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Of all the great things about television, the greatest is that it’s on every single day. TV history is being made, day in and day out, in ways big and small. In an effort to better appreciate this history, we’re taking a look back, every day, at one particular TV milestone.
IMPORTANT DATE IN TV HISTORY: April 28, 1994
PROGRAM ORIGINALLY AIRED ON THIS DATE: The Simpsons, “Sweet Seymour Skinner’s Baadasssss Song” (Season 5, Episode 19) [Watch on Simpsons World.]
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT: It’s not really the case anymore, but time was that a TV show needed to reach 100 produced episodes before it could enter the realm of syndication (and all the attendant sweet, sweet royalties). 100 episodes was a real milestone for a TV show, the mark of longevity and true success. The Simpsons, to date, have reached that milestone five times over. They’re closer to 600 episodes than they are to 500. It’s an astounding number.
It’s funny to see the chalkboard gag at the beginning of The Simpsons‘ 100th episode: “I will not celebrate meaningless milestones.” Maybe even back then the producers of The Simpsons knew they’d have plenty of opportunities to celebrate another 100 episodes.
It’s true that the 100th episode, “Sweet Seymour Skinner’s Baadasssss Song,” is any kind of special episode. Bart brings Santa’s Little Helper into school for show-and-tell, the dog gets into the air ducts, and after some business with a greased-up Groundskeeper Willie, the fire department is called in, and Superintendent Chalmers fires Skinner for gross incompetence. The rest of the episode is divided between Skinner and Bart forging an unlikely friendship and Ned Flanders trying to principal the school. It’s a season-five episode of The Simpsons, which means it’s automatically a winner. It opens with an A+ Wonder Years parody, features plenty of Agnes Skinner, and gives us a window into the searing sexual chemistry between Groundskeeper Willie and Lunch Lady Doris.
[You can watch “Sweet Seymour Skinner’s Baadasssss Song” on Simpsons World.]
Joe Reid (@joereid) is a freelance writer living in Brooklyn. You can find him leaving flowers for Mrs. Landingham at the corner of 18th and Potomac.
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