We were surprised and delighted to learn earlier today that tonight's episode of The Simpsons, "The Day The Earth Stood Cool," featured an appearance by The A.V. Club—or at least our logo, and a good-natured jab at what we do. In the episode, Marge is fooled by headlines in The Onion, then turns to The A.V. Club, where she notes the hilarity of our "fake" movie reviews. (For the record, both The Graduate and The Wizard Of Oz would get Bs, at minimum.)
As regular A.V. Club readers know, The Simpsons is a huge touchstone for us—a modern classic that we hold near and dear, even as we critique its every move. (And a Venn diagram of "Simpsons watchers" and "A.V. Club readers" would basically be just a circle.) So we were honored to make it on to that hallowed screen, if only for a fleeting moment. Now, Simpsons staff: Please send us the animation cel so we can get it framed and hung in a place of pride.
Here's the clip to prove this wasn't just a collective hallucination:
