With the recent announcement of a 29th and 30th season, The Simpsons will have 669 aired episodes, a new record for scripted television shows.
Prior to this milestone, The Simpsons was already the longest-running animated series on record, and was also the first animated show to win a Peabody Award. Despite complaints from older fans about the show’s perceived drop in quality over the years, Variety reports that the current season is still averaging 7.2 million viewers across all platforms.
At this point, The Simpsons isn’t just a popular cartoon on network TV; it’s a part of Americana, and it has endured over the years because it always manages to stay funny—and even poignant. With that in mind, here’s a list of RealClearLife‘s ten favorite Simpsons moments.
First up: the Mr. Sparkle dish detergent commercial from Season 8’s “In Marge We Trust” episode, first aired on April 27, 1997.
Second, here’s Mr. Burns attempting to trick Principal Skinner into giving him the rights to an oil well discovered underneath Springfield Elementary, taken from “Who Shot Mr. Burns? Pt. 1,” first aired on May 21, 1995.
Third, Smithers dreams that he and Mr. Burns are detectives on the hot rod circuit in the opening scene of “Who Shot Mr. Burns? Pt. 2,” first aired on September 17, 1995.
Fourth, here’s Homer, Apu, and Principal Skinner auditioning a fourth member for their barbershop quartet, taken from “Homer’s Barbershop Quartet,” first aired on September 30, 1993.
Fifth, Homer struggles with the details of the Witness Relocation Program in “Cape Feare,” first aired October 7, 1993.
Sixth, Bart envies the amount of fellow Springfieldians enjoying knives in “Boy-Scoutz ‘n the Hood,” first aired November 18th, 1993.
Seventh, school bully Nelson Muntz reveals his love of Andy Williams in “Bart on the Road,” first aired March 31, 1996.
Eighth, Homer taunts the teetotaling police chief Rex Banner in “Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment,” first aired March 16, 1997.
Ninth, news anchor Kent Brockman pledges his allegiance to our new insect overlords in “Deep Space Homer,” first aired February 24, 1994.
And finally, sing along with Lyle Lanley as he leads Springfield in the Monorail song, from “Marge vs. the Monorail,” first aired January 14, 1993 (and written by one Conan O’Brien).
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