# Simpsons #300 or #302? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 28, 2003, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-300-or-302/171601 "2003-04-28T04:35:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-300-or-302/171601/1 "2003-04-28T04:35:54Z")
In what was described as the 300th episode, Lisa makes a reference to Homer acting stupidly 300 times. Marge says she thought it was 302 and Lisa says they won’t talk about that (or words to that effect). Presumedly, this is a reference to some issue about how the episodes are numbered. Can anyone explain it to me? ---
**Author:** ![Shakey\_Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@Shakey\_Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakey_Jake)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-300-or-302/171601/2 "2003-04-28T06:59:13Z")
Someone will probably come and correct me soon, but I believe there were a couple of instances in which an episode was not counted as a stand-alone episode. For example, the _Who Shot Mr. Burns_ two-parter was counted as one episode (I think). ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-300-or-302/171601/3 "2003-04-28T12:22:14Z")
This post has nothing to do with _The Simpsons_. There was a Cessna 150, “Two-Eight-Tango”, at Montgomery Field when I was a kid. Since it was old and rattled a bit, everyone called it “Shaky Jake”. (It was destroyed in a crash.) ---
**Author:** ![davesink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@davesink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davesink)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-300-or-302/171601/4 "2003-04-28T14:33:15Z")
Just another WAG, but since the Simpsons actually began life as cutaways for the Tracey Ullman Show, was Marge perhaps referring to these earlier appearances? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-300-or-302/171601/5 "2003-04-28T15:08:16Z")
> [@](#): > > Just another WAG, but since the Simpsons actually began life as cutaways for the Tracey Ullman Show, was Marge perhaps referring to these earlier appearances? Nope. Then it would be 350. We went over this when the episode initially aired and the numbers clearly were not right. At the point Barting Over aired it was the 303rd half hour of the Simpsons to be produced. Likely explanations for Lisa’s comment about 302 are not counting the initial “christmas special” (which was produced as part of the series) or counting the two parts of Who Shot Mr. Burns as one episode. ---
**Author:** ![skaterboarder87](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@skaterboarder87](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skaterboarder87)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-300-or-302/171601/6 "2003-04-28T17:35:09Z")
What I read in TV Guide I believe was that it was infact the 302nd episode, but Fox touted it as the 300th for ratings. The true 300th episode was shown 2 weeks earlier…It’s sound logic.