‘The Simpsons’ Taunts ‘Gunsmoke’ Ahead Of Record-Breaking 635th Episode

‘The Simpsons’ Taunts ‘Gunsmoke’ Ahead Of Record-Breaking 635th Episode

Second Amendment or not — someone needs to keep handguns away from Maggie Simpson.

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The eternal baby who once shot down Springfield’s richest man is trigger-happy again in a new custom animation for The Simpsons that marks the Fox stalwart’s 635th episode this Sunday. It’s the one that will break the tie with CBS’ Gunsmoke for the longest-running primetime scripted series in U.S. history. Check out the whip-crackin’ clip below.

The Simpsons noted the looming historic airing at the end of last week’s episode, when Homer went meta and told the children that their series was about to pass Gunsmoke. But Bart, of course, played Captain Bringdown by noting all those radio episodes the Dodge City-set Western did. D’oh!

Come to think of it, didn’t The Simpsons start out as a radio show back in the late-’40s? Guess it just seems like it’s been around that long.

Anyway, pop open a Duff Ice, put your feet up on an ancient orange couch and watch below as The Simpsons meets Gunsmoke in the dusty street. As the late, lamented Gene Pitney once (sorta), sang when the James Arness program was in just its seventh TV season: “When a man and a baby go out to face each other — only one returns.”