As I write this, the seventh and final episode is just beginning. It is the one in which Springfield and Shelbyville go to war.
Normally, WNYW (Fox 5) in New York shows two episodes of The Simpsons, at 7:00 PM and 7:30 PM, preceded by two consecutive episodes of The Nanny. However, they also have broadcast TV rights to New York Yankees games, many of which start at 7:05 PM. On days when there is a Yankees game on Fox 5 at 7:05 PM, the schedule is modified such that The Nanny runs at 6:00 and The Simpsons runs at 6:30 PM. I made it home from work today just in time to catch the 6:30 PM episode. Then, I see a shot of Comerica Park in Detroit, where the Yankees are scheduled to play against the Detroit Tigers.
The tarp is out.
Oh boy.
I like to think of myself as a Yankees fan, but I think I'm more of a Simpsons fan. So when the game goes on rain delay, an on-screen graphic indicates "COMING UP NEXT: THE SIMPSONS." Apparently they'll be showing the second episode that would have gone unaired.
The second Simpsons episode of the evening ends at 7:30. Much to my surprise, they air a third at 7:30 PM. (Apparently they didn't feel like running that second episode of The Nanny, fortunately.) At about 8:03 PM, the fourth Simpsons episode is briefly interrupted so that Bobby Murcer and Tim McCarver can comment briefly about how the game has officially been rained out. At this point, I assume that the Fox network's Thursday night line-up will kick in at this point, since most affiliates weren't going to be showing baseball anyway.
No dice.
The fourth episode resumes quickly. The fifth episode airs. A sixth episode airs. And now, this is number seven.
Assuming that the Fox 5 10 O'Clock News still runs as planned, that will make exactly seven consecutive episodes of the Simpsons. Is this a record? At school, an organization ran four consecutive hours of Simpsons episodes on the big screen in McConomy Auditorium, but that wasn't sanctioned by the Fox network AFAIK. While WNYW-TV probably didn't get the green light to run these four prime-time episodes (and the episodes were obviously syndicated; Fox was supposed to show a movie or something) they have done the tri-state area a great service with their unbridled generosity.
Fox 5, I salute you. If you have a pledge drive, you better believe I'll be getting my share of tote bags. | 
