You writer who is producing Dilbert. Tuning in to 'toons isn't surprising, considering the big ratings for cable's crude South Park and the fact that most young TV executives have grown watching The Simpsons, the longest-running sitcom currently on television. Animated series are cheaper than the conventional sitcoms because they don't require expensive sets, studio crews or big-name stars. The cast ad-libs for hours in a recording studio about suggested topic. The tape is cut into 30-minute shows and then animated on computers.
Animation also allows a handful of actors to fill dozens of roles.
While Drew Carey and Dharma and Greg are stuck in their huge living rooms, The Simpsons can go anywhere and do anything. And when Futurama goes 1,000 years into the future, you won't confuse it with Frasier or Friends. But animation doesn't guarantee success, as the first wave of Simpsons imitators found out. CBS' Fish Police and ABC's Capitol Critters lasted only a few months in 1992. Unlike the Home Improvement boys, Bart and Lisa Simpson never age.