[S1E6] The Yellow Couch !!BETTER!!
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.
[S1E6] The Yellow Couch
This sequence opens with the show's title in yellow approaching the camera through misty cumulus clouds[1] in a dark blue sky. The shot cuts through the counter in the letter "P" to an establishing shot of the town of Springfield.
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.
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.[3]
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.
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.[4] 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".[5] 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.[5] 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.[4] The episode "Bart the Genius" was the first to feature the series' full title sequence.[4] 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.[6]
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.[5] Chalkboard messages may involve political humor such as "The First Amendment does not cover burping",[12] pop culture references such as "I can't see dead people" (The Sixth Sense)[13] 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). [5] 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".[14][15] 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.[16] Chalkboard gags have not been featured since Season 33.
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",[19] "I Love Lisa",[20] "The Front",[21] "Cape Feare",[22] "Fear of Flying",[23] "Monty Can't Buy Me Love",[24] "Simpson Safari"[25] and "The Bart Wants What It Wants",[26] 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.
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."[27] The recreation was used instead of the regular opening sequence in the season 17 episode "Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife", first broadcast on the Fox network on March 26, 2006.[28] 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.[29] 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."[30]
The couch gag, in the end, features a message that reads: "Now for obligatory Frozen reference", before cutting to a snow couch, where Lisa, appearing as 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, and bites his own nose, disappointed to discover it is simply a carrot.
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 Wampa Homer's hand while they and the rest of the family say "Merry Christmas!".
"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.[31] 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.[32] Also seen is that the Simpsons' house is still under construction and the silo is strapped to Homer's car. 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".[33] 041b061a72