'Simpsons' Come Alive Sunday's episode will feature live-action opening
LOS ANGELES -- "The Simpsons" has featured hundreds of show-opening "couch gags" over its long life, from a giant Monty Python foot squishing the family to Homer, Marge and the kids being beamed in, "Star Trek"-style.
One thing the show has never done, though, is have actual, five-fingered people end up on the couch. That will change Sunday (March 26), when the couch gag -- and the entirety of the show's opening sequence -- is re-created by live actors. (At least in the United States; "Simpsons" fans in Canada, for reasons FOX didn't elaborate, won't get to see the sequence.)
The meticulously reproduced segment comes to the show courtesy of British network Sky One (which, like FOX, is part of the News Corp. empire). It was created for a "Simpsons" marketing campaign in the United Kingdom and has been flying around the Internet on countless blogs and sites like YouTube.com.
The show's producers, including creator Matt Groening, liked the bit, and so it ended up as the beginning to this week's episode. "I'm just amazed there are people who want to be known for looking like the Simpsons," executive producer Al Jean says.
The live-action opening has a few subtle differences from the original: The nuclear material Homer discards when he leaves work doesn't bounce up into his shirt (although live Homer does still chuck it out his car window later), and Maggie doesn't pop up in a grocery bag after being scanned. And, as it was filmed in the U.K., Marge's car is equipped for driving on the left side of the road (though Homer's, oddly enough, isn't).
The animated portion of Sunday's episode will have a British flair as well. It was written by "The Office" creator Ricky Gervais, who also guest-stars.