Simpsons’ 300th
February 21 2003 /erie

The following editorial ran in Tuesday’s Philadelphia Inquirer:

Watching Fox honor the 300th episode of “The Simpsons” Sunday night was like watching the American Film Institute honor Jack Nicholson in 1994 for lifetime achievement.

Both celebrations were heartfelt, to an extent, but both also were heavy with the implication that careers were entering a twilight, that a prime had been passed, and that a look backward was better than a glance into the beyond.

Here’s hoping America’s favorite family finds an equally delicious way to show the world it has at least a few more kicks left in its gelatinous yellow body. (Mmmm … Jell-O.)

Not that “The Simpsons” has much to prove.

The 14-year-old series surpassed “The Flintstones” as longest-running prime-time animated show back in 1997, and, with a contract extension to 2005, looks as if it will unseat “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet” as television’s longest-running comedy.

Along the way, “The Simpsons” has picked up a Golden Globe nomination, 38 Emmy nominations, and 18 Emmy awards.

In 1999, Time magazine named it “the best show in the history of television.”

During its initial years, “The Simpsons” almost single-handedly established Fox as a network, raised the bar on television writing, and upset the then-untouchable ratings king, “The Cosby Show,” when the show briefly ran on Thursday nights.

“The Simpsons” introduced a new generation to the art of satire, and filled its mouth with an entire language of catch-phrases.

Some would, by 2001, make their way into the Oxford English Dictionary. (“D’oh: expressing frustration at the realization that things have turned out badly.”)