FXX is effectively hijacking the rest of any animation-lovers’ summer by airing every Simpsons in consecutive order — all 552 episodes plus the 2007 feature film — beginning Thursday at 10 a.m.  

Some of you may be wondering what, if anything, can we stand to learn from a cartoon that’s run roughshod over competing sitcoms over the past 25 years?  

Plenty.  

The award-winning series (30-odd Emmys and counting) has poked fun at politics for decades. And it has typically done so with more wit and charm than its real-life contemporaries.  

Some of the shining examples that immediately come to mind include:  

Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington (Season 3, Episode 37)  

Civic-minded Lisa Simpson learns the awful truth about lobbying in this send-up of Jimmy Stewart’s David vs. Goliath story.  

Airing this Friday at 4 a.m.  

Two Bad Neighbors (S7, E141)  

Former President George H. W. Bush tangles with oafish dad, Homer Simpson, and born troublemaker, Bart Simpson, in a battle royal on Evergreen Terrace.  

Airing Sunday at 8 a.m. The Boy Who Knew Too Much (S5, E101)  

Mayor “Diamond Joe” Quimby must weather a political scandal when his abrasive nephew, Freddy, touches off a Franco-American feud.  

Simpsons – Trial of Freddy Quimby from petroeld on Vimeo.

Airing Saturday at noon.  

Bart vs. Australia (S6, E119)  

International diplomacy is put to the test when Bart prank calls our pals Down Under.  

Simpsons – Trial of Freddy Quimby from petroeld on Vimeo.

Airing Saturday at 9 p.m.  

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to set my out-of-office response to “D’oh! Don’t bother trying to reach me again till Tuesday, Sept. 2”  

Roll Call Election Map: Race Ratings for Every Seat


Get breaking news alerts and more from Roll Call in your inbox or on your iPhone.