From: mxg77@po.cwru.edu   
      
   How did this wind up feeling like a fawning "celebrity lives with the   
   Simpsons" episode when it was a made-up character? When the rest of the family   
   wasn't acting funny, the athlete was just grating. The pairing of Marge and   
   Mr. Burns as parental figures    
   had a tiny bit of promise and a tiny bit of payoff, and that's about it.   
      
   Previous episode stuff   
   YABF19: John Mulaney is back as "Warburton Parker" (name not given in this   
   episode though)   
      
   When did the faces on paper money get so big? As I recall, the new design   
   first rolled out in 1996, so presumably it's been almost that long since bills   
   $5 or over have been in the collection baskets (lower denominations came out   
   later, and older bills    
   stuck around for a while of course too). Not a bad gag.   
      
   Duffman isn't sure how what name to use with the brandy, but why not Chugman?   
      
   Let's get the heck out of here!   
   John Madden died last week, so tonight's episode featured a dedication to him   
   before the Gracie logo, with what must be a still from AABF08. Appropriate for   
   a sports episode. He also died a few days before Betty White did, but I   
   imagine a dedication to    
   her will show up soon.   
      
   In other dedication update news:   
   Last week's second airing of QABF19 (The Wayz We Were) on 12/26 added a   
   dedication to writer Frank Mula, with no depiction of him but an image from   
   the end of 9F13 (I Love Lisa), one of the episodes credited to him. The airing   
   was also severely time    
   compressed, cutting about 40 seconds off.   
      
      
   And now: my answer to a question no one asked!   
      
   With over 700 episodes, it would be pretty hard for any given month and day to   
   not have a Simpsons airing on it, right? Pretty hard, but not impossible. This   
   episode (UABF05) is the first episode to premiere on January 2nd, in fact (it   
   does seem early in    
   the year, doesn't it?), following the double date of October 13 and 20 in   
   2019; there are still some dates yet to tick off, though!   
      
   Three of them are "in season" and regular dates. January 18, February 1, and   
   April 12 have never seen a new episode air, ever. Neither has February 29, but   
   that has only had a quarter of the chances, of course. (Actually, 2004 was the   
   only year leap day    
   was on the typical day of the week, and Fox ran The Phantom Menace that night.   
   Next leap Sunday is in 2032.)   
      
   Other dates with no episode premieres: May 24 to September 3 (minus those   
   oddball "summer episodes" of early years, 7/11, 8/23, 8/27, and 7/27 for the   
   movie if you like), other scattered dates in September (5-9, 12-16, 22), and   
   most of the Christmas-New-   
   Year corridor (December 22-25, 27-28, 30-31, January 1 but no longer 2).   
      
   Every month except June has seen a new episode air, and every day of the week   
   except Monday and Saturday.   
      
   But if all network airings are included, the list of exceptions goes down   
   considerably, of course. Fox has aired episodes in every month, and on every   
   day of the week. It actually has not aired an episode, ever, on two particular   
   dates: February 29 (see    
   above) and May 29!   
      
   May 29 managed to leapfrog the usual day of the week because of leap years   
   several times, and in 2005, 2011, and 2016 NASCAR races aired instead. It's   
   not part of the usual season, but reruns happen year round, and May 29 is a   
   Sunday again this year (   
   2022)! Well, the same NASCAR race is scheduled for that day, with Fox   
   coverage, but there could be a rain delay, or a bonus episode wedged in.   
   Fingers crossed! Then maybe Fox can just cut us a break and run a repeat on   
   Thursday, February 29, 2024, if the    
   show hasn't ended by then.   
      
   For the other normal dates yet to see new episodes: when they've fallen on the   
   normal day of the week, they've always been reruns or preemptions. All three   
   of them (1/18, 2/1, 4/12) are Sundays in 2026 (which would be season 37,   
   again, if the show makes    
   it that long). And it will be 2024 (season 36) when virgin mid-September dates   
   are Sundays. I'll keep my eyes open. You do the same (and point out any   
   mistakes I might have made)! That's all for now.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)