The Simpsons

[Orlac]

Trump in the White House, Fox now owned by Disney - I'll give them that, but stuff like predicting the current pandemic is really stretching it.

Agreed. For one thing, the plague on the show started in Japan

Funnily enough, Quimby visually looks more and more like Boris Johnson, escpeially when you consider the "Flames added electronically by Channel 6" shot.

[aox]

Harry Shearer No Longer Voicing Dr. Hibbert on The Simpsons

[hearthesilence]

Harry Shearer No Longer Voicing Dr. Hibbert on The Simpsons

When the cast changes happen, do they acknowledge it somehow within the show? I imagine they would, even though I haven't watched a single episode since season 15. (Actually had to look that up. I can't believe I've seen less than half of the episodes now - I used to make a point not to miss any.)

[domino harvey]

There weren’t any references to it in the first episode where Carl was replaced

[Zot!]

I have to imagine people have already commented on the irony of Bart being voiced by a girl, right? If there is anybody who might take exception to this it would be that character.

[knives]

I’m pretty sure she’s a woman.

[Zot!]

I’m pretty sure she’s a woman.

I wrote that comment in the spirit of Bart, who would very likely use "girl" as a perjorative.

[Orlac]

All of this just shows how old-hat the programme is now - Dr Hibbert is a reference to a pre-scandal Bill Cosby for one thing.

[hearthesilence]

I think it may have been on one of the DVD sets for the first eight seasons, but there was an archival interview with Dan Castellaneta where he recalls what it was like to have The Simpsons greenlit as show. The Tracy Ullman Show was his first steady gig on TV, but it was nearing its end with the final fourth season - so having the network spin off one of the recurring sketches into its own show was pretty fortuitous. He recalled specifically thinking,"If this can last like three...maybe four seasons like the Ullman Show, that would be really, REALLY great!" It's amazing to think back that his entire career, really his entire life was pretty much fine from that moment on, and no one in their right mind would have predicted 32+ years, not even if they believed in the show's inevitable success.

But how many shows hold up 32+ years later without anything looking politically dated? I'm guessing none, but this is likely the first time a show has lasted so long that they've had to address those issues head-on rather than discuss them in hindsight. It really is uncharted waters, and given how many factors are going to be at odds with each other, it's no surprise that it's been awkward, but it sounds like they're doing as best as can be expected.

[knives]

Other examples have revolving casts built in to ensure being up to date. Look at any number of soaps for example.

[hearthesilence]

Other examples have revolving casts built in to ensure being up to date. Look at any number of soaps for example.

Soaps are too different, it feels like apples and oranges to compare them to primetime shows. But yes, that's one reason why the big soaps lasted for decades until the changing market brought many of them to an end. To take it further, look at SNL. Same format and framework and I guess the same tone, but it has nothing like the continuity of a prime-time scripted show.

[knives]

Doctor Who in that case?

[Swift]

In hindsight (and obviously they couldn't have known early on that the show would end up running for years and years) I feel like they should've had the characters grow up and age over time. There's something to be said for feeling like you've been growing up with these characters. Coronation Street (long running UK soap) was a staple in my household as a kid and while I don't watch it now, it's fascinating to occasionally turn it on and see middle aged, balding, pudgy Steve McDonald for instance and remember how I watched the show when he first showed up as a rowdy, rebellious teenager in the mid 90s with an abusive, alcoholic father. Now granted, the writers themselves probably forget these characters' backstories frequently, but there's an element of comfort for the viewer in seeing these characters move through time like the rest of us.

Nothing really sticks in The Simpsons, apart from character deaths I guess. I think it would've been interesting to see this idea play out but who knows if the show would've even lasted this long in that format?

[bearcuborg]

Swift, I’ve been saying that for years, at this point, it would be the only thing to get me back into the show.

I don’t think any cartoon show has really done this? I could see Mike Judge doing it if King of the Hill comes back.

[knives]

Steven Universe kind of tried. The Gorillaz as well though they aren’t a show per say.

[dustybooks]

The characters on Daria aged, but since it only covered a four-year period it didn't require any huge aesthetic changes.

[Monterey Jack]

I don’t think any cartoon show has really done this? I could see Mike Judge doing it if King of the Hill comes back.

The Legend Of Korra had a four year (I think) time jump between seasons three and four, and aged the characters up appropriately. Also the How To Train Your Dragon movies aged the characters between films.

[jindianajonz]

I don’t think any cartoon show has really done this? I could see Mike Judge doing it if King of the Hill comes back.

The Legend Of Korra had a four year (I think) time jump between seasons three and four, and aged the characters up appropriately.

Avatar as well. It was a shorter Time frame, but we saw the characters growing out their hair

[Zot!]

[aox]

It's amazing Bart went from that to working in the cafeteria, to becoming a drifter when he then became a male stripper, then operated a wrecking ball before going to law school, and ultimately ended up becoming Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Don't ever let anyone tell you that social mobility is dead in the United States.

[Orlac]

To be fair, the first three was fantasies.

[Professor Wagstaff]

Do The Simpsons still utilize flashbacks to Marge and Homer in childhood? They once showed them growing up in the 1960s/1970s, but now they would have been coming of age in the 1990s. probably even graduating high school in the 2000s.

[aox]

Do The Simpsons still utilize flashbacks to Marge and Homer in childhood? They once showed them growing up in the 1960s/1970s, but now they would have been coming of age in the 1990s. probably even graduating high school in the 2000s.

Yes

I haven't seen it, but it is supposed to be somewhat abysmal.

[colinr0380]

I don’t think any cartoon show has really done this? I could see Mike Judge doing it if King of the Hill comes back.

The Legend Of Korra had a four year (I think) time jump between seasons three and four, and aged the characters up appropriately. Also the How To Train Your Dragon movies aged the characters between films.

I have just reached the big time jump in the Fist of the North Star series as well, where Bat and Lin, the two young children used as emblems of innocence throughout the show, have become the new generation of young adults. Major spoiler: Here's the final scene of the entire series.

[aox]

The Simpsons Renewed for Seasons 33 and 34, Will Surpass 750 Episodes