Marjorie Jacqueline "Marge" Simpson (née Bouvier) is a character in the American animated sitcom The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. Voiced by Julie Kavner, she first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Marge was created and designed by cartoonist Matt Groening while he was waiting in the lobby of James L. Brooks' office. Groening had been called to pitch a series of shorts based on Life in Hell but instead decided to create a new set of characters. He based the character on his mother Margaret Groening. After appearing on The Tracey Ullman Show for three seasons, the Simpson family received their own series on Fox, which debuted December 17, 1989.
Jack Handey is an American humorist. He is best known for his "Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey", a large body of surrealistic one-liner jokes, as well as his "Fuzzy Memories" and "My Big Thick Novel" shorts, and for his deadpan delivery. Although many assume otherwise, Handey is a real person, not a pen name or character.
Andrew Ross Breckman is an American television and film writer and a radio personality on WFMU. He is the creator and executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning television series Monk on the USA Network, and is co-host of WFMU radio's long-running conceptual comedy program Seven Second Delay. He has written screenplays for a number of comedy films including Sgt. Bilko and Rat Race, and is frequently hired as a "script doctor" to inject humorous content into scripts written by other screenwriters.
The Itchy & Scratchy Show is a show within a show featured on The Simpsons. The show depicts a blue mouse named Itchy, who repeatedly maims or kills a black cat named Scratchy, and is typically presented as 15- to 60-second-long cartoons that are a part of The Krusty the Clown Show. The show is filled with graphic violence that almost invariably prompts laughter from The Simpsons characters, especially Bart and Lisa.
"Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?" is the twenty-fourth and final episode of the third season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on August 27, 1992. It was originally slated to air as the season premiere for the next season, but Fox decided to air it earlier to promote the series premiere of Martin.
John Joseph Swartzwelder Jr. is an American comedy writer and novelist, best known for his work on the animated television series The Simpsons. Born in Seattle, Washington, Swartzwelder began his career working in advertising. He was later hired to work on comedy series Saturday Night Live in the mid-1980s as a writer. He later contributed to fellow writer George Meyer's short-lived Army Man magazine, which led him to join the original writing team of The Simpsons, beginning in 1989.
"Itchy & Scratchy & Marge" is the ninth episode of the second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 20, 1990. In the episode, which is a satire of censorship issues, Maggie bullies Homer by attacking him with a mallet and Marge blames The Itchy & Scratchy Show for Maggie's actions. It was written by John Swartzwelder and was the first episode to be directed by Jim Reardon. Alex Rocco makes his first of three guest appearances as Roger Meyers, Jr.
"Homer Simpson in: 'Kidney Trouble'" is the eighth episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 6, 1998. In the episode Grampa's kidneys explode, leaving him in urgent need of a donor. His son Homer initially agrees to donate one of his kidneys, but after hearing of side effects of only having one kidney, he begins to have second thoughts about the operation.
"Monty Can't Buy Me Love" is the twenty-first episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 2, 1999. In the episode, Mr. Burns is jealous of megastore owner Arthur Fortune, who is beloved by the people of Springfield. In order to win the people's love, Burns gathers the help of Homer Simpson, Professor Frink and Groundskeeper Willie to capture the Loch Ness monster.
"The Regina Monologues" is the fourth episode of the fifteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 23, 2003. It was directed by Mark Kirkland and was the final episode written by John Swartzwelder. The episode sees the Simpson family travel to the United Kingdom for vacation. There, they meet several celebrities including Tony Blair, Evan Marriott, Ian McKellen and J. K. Rowling, who all appear as themselves. Later, Homer is arrested and locked in the Tower of London for accidentally crashing into the Queen's carriage. Meanwhile, Abraham Simpson journeys to find Edwina, his long lost love, who is voiced by Jane Leeves.
Ian Maxtone-Graham is an American television writer and producer. He has formerly written for Saturday Night Live (1992–1995) and The Simpsons (1995–2012), as well as serving as a co-executive producer and consulting producer for the latter.
"The Old Man and the Lisa" is the twenty-first episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 20, 1997. In the episode, Mr. Burns goes bankrupt and asks Lisa to help him get rich again. She agrees on the condition that he change his evil ways. They earn money by recycling cans and soon Burns has enough money to start his own recycling plant. Lisa is aghast when she learns the plant makes a slurry from liquefied sea creatures. When Burns sells the plant to a company that makes fish sticks, he offers Lisa 10 percent of his profits, but she declines for ethical reasons.
"Hurricane Neddy" is the eighth episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 29, 1996. It was written by Steve Young, directed by Bob Anderson, and features a cameo by Jon Lovitz as Jay Sherman from The Critic. In the episode, a violent hurricane strikes Springfield and spares the Simpsons. But, by pure chance, the only house destroyed belongs to Ned Flanders. As a result, Ned begins to lose his faith in God and the townspeople around him, especially Homer leading to a nervous breakdown.
"The Frying Game" is the twenty-first and penultimate episode of the thirteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 19, 2002. In the episode, after accidentally injuring an endangered caterpillar, Homer is sentenced to two weeks of community service. As part of his sentence, Homer delivers Meals on Wheels to an old woman called Mrs. Bellamy, who subtly guilt trips him, and later Marge, into becoming her personal servants. One day, the two find Mrs. Bellamy dead in her house, having been stabbed by a man with braces who quickly escapes the murder scene. Being the only ones present when the police arrive, Homer and Marge are soon suspected for the murder. The episode also features a "Snuh cascade", an homage to a group of Simpsons fans on Usenet.
"Bart the Murderer" is the third episode of the third season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 10, 1991. In the episode, Bart stumbles upon a Mafia bar after having bad luck at school. The owner of the bar, mobster Fat Tony, hires Bart as a bartender. When Principal Skinner goes missing after punishing him at school, Bart is put on trial for his murder.
Spike Feresten is an American television writer, screenwriter, comedian and television personality, who is best known for his work on Seinfeld, writing for David Letterman, and hosting the late night Talkshow with Spike Feresten from 2006 to 2009 on Fox. He is the former host of Esquire Network's series Car Matchmaker with Spike Feresten. He currently hosts the podcast Spike's Car Radio with Paul Zuckerman. He was also a screenwriter for the 2007 animated film Bee Movie.
George Meyer is an American producer and writer. Meyer is best known for his work on The Simpsons, where he led the group script rewrite sessions. He has been publicly credited with "thoroughly shap[ing] ... the comedic sensibility" of the show.
"The Day the Violence Died" is the eighteenth episode of the seventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 17, 1996. It was written by John Swartzwelder and directed by Wes Archer. Kirk Douglas guest stars as Chester J. Lampwick, Alex Rocco as Roger Meyers Jr., Jack Sheldon as an anthropomorphic constitutional amendment, Suzanne Somers as herself, and Phil Hartman as Lionel Hutz. The end of the episode features Lester and Eliza, who resemble Bart and Lisa Simpson as they appeared in The Tracey Ullman Show in the 1980s.
Jon Vitti is an American writer best known for his work on the television series The Simpsons. He has also written for King of the Hill, The Critic and The Office, and has served as a screenwriter or consultant for several animated and live-action movies, including Ice Age (2002), Robots (2005), and Horton Hears a Who! (2008). He is one of the eleven writers of The Simpsons Movie and also wrote the screenplays for the film adaptions Alvin and the Chipmunks, its "squeakquel" and The Angry Birds Movie.
Mike Sacks is an American author, humor writer, and magazine editor based in New York City. Sacks is currently an editor at Vanity Fair and formerly worked for The Washington Post. He contributes to the New Yorker, McSweeney’s, Esquire, Salon, Vanity Fair, GQ, Believer, Vice, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. As of 2022, Sacks has published a total of ten books, six of which have been under his own imprint.
