Would The Simpsons Be As Succesful As They Are If The Characters Aged?

[Mr. Dejan]

Now the Simpsons have been running for 20+ years now. With 457 episodes its the longest running sitcom of all time.

My Question is, "Would The Simpsons Be As Successful As They Are If The Characters Aged?"

I personally think they wouldnt. If they had aged Bart would be 30, Lisa would be 28 and Grandpa Simpson would probably be dead.

I think because they didnt age they became more relatable to people. For example if you started watching the Simpsons when they first started you'd probably be able to relate to some of the older characters Homer,Marge and Ned.

But say if you started watching as a child in say 2000 you're more likely to be able to relate to Bart, Lisa or Milhouse.

Even if the characters did age this would allow for new characters to be created, Ones that aren't used once every 5 years but regulars like Moe,Krusty and Dr Hibbert.

Your Thoughts?

 

[Dagger Dias]

It depends on which type of successful you mean. There is no way it would have lasted 20+ years if the characters aged.... however it would have continued to be relatable if the characters didn't stay the same all this time. Would Bart have matured? What would a talking version of Maggie in every episode be like? Those are just two of countless questions that would need to be answered if the characters aged in the Simpsons.

I believe that the show should not have had the characters age and the version we have been watching all these years is just fine. We know what to expect and although it is a shadow of its former self, it is still an extremely successful show and makes a lot of money. We do not know how that would have worked if the characters aged. People could have grown sick of it by the time Bart got to college, and like Dejan said he would be 30 now. New younger characters would have to replace the kids currently on the show, and we all know how adding new kids to a show is NEVER a success, no matter if the show is done with real actors or in a cartoon form.

Seeing a version of the Simpsons where everyone aged could have been a cool idea, but it was a smart move for the developers to not go that route because the show could quite possibly be around forever in the form it's in now. People know what to expect and they just need to focus on retaining their fanbase, which is fairly large, and that will guarantee that the series might never end.

 

[future admin]

There are a few episodes of The Simpsons were you see Bart and Lisa's futures, but it would not at all be good if Maggie was 20, bart was 30 and Lisa was 28, It would most likely be finished by now in the fact that nobody would watch it, Characters like Mr Burns, Krusty, Moe, Grandpa Simpson etc probably wouldn't be on it, and Homer and Marge would be old, voice-overs would have to change just about everything would have to change. Although, I wouldn't mind maybe 1 or half a season seeing all of them 20+ years older

 

[Theo Mays]

That is definitely an interesting concept. I don't really watch the Simpsons, but I think making them age would play a different role on the show. They could make it like that of a real TV show with all the problems kids go through throughout the course of their life. Things lie drugs, alcohol, sexual cravings, etc...

I do believe it would have some success, but I doubt it would have lasted this long, as things would get repetitive and many people would lose interest in a grown up Bart and Lisa with a college going Maggie and Homer moving towards retirement (if it lasted up until present time).

 

[Kashagi]

I do believe that The Simpsons would not be made still if they had taken this approach. However that isnt to say it would be bad, in fact The Simpsons ageing could have provided some amazing moments in the show. Perhaps Lisa or Bart could get married at some point, imagine all the buildup to that, including meeting the girl or lad, as well as the slow perhaps yearly build up of the relationship. In the past we have had characters die in The Simpsons, but never anyone particularly significant. People have mentioned Abe Simpson's inevitable death, I think that could be a particular touching moment, perhaps a beautiful moment between Father and Son, including an appearence from Herb even.

Though I would not kill off Mr Burns, if his mother can live to be so fucking old so can he.

 

[simpsons_fanatic742]

I don't think The Simpsons would be near as successful as they are now if they decided to age the characters throughout the series. The mystique of the show is knowing that they'll always be that age and if they were to age you would probably have to see role characters disappear as well, which would be terrible because as everyone knows, The Simpsons world is huge and the supporting characters are what really make the show great.

Now I know that we are taking about aging physically, but if you have followed The Simpsons since its inception you would notice that in the fact the characters have grown. Yes physically they look the same and technically they remain the same age, but they go through maturation periods and it seems like they are aging, but without looking like they are. One example is the episode where Bart starts selling t-shirts. The beginning of the episode Bart realizes that he's growing up and he's not a kid anymore and this leads to him releasing his toys and burning them with a magnifying glass. Bart was maturing and growing out of his kid state, but without technically aging.

Plus, by having the characters age it just would seem like The Simpsons. We come back every season expecting Bart to go to school and have Mrs. Krabappel as his teacher, we expect Maggie to still be the cunning baby who is always in the right place at the right time, and we expect the supporting characters to be in the same position in life. That's the show and changing it would completely change the landscape of The Simpsons universe. Besides, with the episodes where they show the character's future it gives us a glimpse of what it would be like without having to actually go that route full time and it gives us a look at what the characters would be like in the future. So, in the end, although the characters age without showing it, aging the characters physically would not have been the correct route to take.