Couch potatoes triumph with Simpsons marathon

Julian Assange is to make a cameo in the 500th episode. He's shown left with Homer Simpson, centre, and Bart. (Fox/Associated Press)

The ultimate couch potatoes win thousands of dollars for...well, being couch potatoes.

On your laziest of lazy days, how many hours of TV do you (or can you) watch consecutively? And let me clarify - by consecutively, I mean with no sleep. 10 hours? 15? Dare I say, 20?

Well, chances are your answer is nowhere near as high as Jeremiah Franco, 22, and Carin Shreve, 33. The two California residents watched The Simpsons for 86 hours and 37 minutes.

While you register those numbers in your head, let me explain why someone would ever subject themself to such torture (I consider myself a big Simpsons fan, but really?).

One hundred of the biggest self-proclaimed Simpsons fanatics took part in the Ultimate Fan Marathon hosted by Fox last week in Los Angeles. Fans had to watch consecutive episodes of The Simpsons and the last man or woman sitting won a cash prize. But they sure didn't make it an easy task: Contestants were only given a 10-minute break every two hours for the first two and a half days, and then had the choice of taking a five-minute break every hour, or a 10-minute break every two hours following. If they were caught dozing off, they were dropped from the competition.

The goal, besides finding out who is the most delusional -- er, I mean dedicated Simpsons fan out there, was to break a Guinness World Record for the longest continuous television viewing. Rest assured, Franco and Shreve beat the previous record of 86 hours and six minutes set by 'eye'-hard fans of the show 24. The two also walked away with $10,500 US as their reward.

The marathon comes ahead of The Simpsons landmark 500th episode, which is set to air this Sunday. Originally commissioned for just 13 episodes, The Simpsons has been on the air for 23 seasons and is the longest-running American sitcom. And while we'll have to wait and see if the animated comedy will ever hit the big 6-0-0, the cast is locked into creating another 59 shows.

The 500th episode, titled "At Long Last Leave," will show the Simpsons family getting evicted from Springfield and moving next door to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

The marathon is just one of the celebrations leading up to the milestone episode: Bart Simpson -- or at least his face -- made his runway debut at New York Fashion Week. Designer Jeremy Scott showcased the Bart Simpson Collection at the Jeremy Scott Fashion Show. The line ranges from men's sweaters to women's crop tops.

Show creator Matt Groening received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame this week. How big of a deal is that? Well, Sir Paul McCartney only received a star last week.

-- Parisa Durrani