2019 marks the 30th anniversary that The Simpsons has been on our TV screens and what a hell of a run it’s had. It’s given us some of TV’s greatest characters, been a cornerstone for many childhoods, and has given us timeless jokes that will forever remain funny.
Sideshow Bob stepping on nine rakes in a row? Classic.
*Annoyed grunt*
But like with anything that’s good in life, The Simpsons must end at some point and that brings up quite the big question – how do you even end a show like The Simpsons?
Coming up with a fitting ending is a task akin to landing a man on Mars but it appears that we may have had the finale spoiled for us years ago.
Back in 2014, long-time showrunner Al Jean tweeted out his idea for the last episode of The Simpsons and it actually a really good one as it involves with Homer and Marge arriving at the Christmas pageant in the very first episode, essentially making the entire series a continuous loop.
That certainly shines a new light onto the old joke of The Simpsons going on forever.
@EverySimpsons My idea for last episode — ends w/arrival at Xmas pageant (beginning of first episode). Whole series a continuous loop…
— Al Jean (@AlJean) August 21, 2014
Given how it would be nearly impossible for The Simpsons to surprise anyone anymore, something as mind-bending as Jean’s continuous loop finale idea seems about as perfect of an ending as we’re going to get.
But while it would be great to see something like that happen at some point, I’m hoping for the finale to be something like what a Redditor, LittleMonkey69, pitched as a joke years ago. Here is a summary of their idea:
- Episode begins with the family watching Itchy and Scratchy. Krusty announces that the cartoon is getting cancelled and the finale will be aired in a year’s time. Until then, a contest will be held for the chance to write the finale.
- The Simpsons all enter ideas. Krusty like them all but makes a mistake in the judging and the whole family end up winning.
- A year later, Bart is describing his Itchy and Scratchy idea to Milhouse but is given detention for talking. Homer is describing his take to Lenny and Carl as he gets in a radiation suit. Marge is at the store with Maggie and describing her idea to Helen Lovejoy. Lisa is describing her take to Terri and Sherri before music practice.
- The next part then plays out as a more fleshed out version of the iconic couch gag, not unlike Jean’s continuous loop idea.
- We finish on everyone rushing to take their seat just in time to watch Itchy and Scratchy, except this time the whole family are smiling at each other rather than something weird happening.
The Simpsons is a long way from its season 2-10 heyday and the most recent episode, the season 30 finale, hit an all-time ratings low, so it’s perhaps not inaccurate to say that the show is closer to the finish than it is to the start.
With the show guaranteed to run for at least two more seasons, who knows when it will finally end as it seems like it is destined to run forever. But when it does, we may already know what to expect and it looks like The Simpsons will go out on a high note.