Khaberni - A widespread wave of anger, sparked by the famous animated series "The Simpsons" among the audience, after the creators decided to end the life of one of the old and beloved characters, "Alice Glick", the organist at First Church of Springfield, who has been accompanying the viewers for more than three decades.
In season 37's episode titled "Sashes to Sashes", which aired on Sunday, November 16th, Alice was seen delivering a sermon inside the church before she suddenly fell dead, in a shocking scene followed by an official announcement from the production team confirming that the character "has departed this time forever," according to the "New York Post".
A character dating back to 1991.. and dies twice
Alice Glick first appeared in 1991 in a season two episode and continued to appear throughout 34 seasons, becoming one of the secondary faces beloved by the show's audience. Initially, her voice was performed by the late star Cloris Leachman, before actress Tress MacNeille took over the role after Leachman's death in 2021.
Although this is not the first time the character has been "killed", as she previously suffered an attack by a robot in season "22" and then came back to life in subsequent episodes, the production team confirmed that this ending is final and irreversible.
On his part, executive producer Tim Long told People magazine: "Alice will remain alive through her music, but from a narrative perspective, she has died permanently."
Widespread anger
Viewers quickly expressed their dismay on social media, where one wrote on the platform "X": "Oh my God, someone updated Alice Glick's wiki page!" while another tweeted: "Rest in peace Ms. Glick, this is the second time they have killed her!"
Many compared Alice's death to the death of another beloved character last year, Larry "The barfly" Dalrymple, which caused a similar uproar.
Controversy over the decision to kill off characters
In previous interviews, the team revealed that getting rid of characters is not easy, as executive producer Cesar Mazariegos said, "We usually don't want to get rid of our characters, it’s a cartoon world, even explosions don't always mean death."
However, the bigger controversy came months earlier when Marge Simpson appeared dead in a futuristic imaginary scene, sparking a storm of criticism that forced the team to clarify that it was just a hypothetical scenario.
Executive producer Matt Selman considered the attack "exaggerated and ridiculous", saying: "Marge will not die, these are just future possibilities, not an official version of the series."
Despite the controversy, Selman believes that the angry reactions confirm that "The Simpsons" still enjoys a strong presence and its characters remain influential to the audience even after 35 years of airing.
It should be noted that "The Simpsons" premiered on Fox in 1989, has won 37 Emmy Awards to date, and was renewed last April for four more seasons, continuing its journey as the longest-running animated series in television history.
