Suppose that The Simpsons had been made explicitly adult-oriented like Family Guy or South Park. Would the show had reached the same level of critical success that it did IOTL or would it have been shot down due to controversy?
Depends on if it still had its heartfelt moments like Mother SimpsonSuppose that The Simpsons had been made explicitly adult-oriented like Family Guy or South Park. Would the show had reached the same level of critical success that it did IOTL or would it have been shot down due to controversy?
Probably not.. . . Would the show had reached the same level of critical success . . .
Funny considering what Bill himself was getting away withIt wouldn't have lasted this long. It's surreal nature is what has kept it going (and was fairly relatable for most families in the beginning). To be blunt, it's comedy would just be too mean spirited if it were more adult (and would render it niche like Married with Children) and very likely may have been pulled by Fox after a period of time (this was close to the era of family boycotts getting shows pulled from broadcast television and anything even remotely edgy is going to hurt them in advertising revenue).
Ironically Bill Cosby thought it was too adult oriented and inappropriate for kids when it came out.
Ironically Bill Cosby thought it was too adult oriented and inappropriate for kids when it came out.
The irony of all Cosby statement...jejejejejeFunny considering what Bill himself was getting away with
Ironically Bill Cosby thought it was too adult oriented and inappropriate for kids when it came out.
Isn't that a bit like Harold Shipman telling Fred West he shouldn't have done all those murders?
It becomes much more niche like South Park. FOX becomes sports by day and adult entertainment by night for a while if it even scores the NFL at all - if not, it fades into obscurity in the 90s and maybe The Simpson’s gets picked up by the likes of Comedy Central.
That or Groening throws his lot into Futurama full-hog and becomes known as a writer for nerds.
I wouldn’t consider South Park to be niche. Nearly every single adult animated TV show since the 90s have been influenced by it in some sort of way.
Baseball helped fox a lot too, i think they scored both NFL and BASEBALL very easy here, helping them to get as you say segment of adult entretaiment by night“Niche” isn’t the word I wanted to say. It’s probably halfway between niche and mainstream - it’s not The Simpson’s but it’s also far more influential than, say, Rick and Morty or Aqua Teen Hunger Force. I don’t know what a good word for that is, but it’s probably where The Simpsons would end up, and if its absence from the mainstream convinces the NFL to steer clear of FOX, kiss the network goodbye.
Early Simpsons could be surprisingly heavy. For example, the third episode had Homer attempt suicide, and it wasn't played for comedy. I feel like if it had been more clearly an adult cartoon, it might've continued down that path, maybe becoming more of a dramedy. But that's just speculation on my part.