Well, while die hard “The Simpsons” fans have already been told they’re going to have to wait at least 10-15 years for another big screen outing, the show continues to soldier on, recently wrapping up its 24th season. But it looks like the show is still trying to surprise, and in a move we thought would never happen, it’s going to crossover with another Fox animated hit, that owes its success to the Springfield family.
TVLine reveals Peter Griffin and the clan from “Family Guy,” are going to leave Quahog, Rhode Island, to visit Homer and his family in Springfield, No Specified State, in an episode to air in fall 2014. According to the site, the story will find Peter and Homer “drinking brews and debating whether Duff or Pawtucket is the better beer” while “Stewie is charmed by Bart’s old-school mischief; Lisa makes it her mission to find Meg’s talent (good luck with that!); and Marge and Lois become bosom buddies.” What? (Also, no Brian?).
This is almost as weird as that time Homer and Ned became friends. We’re mostly curious to see how these comic sensibilities mesh, since “Family Guy” tends to favor button-pushing-let’s-throw-to-the-AIDS-joke humor while “The Simpsons” tends to be wittier and more intellectual (for lack of a better word). Can this even work? Guess we’ll find out, and we have to say, it’s a savvy move on Fox’s part, because even those vehemently against the idea will still tune in out of curiosity.
Or course, this isn’t the first time “The Simpsons” has done a crossover episode. In the sixth season, Jon Lovitz‘s character from the short-lived, but excellent, “The Critic” dropped by “The Simpsons” to be on the jury of a film festival in the episode, titled “A Star Is Burns.” But that gambit worked, not only because the characters in the episode acknowledged the crossover directly, but also because both shows shared a similar voice, thanks to ‘Simpsons’ writers Al Jean and Mike Reiss, who left to work on that program.
Anyway, we’ll see how it all works out. But what do you think? Is this synergy gone too far?