Couch Gags

The opening sequence of the American animated television series '' The Simpsons'' is among the most popular opening sequences in television. It is accompanied by " ''The Simpsons'' Theme", one of television's most recognizable theme songs. The first episode to use this introduction was the series' second episode "Bart the Genius".

Each episode has the same basic sequence of events: the camera zooms through cumulus clouds, through the show's title towards the town of Springfield. The camera then follows the members of the Simpson family on their way home. Upon entering their house, the Simpsons settle down on their couch to watch television. One of the most distinctive aspects of the opening is that three of its elements change from episode to episode: Bart writes different phrases on the school chalkboard, Lisa plays different solos on her saxophone (or occasionally a different instrument), and different visual gags accompany the family as they enter their living room to sit on the couch.

The standard opening has had two major revisions. The first was at the start of the second season when the entire sequence was reanimated to improve the quality and certain shots were changed generally to add characters who had been established in the first season. The second was a brand-new opening sequence produced in high-definition for the show's transition to that format beginning with "Take My Life, Please" in season 20. The new opening generally followed the sequence of the original opening with improved graphics, even more characters, and new jokes.

Sequence

1990

This sequence opens with the show's title in yellow approaching the camera through misty cumulus clouds in a dark blue sky. The shot cuts through the counter in the letter "P" to an establishing shot of the town of Springfield.

The camera zooms in through the town, toward a lavender Springfield Elementary and then through a window to a lavender classroom, where Bart is writing lines on the chalkboard as a punishment, and three drawings are seen on the wall. When the school bell rings, Bart leaves in a hurry and skateboards out of the school doors.

The shot cuts to Homer working at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant wearing a safety mask while handling a glowing green rod of uranium with a pair of silver tongs. An unknown co-worker in the background eats a sandwich with another pair of tongs. The end-of-shift whistle blows, and Homer immediately takes off his mask and drops his tongs to leave work. As he does so, the uranium rod bounces into the air and falls down the back of his radiation suit.

The next shot shows Marge and Maggie checking out at a supermarket. Maggie, who is sitting on the conveyor belt, is inadvertently scanned along with the groceries as Marge reads a magazine. Maggie is rung up at a price of $847.63 (representing the monthly cost of raising a child at the time) and bagged. Marge frantically looks around for Maggie as the bag is dropped into her shopping cart which startles her and makes her turn around, then breathes a sigh of relief when she pops up from the bag.

Lisa is shown next at band practice. The opening theme coordinates with this shot, and is orchestrated as if it were played by the school band. Mr. Largo stops the rest of the band to order Lisa out of the rehearsal for her unorthodox playing of her saxophone, which is light blue in this sequence, but gold in the episode. She continues to improvize on her way out of the room.

Shots of the family on their way home to 742 Evergreen Terrace are then shown. As Homer drives through Springfield, he fumbles behind his neck, pulls the uranium rod out of his shirt collar, and throws it out the car window. As it bounces off the curb near Moe's Tavern, Bart skateboards past, noticing a bank of televisions in a store window he passes showing Krusty the Clown; he then passes a bus stop and unwittingly steals its sign. The five unknown characters waiting at the stop then chase after a bus that fails to stop for them.

As soon as Bart crosses the road, a car drives past and Maggie is seen inside at the steering wheel. The camera alternates between close-ups of her jerking the wheel back and forth and the car veering wildly, it then zooms out to reveal that her wheel is only a toy. Marge is actually driving the car, and Maggie imitates her horn-honking. Lisa then rides her bicycle down the street, her books and saxophone case strapped into the front basket and the back of her seat, respectively; when she hits a bump, the books are briefly jolted upward but held down by the straps.

Lisa is the first to arrive at home as the garage door opens, jumping off her bike with her things, letting it roll into the garage, and running for the front door. Homer pulls into the driveway and parks, after which Bart bounces his skateboard off the car roof and follows Lisa toward the door. When Homer steps out of the car, he screams at the sight of Marge's car approaching and runs into the garage; the shot switches briefly to Marge's perspective as he escapes through a door into the house and she stops just short of crashing into the wall. The family members then enter the living room from different directions, creating a segue into the couch gag and finally the creator and developers' credits, shown on the television screen.

Notably in "Bart the Genius", the famous high-pitched scream of Homer's when he runs from Marge's car into the house is cut. The scream is added in the third episode, " Homer's Odyssey".

1990–2009

For the second season, the original opening was reanimated. Most shots were very closely copied, with some shots (such as Homer's first shot) appearing to be traced. The coloring was changed on most shots, and the characters and animation were cleaned up.

Some scenes were replaced or modified: In Bart's chalkboard gag, the school is now orange with purple accents instead of lavender, the classroom is now olive green instead of lavender, there are desks, a red wastebasket and a bookshelf in the background, and a photo of Homer as George Washington and a clock are seen on walls. In Homer's first shot at the power plant, Homer's tongs are now orange instead of silver, and Mr. Burns and Smithers study certain plans in the background in place of the unknown co-worker. When the end-of-shift whistle blows, Mr. Burns checks his wristwatch to see if it is working, he then starts shaking it suggesting that it isn't working.

When Bart skateboards down the sidewalk, the scenery is different, the bank of televisions is changed and shorter, and Bart no longer notices them. Instead, he weaves in between a series of secondary characters who crowd the sidewalk and then crosses the road near Moe's Tavern, earning the ire of Chief Wiggum. This segment is notably shorter than the original bus-stop segment.

Lisa's bike ride is cut, and instead, upon Marge and Maggie honking their horns, there is a "whip-pan" across the town, featuring a significant number of secondary characters, towards the Simpsons' house. Homer reaches the house first instead of Lisa, and Bart bounces his skateboard off the car and rolls toward the front door. Homer leaves his car and has to dodge Lisa as she pedals up the driveway, following Bart without dismounting from her bike. The difference in the driveway scene is that Lisa's saxophone is no longer in the case, but on the back of her bike. Finally, the family television has been redesigned to give it a more retro style than in season 1.

Since this season, there have been some episodes that had the opening sequence start from the driveway scene. After the first half of season 2, a yell of " D'oh" of Homer's when he dodges Lisa on her bike was added. Starting with season 3, the new arrangement of the opening theme is used throughout the intro.

2009–present

The new opening sequence was animated for the show's transition to the High Definition format, premiering with the season 20 episode "Take My Life, Please". This sequence is similar to the previous one, but features many visual changes that take advantage of the wider format.

The sequence opens as usual with movement through cumulus clouds, while a 3-eyed crow flies by. The crow is sometimes replaced by Shary Bobbins flying by using her umbrella, a stork carrying Maggie in a bag, Homer on a chair on balloons, Santa's Little Helper catching a frisbee or on his flying doghouse (a reference to Snoopy's flying ace story in '' The Peanuts Movie''), the Planet Express Ship from ''Futurama'', Maggie and Grampa bringing down the old and up the new year ribbons respectively, and others. In some HD episodes, the beginning just shows the title and cuts through the counter in the "P" (similar to the past sequences). The camera then zooms past the nuclear power plant and into the town square where Jimbo and Kearney saw off the head of the statue of Jebediah Springfield (a callback to "The Telltale Head") which falls onto the head of Ralph, who is holding an ice cream cone. As it falls on him, he inadvertently tosses the cone into the statue's eye. Then, in selected episodes from "How the Test Was Won" to "Moe Letter Blues", he says a few words after the head falls on him. The camera then weaves through several buildings and structures, featuring a "billboard gag" towards Springfield Elementary and zooms through the familiar window where Bart writes lines as punishment on the chalkboard. In the background, the wastebasket is now dark green instead of red. And the picture on the wall is Homer as an astronaut instead of George Washington. When the bell rings and Bart skateboards out of the school doors, plowing into a pile of leaves raked up by Groundskeeper Willie while landing on and exposing Barney who is buried underneath which also causes him to belch.

Homer is shown at the power plant, and in the background, Lenny Leonard is standing on a ladder changing the number of "days without an accident" on the sign from 2 to 3. When the end-at-shift whistle blows, Lenny falls off the ladder onto Carl Carlson who is securing the bottom of the ladder, and as in the previous opening sequences, the green uranium rod falls into Homer's clothing as he leaves. The scene changes to Marge at the supermarket checkout with her older twin sisters, Patty and Selma. Among the products Marge is buying is Tomacco juice, Mr. Sparkle detergent and Krusty-O's cereal. Maggie is scanned, and the price doubles from $243.26 to $486.52, before she is put in the shopping cart. When Maggie pops her head out of the paper bag, Marge looks relatively calm and does not panic, unlike in the previous sequences. Maggie shakes her fist at Baby Gerald, who is beside her in another shopping cart, and Baby Gerald shakes his fist too. At band practice, Mr. Largo dismisses Lisa, who plays a solo as she leaves and then pokes her head back in the door to finish it. One notable difference from the previous opening sequences is Sherri and Terri, who are texting messages instead of playing their flutes. Another one is that Bart's classmates Martin and Wendell appear in the background. Also, Lisa's saxophone is now gold like during almost every episode instead of light blue, and she is occasionally depicted playing a different instrument (trumpet, harp, etc.).

Homer is then shown driving home and discards the stuck uranium rod out the window; it lands in Otto's lap and he eats it. Bart skateboards past Otto before weaving through several townspeople: a machete-swinging Sideshow Bob, Helen Lovejoy, Apu and his octuplets, Moe, Comic Book Guy, Disco Stu, the Crazy Cat Lady, the Rich Texan and Chief Wiggum, who shakes his baton at Bart as Bart crosses the road. Hans Moleman pokes his head out from a manhole, which slams down on him when Marge drives over it in her car. Marge is now driving an orange station wagon instead of a red sedan, reflecting the change in the show. Maggie is shown in a booster seat in the middle while Grampa sleeps next to her. When Marge and Maggie honk their respective horns, Grampa is startled awake and his dentures fall out.

The camera then pans across Springfield and then cuts to the driveway scene. Unlike the other two opening sequences, Marge's car now hits Homer and carries him on the hood until it stops short, flinging him ahead to smash a Homer-shaped hole through the door. The couch gag is shown before the credits are displayed on a new, wall-mounted widescreen plasma television, which sometimes falls off and breaks or (in some episodes) the credits are presented in another way.

Notably, in "Take My Life, Please", the loud belch of Barney's when Bart plows into him is cut. The belch was added in the sixth HD episode, " Wedding for Disaster".

In the 500th episode, the opening sequence was a montage of all previous couch gags.

Some episodes since season 22 do not feature an opening sequence at all, instead it cuts from the clouds to the start of the episode.

Season 30 was the first season to not include shots of the family on their way home. Season 32 was the first season to only include chalkboard gags, the driveway scene and couch gags, and Season 33 was the first season to exclude the chalkboard gags at the beginning of each episode.

Development and variations

Creator Matt Groening developed a lengthy opening sequence for the first season of ''The Simpsons'', in order to cut down on the animation necessary for each episode, but devised the two gags as compensation for the repeated material each week. In the first of the original gags, the camera zooms in on Springfield Elementary School, where Bart can be seen writing a message on the chalkboard. This message, which changes from episode to episode, has become known as the "chalkboard gag". The other gag is known as a "couch gag", in which a twist of events occur when the family meets to sit on their couch and watch television. Groening, who had not paid much attention to television since his own childhood, was unaware that title sequences of such length were uncommon by that time. The episode "Bart the Genius" was the first to feature the series' full title sequence. The theme, which plays over the sequence, was composed by Danny Elfman in 1989, after Groening approached him requesting a retro-style theme. The piece, which took two days to create, has been noted by Elfman as the most popular of his career.

The season two episode " Bart Gets an 'F" featured a revised opening sequence and a rearranged version of the theme, which was shortened by fifteen seconds from its original length of roughly 90 seconds. The opening sequence for the first season showed Bart stealing a "Bus Stop" sign; whilst the new sequence featured him skateboarding past several characters who had been introduced during the previous season. Starting with this season, there were three versions of the opening: a full roughly 1-minute-15-second-long version, a 45-second-long version and a 25-second-long version. This gave the show's editors more leeway. The current arrangement of the theme by Alf Clausen was introduced in season 3.

"Take My Life, Please" was the first episode of ''The Simpsons'' to air in 720p high-definition television, though not the first time ''The Simpsons'' appeared in high-definition, as ''The Simpsons Movie'' was rendered in HD. This episode was the first to feature the new opening sequence. It was the first major permanent change to the show's introduction since the opening added in season two; previous changes have included variations in the duration of the intro, and special one-shot introductions for the '' Treehouse of Horror'' Halloween episodes, as well as a handful of others. This new intro also includes some 3D animation when the camera pans over Springfield. ''The Simpsons'' creator Matt Groening told the '' New York Post'': "The clouds at the very beginning of the main title were always unsatisfying to me. My original direction to the animators was to make the clouds as realistic as possible, and as we go through the clouds we enter this cartoon universe of ''The Simpsons''. Finally, after a couple of decades, they've gotten closer to what I had in my mind. Not perfect, but better."

The two original variations were further expanded to these variations:
* Something different flies past the show's logo in the clouds at the start of the intro (since 2009).
* The billboard in front of the elementary school changes (since 2009).
* Bart writes something different on the chalkboard in every episode.
* Lisa may play a different solo on her saxophone (or on a different instrument entirely).
* Homer's scream changes as he dodges Marge (first two seasons only).
* The Simpsons attempt to sit on the couch as something goes awry in an often surreal manner.
* In the 2009 intro, Ralph says something different when the head of Jebediah Springfield falls on him (selected episodes in season 20 and season 21).
* At the end of the sequence, the TV set sometimes comes loose from its wall mount and smashes on the floor (since 2009).

Billboard gag

The billboard gag is a running visual joke added to the opening sequence with the updated 2009 high-definition opening. In the gag, a billboard is seen on the roof of the building across the street from the elementary school as the camera pans through the town. The billboard changes every episode. The first episode with a billboard gag was "Take My Life, Please" where the billboard says "Krusty: Now Doing Funerals".

Chalkboard gag

The chalkboard gag is a running visual joke that occurs during the opening credits of many episodes. In this gag, Bart Simpson is writing lines on the chalkboard as a punishment; when the school bell rings, he immediately stops writing and runs out of the classroom. The phrase he writes on the chalkboard changes from episode to episode. Chalkboard messages may involve political humor such as "The First Amendment does not cover burping", pop culture references such as "I can't see dead people" ('' The Sixth Sense'') and "I was not the sixth Beatle", and meta-references such as "I am not a 32-year-old woman" (in reference to Bart's voice actress Nancy Cartwright) and "Nobody reads these anymore". When possible, Bart is shown deliberately disobeying the line that he is writing on the chalkboard (e.g. squeaking chalk when asked to write "I will not squeak chalk", putting in ditto marks for "I will not cut corners", showing dis-coordination with "coffee is not for kids", or putting "I will finish what I sta" for a single line). In ''The Simpsons Movie'', the gag, "I will not illegally download this movie", is a reference to piracy. In MyPods and Boomsticks, the couch gag was the family finding Bart writing "I will not bring the chalkboard home" on a chalkboard in front of the couch. The animators are able to produce the chalkboard gags quickly and in some cases have changed them to fit current events. For example, the chalkboard gag for "Homer the Heretic" reads, "I will not defame New Orleans." The gag had been written as an apology to the city for a controversial song in the previous week's episode, which called the city a "home of pirates, drunks and whores". Another such chalkboard line gave the creators' stance on the threats made towards another popular animated sitcom, ''South Park'', by the group Revolution Muslim, following the controversies with the episodes 200 and 201 and the depictions of Muslim prophet Mohammed (South Park- We'd stand beside you if we weren't so scared). Many episodes do not feature a chalkboard gag because they are cut to make more room for story, plot development and advertisements. In "Four Regrettings and a Funeral" (season 25, 2013), Bart writes "We'll really miss you Mrs. K" only once, in tribute to the recent death of Marcia Wallace, the voice of Edna Krabappel. In the first episode to air after Donald Trump won the United States presidential election in 2016, Bart writes "Being right sucks", a reference to the 2000 episode "Bart to the Future" where Lisa succeeds Trump as Commander-in-Chief. Chalkboard gags have not been featured since Season 33.

Lisa's solo

During the opening sequence, Lisa is seen being expelled from band rehearsal due to her non-conformist saxophone playing. She exits the room playing a saxophone solo, which (from the third season onward) sometimes changes. Some of the solos have similarities with pieces by Donovan, Frank Zappa, James Brown, and Charlie Parker. ''The Simpsons'' composer Alf Clausen said that the session musicians who perform her solos do not try to play at the second grade level and instead "think of Lisa as a really good player". Lisa plays the baritone saxophone, but according to Matt Groening, "she doesn't always play a baritone sax because the animators don't know what it looks like, so it changes shape and color from show to show."

After the switch to HD production, Lisa has also occasionally performed her solo on an instrument other than the saxophone. As of season 20, she has played a trumpet, a violin, a fiddle, a tuba, a baritone horn, a clarinet, a theremin, and a harp. In this last instance, she drags the instrument with her and continues playing once Mr. Largo orders her out of the room. Whenever she plays a different instrument, she takes it with her while riding home on her bike. Lisa's solo has been cut from opening sequences since Season 32.

Couch gag

The "couch gag" is a running visual joke near the end of the opening credits. The gag generally changes from episode to episode, and usually features the Simpson family's living room couch. A typical gag features the Simpson family running into the living room, only to find some abnormality with the couch, be it a bizarre and unexpected occupant, an odd placement of the couch, such as on the ceiling, or any number of other situations.

In the syndicated version for the episodes from seasons 1 to 5, the couch gag for the episode is usually replaced with the one from season five's " Rosebud" where The Simpsons find an exact double of themselves on the couch (though the syndicated versions of the later episodes retain their original couch gags).

The couch gag is frequently used to make the show longer or shorter, depending on the length of the episode itself. For example, longer couch gags have been used to fill time in shorter episodes, such as in "Lisa's First Word", "I Love Lisa", "The Front (The Simpsons), The Front", "Cape Feare", "Fear of Flying (The Simpsons), Fear of Flying", "Monty Can't Buy Me Love",Hauge, Ron. (2007). Commentary for "Monty Can't Buy Me Love", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season'' [DVD]. 20th Century Fox. "Simpson Safari"Maxtone-Graham, Ian. (2009). Commentary for "Simpson Safari", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Twelfth Season'' [DVD]. 20th Century Fox. and "The Bart Wants What It Wants",Selman, Matt. (2010). Commentary for "The Bart Wants What It Wants", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Thirteenth Season'' [DVD]. 20th Century Fox. where the family dances in a kickline with women resembling The Rockettes. An extended couch gag was also seen in the first episode to use the new opening sequence, "Take My Life, Please", where the family chases their couch on a tour across the world. Another long couch gag was in the show's 500th episode "At Long Last Leave", showing a montage of previous couch gags.

Other versions

Live action

In 2006, the British television channel Sky 1 began advertising ''The Simpsons'' using a live-action recreation of the series' opening sequence directed by Chris Palmer. With the exception of the very first shot in which the logo appears out of the clouds, every piece of the opening is present in this version, with even multiple chalkboard and couch gags filmed. Attached to the end of this sequence is the message "Come home to ''The Simpsons'' on Sky One." The recreation was used instead of the regular opening sequence in the The Simpsons (season 17), season 17 episode "Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife", first broadcast on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network on March 26, 2006. The live-action opening had also become an Internet hit before it was aired in front of "Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife", and it was Groening's decision to use it. Al Jean commented in a press statement that he was "just amazed there are people who want to be known for looking like the Simpsons."

Christmas

A Christmas-themed version of the opening sequence was animated for the The Simpsons (season 18), season 18 episode "Kill Gil, Volumes I & II", which aired on December 17, 2006, and later re-aired with the season 20 episode "The Burns and the Bees", which aired on December 7, 2008. It begins with two lines of instrumental "Jingle Bells" ("Kill Gil, Volumes I & II") and "O Tannenbaum, O Christmas Tree" ("The Burns and the Bees") and then the normal theme music begins. This version is similar to the normal version, except for several key differences:

# Everything outside is covered with snow
# Bart's skateboard has been replaced with a snowboard
# Everyone is wearing winter attire
# Mr. Burns and Smithers have been replaced by a Ebenezer Scrooge, Scrooge-esque Burns and Ghost of Jacob Marley, Marley-esque Smithers, and there are several Christmas banners in the plant
# Lisa's saxophone solo is a jazz version of "Deck the Halls"
# Bleeding Gums Murphy, who is now deceased, has been replaced with Jasper in a Santa costume. Maude Flanders and Marvin Monroe, however, remain in the pan across Springfield
# Marge and Maggie's supermarket and car sequences have been cut

In the end, the couch gag is that the family sits on the couch and the camera then pulls out to reveal that the family was reflected in a Christmas ornament, which rests on a Christmas tree.

High-definition versions

A Christmas version of the sequence in High-definition appeared in the season 25 episode "White Christmas Blues", which aired on December 15, 2013. The entire sequence is similar to the 2009 opening, but is a retelling of ''The Night Before Christmas'' with a Christmas-arranged opening theme. Key differences include:

# Jimbo and Kearney saw off the star of the Christmas tree instead of the head of Jebediah Springfield and the star falls on Ralph who is licking a frozen pole
# When Bart snowboards out the school doors, he plows into a pile of snow shoveled by Groundskeeper Willie, exposing Grampa underneath as he holds a sign that says "Still warmer than nursing home"
# The plant has been replaced with Santa's workshop, Homer paints a cane and Lenny changes the number of "days till March 28, actual birth of Christ" on the sign from 94 to 93 before falling off the ladder
# Marge's supermarket has been replaced with a gift shop, Maggie is gifted, she stamps Baby Gerald as "defective", and two men take him away
# At band practice, Sherri and Terri play bells instead of flutes, and snow falls on Lisa after she finishes her solo
# Homer's car has been replaced with a snowmobile and Otto smokes on the cane when it lands on his lap
# Marge's car has been replaced with a dog sled, two more sleds come to her until Mr. Burns and Smithers' sled scares the other mean sled away, and Maggie imitates Marge's rope throwing
# When Marge's dog sled hits Homer and carries him on the front edge, he says "Merry Christmas" after being crashed into the back door

The first, second and eighth scenes of this sequence re-aired with the Season 32 episode "Sorry Not Sorry (The Simpsons), Sorry Not Sorry", which aired on December 6, 2020.

The second HD Christmas version appeared in the The Simpsons (season 26), season 26 episode "I Won't Be Home for Christmas (The Simpsons), I Won't Be Home for Christmas", which aired on December 7, 2014. Unlike the first HD Christmas version, Jimbo and Kearney's Christmas tree scene has been cut, the other key differences are as follows:

# When Bart snowboards out the school doors, he plows into the pile of snow shoveled by Groundskeeper Willie, who is being played by two polar bears
# At Santa's Workshop, Lenny changes the number of "days until Greek Orthodox Christmas" on the sign from 31 to 30 before falling off the ladder
# At Marge's gift shop, Maggie gives Baby Gerald a present to make him feel better
# At band practice, everyone plays "Jingle Bells", and Lisa gets completely covered in snow after she finishes her solo
# In Marge's dog sled scene, an Yeti, abominable snowman is seen in the background, and three more sleds come to her until Mr. Burns and Smithers' sled scares the other two mean sleds away
# When Bart bounces off his snowboard on Homer's head, he says "D'oh!"

The couch gag, in the end, features a message that reads: "Now for obligatory ''Frozen (2013 film), Frozen'' reference", before cutting to a snow couch, where Lisa, appearing as Elsa (Disney), Elsa, is sitting. Bart as Kristoff hits her with a snowball and she immediately creates a giant ice palace, with Bart stuck at the top. Homer appears as Olaf (Disney), Olaf, and bites his own nose, disappointed to discover it is simply a carrot.

The third HD Christmas version appeared in the The Simpsons (season 29), season 29 episode "Gone Boy", which aired on December 10, 2017, and later re-aired with the The Simpsons (season 30), season 30 episode 'Tis the 30th Season", which aired on December 9, 2018. This time, it is a Santa's workshop-themed version. The following key differences are:

# When Bart snowboards out the school doors, he crashes into Frosty the Snowman, who was built by Groundskeeper Willie
# At Santa's Workshop, Lenny changes the number of "Bricks and Mortar stores remaining" on the sign from 24 to 23 before falling off the ladder
# At band practice, everyone plays "Deck the Halls" (Tis the 30th Season" only)
# In Marge's dog sled scene, an Christmas elf, elf is seen in the background, and four more sleds come to her until Mr. Burns and Smithers' sled scares the other three mean sleds away ("Gone Boy" only)
# In Tis the 30th Season", the shots of the family on their way back to 742 Evergreen Terrace have been cut

In the end, there are two couch gags. In "Gone Boy", the family pops into popcorn sitting on a hot couch, and are threaded onto a garland that is hung around the Christmas tree. Tis the 30th Season"s couch gag is a spoof to ''Star Wars'', where Bart cuts off List of Star Wars creatures#Wampa, Wampa Homer's hand while they and the rest of the family say "Merry Christmas!".

''The Simpsons Movie'' and callback

A completely different sequence was created for ''The Simpsons Movie'' and features an orchestrated version of "The Simpsons Theme" as adapted by Hans Zimmer. The cumulus clouds are displayed in 16:9 television aspect ratio, with black matte bars at either end of the screen. As "The Simpsons" logo appears out of the clouds, Professor Frink flies past in one of his inventions carrying a banner marked "MOVIE" and proclaims "Moo-vie! On the big screen!" (On the movie's DVD menu he says, "On the small screen!" when the menu appears, but then "On the big screen" during the actual opening sequence.) Frink bumps one of the matte bars out of view, and the other one recedes as the camera zooms in on the town, with several major landmarks popping up. The scene changes to Montgomery Burns, Mr. Burns, who collapses under the extra weight of the toothpaste on his toothbrush, which is dispensed by Smithers. The camera then zooms past Springfield (The Simpsons)#Moe's Tavern, Moe's Tavern into the Kwik-E-Mart where Apu is secretly changing the expiration date on a carton of milk from 2006 to 2008. The camera cuts to Springfield Elementary where Jimbo, Dolph and Kearney are hoisting Martin Prince up a flagpole by his underwear and saluting it as if it were a flag. The camera then zooms through a window of the school where Bart is doing the chalkboard gag which is "I will not illegally download this movie", a reference to piracy before quick-fading to the popular 90s band Green Day who are hosting a concert at Lake Springfield, playing The Simpsons Theme#Green Day version, their rendition of "The Simpsons Theme".

"He Loves to Fly and He D'ohs" was the first new episode to air following the release of ''The Simpsons Movie'', and the episode's opening sequence is a callback to the film. Bart writes "I will not wait 20 years to make another movie" on the chalkboard and skateboards through Springfield, which is still recovering from the dome incident. Several movie characters reappear, including President Schwarzenegger, the Multi-Eyed Squirrel, Colin, Russ Cargill, and the Medicine Woman. Also seen is that the Simpsons' house is still under construction and the silo is strapped to Homer's car. List of recurring The Simpsons characters#Plopper, Plopper the pig is also featured for the first time in the series, during the couch gag and Homer refers to him as "my summer love".

"Tik Tok"

A special opening sequence, featuring the cast lip dubbing to Kesha's single "Tik Tok (song), Tik Tok", was animated for the season 21 episode "To Surveil with Love", which aired on May 2, 2010 to promote "Fox Rocks" week. This is the first canonical episode in the show's history that does not feature "The Simpsons Theme" in any capacity, apart from "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". The sequence starts with Lisa waking up and then grabbing Milhouse's glasses. It then shows Groundskeeper Willie brushing his teeth with whiskey. He then gives it to Mrs. Krabappel who drinks some while they walk into school before Mrs. Krabappel grabs Willie and drags him into a classroom. In the hallway Sherri, Terri and Martin are having pedicures while Ralph is playing in the lost and found box. Principal Skinner and Superintendent Chalmers walk past. The three bullies stick their heads out a classroom and blow up a phone causing coins to explode out of it. Then it shows the music room. Then the bus where Otto falls over. It then shows Nelson singing before showing inside Moe's bar where a group of people are fighting. Marge comes and drags Homer out of the bar and into her car where they drive home. It then pans over a few characters. Marge and Homer then come in where Lisa, Bart (dressed like a rapper) and Maggie are waiting. They all run into the living room and sit on the couch before a number of characters lift them up. The family then falls asleep.

''Breaking Bad'' parody

An homage to the AMC (TV channel), AMC drama ''Breaking Bad'' is used as an opening sequence for the The Simpsons (season 24), season 24 episode "What Animated Women Want", which aired on April 14, 2013 and is set to the tune of "Crystal Blue Persuasion" by Tommy James and the Shondells. The song is also used during a montage in the ''Breaking Bad'' episode "Gliding Over All", in reference to the blue-colored methamphetamine produced by the show's central character Walter White (Breaking Bad), Walter White.

The sequence opens with a parody of the ''Breaking Bad'' title card, with ''The Simpsons'' displayed across the screen with the symbols for Thorium (Th) and Silicon (Si) appearing at the beginning of each word. Marge, aping the downtrodden demeanor of Walter's wife Skyler White, Skyler, sits on the couch drinking coffee. She goes into the kitchen to begin baking cupcakes, using food coloring to turn the Batter (cooking), batter blue and adding frosting and sprinkles in other shades of this color. She places one batch in a silver briefcase, which she gives to Bart before he leaves the house. Homer, dressed in the dark hat and sunglasses Walter dons for his "Heisenberg" persona, sneaks a taste of the batter while Marge is baking and is later woken from a nap by the smell. The scene cuts to a church bake sale, where Marge sells a cupcake to Milhouse as Homer watches from a distance. Back at the Simpson house, Marge runs her earnings through a currency-counting machine, bundles the money, and adds it to a large pile on the dining table. The camera zooms out to reveal a live-action scene (taken from the episode "Hazard Pay") of Walter White and his partner Jesse Pinkman sitting on a couch drinking beer and watching the sequence on a TV.

''Futurama'' parody

The crossover episode "Simpsorama" from The Simpsons (season 26), season 26, which aired on November 9, 2014, begins with a parody of the ''Futurama'' Futurama#Opening sequence, title sequence, which includes the ''Futurama'' theme music and the text reading "A show out of ideas teams up with a show out of episodes." It ends with a couch gag with the Simpsons sitting on the couch, only to find out the couch is actually Hedonismbot.

''Adventure Time'' parody

The The Simpsons (season 28), season 28 episode "Monty Burns' Fleeing Circus", which aired on September 25, 2016, features a couch gag that is a parody of the ''Adventure Time'' opening recreated with characters from ''The Simpsons''.

"Bart Gets the Remote"

Used as an opening sequence for the The Simpsons (season 28), season 28 episode "Dad Behavior", which aired on September 25, 2016. The sequence opens as usual, until Bart skateboards out of the school and lands on the pile of leaves. He wakes up Barney in the process, who then grabs his skateboard and breaks it in half, forcing him to walk home.

At work, when Homer drops his tongs, the glowing rod bounces into his mouth, causing him to swallow it, before collapsing. At school, when Largo dismisses Lisa, she hits the door with her saxophone and collapses; the saxophone then falls on her. Next, when Maggie is seen at the steering wheel, when the camera zooms out, it reveals that she is actually driving the car while Marge is sleeping in the backseat. She then wakes up, just when the car drives off a cliff and through a barn. In the process, a hen gets in the car, and is sitting next to Maggie, clucking, before she sticks her pacifier into its mouth, before driving them all into the lake, where the car sinks. Marge and the hen then surface, but Maggie does not. Finally, the couch is shown, and Bart walks into the room, alone, carrying his broken skateboard. After calling around for his family, but getting no notice, he takes their pictures and puts them on the couch as he sits there, remarking that he gets the remote.

Underwater

The The Simpsons (season 29), season 29 episode "Singin' in the Lane", which aired on November 19, 2017, features underwater themed opening sequence, with all of the characters including the Simpson family depicted as sea creatures.

This sequence begins with the title "The Shrimpsons" zooming through the water while Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish, Blinky the three-eyed fish swims by. The scene zooms toward a hole in the sunken ship to an underwater classroom where Bart is writing lines ("We don not live in our own pee") on the chalkboard as punishment. The bell rings, and Bart rides a sting ray out of another hole in the ship, scaring away the fish covering Barney's skeleton.

Homer is shown at an underwater lab, handling a green glowing fish, while Lenny changes the number of "days until global warming" on the sign from 3 to 2. The end-at-shift whistle that blows scares him and Carl away, and Homer gets out of his underwater gear. The scene then changes to an underwater store, where Maggie is bagged and put in a shopping cart, Marge gets shocked, and Maggie pops her head out of the bag. Maggie then shakes her fin at Baby Gerald in another shopping cart, and Baby Gerald shakes his fin too. At band practice, Lisa is dismissed by Mr. Largo and plays a solo on her instrument while leaving, then she pokes her head through the seaweed to finish it.

Otto is then seen as an anglerfish chewing on his own light and Bart rides past him before weaving through other characters. Hans Moleman is seen under a seashell which is then closed under him when a sea turtle goes over it. Marge and Maggie steer with sea stars to make the turtle go different directions. The camera then quickly pans to Homer arriving at the coral reef, Bart jumps off him, and Homer dodges Lisa while she carries her saxophone, then the sea turtle carries Homer on its head and crashes him into the coral reef. The family then swims into their underwater living room, which is decorated with coral, underwater plants, and other decorations that are from the coral reef, and sits on the couch. A fishing hook then grabs the couch with the family in tow, and is raised to the surface, where a human Ned Flanders grabs the couch and says, "Okily dokily!" as he places them inside a lobster cage. Once in it, Homer says, "Aw, our own home." A few lobsters are later seen crawling towards the family. The sequence then ends as usual with the opening credits on the underwater television.

Flanders

The Flanders-focused episode titled "Todd, Todd, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?" from The Simpsons (season 31), season 31, which aired on December 1, 2019, begins with the title "The Flanderseseseses" and cuts through the counter in the letter "R" to Todd Flanders doing a chalkboard gag. The scene then cuts to Ned Flanders, Ned at the supermarket checkout. Among the products he buys is Bland-O-Lake butter, White Bread for the Soul, a Devout People Magazine and Mild Rice. Ned then walks out of the supermarket with his products, and starts a "Food Kitchen for the Homeless". Then, Homer is seen on a tractor feeling sad, while Ned parks his car in his garage, before he walks in through a door in it. Ned, Rod Flanders, Rod and Todd run into their living room where their couch would be, but Ned says to Rod and Todd, "No couch boys, I gave it to the poor," and they cheer.

Guest-made versions

Banksy

British people, British Street art, graffiti artist and political activist Banksy is credited with creating the opening titles and couch gag for the season 22 episode "MoneyBart", in what amounted to the first time that an artist has been invited to storyboard the show. Jean first took note of Banksy after seeing his 2010 film ''Exit Through the Gift Shop''. According to Jean, "The concept in my mind was, 'What if this graffiti artist came in and tagged our main titles?'" ''Simpsons'' casting director Bonnie Pietila was able to contact the artist through the film's producers, and asked if he would be interested in writing a main title for the show. Jean said Banksy "sent back boards for pretty much what you saw." Series creator Matt Groening gave the idea his blessing, and helped try to make the sequence as close to Banksy's original storyboards as possible.

Approximately the first half minute of the opening sequence remains the same, with a few oddities: the word "BANKSY" is sprayed onto a number of walls and other public spaces. The chalkboard gag ("I must not write all over the walls") is written all over the classroom walls, clock, door, and floor. After the Simpsons arrive at home, the camera cuts to a shot of them on the couch, then zooms out to show this as a picture hanging on the wall of a fictional overseas Asian animation and merchandise sweatshop. The animation color quickly becomes drab and gray, and the music turns dramatic à la ''Schindler's List''. A large group of tired and sickly artists draw animation cels for ''The Simpsons'' among piles of human bones and toxic waste, and a female artist hands a barefoot child labor, child employee an animation cel, which he washes in a vat of biohazardous fluid. Small kittens are thrown into a woodchipper-type machine to provide the filling for Bart Simpson plush dolls. The toys are then placed into a cart pulled by a sad panda which is driven by a man with a whip. A man shipping boxes with ''The Simpsons'' logo on the side uses the tongue from a decapitated dolphin head to fasten shut the packages. Another employee uses the horn of a sickly unicorn to smash the holes in the center of ''The Simpsons'' DVDs. It is then revealed that the sweatshop is contained within a grim version of the 20th Century Fox logo, surrounded by barbed wire, searchlights, and a watchtower.

''The Simpsons'' is storyboarded at Film Roman, a company based in California. The storyboards, voice tracks and coloring instructions are then sent to AKOM, a company in Seoul, South Korea. According to Nelson Shin, the founder of AKOM, they received the storyboard for the sequence in August 2010. Believing the sequence to be "excessive and offending" he pushed for some of the darker jokes to be removed. He was successful, though "not nearly as much as he had pushed for." For example, in the storyboards, the workers were wearing conical Asian hats, but these were removed. Fox's standards and practices department also demanded a handful of changes, but, according to Jean, "95 percent of it is just the way [Banksy] wanted." Banksy told ''The Guardian'' that his opening sequence was influenced by ''The Simpsons'' long-running use of animation studios in Seoul, South Korea. The newspaper also reported that the creation of the sequence "is said to have been one of the most closely guarded secrets in US television – comparable to the concealment of Banksy's own identity." Although conceding to the fact that ''The Simpsons'' is largely animated in South Korea, Jean went on to state that the scenes shown in titles are "very fanciful, far-fetched. None of the things he depicts are true. That statement should be self-evident, but I will emphatically state it."

John Kricfalusi

After the positive response to the opening sequence by Banksy, creator Matt Groening and Jean came to Canadian animator and creator of ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'', John Kricfalusi and asked him if he could do something similar for the The Simpsons (season 23), season 23 episode "Bart Stops to Smell the Roosevelts". Originally, they only wanted him to do the storyboards and then let their regular crew animate it, but Kricfalusi insisted on doing the animation himself, explaining that "If we had done it that way, no one would even have known that I had anything to do with it because it would have ended up Model sheet, on model and all pose to pose". On ''The Simpsons'', the animators draws key poses and then let inbetweening, tweeners interpolate between those poses. The interpolation however, is a straight A-to-B animation. That way the animation ends up having the characters just going from pose to pose. Kricfalusi explains that "On ''the Simpsons'' I wanted to try moving the characters in crazy fun ways, not just looking funny each time they come to a stop", and further elaborated "that the way things happened was even more important than what was happening in my work. You can’t write visual performance. You have to actually draw it."

He showed Groening and showrunner Al Jean his Adult Swim shorts and Groening responded by giving him a free hand to do the 35-second-long segment. Groening told him to break all ''The Simpsons'' rules, but Kricfalusi explains that he "tried not to break any rules in the characters’ personalities, just in the execution of the visuals. I didn't follow any modelsnot even my own". The more rules he broke, the more pleased Groening and Jean were with the result. Contrary to Banksy, who lives a life in secrecy, Kricfalusi was involved in every detail and even oversaw the Dubbing (filmmaking), dubbing of the final soundtrack. While Kricfalusi animated the 2D parts, he had John Kedzie to help him with the computer graphics and Sarah Harkey and Tommy Tanner to do the assistant animation.

The couch gag for the episode, which had Homer demand a beer and Marge getting it for him, was critically acclaimed by television critics. Amid Amidi of ''Cartoon Brew'' calls the opening revolutionary and explains that "in 35 short and sweet seconds, he liberates the animation of ''The Simpsons'' from years of graphic banality." He continued: "The visual look of the show, which has been so carefully controlled by its producers, becomes a giddy and unrestrained playground for graphic play, and the balance of creative authority is shifted from the writers’ room to the animators in one fell swoop." When comparing the segment to Banksy's, Amidi concluded that it is "in fact, far more subversive because he focuses almost exclusively on making a pictorial statement, relegating the show's dominant literary elements to the back seat." Similarly, Television Blend's Katey Rich wrote that she appreciates "''The Simpsons'' always being willing to push the envelope in different ways", but admitted that "it's gonna take [her] some time to get the gangly-legged Marge Simpson and the leering Homer Simpson out of [her] brain."

Kricfalusi later animated the opening sequence for the The Simpsons (season 27), season 27 episode "Treehouse of Horror XXVI" where the Simpson children are trick-or-treating before being set upon by soul-hungry spirits with a monstrous Frank Grimes among them that skins Bart for his soul before Maggie saves him and Lisa. The spirits chase after the Simpson children to their home, and the Frank Grimes monster takes Homer's soul.

Bill Plympton

Bill Plympton has written and animated eight couch gags, one for the The Simpsons (season 23), season 23 episode "Beware My Cheating Bart" where Homer falls in love with the couch...until he meets Marge, one for the The Simpsons (season 24), season 24 episode "Black Eyed, Please" where Homer, Marge, Bart, and Lisa are in a 1930s gangster story, armed with several weapons which are revealed to be gifts once Maggie turns the light on, one for the season 25 episode "Married to the Blob" where Maggie changes the family's surroundings every time she uses the TV remote, cycling through several backgrounds with increasing speed and throws it at the TV to turn it on once they are back in the living room, one for the The Simpsons (season 27), season 27 episode "Lisa the Veterinarian" where the television and couch imagine themselves frolicking together until the power cord stops it short in midair and it crashes to the floor when the television tries to jump toward the couch, one for the The Simpsons (season 28), season 28 episode "22 for 30" where the family is crudely-drawn on the couch and each family member is subsequently drawn by the next oldest, ending with Homer holding a spare pencil and a donut in his non-drawing hand, one for the The Simpsons (season 29), season 29 episode "3 Scenes Plus a Tag from a Marriage" which is a new version of his 1987 film ''Your Face'' with Homer's face as a replacement, one for the The Simpsons (season 32), season 32 episode "Manger Things" which depicts Homer's head turning into the family and the living room, and one for the The Simpsons (season 34), season 34 episode "One Angry Lisa" where the rug becomes a vortex and eats the Simpson family, before they come out of Homer's mouth and Homer belches after the rug flips over.

''Robot Chicken''

The couch gag for the The Simpsons (season 24), season 24 episode, "The Fabulous Faker Boy", which aired on May 12, 2013, was stop-motion animated by Seth Green's Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, which also works on the television series ''Robot Chicken''.

Guillermo del Toro

Guillermo del Toro directed the 3-minute opening sequence for the season 25 episode, "Treehouse of Horror XXIV", aired on October 6, 2013, which contained numerous references to horror and science fiction, including his own films.

Sylvain Chomet

The couch gag for the season 25 episode "Diggs (The Simpsons), Diggs", which aired on March 9, 2014, was directed by Sylvain Chomet. It depicts the family running to the couch until the lights go off. Marge leaves to fix the fuse, and when the lights go up, the characters are drawn ''The Triplets of Belleville, Triplets of Belleville''-style and everything has a French aesthetic to it. Bart plays with a do-it-yourself foie gras kit, Lisa plays an accordion, Marge cries out, "Maggie? Où est Maggie?" and Homer gets up and eats a snail off the TV, oblivious that Maggie is stuck between his butt cheeks.

Michał Socha

The couch gag for the season 25 episode "What to Expect When Bart's Expecting", which aired on April 27, 2014, was directed by Michał Socha. It depicts the family taking a nightmarish trip through Homer's body, eventually settling on a couch formed from his brain.

Don Hertzfeldt

The couch gag for the episode "Clown in the Dumps", which aired on September 28, 2014, was animated by the Academy Award-nominated surrealist animator Don Hertzfeldt, who was recommended to the show by Mike B. Anderson. It depicts Homer using a time-traveling remote control to regress to The Simpsons shorts, his original 1987 character model from The Tracey Ullman Show then accidentally going into a distant future incarnation of the show called ''The Sampsans'' where he and his family have evolved into grotesque, mindless, catchphrase-spouting mutants, which also say to 'buy their merchandise'. Homer (now named 'Homar') sees a window, triggering memories of when the show was more pure and genuine, and where in one of the three flashbacks, Marge says 'Still love you Homar'. Homer feels sad when he returns to the bastardized world he lives in. Al Jean deemed it "crazier than we thought" and "the most insane one we've ever done".

Pixel art

The opening sequence for the episode "My Fare Lady", which aired on February 15, 2015, was done in a pixel art style, created by Australian animators Paul Robertson (animator), Paul Robertson and Ivan Dixon. Jeremy Dower, an Australian musician, created a chiptune version of the main theme song, which was used in this version.

''Rick and Morty''

The couch gag for the episode, "Mathlete's Feat", which aired on May 17, 2015, features Rick and Morty from the Adult Swim series ''Rick and Morty''. The couch gag was written by Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland. The episode with George H. W. Bush, George Bush was mentioned by them.

Steve Cutts

The couch gag for the episode "Teenage Mutant Milk-Caused Hurdles", which aired on January 10, 2016, features guest animator Steve Cutts' "LA-Z Rider" with over 14 million views on YouTube. Fox had anticipated low viewing figures due to the NFL overrun pushing the start of primetime to 8:20 p.m. Despite this, the episode was the highest viewed of The Simpsons (season 27), season 27 with 8.3 Million views.

Eric Goldberg

The couch gag for the episode "Fland Canyon", which aired on April 24, 2016, was created by veteran Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney animator Eric Goldberg (animator), Eric Goldberg. It depicts the family as different Disney characters with Maggie as 1920s-era Minnie Mouse, Lisa as Cinderella (Disney character), Cinderella, Marge as Snow White (Disney character), Snow White, Homer as Baloo, and Bart as Fantasia (1940 film)#The Sorcere's Apprentice, Sorcerer's apprentice Mickey Mouse.

Parodies within the show

The opening sequence has been parodied within seven episodes of ''The Simpsons'':
* A short parody as ''The Thompsons'' in the episode "Cape Feare", when the Simpsons go into a witness protection program to evade Sideshow Bob.
* As ''The Hurricane'' in the episode "Hurricane Neddy". Gray clouds appear, and the words "The Hurricane" in red letters come out in the same manner as the real opening. Similar vocals sing "The Hurricane", and then the letters are blown away to show parts of Springfield being destroyed.
* In "Simpsons Bible Stories", Bart is writing a chalkboard punishment in hieroglyphics when he hears Moses/Milhouse Van Houten, Milhouse's horn being blown and leaves the classroom.
* As ''Three weeks later'' in "The Heartbroke Kid". Instead of writing on a chalkboard, a now overweight Bart is seen buying and eating chocolate from a vending machine. He cracks the pavement when he leaves the school, bends a lamppost, runs over pedestrians, hits Marge's car, sending it spinning off-screen, and crushes the roof of Homer's car, before stumbling into the living room having a heart attack.
* In "Little Big Girl", Bart is awarded a driver's license. Bart is seen at the chalkboard writing "So long suckers". He bursts through the school doors in Homer's car, instead of on his skateboard, and speeds away. Instead of dodging all the obstacles seen in the standard opening sequence, he runs them over. As Homer pulls into the driveway and steps out to enter the house, the other car lands on him, and Bart walks into the house.
* As ''The Outlands'' in "At Long Last Leave". In place of the chalkboard, Bart uses spray paint to vandalize a wall before leaving in a motorcycle. The family return home in a variety of ramshackle vehicles, before settling down on the couch to watch a sleeping fox.
* In "The Burns Cage", while Mr. Burns and Smithers are about to skydive out of an airplane, they fly over some clouds containing the yellow text from the opening sequence. The choral singing of "The Simpsons" briefly starts but then fades out as the letters disappear from view.

Reception

The opening sequence has multiple times been picked as one of the best title sequences of all time on TV. In a 2010 issue of ''TV Guide'', ''The Simpsons'' opening title sequence ranked #1 on a list of TV's top 10 credits sequences, as selected by readers.Tomashoff, Craig. "Credits Check" ''TV Guide'', October 18, 2010, Pages 16-17 In 2017, James Charisma of ''Paste (magazine), ''Paste'''' ranked the opening sequence #1 on a list of ''The 75 Best TV Title Sequences of All Time''.

References

Bibliography

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpsons Opening Sequence
The Simpsons, Opening sequences
Film and television opening sequences
Articles containing video clips
Running gags