Holy crap! On April 16th 2010 South Park celebrates its 200th episode officially making the show a heavyweight contender in the world comedy. Where did the time go!?
South Park's 200th Episode Anniversary
Sitcoms come and go and only a few manage to stand the test of time. But genuinely decent sitcoms, especially animated sitcoms like South Park that are still going strong are rare to come across.
Cartman’s lack of a moral compass and his blatant anti-Semitism has pushed the boundaries of taste and decency for almost thirteen years now and creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker always ensure their new episodes are always relevant, controversial, and more importantly hilarious.
Nevertheless the ‘Big 200’ is a momentous and fairly rare achievement for a sitcom and if episodes were years, and sitcoms were people, they’d have two telegrams from the Queen by now…just think about that!
But by no means is length a reflection on quality …classic sitcoms like Fawlty Towers and Only Fools and Horses feel like they’ve been going forever yet only 12 episodes were ever made of the ‘Towers’ and there have only been 75 outings for the Peckham lads…
So because we think reaching 200 episodes is a frickin’ big deal, we’re taking a look at some of the bicentennial big guns that have split our sides over the years.
Click ‘next’ to see which sitcoms did (and surprisingly didn’t) make it to 200…
THE SIMPSONS – 458+ EPISODES
Simpson eh? The brainchild of Matt Groening, The Simpsons started life as a series of shorts for The Tracy Ullman Show in the late 80s.
But who would have thought the yellow-skinned inhabitants of Springfield would go on to star in 458 episodes and counting! Wowza!
The most dysfunctional family on TV
Starring Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie, this dysfunctional family struck a chord with viewers who identified with its wit, intelligence and its close-to-home realism. So much so that The Simpsons is now recognized by Guinness World Records as the world’s longest running sitcom.
In the nineties The Simpsons were fully ingratiated in popular culture. “D’oh!” became an everyday phrase, Simpsons videogames and merchandise were ten a penny and Bart even topped the UK singles chart in 1990 with Do the Bartman. Ay Carumba!
They even have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame!
Nowadays though many die hard fans believe the glory days of The Simpsons are long gone with wackier and zanier plotlines replacing the once touching character driven plotlines. But surely after you’ve written over 450 adventures you can’t hit the mark every time right?
However 25 Primetime Emmy Awards, 26 Annie Awards, a movie and 20 years (or so) later The Simpsons is aired in 45 countries worldwide and is now in its 21st season (22nd is in production) and whilst people still enjoy it they’ll continue to make it.
Will it make 500? Probably.
FRIENDS – 236 EPISODES
Oh…My…God this sitcom really needs no introduction. Friends is perhaps the most successful sitcom of a generation? Of all time? Too far?
Telling the lives of six friends in New York, we all wish we had a circle of friends like Monica, Chandler, Ross, Rachel, Joey and Phoebe and perhaps that’s why we tuned in every week for ten seasons and 236 episodes.
Best of Friends
“How you doin’” became a credible pick-up line for bar dwelling Joey wannabes everywhere, Jennifer Aniston’s hair became a character of its own and The Rembrants’ track I’ll Be There For You became the soundtrack to wedding receptions, school discos and to friendships the world over.
Celebrities were lining up to guest star in the sitcom including Bruce Willis and Christina Applegate who both won Emmy Awards for their turns on the show.
Such was the success of the show that by the third season the six stars had banded together for their salary negotiations. They demanded more and more money each season and by the ninth season were reportedly earning $1million each per episode! When you’re on to a good thing…
Friends is still as popular as ever these days and that’s why next Autumn we’ll be able to bring you all 236 episodes right here for your pleasure on Comedy Central! Joy!
FRASIER- 264 EPISODES
Not only revered as being one of the most successful spin-off series of all time, the critically acclaimed Frasier is often thought of as one of the best sitcoms of all-time.
Frasier followed on from another of our sitcom heavyweights Cheers, as Dr Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) returned home to Seattle after the break-up of his marriage in Boston.
Frasier
As Frasier took a job as a radio host and planned a new life of bachelorhood, his plans were scuppered when he agreed to take in his recently retired dad Marty (John Mahoney) and his loveable Jack Russell dog ‘Eddie’.
Thus ensued a collision of cultures and generations as Frasier and his equally cultured brother Niles competed against the simpler values of their father Marty, his British carer Daphne (Jane Leeves) and Frasier’s straight talking producer Roz (Peri Gilpin).
Frasier was clever, witty, and perhaps a tad pretentious but that’s why the characters of Roz and Daphne were always there to bring our psychiatrists back down a peg or two.
Winning 37 Emmys throughout its eleven season run, Frasier notched up a whopping 255 episodes after the 275 his character had survived in Cheers – now that’s something to be proud of.
Stunning!