"The Simpsons" To Remain Moderately Funny for Two More Seasons

Variety is reporting today that FOX has given an early two-season pick up to long-running animated series The Simpsons, keeping the show--about a certain yellow-toned family who never seem to age and their doughnut-obsessed dad--on the air at least through 2008.

The order takes The Simpsons into its 18th and 19th seasons, easily making it the longest-running sitcom in Fox's checkered history (it only seemed as though Herman's Head was on for that long). The order also means that The Simpsons will reach its landmark 400th episode, which will air in the show's 18th season. According to Variety, that milestone is tentatively scheduled to air on 20 May, 2007.

I've had my ups and downs with the series and still manage to watch it (when they actually air a new episode) each Sunday, though the quality has been rather sub-par in recent years. Gone now are the classic episodes that you could watch over and over again (and which are shown about 18 times a day in syndication); in their place are mediocre storylines that are far too confusing... or interesting concepts that fall apart in the execution (like the recent meta-theatrical storytelling episode that devolved into an underground shoot-out over lost gold when the timeline fell apart under its own weight). It just seems lately that the show is treading water, desperate for someone to reinvigorate the show and make it relevant once again.

Will that happen soon? Who can say. But at least I've got my classic episodes on DVD to keep me company.