple Bypass": | "Marge vs. the Monorail": | "Selma's Choice": | "Brother from the Same Planet": | "I Love Lisa": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| "Duffless": | "Last Exit to Springfield": | "So It's Come to This: A Simpsons Clip Show": | "The Front": | "Whacking Day": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| "Marge in Chains": | "Krusty Gets Kancelled": | |||
| Minor | Absent |
| The Simpsons: Season Six | ||||
| "Bart of Darkness": | "Lisa's Rival": | "Another Simpsons Clip Show": | "Itchy & Scratchy Land": | "Sideshow Bob Roberts": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| "Treehouse of Horror V": | "Bart's Girlfriend": | "Lisa on Ice": | "Homer Badman": | "Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| "Fear of Flying": | "Homer the Great": | "And Maggie Makes Three": | "Bart's Comet": | "Homie the Clown": |
| Absent | Minor | Absent | Minor | Absent |
| "Bart vs. Australia": | "Homer vs. Patty and Selma": | "A Star is Burns": | "Lisa's Wedding": | "Two Dozen and One Greyhounds": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Cameo |
| "The PTA Disbands": | "'Round Springfield": | "The Springfield Connection": | "Lemon of Troy": | "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| The Simpsons: Season Seven | ||||
| "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part Two)": | "Radioactive Man": | "Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily": | "Bart Sells His Soul": | "Lisa the Vegetarian": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| "Treehouse of Horror VI": | "King-Size Homer": | "Mother Simpson": | "Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming": | "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular": |
| Absent | Voice only | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| "Marge Be Not Proud": | "Team Homer": | "Two Bad Neighbors": | "Scenes from the Class Struggle in Springfield": | "Bart the Fink": |
| Absent | Minor | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| "Lisa The Iconoclast": | "Homer The Smithers": | "The Day The Violence Died": | "A Fish Called Selma": | "Bart on the Road": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Cameo | Absent |
| "22 Short Films About Springfield": | "Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in "The Curse of the Flying Hellfish"": | "Much Apu About Nothing": | "Homerpalooza": | "Summer of 4 Ft. 2": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| The Simpsons: Season Eight | ||||
| "Treehouse of Horror VII": | "You Only Move Twice": | "The Homer They Fall": | "Burns, Baby Burns": | "Bart After Dark": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Cameo |
| "A Milhouse Divided": | "Lisa's Date with Density": | "Hurricane Neddy": | "El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer)": | "The Springfield Files": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| "The Twisted World of Marge Simpson": | "Mountain of Madness": | "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious": | "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show": | "Homer's Phobia": |
| Cameo | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| "Brother from Another Series": | "My Sister, My Sitter": | "Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment": | "Grade School Confidential": | "The Canine Mutiny": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| "The Old Man and the Lisa": | "In Marge We Trust": | "Homer's Enemy": | "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase": | "The Secret War of Lisa Simpson": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| The Simpsons: Season Nine | ||||
| "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson": | "The Principal and the Pauper": | "Lisa's Sax": | "Treehouse of Horror VIII": | "The Cartridge Family": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| "Bart Star": | "The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons": | "Lisa the Skeptic": | "Realty Bites": | "Miracle on Evergreen Terrace": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| "All Singing, All Dancing": | "Bart Carny": | "The Joy of Sect": | "Das Bus": | "The Last Temptation of Krust": |
| Absent | Absent | Cameo | Absent | Absent |
| "Dumbbell Indemnity": | "Lisa the Simpson": | "This Little Wiggy": | "Simpson Tide": | "The Trouble with Trillions": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| "Girly Edition": | "Trash of the Titans": | "King of the Hill": | "Lost Our Lisa": | "Natural Born Kissers": |
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
The full image gallery for Arnie Pye may be viewed at Arnie Pye/Gallery.