After years of public squabbling among the creative teams, in-episode jabs and incalculable frat house arguments about which show is better – Fox has confirmed that The Simpsons and Family Guy will appear in an hour-long crossover this September.
Aside from the fight - which we can only pray will approach
the levels of sheer gratuitousness reached in Peter’s bouts with the Chicken
that gave him a bad coupon - according to the synopsis, the episode will focus
primarily on the two families making friends and playing nice.
Peter
(Seth MacFarlane) and the Griffins get out of dodge and end up in Springfield,
where they are greeted by a friendly stranger named Homer Simpson (guest voice
Dan Castellaneta), who welcomes his new “albino” friends with open arms. The
families get along famously: Stewie (MacFarlane) becomes obsessed with Bart
(guest voice Nancy Cartwright) and his old-fashioned pranks; Lisa (guest voice
Yeardley Smith) takes Meg (Mila Kunis) under her wing and is determined to find
something – anything – at which she excels; Marge (guest voice Julie Kavner)
and Lois (Alex Borstein) ditch housework for a little bonding; and Peter and
Homer fight over the best beer in town – Pawtucket vs Duff.
Guess that leaves Brian to get a drink at Moe’s and get run
over again by Mr. Burns.
My love for both programs aside, the sort of bonding session
implied in this synopsis makes me think this special will either come across
like an extremely tame episode of Family Guy or an extremely recent episode of
The Simpsons that focuses heavily on its guest stars. But with that said, I am sure that this will be a huge
ratings win for the network and will feel a lot more special than your average
season premiere.
All the material for a classic is certainly there and both
programs have amazing track records when it comes to doing specials, as
evidenced by everything from Family Guy’s Star Wars specials to The Simpson’s
recent (and excellent) Lego episode. We will likely also get some good cutaways
jokes too…
As you might expect, considering the differences of taste
and form that exist between the two programs and their hardcore fan bases, so
far reactions have ranged from the extremely excited to the apathetically
uncertain.
Here’s looking forward to a summer filled with good conversation
about the crossover that brings out interesting opinions from passionate fans
of both programs. If there is a little negativity in the mix, well then I guess
all these years of making jokes at one another's expense has finally caught up
with the creative teams of both The Simpsons
and Family Guy.
People who say Family Guy is betterthan The Simpsons are the kind of people you don't need in your life.
Along
with the crossover special, Fox also showed off a new Simpsons app
made with FX Networks that will allow fans to stream all 552 episodes of the
show on their smartphones or tablets. The new app will be available in August,
coinciding with The Simpsons' syndicated debut on FXX, FX's new
comedy-centric spin-off network. To celebrate, the network will air all episodes consecutively
in a 12-day marathon starting on August 21st and continuing into September 1st.
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