Another week, another couch gag on The Simpsons. It’s business as usual … Except that this week’s couch isn’t a gag so much as a full-blown 1980s action movie fantasy streaming directly out of Homer’s brain and into yours.
The 90-second short, which opens the upcoming episode Teenage Mutant Milk-Caused Hurdles, is the the title sequence to a fictional show called LA-Z Rider, where a muscular, casual suit-wearing Homer fights crime with his teammate/ride, the Simpsons’ couch. Bart, Lisa, Marge, and Maggie all get a brief moment to shine, of course, as do many of Springfield’s familiar faces, including Lenny, Carl, Patty, Selma, Sideshow Bob, Spike, and a seriously chiseled Ned Flanders.
It touches on all those iconic ’80s cliches: pastels, giant cell phones, Miami, and large sunglasses. And of course, the whole thing is set to the tune of “Scarface (Push it to the Limit)” by Paul Engeman n… Ok, it’s really just a loose re-telling of Scarface. Except there’s a couch! And virtual reality!
We don’t know about you, but we would watch a whole show made like this.
The Simpsons has resorted to longer, more sensational couch gags in recent years, invoking everything from Minecraft, to Game of Thrones. The show has also handed over the reins to celebrity artists to play with the form, such as Banksy and Ren and Stimpy creator John Kricfalusi. The show has taken to even bigger swings this season, getting in the news by splitting Homer and Marge up (for an episode), and creating the first non-Treehouse of Horror Halloween episode. Of course, after 27 seasons, you do whatever you can to keep things fresh.
The “LA-Z Rider” couch gag, followed by the new Teenage Mutant Milk-Caused Hurdles episode, will air Sunday, January 10 at 8 p.m. EST.
