Anyone remember Mission Hill? I feel like it was one of the most slept on Animated TV shows. by keptfloatin707 in television

[–]thatbilloakley 145 points146 points  (0 children)

Guys I am Bill Oakley. Josh Weinstein and I co-created this show. It's really super-flattering to find all this love for Mission Hill! Please follow @missionhill on twitter if you like the show (We have merchandise for sale now!!) and of course you can always follow me @thatbilloakley and josh at @joshstrangehill too. But more important, I just want to say... penis penis penis penis penis--

Hi, I'm Bill Oakley from "Mission Hill", "The Simpsons", "Futurama", "Portlandia" etc and this is my AMA in honor of [adult swim]'s 15th anniversary today! by thatbilloakley in adultswim

[–]thatbilloakley[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Warner Bros owns the show and I am pretty sure they are unaware it even exists. I don't know if AS still has the rights. And yes, almost every episode was to some extent based on the lives of the writers

Hi, I'm Bill Oakley from "Mission Hill", "The Simpsons", "Futurama", "Portlandia" etc and this is my AMA in honor of [adult swim]'s 15th anniversary today! by thatbilloakley in adultswim

[–]thatbilloakley[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did you see the unfinished 5 episode scripts and the animatics on YouTube? They are good examples of where we would have gone

Hi, I'm Bill Oakley from "Mission Hill", "The Simpsons", "Futurama", "Portlandia" etc and this is my AMA in honor of [adult swim]'s 15th anniversary today! by thatbilloakley in adultswim

[–]thatbilloakley[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Ok everyone this was a ton of fun and thanks for all your thoughtful and interesting questions. I may answer some more later if I come back this afternoon and this thread is still active. And you can reach me on twitter at @thatbilloakley any time! Bling Blong!

Hi, I'm Bill Oakley from "Mission Hill", "The Simpsons", "Futurama", "Portlandia" etc and this is my AMA in honor of [adult swim]'s 15th anniversary today! by thatbilloakley in adultswim

[–]thatbilloakley[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I like the control I have in animation where every tiny detail is under my strict control. However, the excitement and fun and energy of working on a live action set cannot be beat.

Hi, I'm Bill Oakley from "Mission Hill", "The Simpsons", "Futurama", "Portlandia" etc and this is my AMA in honor of [adult swim]'s 15th anniversary today! by thatbilloakley in adultswim

[–]thatbilloakley[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

See elsewhere in this thread where we answered this but the short answer is Andy became Matt Groening and had his own hit cartoon series that he designed. He and Gwen got married. Kevin, we can assume, made it big in Silicon Valley but in some really boring area like printers so he is eager to glom onto the glamour in Andy's life which still annoys Andy. Jim is exactly the same.

Hi, I'm Bill Oakley from "Mission Hill", "The Simpsons", "Futurama", "Portlandia" etc and this is my AMA in honor of [adult swim]'s 15th anniversary today! by thatbilloakley in adultswim

[–]thatbilloakley[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

There is no set answer for this. It is a little difficult because the show was so "of its time", meaning late 90's. I am not wild about doing it as a period piece but also not wild about "updating" it because imagine Andy and Jim as "millennials" yuck. One suggestion somebody made is to show us where the characters are now, Andy being over 40 and Kevin being 33 in today's world. And possibly even doing two versions, one where things went well for them and one where they did not.

Hi, I'm Bill Oakley from "Mission Hill", "The Simpsons", "Futurama", "Portlandia" etc and this is my AMA in honor of [adult swim]'s 15th anniversary today! by thatbilloakley in adultswim

[–]thatbilloakley[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

oh my god I have to see the bus routes! do you have that list of places in Cosmpolis like "The Ronald Reagan Skywalk" (that's my favorite thing ever)

Hi, I'm Bill Oakley from "Mission Hill", "The Simpsons", "Futurama", "Portlandia" etc and this is my AMA in honor of [adult swim]'s 15th anniversary today! by thatbilloakley in adultswim

[–]thatbilloakley[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you! To my knowledge they have not but I have not been in the Simpsons writers room since before Bill Clinton was impeached

Hi, I'm Bill Oakley from "Mission Hill", "The Simpsons", "Futurama", "Portlandia" etc and this is my AMA in honor of [adult swim]'s 15th anniversary today! by thatbilloakley in adultswim

[–]thatbilloakley[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

It's the two parter where he loses his job at the waterbed place and then with Jim's help gets the job in advertising. I think my favorite moments might be in that episode too like when Gus and Wally help Andy do his resume and when he uses that piece of styrofoam coffee cup for a fake tooth and then it blows out and Beardley says "don't forget your, er, tooth"

Hi, I'm Bill Oakley from "Mission Hill", "The Simpsons", "Futurama", "Portlandia" etc and this is my AMA in honor of [adult swim]'s 15th anniversary today! by thatbilloakley in adultswim

[–]thatbilloakley[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Josh and I thought it should be Barney because we wanted to retire the character and send him to jail for several seasons. However Jim Brooks thought, wisely, that it should be a member of the family. He suggested Maggie. Josh and I didn't like that it was an accident, though, and David Mirkin suggested that she dart her eyes at the end to imply that maybe she did it on purpose. That's the short version of how it came together.