"Since the beginning of time, man has yearned to destroy the sun."

OK - it's entirely possible we've been going a little nuts with the SIMPSONS material lately. First the event, which we recently podcasted, and now here we are posting pages from "Who Shot Mr. Burns (Part One)," Written by Bill Oakley & Josh Weinstein. Why? Maybe because on August 21, the dream many of us have had since high school is coming true: Every SIMPSONS episode will run concurrently, from the first episode, "Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire," to the most recent. That's 552 episodes of one show.

We'll probably celebrate again on August 21, but just to get you excited, here are the two pages where Mr. Burns announces his fiendish plan to completely shield Springfield from the sun:

...And a later scene, where he puts his plan into action at a town meeting:

This is THE SIMPSONS at its best: Absurd ("Owls will deafen us with incessant hooting")), chock full of quotable moments ("Since the beginning of time, man has yearned to destroy the sun"), and loaded with contributions from tons of distinct, well-realized supporting characters ("...the infernal machinations of Hell's grim tyrant!"). For comedy writers and fans of great verbal wit, it's a masterpiece and a master class.