I'm sure a lot of members on this forum remember watching The Simpsons at least some point in the 90's and 2000's.
I was born in 2000, so I remember the tail end of the show's run on BBC Two in 2003-04, the very beginning of it's run on Channel 4 in 2004-05, and also the 4 episode compilation tapes Fox released starting in April 1997.
Sky One, however, was my main outlet for the series, I remember very fondly the Domino's Pizza sponsorship they had until the junk food advertising ban came in 2008-09.
https://youtu.be/ze5mVUtAqa4
One thing I find very strange is how despite Sky One airing the episodes in the UK a week or two after their US premiere by S4 in 1992, the series didn't debut on terrestrial TV until November 1996, and the only VHS compilations done until 1997 were of pre-S4 episodes, which BBC Two didn't start airing the post-S4 ones until March 1998.
What are your memories of it?
I'm sure I remember The Simpsons appearing on Live & Kicking for a brief period during the Emma & Steve series
When The Simpsons got their terrestrial premiere in the UK, it was on BBC1 on a Saturday evening, before moving to BBC2 weeknights.
London Lite post_id=42726 time= user_id=953 Wrote:When The Simpsons got their terrestrial premiere in the UK, it was on BBC1 on a Saturday evening, before moving to BBC2 weeknights.
Yes I'm aware of that, when The Simpsons first aired it was repeated in the Sunday lunchtime slot on BBC Two, and remained even after it moved to weeknights on Two in March 1997.
Agree the terrestrial delay was very odd considering back then most US series which premiered on Sky found themselves on FTA within about six months.
PD post_id=42718 time= user_id=1887 Wrote:I'm sure I remember The Simpsons appearing on Live & Kicking for a brief period during the Emma & Steve series
yes it did. I think it was done as an attempt to boost ratings which unfortunately did not work.
As mentioned it started off on BBC one on Saturday nights then moved to BBC Two at 6PM on Mondays and Fridays with double or even triple episodes. It only went to 5 nights a week in early 2002
I think Channel 4 will be premiering season 29 this year.
Brekkie post_id=42728 time= user_id=976 Wrote:Agree the terrestrial delay was very odd considering back then most US series which premiered on Sky found themselves on FTA within about six months.
What's odd is that they never fixed it. Channel 4 is still three seasons behind to this day. They could've been showing two new seasons a year for a while (since it airs at least five times a week, that's easily doable, it only takes five weeks to air a full season) so they only end up one year behind. I think the explanation is that as Channel 4 gets the rights to a new season, an older one would revert to Sky.
Brekkie post_id=42728 time= user_id=976 Wrote:Agree the terrestrial delay was very odd considering back then most US series which premiered on Sky found themselves on FTA within about six months.
But The Simpsons was such a draw for Sky it's not perhaps surprising that they wanted to keep hold as it as an exclusive for as long as possible, certainly before the Premier League when it was their biggest selling point by some distance. Seemingly by 1996 they had enough else to allow them to loosen their grip on it a bit.
This is quite a dull observation, but just before it started on BBC1, in the autumn of 1996 they showed Muppets Tonight at 7pm on a Friday, followed by Top of the Pops at 7.25, and the week it finished, The Simpsons was on the next week page of the Radio Times, so I assumed it would inherit that slot, so when it turned out to be on Saturday teatimes I was quite surprised. Clearly the Muppets hadn't done the required business there (given two further episodes were burned off in daytime slots over Christmas). Of course it was initially opposite Sabrina The Teenage Witch, which ITV rushed onto the screen and I remember William Phillips in Broadcast saying it was almost certainly the first time US sitcoms debuted on BBC1 and ITV at the same time.
JAS84 post_id=42778 time= user_id=881 Wrote:What's odd is that they never fixed it. Channel 4 is still three seasons behind to this day. They could've been showing two new seasons a year for a while (since it airs at least five times a week, that's easily doable, it only takes five weeks to air a full season) so they only end up one year behind. I think the explanation is that as Channel 4 gets the rights to a new season, an older one would revert to Sky.
Not really as it's value to Sky was known by then. What was odd though was the supposed price tag of episodes that are four to five years old, but I guess even 17 years ago the repeat value of the show probably outweighed that of new episodes.
Steve Williams post_id=43184 time= user_id=1326 Wrote:But The Simpsons was such a draw for Sky it's not perhaps surprising that they wanted to keep hold as it as an exclusive for as long as possible, certainly before the Premier League when it was their biggest selling point by some distance. Seemingly by 1996 they had enough else to allow them to loosen their grip on it a bit.
I guess in the initial deal Sky had full rights then and either paid a premium to prevent the sale of FTA rights or bought those rights themselves, as usually back then the FTA deals were struck directly rather than sublet from Sky IIRC.
Obviously the prediction at the moment is a FTA component will remain should, as many expect, the pay-TV rights switch from Sky to Disney+.
Like many shows, well past its best but makes a profit somewhere so is kept going. BBC got rid at the right time.
My memories (and indeed my primary association) with the Simpsons is definitely off Sky One, during the "ONC" era, all the way through to the "dominoes" era (ironic, since Domino's stopped sponsoring it and a forum poster already mentioned it). It does surprise me a little bit as to why they never decided on moving The Simpsons to Sky Max but I guess the main reason is that Sky wants rid of the Simpsons in favour of... well, I dunno honestly. More repeats of shows that AREN'T the Simpsons?
I guess it's writing on the wall that Sky seemingly finds the Simpsons as a chore more than anything, pushing it aside to stay on 106 until they inevitably lose the rights, while Sky One simply moves down (yes, I don't consider Sky One as dead persay but just with a new fancy name) to 113 next to Comedy Central and rebranded as "Max".
Sky Showcase already lost Futurama, god knows when Showcase chucks Simpsons back to 4.
(27-09-2021, 03:34 PM)tellyblues Wrote: [ -> ]Like many shows, well past its best but makes a profit somewhere so is kept going. BBC got rid at the right time.
Who knows what barrels can be scraped between now and the time the show becomes unprofitable?
Actually, nearly ten years now since the publication of the TV Cream article featuring that line (derived, of course, from probably Troy McClure's best-known non-"You may remember me from..." quote). Brrrrr.
https://www.tvcream.co.uk/blog/pot-pourr...-simpsons/
I find the problem with it is that it doesn't feel like The Simpsons anymore, which I know is a vague thing to say, but until around the late 00s, it still felt like the same show and would make a splash with certain episodes (Tony Blair guest starring, the episode written by and starring Ricky Gervais). Now when I watch it, it feels like I'm watching something completely different - all these shoehorned cultural references and characters behaving out of sorts. If I catch a repeat and it's from after season 20 or so, I don't bother.
You're more tolerant than me, I struggle with pretty much anything past season 11... and season 11 (and a fair chunk of 10) itself is a chore.