Al Jean on ‘Simpsons’/’Futurama’ Crossover’s Unanswered Questions

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In case you missed my review (or the plethora of stories floating around the interwebs), Futurama was back, if only briefly, for a crossover episode with The Simpsons last Sunday.

Although many fans of both shows found nothing but delight at this mash-up, numerous nerds got their knickers in a knot over a couple details.

First of all, during the ending alien sequence with Futurama’s Omicronians interacting with The Simpsons‘ Kang and Kodos, it was hinted that our giant green friends have the surname Johnson, and may be a lesbian couple. This is probably not to be taken too seriously, considering the duo were once referred to as brother and sister (“Treehouse of Horror VII”) as well as both of them being male, at various times.

For the official answer, showrunner Al Jean is always the best source. “We’ve implied androgyny, we’ve implied that one might be a woman—we never said that both were, but why not? Who knows?” Jean told Entertainment Weekly. “We thought it was a great ending to get the [Futurama] aliens, and then we thought it was a good excuse to bring in Kang and Kodos.”

With the aliens’ appearance, can this episode be considered part of the general continuity of the show, or should it be treated like the anything-goes Halloween specials? “People are asking: is this episode canon? And I go, ‘What really happened—did Homer really fall off a cliff all those times and live?’” Jean suggested. “But that being said: Yeah, sure, they’re Kang and Kodos Johnson. They’re a gay female couple in their species. They seemed to be married.”

And apparently, we won’t need to wait until next October to see them again.

“There’s an episode where we go to their home planet that is really cool,” Jean revealed. “I’m not giving too much away, but we’ll see their home world.”

Another troubling issue originated from the reimagined opening credits of the crossover, which briefly displayed a statue of Ralph Wiggum above a plaque reading: “2006-2017.” Does this signal an imminent end for one our favorite, un-possibly funny characters?

“It’s just a gag,” Jean said. “In ‘Holidays of Future Passed,’ we implied that he’s been cloned and the clones kept dying because they were so stupid. So we keep saying Ralph keeps dying in the future. It’s a bleak assessment of his future.”

So hold onto your angry letters for now, and possibly quite a while, considering The Simpsons aren’t dashing to dabble in death again. “I learned my lesson with Rabbi Krustofsky,” Jean said in reference to this season’s premiere, which killed off Krusty’s father and received a mixed reception from viewers. “No more death.”

[via Entertainment Weekly]