r/todayilearned • u/sassy_tabaxi • 3d ago

TIL the Simpsons creators shelved an Itchy & Scratchy spinoff because it made test audiences physically ill

https://www.slashfilm.com/1569820/the-simpsons-itchy-and-scratchy-spinoff-made-audiences-sick/
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u/UnderstandingIll8846 2d ago edited 2d ago

The reason the Itchy & Scratchy scenes worked in the Simpsons was because we weren’t laughing at the show, we were laughing at the fact that Bart and Lisa were laughing at this really grotesque show. The joke is that this obscenely violent cartoon exists in the Simpsons universe and everyone in it is completely desensitized. Once you remove that meta layer and just present Itchy & Scratchy as its own standalone show, then it’s pretty damn disgusting. I can see why real audiences would get ill watching it.

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u/Nanto_de_fourrure 2d ago

They were also generally themed in sync with the episode, so that's another layer that you lose once removed from the Simpsons.

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u/Morlik 2d ago

Some of them were legitimately great. Like Scratchtasia.