The Simpsons, the animated series that began as a animated skit involving rabbits on the "Tracy Ullman Show," will celebrate its 20th anniversary tonight with a one-hour special, following its episode. The Simpsons 20th anniversary episode will also be its 450th.
The show has been on for so long, one can't call it a cult icon. Instead, one would call it a piece of Americana. It's hard to imagine someone who doesn't at least know if The Simpsons, even if they don't watch the show.
It has become so ingrained in the knowledge of America, that even other animators play off it. For example, in last week's "Family Guy," Peter Griffin lost his memory. At one point, he said "D'oh!" to which Lois Griffin replied, "That's not your tagline."
Rather, its the rather dimwitted Homer Simpson's tagline. That tagline, seemingly a phrase all know, has even been included int he Oxford English Dictionary.
Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, of "Super Size Me" fame, will be directing tonight's one hour special. It will be called "The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special – In 3-D! On Ice!" It will, of course, be worthy of being called something that has to do with the Simpsons.
It's not as though The Simpsons hasn't "missed" now and again. In fact, the earliest seasons have a decidedly different quality than the later ones. Still, the series has managed to keep from "jumping the shark," and continues to be relevant and culturally aware (one of our favorites is when they captured the cultishness of "Mapple" and "Steve Mobs.").
How long can this continue? It's possible, creator Matt Groening recently said, that the show could continue for another 20 years. One could hardly imagine actors Dan Castellaneta (Homer) and Julie Kavner (Marge) in their 70s doing the show, but it's possible. Most likely, Julie Kavner hardly imagined that an animated character would far overshadow her stint on the TV show "Rhoda."
What time will all this hilarity ensue? The Simpsons' 450th episode at 7 PM on Fox, for 30 mins. The 20th anniversary special airs at 7:30 PM, for 1 hr.
Written by Michael Santo
HULIQ.com
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