Homer Simpson has accomplished a lot in his 27 years on the telly. Many of us didn’t think there was much left to do.
As 20th Century Fox puts it: “From becoming an astronaut to winning a Grammy and a Pulitzer, to destroying Springfield and even almost the world, it easier to list the things Homer hasn’t done”.
He’s never appeared live on TV though. Until now.
Sunday night’s (May 15th) episode, titled “Simprovised,” featured Homer answering phone calls from fans live on air for 3 minutes during both the east coast and west coast feeds US time. This will be the first time an animated show has attempted such a feat.
Thanks to improvements in motion capture technology, which Lisa admits “were around in the ’80s”, Homer has been beamed live into the living room (and onto the YouTube homepage) of every American, making the show interactive for the first time.
Simprovised was the 595th episode of the hit show and will conclude its 27th season. Homer suggests during the live broadcast that The Simpsons will “probably never end”.
The Simpsons exec producer Al Jean told Reuters:
“It’ll be immediately animated and broadcast with a background that we’ve already got and he’s going to take questions for three minutes, talk about events of the day.Who knows what’s going to be on people’s minds on May 15, but we’re going to cover it. I’m sure Donald Trump is going to say something stupid so the material’s already written.”
Everyone on Twitter is chatting about GOT and I'm like "ooooh, a live Simpsons Episode."
Shit. They're gonna be canceled, aren't they?
— Patrick (@Really_Bad_Egg) May 16, 2016
Wait, the Simpsons was on live tonight? I thought that was a terrible strain on the animators' wrists. https://t.co/jpcIiULiYJ
— The Tomfoolery of Professor John Frink (@Frustrated_Fan) May 16, 2016
Call @HomerJSimpson now, West Coast! #HomerLive #TheSimpsons https://t.co/WuTCcTRdhl pic.twitter.com/4F2u56wJtY
— The Simpsons (@TheSimpsons) May 16, 2016
Homer talks with fans live, TONIGHT! Tune in at 8/7c! https://t.co/WuTCcTRdhl #TheSimpsons #HomerLive pic.twitter.com/aJvuLzB5GQ
— The Simpsons (@TheSimpsons) May 15, 2016
