The Simpsons Airs 800th Episode Irrational Treasure

The Simpsons marked a historic milestone on Sunday with the airing of its 800th episode, titled "Irrational Treasure," at 8 p.m. on Fox. The long-running animated series, which follows the dysfunctional Simpson family in the fictional town of Springfield, featured the family embarking on a trip to Philadelphia, where Marge enters the family dog, Santa's Little Helper, into a contest, and Homer stumbles into a treasure hunt reminiscent of the National Treasure films.

The episode included several notable elements that highlighted the show's enduring creativity. In an updated version of the series' opening credits, introduced in high definition during season 20 in 2009, Marge's orange station wagon collides with Homer as she pulls into the driveway, a visual gag that has played out in hundreds of episodes without resolution. For the 800th installment, the sequence extended into a couch gag where a bloodied Homer hobbles into the living room, confronting his family as they watch television. "How are you just sitting there?" he shouts. "Your mom hit me with her car. She smashed me through a solid oak door. How could you not see me in the garage? I was running away and screaming in...