Whether you still watch it or think it should've gone off the air a decade ago, you can't help but be impressed by this unbelievable achievement. Currently holding the record for longest scripted tv show ever!
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Originally posted @ http://www.toronto.com/article/713936 ‘The Simpsons’ reaches 500th episode
With Sunday’s episode — At Long Last Leave (Fox, 8 ET/PT) — The Simpsons, in its 23rd season, will hit 500, a nearly unheard-of milestone reached by only two other prime-time scripted series, Gunsmoke (635) and Lassie (588).
“I never imagined this,” creator Matt Groening says. “I thought it would be a hit with kids. I wasn’t sure adults would dig it.”
But adults and kids have been digging it for decades. “In a business where things get tired in a matter of months, we were able to sustain for a whole generation,” says executive producer Al Jean, who oversees production of the show.
There must be some reason for the longevity of the ubiquitous yellow family, which also has a hit movie, a theme park ride and mountains of merchandise, and has gone from being condemned by a president to being blessed by the Vatican.
“I think it’s the flexibility of these characters. They can do any kind of comedy anyone ever thought of, from farce to reality,” executive producer James L. Brooks says. “For a long time, we didn’t want to deal with the fact we could do anything we wanted. There were no sets, no past, no future. The first group of years was spent not taking advantage of any of that (freedom). Then we started letting it in.”
Wide-ranging topics opened creative ground, producer Mike Scully says. “It’s one of the few shows on TV that does story lines about topics like religion, politics (and) education.”
Josh Weinstein, who oversaw production in Seasons 7 and 8, marvels at the show’s influence on society. “Now, you have people who use Simpsons quotes in everyday life and to talk about the world. I like to think we unduly influenced them.”
There have been perks for writers, too. “I could pretty much cast any guest star who I wished to meet,” says producer David Mirkin, who did just that with Paul McCartney. “It’s a pretty cool way to get to meet your heroes and idols.”
Jean says he has stopped predicting how long The Simpsons can go on. There was talk that the one-time ratings juggernaut, which still averages 7.7 million viewers, might end because of proposed cost-cutting last fall, but “it wasn’t as dire as it was portrayed,” he says. The new deal will get the show’s tally up to 559 episodes.
Jean says new ideas are still there and believes economics, not creativity, will be the reason the Emmy-winning series ultimately ends.
Producer Mike Reiss says the show “could just go on forever. (It’s) a show about the world. We’ll run out of material the day the world stops being interesting.”
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Originally posted @ http://www.toronto.com/article/7139...vourite-moments The Simpsons hits 500 episodes: Matt Groening shares his favourite moments
500 episodes are a lot to dig through to find the best of a treasure-trove. Simpsons creator Matt Groening, executive producer James L. Brooks and producers who have been in charge of the show over its 23 seasons (many of whom remain with the show) share some of their favourite characters and episodes — and their thoughts:
Matt Groening (creator)
His favourite Simpson? “I like Lisa the most, in part for corny reasons, because she’s sensitive and is in anguish in a way that the family seems pretty oblivious to. Her belief system is so different from everyone else in town, the fact that she’s Buddhist and vegetarian and has some kind of intellectual curiosity. I think of her as the only character who is going to grow up and escape from Springfield.”
Episodes:
— Virtually every Sideshow Bob (Kelsey Grammer) episode.
— All Treehouse of Horror Halloween episodes
— Homer’s Enemy, May 4, 1997 (Season 8). New co-worker “Frank Grimes calls Homer on his insanity and dies for his efforts.”
— Once Upon a Time in Springfield, Jan. 10, 2010 (Season 21, 450th episode). Krusty the Clown hires a female sidekick, Princess Penelope (Anne Hathaway), to attract girls to the show. “The last couple of seasons, I feel the marriage of writing and exuberant animation has taken us to a new level.”
— Holidays of Future Passed, Dec. 11, 2011 (Season 23). The Simpson kids, all grown up at a future Christmas. “We thought maybe if we were going to call it a day, that might have been the last episode.”
— At Long Last Leave, Feb. 19, 2012 (Season 23, 500th episode). This Sunday’s episode, in which the Simpsons are evicted from Springfield. “It has a lot of little jokes that longtime fans will really like.”
James L. Brooks (executive producer since Season 1)
His favourite Simpson? “It changes some. I think it’s currently Homer and, every once in a while, you feel somebody’s been neglected and it feels good to do a show for that person. I think our never-can-miss character is Maggie. But Homer’s at the hub.”
Episodes:
— Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire, Dec. 17, 1989 (Season 1, Episode 1). At Christmastime, the Simpsons adopt a dog, Santa’s Little Helper. “I love that above all else. It was our birth, as far as I’m concerned.”
— Stark Raving Dad, Sept. 19, 1991 (Season 3). Homer meets a tall, stocky white man who claims to be Michael Jackson. “Michael Jackson did the show. It was so surreal and great.”
— Who Shot Mr. Burns, Parts 1 and 2, May 21/Sept. 17, 1995 (Seasons 6 and 7). A Simpsons whodunit cliffhanger, with baby Maggie as the culprit. “It actually worked going across seasons. People wanted to know who shot Mr. Burns.”
— The Way We Was, Jan. 31, 1991 (Season 2). Marge and Homer go to their high school prom. “I have a soft spot for when we do flashbacks and we show Marge and Homer in their earlier years.”
— Lisa’s Substitute, April 25 1991 (Season 2). Dustin Hoffman voices Lisa’s substitute teacher. “Yeardley Smith (Lisa) and us went to New York for the recording session so the two of them could be in the studio together. Once we did that, it put a priority on the way we work with our actors, that we’re all in the same room at the same time, whenever possible.”
Al Jean (show runner with Mike Reiss in seasons 3-4; by himself, seasons 13-23)
His favourite Simpson? “Lisa. I was always nerdy growing up and my sister was a lot more like Bart, so I always identified with Lisa.”
Episodes:
— Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire. “That first Christmas show was so amazing when I saw it. That was the best thing I’d ever been involved with.”
— El Viaje de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer), Jan. 5, 1997 (Season 8). Homer hallucinates after eating a superhot chili pepper. Johnny Cash plays the talking coyote. “The animation on that was great.”
— Behind the Laughter, May 21, 2000 (Season 11). Simpsons family is featured in a parody of VH1’s Behind the Music. “I thought it was a great concept and really well executed.”
— Gone, Maggie, Gone, March 15, 2009 (Season 20). Lisa goes undercover as a nun to find Maggie. “It was a little bit of a satire of The Da Vinci Code, which I think was brilliant and really sweet.”
— Holidays of Future Passed. “It was one of the best episodes we ever did.”
Mike Reiss (show runner with Al Jean, seasons 3-4)
His favourite Simpson? “I like Homer because he’s a comedy writer’s dream: He’s fat, stupid, bald, lazy, and a drunk; in Season 4 we decided he smells, too.”
Episodes:
— Lisa the Skeptic, Nov. 23, 1997 (Season 9). Lisa questions whether an unearthed skeleton is that of an angel. “This is one of the 5 per cent of episodes I didn’t work on. ... It was so smart and funny. That’s when I realized, ‘Gee, maybe I’m the thing that drags the show down.’ “
— Treehouse of Horror VI, Oct. 30, 1995 (Season 7). Invasion of billboard icons; Groundskeeper Willie’s Nightmare on Elm Street parody; 3-D Homer. “Almost always one of the three installments on a Treehouse of Horror is not so good. ... That was the first time I thought they went three for three, three really amazing segments. Maybe the best Treehouse we’ve done.”
— The Father, the Son and the Holy Guest Star, May 15, 2005 (Season 16). Homer becomes a Catholic; Liam Neeson plays a priest. “Homer loves the idea of getting absolution for everything he does. It was funny and provocative. I just go, ‘Wow, how did we not think of this in 15 years of the show?’ “
— 22 Short Films About Springfield, April 14, 1996 (Season 7). A day in the life of Springfield, playing off the film Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould. “I think our parody wound up being much more famous than the original thing. It was very inspired.”
— Like Father, Like Clown, Oct. 24, 1991 (Season 3). Krusty reunites with his estranged father, Rabbi Hyman Krustofski (Jackie Mason). “The day after it aired, we were flooded with calls. People were a little surprised how emotionally moved they could be by The Simpsons. We’d done sensitive episodes before, but that one opened the floodgates.”
David Mirkin (show runner, seasons 5-6)
His favourite Simpson? “Bart is an amazing character, but in all of history, I don’t think there’s as amazing a character as Homer Simpson. He has so many attitudes, so much depth and shallowness simultaneously. He’s so relentlessly positive and eternally hopeful.”
Episodes:
— Lisa the Vegetarian, Oct. 15, 1995 (Season 7). Lisa becomes a vegetarian; Paul and Linda McCartney guest-star. “This was really personal to me because it was the experience I had of becoming a vegetarian.”
— Deep Space Homer, Feb. 24, 1994 (Season 5). Homer is an astronaut. “I used to be an aerospace engineer, (and) this is a favourite episode of NASA. I made a DVD of it and sent it to astronaut Ed Lu at the International Space Station.”
— Marge vs. the Monorail, Jan. 14, 1993 (Season 4). Conan O’Brien wrote this spoof of The Music Man. “It’s just brilliantly funny throughout. It’s a great example of Conan’s delightful sense of humour.”
— Lisa’s Wedding, March 26, 1995 (Season 6). Lisa is to be married in the future. “That was a Jim Brooks idea. It was the first time we went into the future and stayed there. ... It was the first time we had heads in jars, still alive and talking. They do that a lot on Futurama now.”
— Who Shot Mr. Burns, Parts 1 and 2. “It was really fun to create a mystery solvable through freeze frames. We worked really hard to come up with a nice, complex mystery. Virtually no one solved it.”
Josh Weinstein (show runner with Bill Oakley, seasons 7-8)
His favourite Simpson? “It has to be Homer, because he just speaks to everything inside you that you want to do and the way we all secretly are.”
Episodes:
— Mr. Plow, Nov. 19, 1992 (Season 4). Homer starts a snowplowing business. “It had that real Simpsons feel. It was full of brilliant, crazy jokes.”
— Homer the Heretic, Oct. 8, 1992 (Season 4). Homer stops going to church. “It’s one of the first episodes where The Simpsons took on something really controversial. Even just taking about religion was sort of a no-no in sitcoms.”
— Bart Sells His Soul, Oct. 8, 1995 (Season 7). Bart sells his soul. “(Writer) Greg Daniels had actually sold his soul or bought some kid’s soul. It really happened. ... You get to do a crazy story with Bart and Milhouse and also have all these metaphysical aspects to it.”
— You Only Move Twice, Nov. 3, 1996 (Season 8). Homer gets a new job, unwittingly working for a supervillain (Albert Brooks). “It works on so many insane levels. ... We wanted to fool viewers into thinking the Simpsons were going to move to a new town.”
— Summer of 4 ft. 2, May 19, 1996 (Season 7). Lisa tries to transform herself into a cool kid. “It captures what it feels like to be a kid like Lisa and sort of be an outcast, and to have a chance for a new beginning. It spoke to a lot of the writers. A lot of (the writers) are nerds who feel more like Lisa.”
Mike Scully (show runner, seasons 9-12)
His favourite Simpson? “I guess I’d have to go Homer, because there’s a little Homer in every guy and he makes all other husbands look good by comparison. I’m a big Homer fan. (And) I love Lisa because I have five daughters. I’m a big sucker for all the Homer/Lisa episodes. I think Lisa is the heart and conscience and the intellect of the show.”
Episodes:
— Bart the Daredevil, Dec. 6, 1990 (Season 2). Homer tries to stop Bart’s risky skateboard jumps. “The classic sequence where Homer skateboards over Springfield Gorge (is) still one of the funniest sequences ever on television.”
— Homer’s Phobia, Feb. 16, 1997 (Season 8). Homer worries that a friend’s (John Waters) influence might make Bart become gay. “Relatable and hilarious. And John Waters did a great job.”
— HOMR, Jan. 7, 2001 (Season 12). Homer temporarily becomes smart. “A very emotional, funny Homer/Lisa episode where we get to see how Homer became stupid and what his life would be like if he was smart.”
— The Book Job, Nov. 20, 2011 (Season 23). Homer decides to cash in on the “tween-lit” craze. “An Oceans 11-type heist episode where we got to play with the form, but still tell a good story.”
— How I Spent My Strummer Vacation, Nov. 10, 2002 (Season 14). Homer goes to rock camp with teachers Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Elvis Costello, Tom Petty, Brian Setzer and Lenny Kravitz. “My personal rock ‘n’ roll fantasy.”
Is anyone bothering to watch this Sunday? What's everyone favourite episodes? I could go on all day but just off the top of my head and beside some mentioned already (Treehouse of Horror with 3d homer, Freddy Kruger parody, Monorail, Sideshow Bob episodes), I'd have to include Kamp Krusty, Itchy and Scratchy Land, Flaming Moe's, The Stonecutters and the two episodes with Homer's brother Herb.
kotsy
Quite possibly the most memeorable Simpsons scene of all time
... and the most memorable Simpsons montage ever
The Ear
YES MAN!!!!
Love all the episodes mentioned.
One that wasn't: "$pringfield, Or how I learned to stop worrying and love legalized gambling" Just brilliant.
infinity HiGH
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Originally posted by kotsy
All great but how could you forget this:
(couldn't find an unedited, non-looped version)
kotsy
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Originally posted by infinity HiGH
All great but how could you forget this:
lol pretty easy since there are literally hundreds of classic clips :p
good one, though!
Spam
I can't believe there's no love for Bart. Everyone interviewed seems to love Homer or Lisa.
Some of my favourite episodes:
Flaming Moes
Lisa's First Word
I dunno the episode name, but the one where Bart works for the mob and Principal Skinner goes missing.
And the espisode where Homer hosts a BBQ but Lisa is vegetarian and ruins it.
Dior Homme
Bart was originally loved during the first inception of the show. Soon after people started to look to Homer for humour. But really, each character plays a specific part in which you can love them all. After 500 episodes how can you not.
I wish I had time to continue watching it. I hope they continue going though, its a great show for kids growing up. A lot of my inside jokes stem from this show. Kudos to the voice actors who have been able to stay focused and not quit up to this point. Especially Yeardly Smith who only does Lisa's voice.
kotsy
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Originally posted by Spam
And the espisode where Homer hosts a BBQ but Lisa is vegetarian and ruins it.
You don't win friends with salad!
infinity HiGH
It's just a little airborn, it's still good! It's still good!
Adam420
Bart's not the same any more, they've made him more "mature" for a while now. Homer, on the other hand, I think has gotten even dumber.
Ammar.Hasan
How nice it has been to seen atleast half these episodes :)
Spam
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Originally posted by kotsy
You don't win friends with salad!
Exactly!
The only thing worse than vegetarians are people who order their steaks well-done.
