Simpsons Channel

When he started work on the first season of The Simpsons, Mike Reiss thought the show would last six weeks. “We thought we were just doing it to amuse ourselves and six weeks was about the lifespan of a quirky, offbeat show,” he said. Reiss didn’t tell anyone what he did because he was ashamed to be writing for cartoons. Seventeen seasons and four Emmy’s later, Reiss is still part of the Simpsons’ fraternity. On the Gold Coast yesterday to address the Screen Producers Association of Australia’s conference, Reiss admits to being surprised when the show is praised for its topicality. Given that each episode takes eight to 12 months to make, he says, “the show is one of the least topical shows on television” and its makers do not set out to be subversive. “Our point of view is always just to be the funniest we can on any topic.”

“TV gets a little more outrageous all the time. Someone will pitch an episode one year and we’ll think we’ll never do it. Then a couple of years later we’ll do it and it airs without a ripple. We did the episode where Homer smokes medicinal marijuana. Fox said they wouldn’t air it. We said ‘OK, show a blank screen’. They finally aired the episode and there wasn’t one complaint.”

There are still plans for a movie, but it may be a while yet. “We’re taking our time with it,” Reiss said. “Unlike the Bewitched movie, we decided to have a script first.”

SOURCE: Sydney Morning Herald