Last night’s couch gag on The Simpsons might go down as one of the oddest in the history of the series. The 26th season opener propels the “Sampsans” into a grey null space of protoplasmic, shriek-talking figures and might just be mainstream America’s first real introduction to Oscar-nominated animator Don Hertzfeldt.
The deliberately off-putting (and lengthy) clip blends live-action and animation while pitch-shifting the voices of The Simpsons clan beyond recognition (although I kind of think Yeardley Smith is voicing the tentacled Marge). Set in the year 10,535, it’s like Hertzfeldt boiled off all of the joy from the long-running animated series and skimmed the broadest cultural signifiers off the top. Then had aliens animate it.
Read more here at The Nerdist: All Hail the Lord of the Twin Moons: A Look at Last Night’s SIMPSONS Couch Gag