After 800 episodes, The Simpsons has finally paid off one of its longest-running visual gags: Marge hitting Homer with her car in the opening credits.
A 17-year-old joke, finally explained
In the show’s updated HD intro—introduced in 2009 during season 20—Marge barrels into the driveway in her orange station wagon and runs Homer down before parking in the garage. For years, fans watched the moment play out without any follow-up.
In the 800th episode intro, the whole family sat in front of the TV when a bloodied Homer entered the living room.
“How are you just sitting there?” Homer shouts. “Your mom hit me with her car. She smashed me through a solid oak door. How could you not see me in the garage? I was running away and screaming in terror. There’s wood everywhere in me.”
He then adds, “Why the hell was Maggie in the front seat?”
The couch gag was reportedly cut from Fox’s broadcast version but remained intact on Hulu and Disney+. Previously, Homer ran from Marge’s car.
Nearly two decades later, The Simpsons followed up on the driveway crash fans watched hundreds of times over the years. In the scene, Homer hobbled into the living room where his family watched TV, ignoring him as he shouted about the crash.
Fans debate: Is this a Family Guy-style gag?
People discussing the scene from episode 800 on X celebrated the long-delayed punchline while debating the show’s relationship to the animated series Family Guy.
@SalsaTech1 commented, “Classic Simpsons humor — finally acknowledging a long-running intro gag and turning it into a self-aware joke. Dark, but perfectly on-brand.”
Most fans reacting to the scene on social media thought it was funny, but many debated whether or not the show was ripping off Family Guy. “This is such a family guy style gag,” argued @naah1929.
One fan pointed out that both shows influence each other. “The new writers being influenced by old Family Guy that was influenced by The Simpsons,” wrote @William45589421.
“I think the premise of the joke is fine,” wrote @yoshishah. “The excessive gore makes it more akin to a Family Guy joke imo.”
At 800 episodes, though, few shows can claim this level of meta follow-through.
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