Photo: CBS and Twentieth Century Fox Film
Three weeks ago, on CBS’s hit Under the Dome, a dome was dropped on the fictional town of Chester’s Mill and America’s nonfictional hearts. However, this wasn’t our first run-in with a dome. Just six summers ago, The Simpsons Movie dropped a dome on Springfield. This is not a new observation — it was first discussed when the book on which the show is based was published in 2009. Yet, it’s hard not to think of The Simpsons Movie when watching UTD. (It’s also hard not to think, This town sure has opinions about local radio.) So we thought we’d break down the two domes (not literally, of course — sorry, you’re still stuck in a dome, Chester’s Millers) and how they are similar and not.
 The Simpsons Movie |
 Under the Dome |
|
|---|---|---|
| Domed Town | Springfield | Chester's Mill |
| Domers | The EPA. | Unknown. |
| Reason for Doming | To quarantine the highly polluted town. | Unknown. |
| Can You See Through It? | Yes. | Yes. |
| Can You Hear Through It? | No. | No. |
| The Domed Band Together To... | Try to kill Homer. | Put out a fire. |
| Who's in Charge? | Emperor of Springfield Moe Szyslak. | Councilman Big Jim Rennie. |
| Charismatic Newcomer? | Spider Pig. | Barbie. |
| Ominous Chanting | Abe Simpson's church meltdown: "Epa! Epa! Epa!" | Joe and Norrie's "pink stars are falling" seizures. |
| Dome-Crossed Loves | Lisa and her Irish environmental dreamboat Colin. | Deputy Sheriff Linda Esquivel and her fireman fiancé. |
| Means of Escape | Sandbox sinkhole. | Unknown. |
| Useless Escape Tools | Swordfish, bubbles, pies, jackhammer, elephant's head. | Bulldozer. |
| Failed Dome Punchers | Drederick Tatum. | Junior Rennie. |
| Shooting It Results In... | Bullets bouncing back and wounding Hometown Security agents. | Bullets bouncing back and killing a cop. |
| Other Objects That Bounce Off Dome | Head of the EPA Russ Cargill's binoculars. | Reporter Julia Shumway's tennis ball. |
| Outside Military | Easily duped by forged leaf note. | Loves spraying dome with water. |
| School | Seemingly in perfect condition, but kids don't go because city has descended into chaos. | Likely in perfect condition, but kids don't go because they're having phone-charging parties. |
| Anyone/Anything Crushed by the Dome? | That indecisive, purple shirt guy who wished he had seen Venice. | That cow. |