0276 - Kang

Kang is the first alien to introduce himself to the family in "Treehouse of Horror"'s second segment, "Hungry Are The Damned". Kang is also consistently the Rigellian voiced by Harry Shearer, as is the case here.

He and his sister are a mainstay of the Treehouse of Horror episodes. being the only characters outside the main Simpson family to make an appearance in every Treehouse episode, even if many of these appearances are limited cameos.

They're also one of the first times I ever got angry at The Simpsons.

See, I like these alien characters, they're fun, but I was always glad that they were limited to the non-canon Treehouse episodes. I was a stickler for rules, and the fact that they stuck to this for so long meant it was an unbreakable law of the show in some way.

And then came "Gump Roast".

"Gump Roast" is a season 13 clip show in which Kang and Kodos appear during Homer's roast, seeming breaking the unbreakable rule. I could stand yellow people, and un-aging characters and meeting so many celebrities, and so many cartoony gags, but aliens? In canon? This was a break in trust, for me.

I've heard other people talk about this as a step over the line, and it's strange to consider that this was a breaking point for so many, especially considering that Kang or Kodos had already appeared in a "regular" episode, in season 8's "The Springfield Files":

It probably didn't help that when Gump Roast aired in 2002 (possibly slightly later for a UK viewer like me). I was a moody teenager by then, willing to throw childhood joys under the bus in order to convince myself I was becoming a mature adult. I'm sure I stopped reading Spider-Man comics around the same time.

Don't get me wrong, I still watched The Simpsons as regularly as I could - I wouldn't lose touch with the show completely until I left for university a few years later and no longer had access to new episodes. But the show was on shaky ground with me now.

Now? Now I'm wondering what that nerdy teen was so uptight about. It's a stupid cartoon. It's fine. Kang, you appear whenever you like. But don't speak in the theme park ride, because you are voiced by Harry Shearer, and he wouldn't like that.

This post is part of my "Every Simpsons Character Ever" series. For a list of my rules in this project, click here.