|
|
|
Couch OpeningsMaintained by Don Del Grande (ddelgran@snpp.com) Italian and French versions of this list are also available (click on the appropriate language). Episode numbers indicate the couch scene used when the episode was shown for the first time; in some cases, the one used in Canada is listed where it was "original" and the USA one was repeated; also, some episodes did not have a couch opening the first time they aired in the USA but did for subsequent airings The couch openings are also used in syndication except when marked: |
||
| * | 1F01 couch opening is used | |
| ** | See note below: | |
| 7F06 uses the 7F08 couch opening | ||
| 9F21 uses only 9F21a | ||
| 4F12 uses the video from the 8F24 couch opening, but the sound from the 4F12 couch opening; it is possible that the switch was made because 4F12 was the 167th episode to air, surpassing the 166 of The Flintstones as the most for a prime-time animated series | ||
| 4F19 uses the 3F23 couch opening | ||
| FABF12 uses the DABF02 couch opening | ||
|
|
||
| 7G02*, 7G07* | Bart is squeezed off and pops into the air; during the shot of the TV, he is seen coming down |
| 7G03*, 7G10* | The couch falls apart when everybody is on it |
| 7G04*, 7G13 | Homer is squeezed off his side of the couch |
| 7G06*, 7G12 | Maggie is squeezed off and pops into the air; she comes right down into Marge's arms |
| 7G09, 7G01 | Everybody fits on the couch |
| 7F03, 7F12, 7F22, 9F06* | The couch falls through the floor |
| 7F02, 7F13, 7F23 | The "Simpson Shuffle": everybody is in a line in front of the couch; they do two "Egyptian struts" (right arm up, left arm down, wrists at 90-degree angles) in one direction, then two in the other, then sit on the couch with arms in a "ta-da" position. |
| 7F01, 7F15 | The couch unfolds into a bed |
| 7F05*, 7F16* | Maggie ends up in Marge's hair |
| 7F08, 7F14* | Everybody fits, including Santa's Little Helper and Snowball II |
| 7F07*, 7F17* | Grampa is lying on the couch sleeping |
| 7F06**, 7F18 | Homer tips the couch over sideways; Maggie falls off, but lands on a couch cushion which is on the floor |
| 7F09, 7F19 | The couch is gone; everyone looks around the empty spot |
| 7F10*, 7F20* | Homer bumps the others off the couch |
| 7F11, 7F21* | The couch tips over backwards; Maggie pops up from behind it |
| 7F24*, 8F22 | The couch tips over backwards, and everybody crashes through the back wall |
| 8F01, 8F12 | They sit, then Homer pulls Santa's Little Helper out from beneath him |
| 8F03*, 8F14 | Everybody forms a pyramid |
| 8F04*, 8F16 | A space alien hears them coming, pulls a cord, and disappears through a trap door in the floor |
| 8F05, 8F15* | Bart lands on everyone's lap |
| 8F06*, 8F17 | Homer gets to the couch first and lies on it; the others sit on him |
| 8F07, 8F19 | The seat cushions are missing; when they sit, they "fall into" the couch |
| 8F08, 8F20 | Two burglars are holding the couch as everybody sits on it; they are dumped off and the couch is carried away |
| 8F09, 8F21 | Santa's Little Helper is on the couch and keeps everyone else off |
| 8F10, 8F23 | Everybody cartwheels to the couch (Maggie falls in her attempt and hops there) and strikes a "Ta-Da" pose |
| 8F11 | Everybody bounces up and down on the couch; Homer bounces from one side to the other |
| 8F13* | Everybody except Maggie bang their heads together and lie unconscious on the floor |
| 8F24 | Everybody stops as the couch is occupied - by the Flintstones |
| 8F18, 9F15* | The couch swallows everybody as it transforms into a monster |
| 9F01*, 9F12 | The couch rotates 180 degrees through a secret door in the wall; an empty couch takes its place |
| 9F02*, 9F14* | As Maggie is already seated, Homer, Marge, and Bart run "past the edge of the film" and scurry back to the couch |
| 9F04 | Simpson-sized skeletons sit on the couch |
| 9F03 | The couch deflates (as if filled with air) |
| 9F05, 9F17 | Everybody has somebody else's head, which they remove and switch |
| 9F07, 9F18* | There's a wooden chair in place of the couch; the adults share it, with the children on their laps |
| 9F08*, 9F13*, 9F16*, 9F22*, 2F08, AABF17, CABF13, DABF06 | Everybody forms a chorus line, which turns into a large production number |
| 9F09, 9F20 | Everybody is "miniature" and must climb the "giant" couch; Maggie has to be pulled up |
| 9F10 | Everybody sits, just before the room is filled with other regular characters |
| 9F11, 9F19 | Everybody gets caught in a net that was spread on the floor |
| 9F21a, 1F08, 1F21 | Everybody runs into each other and shatters on the floor; Santa's Little Helper examines the damage |
| 9F21b**, 1F11 | Everybody runs into each other and end up on the couch as a five-headed "blob" |
| 9F21c**, 1F09*, 1F20 | Everybody runs into each other and there's an explosion; eventually, the pacifier lands and bounces away |
| 1F02, 1F12, 2F33 | Everybody, plus the couch, is crushed by a foot that is reminiscent of how Monty Python's Flying Circus opens |
| 1F01 | Everybody stops as the couch is occupied - by an identical Simpson family |
| 1F04 | A Zombie Simpson family crashes through the floor from below and sits on the couch |
| 1F03 | The couch is painted on a wall, which everybody runs through |
| 1F05, 1F13 | A fat man takes up most of the couch; everybody squeezes into the tiny spot remaining |
| 1F06, 1F15, 2F04 | The room is dark as five pairs of eyes go to the couch; light reveals that it's only eyes, as eyeless bodies quickly enter, sit down, and reattach to the eyes |
| 1F07*, 1F19* | Everybody sits, then notice they're on the set of Late Show with David Letterman as "Dave" turns face forward |
| 1F10 | Everybody pokes their head up from behind the couch (Maggie does it from behind a cushion on the couch) |
| 1F14 | Everybody sees two couches, then they each split into two halves, each half sitting on a couch |
| 1F16 | Everybody is shaped like a ball and bounces around before landing on the couch and returning to normal |
| 1F18 | Everybody sits, then Homer gets up, rips the FOX logo from the screen corner, and they all stomp on it |
| 1F22, 2F12 | Everybody begins seated as if on an invisible couch; the couch comes in in pieces and forms itself atop them, causing them to fall to the floor |
| 1F17, 2F13 | The floor is well underwater, and only the tops of everybody's heads are visible until they reach the couch (Bart is using a snorkel) |
| 2F01, 2F14* |
Everybody is "beamed aboard" the couch in original Star Trek style (complete with sound effect)
The two episodes' couch openings are slightly different; 2F01 has the family initially appear as black "starry" images before "fading in", while 2F14 has them appear amidst a burst of light |
| 2F03 | Everybody enters with a mismatched head and limbs (for example, one of Bart's legs is now Lisa's right arm, and Lisa's arms are where her legs should be) |
| 2F05, 2F15 | Everybody bounces up off the couch and gets their heads stuck in the ceiling |
| 2F06, 2F18 | Everybody chases the couch as it, along with the back wall, moves backwards away from them |
| 2F07, 2F16 | Everybody runs by the same TV and couch again and again, all except Maggie grinning the whole time |
| 2F09, 2F19 | Everybody runs to the couch from a different side (Marge runs down the side of a wall) in an M.C. Escher-style house |
| 2F10, 2F21 |
The "James Bond" film opening, only with Homer in front of the couch firing the gun
The two episodes' couch openings have the same video but slightly different audio |
| 2F11, 2F22 | In black & white, everybody (wearing Mickey Mouse gloves) waves their hands in circles |
| 2F31, 2F32 | A giant Maggie, a slightly smaller Lisa, and so on down to a tiny Homer, sit on the couch |
| 2F20 | As the couch moves aside, everybody lines up in front of a police lineup height chart |
| 2F17, 3F12, 3F22 | The couch acts like a FAX machine, and a sheet with a picture of everybody (in couch-sitting position) comes up from the back and slides beneath it |
| 3F01, 3F13 | Everybody, including SLH, Snowball II, and Grampa, appear in eight squares "Brady Bunch" style (with the couch in the middle); all but Grampa run to the couch |
| 3F02, 3F14 | Everybody is wearing fezzes and drives around in minicars like Shriners |
| 3F03, 3F16 | Everybody runs to the couch, entirely gray; the colors are then spray-painted on them |
| 3F04 | Everybody drops from above, hanging from their necks by nooses; Maggie still manages to suck her pacifier |
| 3F05, 3F15 | Everybody is a wind-up doll |
| 3F06, 3F17 | Everybody is put on the couch by a pinsetter, after Snowball II is scared off by the pin-clearing bar |
| 3F08, 3F18 | Everybody is a sea-monkey and swims to a couch made of clam shells to stare at a treasure chest |
| 3F31 | A sequence of openings: 8F18, 9F02, 9F10, 9F09, 8F09, 1F02, 2F31, 2F09, 2F06, 1F17, 2F11, and 9F08 |
| 3F07, 3F19 | Homer pulls a drain plug from the floor, and everybody and everything is sucked down the drain |
| 3F10 | Everybody sits, then inside a mouse hole, a mouse family sits on an identical couch |
| 3F09, 3F20 | A big game hunter sits on the couch, with a "Homer-skin rug" on the floor and the others' heads on the wall |
| 3F11, 3F21 | Everybody sits, bathed in flourescent "black light", until Homer turns on the lamp |
| 4F02 | As Death begins on the couch, everybody runs up to the couch and falls over dead |
| 3F23, 3F24 | Everybody lands on the couch via parachute except Homer, who lands on the floor with an unopened chute |
| 4F03, 4F15 | Everybody is in western gear as they sit on the couch, when then gallops away into the desert |
| 4F05, 4F09 | Everybody is a clear balloon, which float onto the couch and then pop |
| 4F06, 4F12** | A takeoff on the cover of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band |
| 4F04, 4F19** | Bart is green; Homer changes TV channels, turning Bart red; Homer slaps Bart on the head, turning him normal |
| 4F01, 4F14,4F21 | Everybody and everything is upside-down, until everybody falls off the couch and onto the "ceiling" |
| 4F07, 4F18 | Homer puts a coin in the "Vend-A-Couch", then bangs the back wall; the couch then falls on him |
| 3G01 | Everybody flies in on jet-packs; Maggie flies in last and lands on Marge's lap |
| 4F08, 4F17 | Everybody is involved in a giant game of Whack-A-Mole; Homer ends up getting whacked |
| 4F10, 4F16 | Grampa is sleeping in a convertible bed, which they convert back to a sofa (with him in it) and sit on it |
| 3G03 | The couch remains empty while everybody waits outside as Homer struggles to open the front door |
| 4F11 | The couch is in an "America Onlink" window, which takes its time loading everybody before being interrupted |
| 4F13 | The couch is sliding on the deck of a ship; when everybody (in raingear) sits on it, they are covered by a wave |
| 4F22 | To the tune of "Sweet Georgia Brown", everybody enters dressed as Harlem Globetrotters |
| 4F23 | Everybody runs to the couch dressed in space suits; the couch then "lifts off" into space |
| 3G02 | Homer stands in front of the couch; the top half then comes off (and lands on the couch), revealing Marge, then Bart, Lisa, and Maggie |
| 5F02 | Everybody sits on the couch, then metal helmets fall on their heads and they are shackled in before being electrocuted |
| 5F01, 5F10 | Everybody has their rear ends on fire as they run to a water-filled couch |
| 5F03, 5F12, AABF05 | Everybody sits on the couch and is crushed into a rectangular block auto-crusher style |
| 5F04, 5F13 | Bart spray-paints everyone onto the couch, adding an "El Barto" signature |
| 5F05, 5F14 | Three men in towels are on the couch, which is part of a sauna |
| 5F06, 5F15, AABF06 | Everybody sits, then a human hand spins the picture around |
| 5F07, 5F16 | The couch is inside a snow globe |
| 5F24 | The floor is a treadmill; Homer falls and says "Marge, stop this crazy thing!" George Jetson-style |
| 5F08, 5F17, 5F20 | Nelson pulls the couch back, and everyone ends up sitting on the floor |
| 5F23 | Everyone is miniature (like in 9F09), only this time Santa's Little Helper takes Homer away in his mouth |
| 5F11, 5F18, AABF04 | Everyone is a frog (Maggie a tadpole) jumping to a lily pad; Homer turns on the TV with his tongue |
| 4F24 | A vine grows in the middle of the room; everyone appears as a fruit or vegetable |
| 3G04 | A takeoff on "Rocky & Bullwinkle" where everyone pops up from out of the ground |
| 5F09 | Everyone except Bart runs into Bart's classroom, where he writes "I Will Not Mess With The Opening Credits" on the chalkboard |
| 5F21, AABF16 | A number of Springfieldians are sitting in chairs in front of the couch, as if in a movie theater |
| 5F22, AABF12 | Two firemen carry the couch and catch everybody falling from above - except Homer, who falls through the floor |
| AABF01 | Freddy Kruger of A Nightmare on Elm Street and Jason of Friday the 13th sit on the couch and wonder where everyone else is |
| 5F19, AABF09 | Marge carries in a laundry basket and hangs the others on a clothesline |
| AABF02, AABF10 | The couch turns into an amusement park ride |
| AABF03, AABF11 | Everybody is put under a hair dryer and ends up with someone else's hair; the weight of Marge's hair causes Maggie to tip over |
| AABF07, AABF15 | The floor opens and everybody falls while "riding" it "Dr. Strangelove"-style |
| AABF08, AABF18 | The couch, floating on water, hits an iceberg and sinks; Maggie resurfaces on a cushion |
| AABF13, BABF08 | An adult Bart and Lisa and a young Homer (with a Maggie doll) and Marge go to the couch; Homer takes the remote from Lisa, but Lisa slaps his hand and he gives it back |
| AABF14 | Everybody slips on banana peels, but end up on the couch anyway (Maggie ends up in Marge's arms) |
| AABF20, BABF05 | The couch is a paper shredder; everybody ends up sucked into the couch and comes out in strips |
| AABF23, BABF14 | Everybody stops as the couch is occupied - by the Simpsons from The Tracey Ullman Show; all ten of the Simpsons run off screaming |
| AABF22, BABF18 | Everybody is white with numbers "paint by numbers" style; artists enter and paint in the colors |
| AABF21, BABF12 | Marge erases the Matt Groening signature on the floor; Matt appears and rewrites it (with his right hand) |
| BABF01 | Everybody appears as a character from a previous Halloween Special; Maggie disintegrates Lisa |
| AABF19, BABF13 | A bouncer lets everybody except Homer onto the couch |
| BABF02,CABF15 | A cement truck pours cement versions of everybody onto the couch; Homer breaks in two |
| BABF03, CABF05 | The couch rotates 180 degrees through the wall, replaced by Vincent Price with Ned Flanders shackled upside-down |
| BABF07 | Everybody slides down a fire pole - except Homer, who gets stuck in the hole in the ceiling |
| BABF04, CABF16 | Everybody is a crash test dummy; the couch crashes into the TV |
| BABF06, CABF10 | A psychiatrist is sitting next to the couch; Homer lies on it and says "Oh, Doctor, I'm crazy" |
| BABF09, CABF09 | Dressed in karate gear (with black belts), everybody chops up the couch |
| BABF10, CABF11 | Everybody (except Maggie) is driving a bumper car; Homer is bumped by the others against the back wall |
| BABF11, CABF17 | The couch is in Evergreen Terrace subway station; everybody gets aboard a train |
| BABF16 | Everybody (except Maggie) walks barefoot over hot coals |
| BABF15 | Everybody swings in on vines "Tarzan"-style; Homer swings out of the room |
| BABF19 | Bart puts a coin in the "magic fingers"; the couch vibrates its way off the screen |
| BABF20 | Bart puts a Whoopee Cushion under the couch seat, which Homer sits on |
| BABF17, CABF21 | Everybody freezes in mid-air as the camera pans "The Matrix"-style from the TV to the couch |
| CABF01 | Everybody (except Maggie) is dressed as one of the Teletubbies (and Maggie applauds as they enter) |
| CABF04, CABF14 | Everybody skateboards off a ramp onto the couch, except that Homer lands on the floor |
| CABF02 | Santa's Little Helper dances on his hind legs like Snoopy as everybody watches |
| CABF03 | The couch is in a fishbowl; everybody is wearing scuba gear |
| CABF06, CABF20 | Everybody is in a football uniform and piles on a football; Maggie leaves the pile and spikes the ball |
| BABF22 | Everybody lands on the couch via a Futurama-style tube, except that Fry is in place of (and is then sucked up and replaced by) Bart |
| CABF08 | In front of a "valet" sign, the "teenage kid" pushes the couch into place |
| CABF07 | Everybody ice skates to the couch; Homer's end of the couch falls through the ice |
| CABF12, CABF18 | The couch is outside a prison wall; everybody is dressed in prison clothes as they tunnel to the couch |
| CABF22 | Everybody jumps off a sailboat, which turns out to be the sailboat painting above the couch |
| DABF02, DABF12 | Everybody (except Maggie, replaced by a "7") is in the window of a five-reel slot machine |
| DABF01, DABF11 | A gardener trims a hedge into the shape of everybody on the couch |
| DABF03, DABF13 | A giant clamp (like on the prize machines in arcades) grabs Homer by the head and lifts him off the couch |
| DABF05, DABF16 | In black and white, Homer appears as Charlie Chaplin in silent film style, with the others as "extras" |
| DABF04, DABF14 | Two "Repo Depot" men take the couch away |
| DABF07, DABF15 | The pimple-faced teenager is making out with a girl on the couch |
| DABF09, DABF17 | Blue Man Group perform in front of the couch |
| DABF08, EABF10 | The couch opening is drawn as a flipper book in pencil, with the pages flipped by real hands |
| DABF10, EABF08 | Everybody is a marionette, and they run into each other; the puppeteer, Matt Groening, gives up in disgust |
| DABF22, EABF11 | Homer is on water skis, with the others on him, as he ski-jumps over sharks; everybody lands on the couch, but Homer is without his legs, which are in the shark's mouths |
| DABF20, EABF19, GABF13 | Homer goes through the Get Smart! opening, but when he falls through the bottom of the telephone booth, he lands on the couch (where the others are already sitting) |
| DABF18, EABF07 | The couch is drawn on a "Sketch-A-Etch" |
| DABF21 | A mouse cursor drags Homer from the left side of the couch to the right, changes the wall color to green, and replaces the boat painting with the Mona Lisa |
| EABF01, EABF09 | Homer uses the remote to switch everyone to the caveman era, then the Roman era, then back to the present |
| EABF02, EABF12 | Everybody is deep-fried in a fast-food fryer, then emptied onto the couch and salted |
| EABF03, EABF14 | In black and white, everyone is wearing early-20th-century clothing and is watching the TV from a girder at a construction site |
| EABF04, EABF15 | Everybody sticks their head through a wall of them sitting on the couch (but in different positions), which is photographed |
| EABF06, EABF16 | Everybody is picked up off the couch by a baby as if they were dolls |
| EABF05, EABF17 | Everybody and everything is gingerbread; Homer takes a bite out of Bart |
| EABF13 | Everybody is a mime, walking against the wind and then sitting on a non-existant couch |
| EABF18, FABF10 | Everybody grows old and turns into dust |
| EABF20, FABF11 | A Polaroid photo "ejects" onto the couch; it develops into a photo of the family |
| EABF22, FABF12** | There is a Play-Doh press on the back wall; it presses Play-Doh versions of everybody out onto the couch |
| FABF01, FABF15 | Everybody slides down "batpoles" and end up on the couch, in Batman-style costumes, in the "Batcave" |
| FABF02, FABF18 | The couch is a street bench in Japan, and everyone is a famous anime character (for example, Homer as Ultraman and Bart as Astro Boy) |
| FABF03, FABF13 | Somebody throws knives at the wall while everyone is seated on the couch |
| FABF04 FABF14 | Everybody is squeezed like frosting out of a pastry bag onto the top of a cake |
| FABF05 | Everybody's head pops out of a giant piece of apple pie |
| FABF06, FABF17 | A tray is placed into a microwave, and everybody rises from it |
| FABF07 | A woman throws some seeds into a plot of dirt where the couch usually is, and waters them; everybody sprouts up like plants |
| FABF09 | Everybody is a bag on a moving dry-cleaning rack, which stops over the couch |
| FABF08, GABF05, KABF02 |
The couch scene pans out until it reaches intergalactic space, where the galaxies
are replaced with atoms, which pan out until they reach Homer's head and then the
couch scene again
Actually, there are slight differences between the three; Homer says "Wow" in FABF08, "Cool" in GABF05, and "Weird" in KABF02; also, Kang and Kodos are heard laughing in GABF05 and KABF02 |
| FABF20, GABF11 | Everybody sits on the couch, which is outside - and which is catapulted |
| FABF19 | Everybody runs to where the couch is supposed to be, but isn't - because it then falls on top of them |
| FABF22, GABF14 | Everybody looks like Moe |
| FABF21, GABF15 | The couch is attached to a giant fish, which eats everybody |
| FABF16 | Without music, everybody enters and sits on the couch; Lisa says, "What, can't we sit on the couch without something happening?", and Homer is then harpooned |
| GABF01 | Everything is made of sand; everybody crawls to the couch and sits on it, after which everything collapses, revealing the desert sun |
| GABF02 | Everybody gets on top of one another in front of the couch, forming a totem pole |
| GABF03 | Everybody is a chess piece (Homer the King, Marge the Queen, Lisa the Knight, Bart the Rook, and Maggie the Pawn) and hops to the couch |
| GABF04 | Everybody is wearing an ice hockey uniform and skates around the couch; Homer carries the Stanley Cup (with Maggie inside it) |
| GABF06, HABF12 | The room is dark, except for a number of pairs of eyes; the lights come on to reveal a surprise party for the Simpsons as they approach the couch, causing Homer to collapse |
| GABF07 | "Homer" removes his Homer head mask, revealing himself to be Sideshow Bob, who then pulls out a knife and goes after Bart |
| GABF08, HABF08 | A roasting spit comes out of the wall and through the couch, while the floor opens up to reveal fire; the spit rotates the couch, and everyone on it, over the flames |
| GABF12, HABF13 | Five miniature vehicles enter, only to transform (literally) into the Simpsons |
| GABF10, HABF11 | The couch scene is a jigsaw puzzle, with the heads missing; two hands put the heads in place, then, noticing Homer and Maggie are switched, fixes them and says, "Woo-hoo!" |
| GABF09 | Everybody is a balloon which floats to the couch, except for Homer, who is popped by Snowball II |
| GABF18 | Everybody walks through a metal detector; after four failed attempts, Homer (who is stripped down to his briefs) is scanned by a security guard with a handheld scanning wand |
| GABF16, HABF05 | Six clay balls roll around the floor, eventually becoming the family - and Gumby |
| GABF19, HABF09 | Everybody sits on the couch, then the TiVo "Delete This Recording Now?" appears; when the show is "deleted", the screen goes black |
| GABF20, HABF16 | Springfield's couches (no to mention loungers, booths, and barstools) rise up against their masters |
| GABF21 | The living room is inside an "Earth Family" exhibit in a Rigelian zoo |
| GABF22 | The couch is replaced by a nest; a giant bird feeds Homer a worm |
| HABF02, HABF10 | A pair of animated hands deals five cards onto the couch; the jack (Bart), queen (Marge), king (Homer), and ace (Lisa) of diamonds, and a joker (Maggie) |
| HABF01, JABF10 | The couch appears on the front page of the Springfield Shopper under the headline "COUCH GAG THRILLS NATION" |
| HABF03, HABF14 | A photographer takes the family picture on the couch, which becomes a series of family portraits from 2006 to 2013; the 2013 photo has everybody as a robot |
| HABF04, JABF08 | The Bonanza opening, complete with its theme music |
| HABF06 | The couch enters on a conveyor belt; Homer is added by a mechanical clamp |
| HABF07 | Everybody has to crawl under lasers to get to the couch; after all of the lasers are turned off, Homer's head falls to the floor |
| HABF15, JABF11 | There are four chairs in place of the couch; everybody plays musical chairs |
| HABF18 | Everybody except Homer get on the couch, then "King Homer" reaches through a window, grabs Marge, and climbs to the top of a building while biplanes fly around them |
| HABF20, JABF09 | Ralph selects a Homer doll from a vending machine, and bites his head off |
| HABF21, JABF13 | The couch, and everyone on it, goes through a car wash |
| HABF19, KABF13 | Everyone is drag-and-dropped onto the couch, which is then drag-and-dropped onto a wastebasket; a computer menu item "empty trash" is then selected |
| HABF22, JABF07 | Everyone is a cockroach; when the lights turn on, they all scatter |
| JABF02 | Someone (who sounds a lot like Homer) makes paper dowls of everyone |
| JABF01, KABF21 | Everyone sits on the couch, which is reflected in an ornament on a Christmas tree |
| JABF03 | Everyone, plus the couch, is pinned to a bulletin board |
| JABF05 | Everyone is an infant until they reach the couch, then they revert to their normal ages |
| JABF04 | Everyone is a stand-up paper doll; a pair of hands puts clothes on them, after which they sit on the couch |
| JABF06, JABF18, KABF12 |
A single Homer cell starts dividing, then becomes a creature which eventually evolves
into present-day Homer
In JABF06, when Homer gets to the couch, Marge asks him what took him so long; in JABF18, she asks if he brought the milk |
| JABF12 | Two Simpson families end up sitting on the couch, with more Simpson families filling up the room, eventually overflowing the entire house |
| JABF20 | The pig from the movie is on the couch; as everyone sits, Homer holds it in his lap, calling it "my summer love" |
| JABF21 | Everybody and everything is made of Lego |
| JABF19 | Everybody except Maggie sits on the couch, then a giant hand grabs Homer; it turns out the couch is inside a dollhouse, and Homer was grabbed by the "real" Maggie, who puts him in her mouth |
| JABF22 | The couch, with everybody on it, is on the cover of Modern Couch Gag magazine |
| JABF17, KABF11 | The couch, with everybody on it, is inside a pop-up book |
| KABF01 | A magician makes the couch, and then everybody sitting on it, appear from out of nowhere |
| KABF03, KABF10 | A medieval tapestry shows Les Flanders taking away the couch of Les Simpsons, only for Les Simpsons to regain the couch (and Flanders, in pieces) in battle; the "Created By" and "Developed By" credits were part of the tapestry |
| KABF04 | The couch scene is on a painting, with the inscription, "Ceci n'est pas une couch gag." ("This is not a couch gag") |
| KABF05 | Everyone attaches themselves to a mobile hanging in front of the couch |
| KABF06 | The couch scene is on a Lite-Brite |
| KABF07 | Professor Frink puts drops of water onto five pills on the couch, which turn into spongy Simpsons; he needs a bucket of water to get Homer to full size |
| KABF08 | Wile E. Coyote paints a couch onto the wall, and everybody but Maggie runs into the wall; Maggie makes the Road Runner "Beep Beep" sound (and sticks out her tongue Road Runner-style) as Marge, Bart, and Lisa sit on the couch, but when Homer tries it, he crashes through the wall |
| KABF09 | Everyone is painted onto the couch with a giant paint brush |
| KABF17 | Everyone is encased in a block of carbonite (like Han Solo in The Empire Strikes Back) |
| KABF15 | Everyone is at the base of a mountain, on which is carved The Simpsons sitting on a couch |
| KABF14 | The couch, with everyone on it, is taken up into the air by a tornado, then lands on a farm, with everything in black and white |
| KABF18 | Everybody pops out of their own cuckoo clock |
| KABF19 | In ancient Pompeii, everybody is sitting on a stone bench, and gets covered in volcanic ash |
| KABF20 | Bart writes, "I WILL NOT BRING THE CHALKBOARD HOME," on a chalkboard in front of the couch |
| KABF22 | The couch is inside a box marked "COUCH GAG #429" (since it first appeared on the 429th episode); Comic Book Guy puts a "$19.99" sticker on it and then comments, "Worst Couch Gag Ever" |
| LABF01, LABF16 | Everyone discovers the couch has literally run off, and chase it through various sites worldwide, finally sitting on it while it is in space, after which it returns to Earth and crashes into the house |
| LABF02, LABF12, PABF05, | Everyone goes through scenes from The Honeymooners, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Brady Bunch, and Cheers, before sitting on the couch and breathing a sigh of relief |
| LABF03 | The dilapidated couch is buried, and everyone goes to a "couch ranch" to get a new one |
| LABF04, MABF04 | The couch is a piņata; Ralph strikes it with a pole, and everyone falls out of it |
| LABF11, MABF10 | Everyone is on all fours and on leashes as if they are in a dog show; when Bart is selected as the winner, he and Homer get into a fight |
| LABF05, MABF09 |
At a restaurant, Comic Book Guy eats a salad (which looks like Homer's head), soup (Lisa), spaghetti and meatballs (Marge),
and steak (Bart), and the bill comes with a Maggie-shaped mint; when he wipes his mouth, the napkin stain is everyone on the couch
The second time LABF05 aired, on 6/28/09, there was no couch opening, as the opening credits were replaced with an airing of "Do the Bart, Man" in tribute to Michael Jackson, who died three days earlier |
| LABF06 | Blank acetate sheets are flipped over, eventually revealing everyone on the couch, but Homer is naked; Marge flips over an additional sheet with Homer's clothes |
| LABF07 | Everyone hacks their way through a jungle, only to find a gorilla Simpson family sitting on the couch |
| LABF08, MABF06 | Everyone swims to the couch from a competition-style swimming pool, except for Homer, who ends up floating face down |
| LABF10 | Everyone is in the stands at a Roman glaidtorial games; Bart catches a gladiator's head |
| LABF09 | A sculptor makes a statue of everyone sitting on the couch, then changes it to a Civil War-style general on horseback |
| LABF13 | At Springfield subway station, everyone waits for a subway, which has the couch inside; they board the train and sit on the couch as it departs |
| LABF15 | Everyone takes place in a Wild West shootout taking place around the couch |
| LABF17 | Everyone, back in caveman days, sits on a log, which sinks into a tarpit; their skeletons, still sitting on the log, are on display in a museum |
| LABF18 | Everyone, in Victorian clothing and standing around a Christmas tree, sings a modified last verse of The Twelve Days of Christmas |
| LABF19 | Marge puts a turkey on the dining room table, after which everyone, including Patty and Selma, grabs some food and moves into the living room to watch a football game on TV |
| MABF01 | The couch cushions, lamps, telephone, rug, and TV are partying before everyone arrives; the furniture then gets back into place, and everyone sits on the couch |
| MABF02 | First Homer, then everybody appear as pinballs in a Simpsons pinball machine (which is different from the two that actually exist) |
| LABF20 | Everyone is a sperm that penetrates an egg containing a couch; the egg starts dividing, and eventually becomes a baby Mr. Burns |
| MABF03 | Homer appears alone, and starts a "Couch Gag" application on his iPhone; when Mr. Burns interrupts with a phone call, Homer swallows the phone (with the others on the couch) |
| MABF05 | Everyone is a Tarot card (Homer as King of Cups; Marge as Queen of Cups; Bart as The Fool; Lisa as High Priestess; Maggie as Death) dealt onto a table; Grampa turns the Death card around and pushes it back to the fortune teller, who dies |
| MABF07 | Everyone is a bug in a garden in the backyard |
| MABF08 | The couch is in the front yard, and everyone sits on it, only for the front of the house to come down around them (they fit through the middle upstairs window), revealing that it was just a piece of wood shaped and painted like the front of the house, and the house is not there |
| MABF14, NABF05 | The couch goes through various parts of the Springfield Shopper, with everyone going after it; the couch decides to reconcile after seeing a classified ad the family had placed |
| MABF12 | Everyone in Springfield lip-syncs Ke$ha's "TiK ToK" |
| MABF13 | A pair of (animated) hands is seen opening the box of, putting together, and painting, a plastic model of the couch with everyone on it, then destroying it by setting off a firecracker; it turns out to be Nelson |
| MABF11 | Harold of Harold and the Purple Crayon draws in the couch scene with his crayon; when Homer asks Harold to draw him some beer, he does |
| MABF15 | Homer and Bart appear as puppets in a "Punch & Judy"-style show set in front of the couch; when puppet Bart hits puppet Homer, real Homer chokes real Bart |
| MABF21 | The couch is below a banner reading "22 SEASONS - CONGRATULATIONS FROM FOX"; a man comes out holding a cupcake with a candle on it, which Maggie blows out, only for the man to eat the cupcake and walk off as the banner falls |
| MABF17 | Everybody sits, then notices a dead body on the floor; Homer "drives" the couch like a getaway car, only for everyone (including the couch) to get caught, identified in a lineup, sent to prison, and eventually given the electric chair - er, couch - where they turn into a Lite-Brite picture |
| MABF18 |
Workers at an Asian factory are drawing couch scenes on cels, one of which is dipped in hazardous liquid
by a child; beneath them, more workers put out Simpsons T-shirts, stuff Bart dolls with stuffing made by
putting small animals through a woodchipper, seal boxes with the tongue of a detached dolphin's head, and
punch holes in DVDs with a unicorn's horn, all inside a factory shaped like the 20th Century Fox logo
This couch scene was done by British graffiti artist Banksy |
| MABF20 | Everybody sits, then a daredevil jumps over the couch from one side to the other on a motorcycle, only to run into something after he drives out the front door |
| NABF01, PABF15 | Everybody becomes a Na'vi avatar (from Avatar); Bart eventually captures a winged couch-like creature, upon which everybody sits and watches TV with red/blue 3D glasses |
| NABF02 | Professor Frink is on the couch and shoots a ray gun at everybody, who then shrinks; eventually, they run into a mousehole and sit on a block of cheese, which triggers a mousetrap to snap on them |
| MABF19 | An Advent calendar has a different Springfield scene for each day, with Christmas Eve having everybody on the couch with Santa (and Maggie on Santa's lap) |
| NABF03 | The couch gets out of bed, shaves, eats breakfast, rides a subway, clocks in outside of the Simpsons' back door, and takes its place as everyone runs in and sits on it |
| NABF04 | A giant hand scoops Simpsons-shaped scoops of ice cream onto a banana split, then adds chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and cherries; a giant Santa's Little Helper then eats it |
| NABF06 | Homer breaks his leg running to the couch; Mr. Burns sends in Barney off of a bench as a substitute |
| NABF07 | The living room floor is ice, and everyone is in a hockey uniform ready for a faceoff, which turns into a fight broken up by referees Lenny and Carl; everybody ends up sitting in the penalty box |
| NABF08 | On a "The Simpsons Couch Gag Game" video game, the five family members are selected as players, and after they sit on the couch, "GAME OVER" appears on the screen |
| NABF09 | Everyone sits, then the couch's cushions spring them into the viewer's TV screen |
| NABF10 | The entire couch scene is in ASCII art; Bart takes some of the letters and spells "FATSO" on top of Homer, who replies in a word baloon, "D'oh!" |
| NABF12 | The couch is on the cover of a video, which is inside an abandoned "Million Dollar Video" store with an "Out of Business" sign on it; a wrecking ball demolishes the building |
| NABF13, NABF21 | The couch is in the Smithsonian Museum; the family break into the museum at night in order to be able to sit on it |
| NABF14, PABF12 | Everything, and everyone, appears as black words on a white background |
| NABF17 | How the show might look if it was drawn by The Ren & Stimpy Show's creator, John Kricfalusi (and, in fact, he did draw the couch opening) |
| PABF02 | Homer is unable to remove a sword stuck in the couch; Ned Flanders comes by and pulls out the sword (which says "Property of Ned Flanders" on it) |
| NABF18 | Everybody is a Gingerbread cookie on a plate; Homer eats one of his own arms |
| PABF03 | In a Victorian-period setting, the lights go out, there is a gunshot, and when they come back on, Homer is dead; Bart is taken away, while Marge stuffs a gun back into her hair |
| PABF04 |
Everybody travels through the streets of New York City to reach the couch, which is on the set of Late Show with David Letterman
Note this is different from the opening in 1F07: among other things, Letterman speaks in this one |
| PABF06 | Moe leads a celebration of the show's 500th episode, only for Lisa to point out (after reading The Comprehensive 20 Year Simpsons Episode Guide and doing some counting on her fingers, when all she needed to do was check the episode list at snpp.com, thank you very much) that it's only the 499th |
| PABF07 | Every couch gag (except for 7G09, 9F21a, 9F21b, 3F31, 5F07, and LABF13), in the order in which they first appeared, is shown; the family then sits on the couch, and the scene is pulled back to reveal other couch gags which form a giant "500", which shatters, revealing Homer choking Bart (both in tuxedoes) |
| PABF09 | Springfield resembles the opening to HBO's Game of Thrones, with the buildings rising out of the ground, being driven by cogs, and a giant couch overlooking the entire town |
| PABF08 | Everyone lays on a layer of seaweed covered with rice on the floor in front of the couch, which is rolled up and then chopped into pieces like sushi; Maggie pops out from one of the pieces, apparently still in one piece |
| PABF10 | Everyone sits on the couch, with a banner reading "America - Most Powerful Country in the World" behind them; the years pass by from 1989 to 2012, with various Simpson images appearing at appropriate times (e.g. Poochie in 1993); the banner changes to "Too Big to fail, We Hope", and Maggie ends up holding a Chinese flag |
| PABF11, RABF01 | The couch opening is a Plymptoon (directed and animated by Bill Plympton) where a young Homer falls in love with, and impregnates, a couch, only to dump it when he meets Marge, and then rescue it from a garbage truck; while Homer, Marge, Bart, and Lisa sit on the couch, Maggie sits on the "baby couch" |
| PABF13 | The couch gag is on a card stunt (where people in an audience hold up cards to form a giant picture) |
| PABF14 | Everybody is playing what appears to be "Simpsons Couch Gag for the Funtendo Zii", but Homer is having trouble getting Homer to sit on the couch, just as he keeps missing in real life |
| PABF21 | In a scene based on Maggie Simpson in: The Longest Daycare, everybody except Maggie is a butterfly that hatches from its own cocoon, only to be chased by Gerald wielding a mallet; they make their escape when Maggie props open a door for them with her pacifier |
| PABF16 | Everybody is on the couch, with Homer behind a steering wheel; the couch is in a Wacky Races-style race against other pieces of furniture, which is won by Grampa in a recliner when the others crash right before the finish line |
| PABF19 | Everybody is on the couch...which is tattooed onto Marge's back |
| PABF22 | Everybody is on the couch - except for Homer, who appears with a hockey mask and axe; the scene is on the cover of a "Tales from the Couch" comic book |
| PABF18 | Everybody is on the couch, but entirely black; a hand flips plastic sheets adding layers of bodies until they appear in their entirety |
| RABF02 | Everybody is an award (Homer, an Oscar; Marge, an Emmy; Lisa, a Grammy; Maggie, the Stanley Cup; Bart, a purple version of the Kids Choice Awards' orange blimp); when they get to the couch, they are compacted together into a cube stamped "World's Greatest Grampa", which Grampa picks up |
| RABF03 | The couch gag is a movie trailer for the movie, The Couch |
| RABF02 | The couch is inside a dunk tank; when Nelson hits the target, everyone falls into the water, and Homer eventually surfaces face down |
| RABF07 | Everybody is a (full-size) Moe; "The Szyslaks...already cancelled" |
| RABF05 | The PABF09 opening is used, but at the end, everyone is on the couch, and a knight decapitates Homer (and slices off the top of Marge's hair) with his sword |
| RABF06 |
Everybody does the |
| RABF09 | In another Bill Plympton-animated opening, Homer, Marge, Bart, and Lisa are in a 1930s gangster story, armed, when Maggie turns on the lights, revealing everyone in the present day...and then starts shooting a Tommy gun from the couch |
| RABF10 | Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie have their faces on Easter eggs, which are in a nest on the couch; Homer enters and sits on them |
| RABF11 | Everyone is skydiving, but when Homer's chute falls apart, he causes everyone to crash through the roof and land on the couch |
| RABF13 | A block of ice is cut into an ice sculpture of everyone on the couch; Grampa walks into the room and turns up the thermostat, causing the sculpture to melt |
| RABF12 | The show as done by Robot Chicken (who actually did the couch gag) |
| RABF14 | Everyone is a sea creature, sitting on a couch-shaped coral reef; Blinky swims by and eats them |
| RABF17 (USA) |
There are five dandelions on the couch; when the TV sneezes, the room is filled with tiny airborne Homers, Marges, Barts, Lisas, and Maggies
This was the winner of the "Create Your Own Couch Gag" contest |
| RABF17 (Canada) |
A Canadian Loon, John A. Macdonald, a hockey player, and a Canadian Beaver are already on the couch; everybody squeezes onto the couch with them, as Maggie
replaces her pacifier with a hockey puck and sucks on it
This was the winner of Global's "Create Your Own Couch Gag" contest, open to Canadians (well, except for Quebec) |
| RABF20 |
The couch has a "SIMPSONS 25th SEASON" sign behind it; a bouncer lets everyone except Homer onto the couch
This continued with still images in the closing credits; other coast members, plus the casts of Family Guy, American Dad, Bob's Burgers, and (after originally being denied, then protesting) The Cleveland Show were allowed in - but still not Homer |
|
7G08 (the Christmas Special),
7F04,
8F02 (the first two Halloween Specials),
BABF21,
CABF19,
DABF19,
EABF21,
FABF23,
HABF17,
JABF16,
KABF16,
LABF14,
MABF16
NABF19,
PABF17,
(the 11th through 23nd Halloween specials / "Treehouse of Horror episodes),
7G05,
7G11,
4F20,
JABF14,
JABF15,
MABF22,
NABF11,
NABF15,
NABF16,
NABF20,
NABF22,
PABF01,
PABF20, and
RABF08 do not have couch openings
The first time HABF08 aired in the USA, with the live-action opening, a live-action version of the 7G09 opening was used 2F02 originally used the 1F06 couch opening; in syndication, it has the 1F01 couch opening; however, on the DVD, it has no couch opening 9F04, 1F04, 2F03, 3F04, 4F02, 5F02, AABF01, and BABF01 are Halloween Special couch openings. 9F21 originally used three openings (shown in order 9F21a, b, c); between openings, a clapboard marked "Couch Gag - Take 2 (3)" appeared, and someone shouted "Take Two (Three)" |
|
Last updated on September 29, 2013 by Don Del Grande (ddelgran@snpp.com) |