David Cooper
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0005 - Maggie Simpson
🕑 Added 2021-08-06 08:09:47 +0000 UTC
I'm not gonna lie: I thought I was gonna have to break a rule to squeeze famously mute Maggie in this week.
As part of the sacred rules, I established that a character needs a line to be included in the official count. And as we all know, Maggie's first words aren't until season 4, episode 10's "Lisa's First Word", voiced by Elizabeth Taylor.
BUT NO! If you watch "Good Night", you'll find the last noise as everyone falls asleep is Maggie babbling something resembling a word. So she gets in just under the wire in our first week here.
Anyway, what's to be said about Maggie? Not much, I suppose, of the main five she is less of a "character" and more of a gag machine. As the father of a toddler myself, it's remarkable that 90% of the family's lifestyle isn't centred around her in some way, she should be constantly scheduled around and ensuring no one in the house gets any sleep.
But then again, maybe that's the joke (said like Ranier Wolfcastle.)
It's usually shown that Maggie is exceptional. That she's capable of amazing things - even attempted murder! - and is ignored completely. It's dark to think of Homer and Marge as especially neglectful parents, but scratch a little beneath the surface and that's how Maggie is used in the show, as a forgotten child doomed to live her life in obscurity as her chaotic family race through life around her.
Best to not think about it too much.
SO! It's been a whole week and we're finally at the end of the 2-minute-long first short. I am getting the impression this might take a while. Thanks for joining me on this journey! On Monday we'll get to see who the first non-Simpsons character to appear will be! Who do you think it is? And will they be popular and/or memorable? The answer will SHOCK AND AMAZE you.
This post is part of my "Every Simpsons Character Ever" series. For a list of my rules in this project, click here.
Thanks for checking out the first week! Next week will update every weekday again, but only for Patrons. If you've enjoyed this project so far, I hope you'll consider joining, because you are swell, clever and sexually attractive.
Comments
David Cooper
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: while the Simpsons on Disney+ is widescreen by default, you can switch it back to normal mode in the settings. That makes it back to the original presentation! Also: thanks!
Gavin Lowe
This has actually made me go back an revisit the series... I have the first 5 series on DVD.. Im not wathcing it via D+ because I heard the did something to the original picture... Anyway thanks for this Coop it's fun to follow and I love a bit of nostalgia.
David Cooper
Thanks so much for the kind words Joshua! This is becoming a really fun way to revisit the show in ridiculously granular detail, and I'm so happy people are joining me on this journey. SO I don't wanna spoil Monday's character but I will say this: you're on the right track for the first episode! But we still have 47 more shorts before we get to it. (Don't worry, most of the shorts don't feature new characters.)
Joshua Smith
Honestly haven't watched very many of the Tracey Ullman shorts, so I'm basing what I remember purely from the first episode. I'd say the next character would be either Mr Largo or Skinner? I think the first episode opens on a school play so one of those characters oddly make sense. I just wanted to say I love this series so far! I've always enjoyed your art style and how you view The Simpsons. Getting your insight on characters and getting to relive their history in this way is really great. Looking forward to more!
