Simpsons creator looks back at 636 episodes
Leave it to the Simpsons’ Homeric sweep.
As “The Simpsons,” Fox’s animated classic, passes another TV milestone — the most episodes of a scripted prime-time series — it connects directly with Gunsmoke, the show it surpassed with Sunday’s 636th episode. Dennis Weaver, a star of the iconic CBS Western, guest-voiced an aging Western movie star in 2002.
Simpsons creator Matt Groening likes “Gunsmoke” (1955-1975) and remembers Weaver — “a good sport” — but you can’t blame him for forgetting a few of the hundreds of guest appearances that make up just one of hundreds of trivia lists relating to Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie Simpson and their many Springfield neighbours.
“I actually sometimes meet a famous actor and say, ‘Aw, you should do ‘The Simpsons’ sometime.’ And they say, ‘I already did,’” he admits.
The appearances go back decades. The Emmy- and Peabodywinning series, which starts its 30th season this fall, began in 1987 as animated shorts on Fox’s sketch-comedy series “The Tracey Ullman Show” before getting its own 1989 Christmas special and launching as a series on Jan. 14, 1990.
In an exclusive interview, Groening discusses the milestone; an early indication of the Simpsons’ exceptionalism; repetition; criticism of conveniencestore operator Apu Nahasapeemapetilon as an Indian stereotype; and whether an end date is in sight.
What kind of significance does this milestone, 636 episodes, have for you?
Groening: We certainly didn’t expect to last this long . ... When we started, we didn’t even know if the Fox network was going to last, much less our own show. Fox was an experiment, and they allowed us to do pretty much whatever we wanted.
What led you to think “The Simpsons” would be something special?
The episode where Homer skateboards over Springfield Gorge — almost (Season 2’s “Bart the Daredevil” from 1990). It made me realize we’ve really got something.
It’s like classic Warner Bros. (Looney Tunes), but we can do our own variation. Homer goes over the cliff. He doesn’t make it. He hits the wall all the way down. The skateboard lands on his head. He gets raised up on a gurney and bangs his head all the way up. He gets put in an ambulance that hits a tree. The gurney rolls out and he goes over the cliff again. It’s that extra plummet. That’s “The Simpsons” at its best.
Does Homer’s fall from a cliff in the April 29 recordbreaker pay homage to that early scene?
Whenever anyone goes over a cliff on “The Simpsons,” we definitely have in the back of our minds the classic Springfield Gorge scene.
Is it difficult to remain relevant and avoid repetition?
We always try to surprise ourselves and then hope we surprise the audience.
After doing so many episodes, those surprises become harder to think up.
I’m very proud of some of the places the show has gone in recent years, including giving the couch-gag spot to outside animators (including Banksy, Bill Plympton, Don Hertzfeldt and this year’s Oscar winner for best director, Guillermo del Toro).
(As for repetition), now we have writers on the show who grew up with the show. What’s great is they have the history memorized. They’ll say, “You did that in Episode 178.”
Do you have any thoughts on the criticism of Apu as a stereotype?
Not really. I’m proud of what we do on the show. And I think it’s a time in our culture where people love to pretend they’re offended.
You began as rebels. Is it an adjustment to become the establishment?
When we first started, we were part of the downfall of civilization. Bart said he was “an underachiever and proud of it, man.” Simpsons T-shirts were banned in grade schools.
I felt that the controversy at the beginning of the show was, again, people pretending to be offended by Bart’s very mild sassiness. I knew it would blow over. At the heart of our show is a churchgoing family who eats dinner together every night and is very traditional. They drive each other crazy but they do love each other.
How long will “The Simpsons” continue?
I don’t see any end in sight. It’s always possible. (But) I live in denial of death, much less the cancellation of “The Simpsons.”
Is there anything left on your Simpsons accomplishment list?
We need our own full theme park.
We’ve got some rides and a Krusty Burger at Universal (parks), but we need a 600-foottall statue of Homer at the centre of a (theme) park . ... And you eat dinner in his head.