Behind the Scenes of The Simpsons

Tim writes "The Seattle Times is running a short article about the production process behind 'The Simpsons.' Nothing too elaborate, but there are some interesting pieces of information scattered throughout the piece, including a few jokes from a future episode." From the article: "Invitations to the table read are considered among the hottest tickets in Hollywood, and each visitor has an assigned seat. Celebrities, usually with children in tow, are a fixture. It takes about 40 minutes to run through an episode that will run 22 minutes and 30 seconds (plus commercials) when it airs next season. After the session, there is applause and stretching. Groening and most cast members linger to chat, autograph the scripts and pose for snapshots."

Comments

Re:In a TRAILER?

[RubberDogBone]

It varies. Some shoot the animation first and dub to it, others record the voices first and tailor the animation to match.

Simpsons vs Family Guy

[bhunachchicken]

Seems I am far from alone in believing that the Simpsons has seen better days. Maybe it's time Fox thought about wrapping up the franchise and putting it to bed.

A few years ago a friend introduced me to Family Guy and with it a vast amount of new comedy which the Simpsons has not been able to rival. Seems though that Family Guy and Simpsons do have a bitter rivalry going on. Shame that Family Guy was taken off the air for three years. Really this should have been done to the Simpsons to give the network and writers time to reflect on the direction they are heading in and how to breath some new life in to the series.

Here's hoping that we get to see Futurama again soon; Another series, in my humble opinion, that has surpassed The Simpsons in the last few years until, it too, was cancelled.

Re:Simpsons vs Family Guy

[qzulla]

Maybe this is the reason: Alex Borstein

Mad TV died after she left. She was one of the writers of Mad TV and plays Lois on Family Guy. Go to Familyguy.com and you will see she is also a writer for the show.

qz

Re:Simpsons vs Family Guy

[bluto00]

FWIW: I saw cast of the Simpsons do a live script-reading of an episode as part of the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal a few years ago. Afterwards there was a Q&A session with Groening, during which someone asked how much longer the show would be on. He (paraphrased) said that the show is making a ton of money for him and his team and a ton of money for Fox, and that until one of those two things changes, the show is unlikely to end.

Issues? Season analysis Enclosed.

[PhYrE2k2]

they don't deal with the serious issues that the Simpsons in their prime did. Though I think Hank Azaria is great, that comment just highlights this.

Whoa! The first three seasons were all about serious issues. Bart steals a video game, Bart becomes gifted, Bart defends his sister, Homer gets caught on spy camera with a dancer, bad babysitter happends to be wanted, Bart isn't doing well in school and needs Martin's help.

These episodes, while indeed showing off where the Simpsons came from, and indeed were fun to watch, lacked a certain hilarity that the Simpsons acheived later in the game where they just got funny. They were trying to teach lessons and whatnot at the beginning and make everyone feel good in the end.

Bring along seasons 4-6 or so, where the shows are still about Bart (as the show was) with the occasional Homer and/or Lisa episode. As this range went on, and even going into seasons 7 and 8, they became more about Homer. These were some of the funniest in its prime. Who shot Mr Burns, Lisa the Vegitarian, Homer goes to College, Cat Burgler, Homer as a marriage therapist, etc. They were really exploring what Homer could add to the show rather than just being around.

Bring in seasons 7,8-11 and they're hit and miss. Many fun and exciting episodes, but you can tell that they're reaching maximums of some of the possibilities. They've realized their fans want 'out there' actions and find Homer's stupidity funny. SOmetimes they'll hit it right on and other times they'll go so far to the extreme that it's boring as anything.

Seasons 12,13 are very hit and miss. An episode here and there that's funny (Trillogy of Error anyone? Where they split Bart, Homer, and Lisa's day was hilarious). In these seasons they've realized people aren't tuning in as much. They promoted such bands as REM (season13), The Who (season12), NSync (season12) and guest stars like Pierce Brosman, Judge Judy, Reese Witherspoon. Group in 'Britney Spears' from season 11 (which was awful) and you add to that. They've realized people aren't finding it funny, so they need some media hype to get people watching. of course, their inclusion sucks.

We all remember probably one of the simpsons' 'worst episodes ever' where they went to Toronto in February 2002 for season 13 chasing Wolfcastle's daughter (Reese Witherspoon). They actually wanted the mayor of Toronto to declare 'simpsons day' and got angry at the policy to not declare special days for corporate events. We all remember the 60-90 seconds actually spent in Toronto, of which they played really poor jokes that both Canadian's and Americans alike didn't find funny. I should have gone out that night.

Bring in Season 14+ where I've seen one or two watchable episodes, and the remainder I will sit and stare forward blankly when I do catch it.

I no longer rush home to watch it. I no longer plan my weekend around looking forward to it. I no longer Tivo every episode. I just don't care. I watch older ones on Comedy from time to time, but the new ones I rarely even catch. They've essentially lost touch with their viewer base or are well past the prime of the show. The episodes become extreme and unbelievable and are purposely going for a laugh, rather than 'seemingly' accidentally stumbling on it.

-M

Re:The Bottom Line

[Overly Critical Guy]

After all, where else can you see a stupid bald man getting raped by a panda. Hooray for recent Simpsons quality. Cough.