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HOMER'S ODYSSEY - THE SIMPSONS CELEBRATE 500 EPISODES FOUR INVITES VIEWERS TO CHOOSE THE BEST OF THE BEST

On Sunday, 6 May at 7:30pm, FOUR is proud to air the landmark 500th episode of animated family comedy The Simpsons.

In the episode “At Long Last Leave”, guest starring Julian Assange as himself, the Simpsons are evicted from Springfield and join an off-the-grid community outside of town. But when Homer (voice of Dan Castellaneta) and Marge (voice of Julie Kavner) try to sneak back into Springfield, they are met with hostility from their former friends and neighbours, and begin to appreciate their new and more accepting home.

First airing in the United States on 17 December, 1989, as a Christmas special and now in its 23rd year, The Simpsons is the longest-running cartoon, the longest-running situation comedy and the longest-running scripted prime time series in the history of American television. The Simpsons has won 27 Emmy Awards, is seen in more than 100 countries, holds the Guinness World Record for Most Guest Stars featured in a TV Series, and has over 47.7 million likes on its Facebook fan page. It was voted the “Best Show of the 20th Century” by Time Magazine in 1999, and the series has left a path of catch-phrases including Homer’s “D’oh!” and Bart’s “Eat my shorts” through its social commentary.

As Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times says of the Simpsons family; “They are losers who win, even as they lose, if for no other reason than they have one another. This remarkably stable long term relationship is at once their horrible fate, and their good fortune.”

In celebration of The Simpsons historic 500th episode milestone, FOUR is inviting fans of the iconic animated series to participate in a ‘Viewer’s Choice’ event at FOUR.co.nz. For the first time, the New Zealand public get the chance to dictate FOUR’s programming schedule when they are asked to vote for the best episodes.

Viewers can go to FOUR.co.nz and choose the best episodes from five themes and then tune into FOUR weeknights at 7pm from Monday, 30 June – Friday, 4 May to watch the winning episodes.

Voting runs until 29 April, the themes are as follows:

Best Travel Episode Homer At Work The Kids Are In Trouble Best Guest Star Episode Citizen of Springfield

Kelly Martin, Director of Programming at MediaWorks, says getting the New Zealand public involved is a great way to mark such a television milestone:

“We love The Simpsons. They provide a strong backbone to the FOUR schedule – they have been part of the MediaWorks family for over eight years, and in our lives for over 23. Some of our viewers (not to mention some of our staff) have never known a world without The Simpsons.

“We all have personal favourites among the 499 episodes to date, and it seemed logical to ask our viewers what they think, and to give them a say on what goes to air to celebrate this milestone.”

The Simpsons Viewers Choice episodes, Monday, 30 April – Friday, 4 May, weeknights at 7pm on FOUR.

The Simpsons 500th episode, “At Long Last Leave”, Sunday, 6 May, 7:30pm on FOUR.