As 'The Simpsons' approaches 500 episodes, we pick a baker's dozen favorite moments
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Marge, Lisa, Homer, Maggie and Bart Simpson.
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"Donuts. Is there anything they can't do?" -- Homer Simpson
As Homer himself might say, "D'oh!"
America's longest-running TV program at 23 seasons and counting, "The Simpsons" began as an animated sketch on "The Tracey Ullman Show" in 1987 and debuted as a Fox network series on April 19, 1989. At 8 p.m. Sunday, Fox airs the 500th episode, "At Long Last Leave," in which the Simpsons -- Homer and Marge and their offspring, delinquent Bart, brainy Lisa and baby Maggie -- discover that everyone in town is plotting to have them thrown out of Springfield.
With 499 episodes to choose from, here's a baker's dozen of favorite moments from Post-Gazette staff members:
A guest-star moment ... Michael Jackson, an early believer in the prestige of being a "Simpsons" guest voice, appeared in "Stark Raving Dad," circa 1991, as the voice of mental patient Leon Kompowsky, who pretends to be the King of Pop. Mr. Jackson, who initially was credited as "John Jay Smith," wrote the song "Happy Birthday, Lisa" for the show.
A presidential moment ... In a January 1992 speech, President George H.W. Bush said, "We are going to keep trying to strengthen the American family to [be] a lot more like the Waltons and a lot less like the Simpsons." In a scene quickly tacked onto a rerun, Bart retorts, "We're just like the Waltons. We're praying for an end to the Depression, too."
A musical moment ... Homer winds up in a dark, scary park and is startled by the howling dogs. Suddenly, "Psycho" music starts to play as a bus pulls up, its headlights glaring. The chilling violin is being played by passengers aboard the "Springfield Philharmonic" bus before it speeds off, dropping off a violinist, who continues to play the eerie music.
A sweet moment ...
First Published February 15, 2012 12:00 am
