So last night in the States, this happened:



Now into its 20th year, The Simpsons has clocked its 450th episode.

In the greater scheme of television history, that's a decent achievement - heavyweight titles tend to go to soap operas and serialised dramas (though you could argue they are one and the same).

But it's an auspicious occasion for an animated sitcom that has managed to, more or less, stay at the top of its game over the course of two decades when other shows start to stumble after just a few seasons.

It's also likely to make you feel quite old - unless you're like me, and you weren't allowed to watch The Simpsons until well into its televisual reign.

Yes, you read that correctly.

My father had decided - in much the same way he did about Dr Seuss (I agreed) and Barbie dolls (not so much) - that The Simpsons was poorly animated and crude.

Since he was a card-carrying Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies/Silly Symphonies nut, it's perhaps not so hard to understand.

Plus, The Simpsons used to look like this:



It's like the bizarro Seinfeld, isn't it? Quick, the remedy:


Ahh, that's much better - everyone can enjoy that.

After a few years, Dad stumbled upon the book of The Simpsons' Christmas episode (you know, where Bart gets halfway through his "MOTHER" tattoo - "MOTH" - and Homer brings home Santa's Little Helper) and was taken by the quality of the drawings and the heartwarming story, and about three years too late, I was permitted to start watching The Simpsons.

(Hi, Dad!)

Since then, The Simpsons has remained a constant - particularly (and oddly, given the shaky start) within my family's vernacular; Mum always noted that when my brother and I got on a laughing roll we sounded "just like Bart and Lisa".

At times like this, people tend to stocktake and run through their favourite episodes; I find it difficult to narrow it down to episodes, though, because the true wonder of The Simpsons is how many brilliant, fleeting moments it manages to jam in across the board.

These two, for example, last only seconds but still make me roar with laughter every time:







Every. Single. Time.

Each person has their own embarrassment of Simpsons riches; every family or friendship group has its own inventory of Simpsons lines that have passed into the vocab. (Millhouse in particular seems to be rather popular within my extended circle.)

It's the beautiful attention to everyday detail paid by Groening, Brooks and the other Simpsons writers that makes the show such essential viewing - yes, it's funny, and yes, often incisively so, but what keeps me coming back is the way The Simpsons can so deftly capture life's minutiae. For a show featuring yellow people with four fingers, that's no small feat.

And, naturally, the cultural impact of the show cannot be underestimated (I highly recommend Chris Turner's Planet Simpson for those interested in further reading on the topic).

(Also, if you're not sure what your favourite Simpsons characters look like "in real life", you'll enjoy this 20th anniversary slide-show. For example, Did You Know that Tress MacNeille - "Jimbo" Jones and many others - has been in every single episode since 2001?)

But at this milestone, I felt it best to leave it to youses: what are your most treasured Simpsons memories? Is the show as good as it used to be?

As for me, I know you can read my thoughts, boy: Meow, Meow, Meow, Meow, Meow, Meow, Meow, Meow, Meow, Meow, Meow.