If it was supper time in our house it meant it was also time to watch The Simpsons. I remember Homer covered in mud and Dr. Marvin Monroe announcing that the evidence is “inconclusive” as to whether or not Homer was Bigfoot. The episode called The Call of The Simpsons was the first episode I had ever seen, I was hooked.
The Simpsons has been a staple in my life for as long as I can remember, just like the evening news is for many others. I can’t turn the channel, and it’s hard for me to say anything negative about the show after all these years. The Simpsons has given us enough laughs and memories that they get a pass when an episode doesn’t quite grab me like other episodes. After 500 shows, they can have a bad night right?
The Simpsons for me simply means, for 22 minutes I’m going to be happy. The show has been with me my whole life, and when they finally stop making new episodes and all we have left is our massive DVD collections and re-runs on every channel, we can look back and remember what TV was all about. So what can they do after 500 episodes? Keep making me happy. I read somewhere over the past week someone say something like “The Simpsons isn’t just making television history, it is television history”, how right they are.
I’d like to have this be an open thread/discussion, so please leave your own thoughts and memories below in the comments and get ready for Sunday’s 500th episode!
I was about seven or eight years old when my mother would let me stay up to watch the little animated segments that bookended the Tracy Ullman Show’s commercial breaks. I fondly remember the series premiere Xmas episode. Since then, The Simpsons has served as something of a screen through which I view life, informing my worldview both humorously and philosophically. I was an adult before I realized how much I owed my brand of humor and socio-political sensibilities to the world of Springfield. Had I spent a lifetime religiously watching, say, Home Improvement, I would be a much different person than I am today. So for that, I offer my eternal gratitude to Matt Groening, Al Jean, and all the rest. Congratulations on your astonishing and richly deserved longevity.
nicely said Nate.B, I think all simpsons fans should be devoted as you are
https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2012/02/the-50-best-simpsons-episodes-of-all-time#51
Great list… sorry don’t mean to advert people away from this cool site..
As you notice all these episodes are the OLD awesome ones, not the NEW lame crap..
Ill watch tomorrow’s episode, hopefully it will be a classic, but The Simpsons should have finished awhile ago in their prime.
500 episodes to me means 100 episodes too long.
what does 500 episodes mean to me? to quote Jeff Alberston, AKA Comic Book Guy in the first segment of Treehouse of Horror VIII “Oh, I’ve wasted my life.” Just kidding! I’ve been watching the simpsons since I was in diapers, I am about two months older than the series itself, 3 months older if you don’t count the christmas special. Through good episodes (Who Shot Mr.Burns Part 1 and 2) and bad (The principal and the Pauper) and through personality changes (like when Lisa became a vegetarian), a plethora of guest stars and a movie. I guess you could say I grew up with the simpsons, even though they haven’t aged at all since premiering, through the series (and comic book) and a couple of episode guides. And I’m still waiting for the second movie! When the show does end(who knows when), a hole will be punctured in pop culture that cannot be filled no matter how much a Seth Macfarlane creation would attempt to fill it, it won’t be full. This concludes my short speech
What 500 episodes means to me is that, of all the change I’ve experienced in my life and I’m sure other fans have experienced in their lives, there has been one constant for all of us for over two decades now, The Simpsons. This show has seen us through so much, through good times and through bad, through peace and through war, through ecstasy and through heartbreak. We have been fortunate to have had this gift, and while every episode is not perfect and the characters themselves have changed in some respects, for over twenty weeks a year we know we can turn on the television and enter a world that has been with us since the 80s, before many of us were even alive. The Simpsons is a part of our culture, part of who we are, how hard is it to find someone that has not seen at least one of the now 500 episodes, not just in this country but all around the world. The Simpsons are America’s family, they are our family, and no matter what happens in our lives we shall always have Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, Maggie and all the others. They will always be there for us, through the best of times and the worst of times. And while I recognize there has been a decline in quality I also recognize there are still many good episodes produced today and believe that many who condemn the modern show are simply looking back through rose colored glasses ignoring old flaws. I can only hope that this, our constant, be it on television or now the internet where so many of us catch the newest episodes instead of hoping they won’t be overtaken by sports or becouse our busy schedules forbid us from watching television at that time on Sunday nights, that our cultural constant, our shared family shall continue to tell us good, enjoyable stories for years to come and hope to share a positive celebration of 750 episodes one of these days. Though if we are not, we have been given hundreds more episodes than many other shows get and we should count ourselves lucky for that alone.
It means everything to me. I grew up with The Simpsons in my life. There is something incredible about the humour and heart The Simpsons has that has inspired me to become a better person as I grew up. The Simpsons can make me cry tears of laughter, or it can just make me cry tears. But there’s something about this little old show that started in 1989 that has not only captured my heart, but the whole worlds heart. May it long continue!
First of all, hi to you all, simpsons fans!
My story is a little diffrent. I’am from Russia and first saw the Simpsons on TV when I was eleven. Guess that was like 6 or 7 season running. I first didnt understand them at all! But the humor, good jokes, adventures and the family itself “grew on to me”. I fell in love with the show.
Unfortunatly, back then I didn’t knew, that it was still running.Sadly,there were a lot of re-runs on TV.
Few years later,my life changed and I moved to States. I lived there for 4 years.I immediatly found out, that the show never closed and I had a lot of cathing up to do! I was so happy!
Since then, I am a fan.
The Simpsons are always with me!
I have found a lot of daily wisdom, interesting views for life and way to live. I mean,they are still fun to watch! Maybe noy every time, but I will never stop watching them. They are mine little american family(althoug personaly I think they are a kind of family,that could have lived in any country) which I love and adore.
I qoute simpsons a lot. They propagandize fun ,family love and show inquisitiveness.
Althogh I sometimes feel ashemed for the new episodes(they can do better, I know!), I still can’t wait for the new episode!
Thank you all for your work!!! Hope that the Simpsons will never close!
I dont know what my lifestyle would be without the show but it sure wouldn’t be so fun!
I have always loved the Simpson’s and still do! I watch every episode, have not missed an episode in years. I hope the show makes it to a great milestone number like 25 or 30 seasons and then makes two or more theatrical movies.
The cast is signed on for 2 more movies. 🙂