More at stake than just d'oh: The New York Times (registration required) takes a closer look at the contract demands of The Simpsons cast, and what the negotiations could mean to voice actors and other television networks:

"What faces the networks — and the actors — is the question of how important are the voices, and even personalities, of the performers portraying animated characters. Are they anonymous, perhaps interchangeable? Or are they as important to the success of an animated series as, say, the actors on Will and Grace and Friends? Animation might play a much smaller role on television if voice performers were to be paid as much as actors who appear in the flesh."