It’s not quite the same with regular live-action stock footage, is it? The Simpsons have been such a huge part of American culture for so long that just about everyone that’s ever watched the show knows how the opening of the program goes and could probably tell others what happens move for move and in some cases might even be able to nail it down to the second. It’s not much of a surprise though that this can’t translate all that well to real-life since some of the things that go on in the intro aren’t exactly safe, but they could be recreated in a very practical way just to give the same effect. But then it would be specialized footage and not stock footage that came pretty close to the intro as it appeared. The couch scene though, that iconic scene that a lot of people have always waited for when it comes to watching the intro, that’s hard to replicate since The Simpsons have made this into something of an art form given how many different ways that one scene has been filmed. Stock footage isn’t too bad, but it doesn’t give nearly the same feel as the program does since the characters and the way they move are what people are expecting, from Bart writing something different on the chalkboard to Maggie being swiped over the checkout lane and Lisa playing a different tune as she’s kicked out of music class.
For so long this program has been a part of America’s desired entertainment that it’s almost a little too difficult to think of even trying to piece it together using stock footage since there’s bound to be plenty of stuff out there to use, but very little of it is really going to capture the moment in an effective manner. The fun and advantageous part about stock footage and pictures is that there’s a lot of material out there to use, but a downside is that one has to go searching for a while to really find what will work for them. Even if moments are found it’s likely it won’t be entirely accurate and might send mixed messages. But whoever put this together did a pretty good job since the general idea of The Simpsons can easily be seen throughout the clip and it’s not hard to note each moment that goes by and how it relates to the intro.
When you think about it, the intro has never really needed to change that much since people have accepted it for so long that by only changing a couple of things now and then it’s been possible to keep people happy since they’ve gone on to enjoy every new episode that comes out. In fact, the few things that do get changed tend to enhance the experience quite a bit since they show that the showrunners are paying attention and are willing to keep the people entertained by putting up new material that they might enjoy. The one part of the intro, the couch scene, is something that people have been appreciating for a while now since each new addition to this scene has been pretty funny and cool to watch. Sometimes an intro to a show will change, lengthen, shorten, or be cut down to a simple instrumental piece that shows the required number of credits before launching into the episode. Some shows use cold opens before getting into the credits, thereby eliminating the traditional intro, and to be fair, everything that’s been done to this point has worked for various fans that know what they want to see. But the intro to The Simpsons has always possessed certain elements that don’t change and elements that are subject to change quite often. This is one of the best things about the show, and while it’s strange to praise the intro so much, The Simpsons is one of those few shows that people can’t help but talk about largely because of the intro and how much it’s influenced the show over the years.
It’s still kind of up in the air it sounds like when talking about how much longer the show is going to be around, but it’s likely that many fans would love to see it last for a lot longer. Others might be thinking that it’s finally time for The Simpsons to take the final bow and admit that it’s been a long and successful run, but it’s time to simply call it good and move on. That almost sounds like something that people might think is blasphemous in a way, but it’s definitely a thought that might need to implemented eventually. Until then, people will keep enjoying the show as much as possible and will no doubt continue to laugh at the changes that are made to the intro now and then.
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