The Simpsons has been on the air for so long that a good portion of its audience may not have even been born yet when the show premiered.
Me? I was in the seventh grade when the first Simpsons Christmas Special aired, and then we got a very short first season and were all left to wonder when the show would be back. We didn’t have the Internet back then to find out show return dates, but one thing was for sure — The Simpsons was a phenomenon. FOX knew it too, moving to Thursday nights for a time to go head-to-head against NBC’s popular The Cosby Show.
When it was new, my friends and I would go after anything Simpsons. We collected the t-shirts… from “Bart Simpson, Radical Dude” to “Bartman” and more. A friend and I both saved $8 (that was a lot of money back then!) to get ourselves an elusive Maggie Simpson t-shirt when it first came out. Then we both realized the shirt was, really, a girls’ shirt and I don’t think either of us ever wore it. Oops. I remember even buying the Simpsons gum that tasted like toothpaste. It was nasty. Anyone else remember Simpsons Illustrated? I loved that.
I admit I’ve been a bad Simpsons fan. I don’t think I’ve seen a complete new production since The Simpsons Movie came out almost five years ago. I was curious, however, and viewed a screener of Episode 500 that FOX had made available to press. It’s comfortable, and Springfield is a place that I really should visit more often.
Tonight, you’ll have some great gags and throwbacks to times past. The basic plot – everyone in Springfield wants the Simpsons gone – is kind of silly, since really, who’d want people like Marge, Lisa, and Maggie gone, at least? – but it’s all definitely a reminder that The Simpsons has been very resilient, and it will definitely be missed when the time comes that FOX decides to no longer do new episodes of the show.
I believe Derek B. Gayle is posting his own piece later tonight, so I won’t take up much more of your time, but I will share some images from tonight’s show, which is called “At Long Last Leave.” Enjoy!
The Simpsons - 500th Episode
THE SIMPSONS: The Simpsons retreat to their bomb shelter, unaware of what the citizens of Springfield are planning for them in "At Long Last Leave," the milestone 500th episode of THE SIMPSONS, airing Sunday, Feb. 19 (8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT) on FOX. THE SIMPSONS ™ and © 2012 TCFFC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Here’s to 500 more? Congratulations to the crew, the animators, and the voice cast of The Simpsons for getting this far!
