Imagine a world in which you can watch, search, and share anything from every The Simpsons episode, ever. If you were Homer Simpson, the dim-witted but lovable (and alcoholic child-strangler) father on the 25-year-old animated sitcom created by Matt Groening, you might drool at the prospect.
For the rest of us, though, we might explode with glee with the upcoming Simpsons World, an app and service that will indeed contain every single episode of The Simpsons, ever, in a searchable and share-able format. Now you can finally use official clips to add meaning and cultural relevance to every one of your reddit comment threads with ease.
There are 552 episodes of the long-running show, enough to show for 12 entire 24-hour days back to back (like network FX will be doing starting August 21, 2014). That’s a significant chunk of anyone’s life.
What makes Simpsons World such a, ahem, world-changer, is the power of the internet and the database the episodes will be a part of. You’ll be able to browse every episode right int a web browser, but also search things like your favorite Simpsons joke, or all the clips that feature Nelson saying, “Ha ha!” The power! You’ll also be able to create your own playlists of episodes or scenes — “Treehouse of Horror” playlists, anyone?
You’ll even have access to an in-depth episode guide that you can open up alongside the video of the episode, which will provide you with historical references, behind-the-scenes info, quotes, and the like. You can even have the script scrolling along as you watch; perfect to decide which bits of the script you’d like to excerpt and share, as well.
Sadly, you’ll still have to authenticate to the app with a cable subscription if you want to see the full episodes, just like FX’s current FXNow service. Seriously, cable companies need to start dealing with the reality of cord-cutting. You’ll be able to see clips on the site or on social media without authentication, though, which sounds like a pretty great loophole.
The app itself will appear on iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets, Apple TV, Samsung, and game consoles from Microsoft (Xbox One and Xbox 360), at least to start and should be available in October.
Now you just need to decide how much or your life you’re willing to give up to watch all this yellowy goodness.
