All TV shows, even those that break records for how long they've been on our screens, eventually have to come to an end. You can either drag it on until people get bored and stop watching, try to launch a spin-off with new characters (that almost never goes well), or end it at just the right time. For instance, the creators of Breaking Bad probably could have kept an audience invested for several more years (I definitely would have watched), but instead they decided to bring Walter White's story to a close after five seasons.
There is - however - another option: you just never ever stop. From a money-making perspective, that's the best way to go, but there's pretty much only one show that has pulled it off. While even mega-popular shows like The Big Bang Theory have called it a day after its number of seasons hit the double digits, The Simpsons looks like it's going to keep running until the heat death of the universe.
You could say that The Simpsons just isn't 'with it' anymore.
The show has waned in popularity, and the newer episodes are definitely a lot worse, but it still is incredibly popular. And when it comes to the earlier seasons (mostly the first nine or 10), fans still revisit them as classic 90s relics of satire and absurd comedy, while the internet is just chocked full of memes or realisations that the show predicted the future twenty years earlier. However, even though we hold up these episodes as perfect examples of animated comedy - there definitely were some mistakes made along the way.
All the way back in 1995, we were treated to the brilliant episode 'And Maggie Makes Three', which showed us the story of how Marge got pregnant with Maggie, and how this changed the family's lives. In classic Simpsons fashion, there was a very relatable, human story underneath the goofy humour. Homer and Marge's finances were perfectly balanced to handle their house and two children, but an unexpected pregnancy leaves Homer having to go back to a job he hates and lose his financial stability.
By the end of the episode, we learn that it was all worth it, in an iconic and tear-jerking reveal of how Homer keeps dozens of photos of Maggie at work, transforming a sign that says "Don't forget, you're here forever" into "Do it for her".
No, you're crying.
There was something else about this episode that has stood out lately, however. Recently, Simpsons executive producer pointed out a mistake from this episode - and it's a pretty obvious one too. He posted a screengrab of the moment on Twitter, writing: "Maggie is in photo on wall behind Marge telling Homer she's pregnant with Maggie."
You can see it in context in the full clip below (it comes in at around 1:35):
Some fans jumped to claim that the photo could be Lisa, and Maggie must have later had Lisa's hand-me-downs - but others pointed out we see baby Lisa in flashbacks and she looks completely different. However, most people just pointed out how ridiculous it was to hunt after little plotholes and errors this small.
And, of course, many returned to this great scene from the eighth season, in which fans find the smallest detail to complain about.
And this gem:
It's a good rule of life for this sort of thing: whenever you notice a mistake like this, a wizard did it. Case solved.
