Trying to recreate something as iconic as The Simpsons opening sequence could have meant a world of trouble. Not only is it, thanks to heavy syndication, one of the most watched pieces of television, but have you ever met an ardent Simpsons fan?

"All you could do was get it wrong," says director Chris Palmer of Gorgeous, "which is not to say it was as simple as it appears." Commissioned by SkyOne as a promo for the show's 17th season, Palmer jumped at the chance to shoot the spot.

While the goal was to recreate the show open, "we never intended to replicate the cartoon exactly. Real mums don't have yellow skin and three-foot blue hair so neither did ours," explains Jonny Parker, creative at UK-based Devilfish. He and partner Nik Stewart settled for trying to capture the essence of the settings and characters - right down to Homer's plumber butt. "We wanted to show a normal British family coming home from their normal day to watch The Simpsons in their normal living room."

Likewise with the action; if it couldn't be done in reality, they didn't try - like when Homer jumps three feet in the air. "Bart skateboarding off the roof of the car was about the farthest we took it," says Palmer.

Although this strategy made shooting a bit easier, not surprisingly, casting, finding locations and matching camera moves and angles proved to be difficult. "It was never bloody easy. The school footage was a nightmare," says Palmer, admitting that because of the frenetic pace, the recreation is not exactly a frame-by-frame match.

Despite this, the spot is mesmerizing and infinitely watchable. Its first few days as a viral sparked millions of downloads and endless blogging as online superfans critiqued the minutia - just the kind of buzz the creatives were hoping for.

The project, now airing in the UK both on TV and cinemas, will likely make it to North American airwaves soon.

Devilfish>http://www.devilfishonline.co.uk
Gorgeous>http://www.gorgeous.co.uk