Old Simpsons Opening… Who WAS There?

On February 15, 2009, THE SIMPSONS began regular TV broadcasts of new episodes in High Definition. Happy 1st anniversary, HD Simpsons!

It brought about a long-overdue change in the opening title sequence of the show. It is now more elaborate and features more characters… MANY more characters! The vast majority of them appear to the naked eye as little more than a BLUR… if that!

In THIS POST, with the aid of single frame advance while viewing my Simpsons Season 20 DVD set, you can learn who we missed.

But, what about the OLD OPENING, that served us well for nearly 20 years?

Here’s the run-down on who you missed in the zip-pan for that sequence, taken in similar fashion from my Simpsons Season 12 DVD.

As we pan over, from left to right – to the Simpsons garage where Homer is nearly run over just before the “couch gag”, we see:

Mostly, there are lots of kids – the vast majority of whom were never named.

Beyond that, we had Milhouse, Nelson, Martin Prince menaced by Jimbo and Kearney (but missing Dolph), an older couple in front of a house (the Bouvier parents?), with Patty and Selma sunbathing (Yuck!) in front of that same house, Kent Brockman, Purple Girls Terri and Sherri, Grandpa Simpson, Jasper, and (for some reason) “The One-Armed Guy” at the Springfield Retirement Castle with other old folks, Cops Ed and Lou, Dr. Marvin Monroe consulting with Dr. Hibbard, Otto and the Springfield Elementary School Bus up on a jack with its hood open, more unidentified kids gathered around, one of Rod and Todd Flanders (and not the other) with Maude Flanders receiving Doves of Peace!

And now, as a famous radio commentator who was often satirized on FREAKAZOID! once said, you know the rest of the story…