The Simpsons hit 500

From the Guardian, who have had their readers rank the top 10 episodes.

You Only Move Twice is not only the best Simpsons episode ever but one of the best episodes of ANYTHING ever," reckons @WilburWhateley, a view that's far from unique. It is written by the most prolific, celebrated and reclusive writer from The Simpsons early years, John Swartzwelder – a man who when smoking was banned from his local diner, bought the booth in which he used to sit, smoke and write and installed it in his own home. Spoofing Bond, with brilliant sight gags, featuring the fantastic supervillain/ entrepreneur Hank Scorpio and a relentless string of classic gags, it's the one Simpsons episode everyone agreed they loved.
Scorpio: "By the way, Homer. Which is your least favourite country? Italy or France'?
Homer: "...France"
Scorpio: "Nobody ever says Italy..."

Interestingly, all of your top 10 come from the first decade of The Simpsons - in fact of the 100 or so episodes voted for, only a handful were from the 21st century.

Homer a Genius?

A new list of geniuses includes Matt Groening, creator of the Simpsons and the greatest living cartoon non genius, Homer.

One is credited with dreaming up the technological innovation that has arguably done most to transform our lives in recent years; the other is behind a cartoon about a custard-hued family in middle America.

Yet both the worldwide web founder, Tim Berners-Lee, and the Simpsons creator, Matt Groening, are among the world's top 10 living geniuses, according to a report which ranks individuals according to their "genius factor".

It used a scoring system to assess contenders on how much their contribution had turned conventional thinking on its head, the popular acclaim they received, their intellectual power, their achievements and their cultural importance

Well Doh! Pass the Donuts.

The Top 10, some of whom I know. Drum roll for Google as I check them out.

1= Albert Hofmann (Swiss) chemist (genius factor 27)

1= Tim Berners-Lee (British) computer scientist (27)

3 George Soros (American) investor and philanthropist (25)

4 Matt Groening (American) satirist and animator (24)

5= Nelson Mandela (South African) politician and diplomat (23)

5= Frederick Sanger (British) chemist (23)

7= Dario Fo (Italian) writer & dramatist (22)

7= Stephen Hawking (British) physicist (22)

9= Oscar Niemeyer (Brazilian) architect (21)

9= Philip Glass (American) composer (21)

9= Grigory Perelman (Russian) mathematician (21)

The Simpsons Do Star Wars

I think that this combination would be my sons ultimate programme.

The Simpsons 20 Years at the Top

It is now 20 years since The Simpsons were first on TV. I can remember in the early 1990s that my work colleagues were pretty scandalised that one of them let their quite young daughter watch. I never watched then and I hardly see them now, given that it is on when I am doing my domestic chores, but our kids would watch all that they could, if they were allowed. They show it for up to an hour and a half some nights here.

Although there are a few too many naughty words and mature themes, we think on balance it is ok. Uh Oh, does that make us bad parents? At least we draw the line at Big Brother, set to swamp the airwaves, starting later today. Verboten and Not Allowed in our house.

It is intriguing that after 20 years they basically look the same, rather like the somewhat less technicolour cartoon medium of Oor Willie or The Broons from my childhood. The themes in those cartoon strips were a good deal less racy and hardly a naughty word was said.