While it’s true the various Simpsons-centric web sites often have extreme reactions (both good and bad) to the current show, I find a more broad-based “average viewer” response on Twitter, where after most episodes the reactions can vary widely but are, in the main, positive.
But even that term “average viewer” needs to be broken down – our viewership runs the gamut from intensely committed folk who instantly hop on the internet to register their opinions of each episode to the more casual viewers who see the show as something fun to watch on Sunday night but don’t have as much invested in it. It’s tough for me to make judgments about quality because I’m on the inside and I live the show every day, so, naturally, my experience of the show is different from the average viewer.
The show did evolve and, I’d argue, continues to evolve – especially now that our animation is done in HD, we were asked by Fox to switch to a 4-Act structure, and we have many more characters to follow and service. Well, of course, the show can’t be like it was in 1990, if it was I don’t think it would be around any more. What’s your perspective on the show’s evolution?
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Personally, I think the series has continued to evolve along with its audience - and it has to. And, speaking for myself, I’m extremely grateful that I get to continue working with these wonderful characters and great writers, actors and artists.Īgain to draw a Star Wars comparison, any property that has endured so long tends to draw the criticism of bitter older fans who claim the new stuff isn’t as good as the old stuff. Apparently at the table read of Episode 200, (former Showrunner) David Mirkin jokingly said “We’re half-way there” and it brought down the house. Mike Reiss (one of the original writers and Co-Showrunner of Seasons 3 and 4) recently said that when he and Al Jean were offered a job on the Simpsons staff for Season 1 they both thought it wouldn’t last more than 13 episodes. I think Troy McClure said it best in the 138th Episode Spectacular clip show: “Who knows what adventures they'll have between now and the time the show becomes unprofitable?''Īre you guys surprised at all that it’s made it this far? Or is Simpsons unstoppable? And since society manages to find new and entertaining ways to be corrupt and venal we’ll have fresh fodder for satire for quite some time.Īnd, of course, finally and most importantly – we still love making the show and enough people still like to watch it to make it worth the money and effort to produce. But I think beyond that I think these amazing characters created by Matt Groening and the original writers of the show are just such a wonderful home base for a show that strives to not just be funny and entertaining, but also say a little something about the world we live in and the stupid things our society does. And we now have animated shows (Beavis & Butthead, Futurama) that have come back from the dead – and this is possible precisely because animated characters never get old, don’t get DUIs, don’t have sex scandals, don’t get offers to do movies… or any of the other reasons live action casts eventually break up.Īlso, the fact that the show is animated made possible the dozens of characters that populate Springfield and the limitless possibilities of places for the Simpsons to go.
Someone on our staff recently pointed that many of the current longest-running scripted shows (Simpsons, South Park, Family Guy, American Dad) are animated. Number one, we’re animated, which means the characters never age. The Simpsons, like Star Wars, is one of the hugest pop culture phenomenons that just about everyone has engaged with. When we last chatted it was about the very funny Lego Star Wars: The Padawan Menace, which you also wrote.