Homer in HD new look for Simpsons

Fans of the Simpsons, which proudly proclaims itself to be TV's longest-running comedy show, were dragged into the modern era on Sunday when a new opening sequence was introduced to herald the cartoon's high definition debut in the US.

While the sequence remains essentially the same, Simpsons fans were picking over the tiny differences in style and substance that make their lives complete. Most controversial, with overtones of product placement, Lisa's schoolmates are shown playing on a Nintendo DS games console. The Simpson family, meanwhile, is watching a flat-screen TV, while Bart scribbles the unsubtle message "HD is worth every cent" on his blackboard.

The sequence jams in more characters, in-jokes and gags while retaining the structure of the original. Bart is still on his skateboard, nobody has aged or grown up, but the times have changed: Marge's supermarket bill has doubled from its debut 19 years ago, rising from $243.2 to $486.52. A billboard reads "Krusty - now doing funerals", two of Homer's colleagues hang a sign boasting of three days without accidents, before crashing to the floor, and the runaway sofa goes to outer space via the Taj Mahal and the canals of Venice.

Simpsons fan sites gave the new sequence a generally favourable reception, although several expressed qualms at Homer being run over by a car.

The move to high-def and the first substantive change to the title sequences since the first series in 1990 is part of a push for the cartoon as it prepares to celebrate its 20th anniversary next year. The show, which started in 1989, has run to 430 episodes, spawning a successful feature-length movie and enough merchandise to fill a toy shop, from the Simpsons edition of Monopoly and Scrabble (D'oh!) to albums of music from the programme.

Such is the show's reach that its makers' claims that it "has made an indelible imprint on American pop culture and has become one of television's most iconic families" may carry some truth.