The vague and ultimately impossible location of the Simpson’s particular Springfield is of course a running gag that’s stretched the length of the show, highlighted perhaps by the apparently off-handed revelation that the Simpsons were from northern Kentucky in the “Behind the Laughter” episode. (The credits’ listing of Wereno T Fromky gave viewers a clue that the gag was still running.)
The Anytown, USA vagueness of the Simpsons’ Springfield is (as with so many elements of the show) simultaneously part of its appeal and its playful tweak of sitcom conventions. As I move cross-country to start living in one of those 53 real-world Springfields -- and to live there on a street that’s a Terrace (though sadly not Evergreen Terrace) -- I’m eager to believe that I’ll have a special claim to the show and that my future writings for printculture will be born of the very seat of American culture.
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