Video: The grimmest “Simpsons” title sequence ever

To cleanse the palate, the media kerfuffle du jour. Seriously now — is this really that controversial? It’s shocking the first time you watch it simply because it’s so different in tone from the standard madcap opening sequence, but people are treating it as some sort of semi-serious indictment of Fox’s operations. It isn’t; if anything, it’s a goof on the most alarmist suspicions about those operations. Here’s a CNN video from a few years ago on how South Korean animators bring “The Simpsons” to life; as dungeons go, their set-up’s pretty sweet. And here’s Al Jean, one of show’s executive producers, trying to explain to the Times this afternoon that the dark humor here is, after all, still humor.

Q. Were you concerned that what he sent you could get the show into hot water?
A. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about it for a little bit. Certainly, Fox has been very gracious about us biting the hand that feeds us, but I showed it to Matt Groening, and he said, no, we should go for it and try to do it pretty much as close as we can to his original intention. So we did. Like we always do, every show is submitted to broadcast standards, and they had a couple of [changes] which I agreed with, for taste. But 95 percent of it is just the way he wanted…

Q. Has Banksy’s criticism made you reconsider any of the ways you do things at “The Simpsons” in terms of producing the show or its merchandise?
A. I have to say, it’s very fanciful, far-fetched. None of the things he depicts are true. That statement should be self-evident, but I will emphatically state it.

Exit question: Why would Fox approve a goof this sinister at its own expense? Exit answer: When was the last time anyone had reason to talk about “The Simpsons”?

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