Most episodes ever? ‘Simpsons’ to air No. 500

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THE SIMPSONS: The Simpsons are evicted from Springfield and join an off-the-grid community in "At Long Last Leave," the milestone 500th episode of THE SIMPSONS, airing Sunday, Feb. 19 (8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT) on FOX. THE SIMPSONS ™ and © 2012 TCFFC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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Updated: March 20, 2012 8:10AM

If 300 episodes gets a “Woo-hoo!” and 400 an “Ay caramba!,” then 500 is worthy of a full-on Homer drool.

With Sunday’s episode, “The Simpsons,” in its 23rd season, will hit 500, a nearly unheard-of milestone reached by only two other prime-time scripted series, “Gunsmoke” (633) and “Lassie” (588).

“I never imagined this,” creator Matt Groening says. “I thought it would be a hit with kids. I wasn’t sure adults would dig it.”

There must be some reason for the longevity of the ubiquitous yellow family, which also has a hit movie, a theme park ride and mountains of merchandise, and has gone from being condemned by a president to being blessed by the Vatican.

“I think it’s the flexibility of these characters. They can do any kind of comedy anyone ever thought of, from farce to reality,” executive producer James L. Brooks says. “For a long time, we didn’t want to deal with the fact we could do anything we wanted. There were no sets, no past, no future. The first group of years was spent not taking advantage of any of that [freedom]. Then we started letting it in.”

Josh Weinstein, who oversaw production in seasons seven and eight, marvels at the show’s influence on society. “Now, you have people who use ‘Simpsons’ quotes in everyday life and to talk about the world. I like to think we unduly influenced them.”

Executive producer Al Jean, who oversees production of the show, says he’s stopped predicting how long “The Simpsons” can go on. There was talk that the one-time ratings juggernaut, which still averages 7.7 million viewers, might end because of proposed cost-cutting last fall, but “it wasn’t as dire as it was portrayed,” he says. The new deal will get the show’s tally up to 559 episodes.

Jean says ideas are still there and thinks economics, not creativity, will be the reason the Emmy-winning series ultimately ends.

Producer Mike Reiss says the show “could just go on forever. [It’s] a show about the world. We’ll run out of material the day the world stops being interesting.”

Here are the favorite episodes of some key behind-the-scenes players:

Matt Groening

Virtually all Sideshow Bob episodes and all Halloween “Treehouses of Horror.”

“Homer’s Enemy,” May 4, 1997. New co-worker “Frank Grimes calls Homer on his insanity and dies for his efforts.”

“Once Upon a Time in Springfield,” Jan. 10, 2010. Krusty the Clown hires a sidekick, Princess Penelope (Anne Hathaway), to attract girls to the show. “The last couple of seasons, I feel the marriage of writing and exuberant animation has taken us to a new level.”

“Holidays of Future Passed,” Dec. 11, 2011. The Simpson kids, all grown up at a future Christmas. “We thought maybe if we were going to call it a day, that might have been the last episode.”

“At Long Last Leave,” Feb. 19, 2012. This Sunday’s episode, in which the Simpsons are evicted from Springfield, “has a lot of little jokes that longtime fans will really like.”

James L. Brooks

“Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire,” Dec. 17, 1989. On the very first regular episode, the Simpsons adopt a dog, Santa’s Little Helper. “I love that above all else. It was our birth, as far as I’m concerned.”

“Stark Raving Dad,” Sept. 19, 1991. Homer meets a tall, stocky white man who claims to be Michael Jackson. “Michael Jackson did the show. It was so surreal and great.”

“Who Shot Mr. Burns, Parts 1 and 2,” May 21/Sept. 17, 1995. A Simpsons whodunit cliffhanger, with baby Maggie as the culprit. “It actually worked going across seasons. People wanted to know who shot Mr. Burns.”

“The Way We Was,” Jan. 31, 1991. Marge and Homer go to their high school prom. “I have a soft spot for when we do flashbacks and we show Marge and Homer in their earlier years.”

“Lisa’s Substitute,” April 25, 1991. Dustin Hoffman voices Lisa’s substitute teacher. “Yeardley Smith [who voices Lisa] and us went to New York for the recording session so the two of them could be in the studio together. Once we did that, it put a priority on the way we work with our actors, that we’re all in the same room at the same time, whenever possible.”

Al Jean

“Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire.” “That first Christmas show was so amazing when I saw it. That was the best thing I’d ever been involved with.”

“El Viaje de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer),” Jan. 5, 1997. Homer hallucinates after eating a super-hot chili pepper. Johnny Cash plays the talking coyote. “The animation on that was great.”

“Behind the Laughter,” May 21, 2000. Simpsons family is featured in a parody of VH1’s “Behind the Music.” “I thought it was a great concept and really well executed.”

“Gone, Maggie, Gone,” March 15, 2009. Lisa goes undercover as a nun to find Maggie. “It was a little bit of a satire of ‘The Da Vinci Code,’ which I think was brilliant and really sweet.”

“Holidays of Future Passed.”

Mike Reiss

“Lisa the Skeptic,” Nov. 23, 1997. Lisa questions whether an unearthed skeleton is that of an angel. “This is one of the 5 percent of episodes I didn’t work on. ... It was so smart and funny. That’s when I realized, ‘Gee, maybe I’m the thing that drags the show down.’ ”

“Treehouse of Horror VI,” Oct. 30, 1995. Invasion of billboard icons; Groundskeeper Willie’s Nightmare on Elm Street parody; 3-D Homer. “Almost always one of the three installments on a ‘Treehouse of Horror’ is not so good. ... That was the first time I thought they went three for three, three really amazing segments. Maybe the best ‘Treehouse’ we’ve done.”

“The Father, the Son and the Holy Guest Star,” May 15, 2005. Homer becomes a Catholic; Liam Neeson plays a priest. “Homer loves the idea of getting absolution for everything he does. It was funny and provocative. I just go, ‘Wow, how did we not think of this in 15 years of the show? ’”

“22 Short Films About Springfield,” April 14, 1996. A day in the life of Springfield, playing off the film “Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould.” “I think our parody wound up being much more famous than the original thing. It was very inspired.”

“Like Father, Like Clown,” Oct. 24, 1991. Krusty reunites with his estranged father, Rabbi Hyman Krustofski (Jackie Mason). “The day after it aired, we were flooded with calls. People were a little surprised how emotionally moved they could be by ‘The Simpsons.’ We’d done sensitive episodes before, but that one opened the floodgates.”

Gannett News Service