During the table read for what was then the 200th episode (“Trash of the Titans” if you care), showrunner/producer David Mirkin remarked the show was half way there. It seems he was off by 50 but knowing Fox, it will be more.
I find it pretty amazing how long the program has lasted. Then again, few thought the Fox network would endure into the Nineties. The late Dr. Grams once remarked in my history (of broadcasting) class that the proliferation of cable TV in the early eighties made a “fourth” network possible. I use scary quotes because Fox is technically the sixth American network. The original fourth network title belongs to the short-lived Du Mont (WGN is a famous former affiliate!) and fifth goes to PBS which few consider a network, never mind Dr. Havice (another broadcasting professor) told me it had the most affiliates in the Seventies, hence earning the ire of Tricky Dick.
Enough of me digressing, trying to fill the history void left by the great Dr. Grams.
Unlike so many others who dogpile on the show, eager to talk crap with tired gems such as, “The Simpsons was better back in <insert season here>.” I have no opinion about the current quality since I haven’t seen a first-airing in seven years. I probably won’t catch many until the DVDs arrive. In many ways, I really look forward to this. Seriously. A major reason why involves how the passing of years sometimes improves the episodes. When the ninth season kicked off in the Fall of 1997 (“The City of New York v. Homer Simpson”), I remember thinking, “Boy did this suck!” After seeing it again in syndication two-to-three years later, I changed my mind; many jokes I glazed over we apparent and enjoyable. I doubt it had anything to do with my brief trip to Manhattan in 2000.
I’m going to wait and see how the show pans out to its planned finale of 25 seasons…at this time. I won’t pass judgment until I’ve seen the entire run too. However, I am cringing over Fox’s plan to possibly launch a cable channel dedicated to just them. A little advice Murdoch. About 30 years ago, a radio station in Houston tried to something similar by programming just the Beatles. It didn’t last very long. As annoying as Beatles fanatics are, I think they couldn’t endure the Kim Jong-Ils of Pop/Rock all the time.