The Aesthetic Splendor of “The Simpsons”

On the off-chance any Simpsons fans here haven't seen it yet, Frinkiac [0] is a really fun tool (and generally cool project) that makes every shot of the series searchable by dialogue.

[0] https://frinkiac.com/

The color palette they tend to stick to always reminds me of EGA graphics (1987) - although the color choices in The Simpsons (1989) are a bit more refined than what's available in the default EGA palette.

EGA allows for redefining the default 16 color palette from a choice of 64 colors. They look quite Simpson-ish to me:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_Graphics_Adapter#/med...

Related:

"Why did DOS games never use anything but the default EGA palette?"

https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?t=31882

The author's description of the experience of being able to linger over a particular scene reminds me of why I like video game music so much. When I'm listening to the Breath of the Wild soundtrack, I engage with the game in what I feel is a much deeper way.

Or when I'm watching clips of television shows on YouTube. Attention is compressed and highlights and expands parts of the experience in an almost richer and denser way than the first watch or playthrough.

I wish copyright holders would loosen up some when it comes to derivative works and be freer with licensing deals. Every single engaging story and game world could have an order of magnitude more audience attention if we could let loose the young would-be creators of the world at them.

I have recently had a long-time fandom of the show turn into a personal obsession, that’s even grown into infecting my friends.

We discuss who wrote the episode, analyze the balance of writing and visual gags, identify voice actors - on and on. I have a strange and personal passion for it.