The Simpsons episode guides

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Cover of the first episode guide, The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family (1997) The Simpsons A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family cover.jpg
Cover of the first episode guide, The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family (1997)

Five official episode guides for the American animated sitcom The Simpsons have been published by HarperCollins since 1997. The first guide covers seasons 1 to 8, while the following three cover seasons 9 to 14 (two seasons each). The fifth was released in 2010 and covers seasons 1 to 20.

Contents

The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family

The first guide, The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family, was published in the fall of 1997. [1] It was edited by Ray Richmond and Antonia Coffman, and includes a foreword by series creator Matt Groening. As an in-joke, the guide made an actual appearance in the 2003 episode "Today I Am a Clown", where Lisa uses it to remind Homer that Santa's Little Helper was supposedly neutered in a previous episode (specifically, "Two Dozen and One Greyhounds").

The guide provides an episode-by-episode history of the first eight seasons of The Simpsons. Each episode is covered in either one or two pages, featuring a synopsis, credits, pictures, and memorable quotes, as well as the episode's chalkboard gag. Obscure or hidden jokes are also brought to attention. The episodes are arranged in chronological order, and at the beginning of each season are two-page special features, such as a list and brief description of The Simpsons shorts from The Tracey Ullman Show , a list of times Homer has said "D'oh!", and a list of Itchy & Scratchy cartoons. On two pages there are short biographies of each of the five immediate members of the Simpson family, namely Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie. Short biographies of other Simpsons characters appear in sidebars to each episode's page, starting with Santa's Little Helper for "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" and ending with Willem Dafoe's Commandant from "The Secret War of Lisa Simpson".

The Simpsons Forever!: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family …Continued

The Simpsons Forever!: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family ...Continued is an episode guide for the ninth and tenth seasons of The Simpsons, starting with "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson" and ending with "Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo". The book is the first companion to the original The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family, and was also published by HarperCollins. The Simpsons Forever! was edited by Scott M. Gimple and released in 1999. [2]

Groening wrote an introduction to The Simpsons Forever!, just as he did with the original book. In his introduction, he claims that the choice was made to publish a second book as opposed to revising and republishing the last edition, to spare consumers from purchasing material they already owned. Groening goes on to describe the format of the book, which, like the last, includes synopses and quotes. The book continues the work of the last edition by listing the times Homer cries "D'oh!" or says "Mmm...", as well as new couch gags, but it includes unique features as well, including a tribute to Troy McClure, whose character was retired after his voice actor, Phil Hartman, was murdered. The guide also includes the lyrics to the Simpsons-related songs, "Do the Bartman" and "Deep, Deep Trouble".

The Simpsons Beyond Forever!: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family …Still Continued

The Simpsons Beyond Forever!: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family ...Still Continued is an episode guide for the eleventh and twelfth seasons of The Simpsons. It was edited by Jesse L. McCann and published in 2002 by HarperCollins. [3] The book is a companion to the prior Simpsons episode guides. The book consists of synopses and quotes for each episode, beginning with "Beyond Blunderdome" and ending with "Simpsons Tall Tales". In this way it follows the last two books. However, this edition dedicates two pages of coverage to every episode, and four pages of coverage for each Halloween special. It thus outdoes the prior editions, which had one-to-two page coverage for each episode. The book also continues the work of the last two editions by listing the times Homer cries "D'oh!" or says "Mmm...", as well as new couch gags, but it includes unique features as well, like Church marquees. Sketches from the early production are included.

Groening wrote an introduction to the book, as he had for the previous editions. In it, he refers to the eleventh and twelfth seasons as the "Wackier-Than-Ever Years", and explains that it had been the objective to take the series in unexpected directions. To this end, the character Apu became the father of octuplets ("Eight Misbehavin' ") and Homer lost a thumb ("Trilogy of Error"). Groening also acknowledges the death of the character Maude Flanders during this timeframe ("Alone Again, Natura-Diddily"), saying that it was "funny, funny stuff — well, weird, anyway." Groening goes on to claim that these two seasons contained some of his personal favorite scenes from all the series. He lists among these the farm animals driven insane by the food product tomacco ("E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt)") and the portrayal of the dolphins enslaving mankind ("Treehouse of Horror XI"). He also identifies the episode "Worst Episode Ever" as one he particularly enjoyed, calling it "a very special story."

The Simpsons One Step Beyond Forever!: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family …Continued Yet Again

The Simpsons One Step Beyond Forever!: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family ...Continued Yet Again is the third sequel to the Simpsons episode guide The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family. It was edited by Jesse L. McCann and like its predecessors, has an episode-by-episode guide to seasons 13 and 14 of The Simpsons. [4] Each season begins with production art and ends with character designs. The first episode covered in the book is "Treehouse of Horror XII", the last being "Moe Baby Blues". Each episode guide includes quotes, a "Stuff You May Have Missed" section, and references to films, television shows, and books. As in the previous three books, each episode includes a character profile sidebar. All special guest stars appearing in seasons 13–14 are listed with the episode they appeared in. The last pages of the book include character designs, couch gags, Homer's "D'oh!"s and "Mmmmm"s, an Itchy & Scratchy filmography, a "Who Does What Voice" section, songs featured on the show, and Church marquees.

Simpsons World: The Ultimate Episode Guide: Seasons 1–20

Simpsons World: The Ultimate Episode Guide: Seasons 1–20 is the fourth sequel to the Simpsons episode guide The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family. At 1200 pages long, [5] the book covers The Simpsons shorts from The Tracey Ullman Show ("Good Night" through "TV Simpsons") [6] as well seasons one to twenty, [7] ("Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" [8] through "Coming to Homerica" [9] ). The book was released on October 26, 2010, in the United States, [10] and two days later in the UK. [5] Like its predecessors, it uses the same basic structure; however, the guide to each episode occupies two pages, giving every episode from seasons one to ten double pages. The book also contains other Simpsons facts and lists, such as a list of every couch gag, [11] every time Homer has said "D'oh!" [12] or "Mmm…", [13] and a list of the show's celebrity guest stars. [14]

Editions

Publishing dateSeasons
covered		Book titleEditionTag Imprint Pages
October 3, 1997
1–8 (178 episodes)
The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family1stUSA HarperPerennial [15]
256
November 11, 1997
1–8 (178 episodes)
The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family1stUK HarperCollins Entertainment [16]
256
November 3, 1999
9–10 (48 episodes)
The Simpsons Forever!: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family ...Continued1stUSA HarperPerennial [17]
96
UK HarperCollins Entertainment [18]
October 22, 2002
11–12 (43 episodes)
The Simpsons Beyond Forever!: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family ...Still Continued1stUSA HarperPerennial
128
October 11, 2005
13–14 (44 episodes)
The Simpsons One Step Beyond Forever!: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family ...Continued Yet Again1stUSA Harper
128
October 26, 2010
1–20 (441 episodes)
Simpsons World: The Ultimate Episode Guide, Seasons 1–201stUSA Harper
1200 [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maggie Simpson</span> Fictional character from The Simpsons franchise

Margaret Lenny "Maggie" Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the youngest member of the Simpson family. She first appeared on television in the Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Maggie was created and designed by cartoonist Matt Groening while he was waiting in the lobby of James L. Brooks' office. She received her first name from Groening's youngest sister. After appearing on The Tracey Ullman Show for three years, the Simpson family was given their own series on the Fox Broadcasting Company which debuted December 17, 1989.

"Bart the Genius" is the second episode of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on January 14, 1990. It was the first episode written by Jon Vitti. It is the show's first normal episode as well as the first to use the signature title sequence, though this version is much different from the one subsequently used, from the second season to the twentieth season. In the episode, Bart cheats on an intelligence test and is declared a genius, so he is sent to a school for gifted children. Though he initially enjoys being treated as a genius, he begins to see the downside of his new life.

"Bart the General" is the fifth episode of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on February 4, 1990. In the episode, Bart Simpson enlists Grampa's help to battle local bully Nelson Muntz. Bart unites the neighborhood children against Nelson and defeats him. The episode was directed by David Silverman and was the first to be written by John Swartzwelder.

"Moaning Lisa" is the sixth episode of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on February 11, 1990. The episode was written by Al Jean and Mike Reiss, and was directed by Wes Archer. Ron Taylor guest stars in the episode as Oscar "Bleeding Gums" Murphy. The episode deals with Lisa's depression and her attempts to sublimate it by playing her saxophone.

"The Call of the Simpsons" is the seventh episode of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on February 18, 1990. It was written by John Swartzwelder and directed by Wesley Archer. Albert Brooks made his first of ten guest appearances on The Simpsons franchise in this episode as the voice of Cowboy Bob.

"The Telltale Head" is the eighth episode of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on February 25, 1990. It was written by Al Jean, Mike Reiss, Sam Simon and Matt Groening, and directed by Rich Moore. In the episode, Bart cuts the head off the statue of Jebediah Springfield in the center of town to impress Jimbo, Kearney and Dolph, three older kids he admires. The town's residents, including the three boys, are horrified and Bart regrets his actions. After telling Lisa and Marge, Homer and Bart head to the center of town, where they are met by an angry mob. After Bart tells the mob that he has made a mistake, the townspeople forgive Bart and the boy places the head back on the statue. The episode's title and premise is a reference to the 1843 short story "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe.

"Homer's Night Out" is the tenth episode of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on March 25, 1990. It was written by Jon Vitti and directed by Rich Moore. In the episode, Bart orders a mail-order spy camera, which he uses to secretly photograph Homer dancing with an exotic belly dancer. Marge makes Homer apologize to the exotic dancer to teach Bart that women are not objects. Sam McMurray guest stars in the episode as Gulliver Dark, the man who introduces Homer to the crowd at the burlesque show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Joy of Sect</span> 13th episode of the 9th season of The Simpsons

"The Joy of Sect" is the thirteenth episode of the ninth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on February 8, 1998. In the episode, a cult takes over Springfield, and the Simpson family become members.

<i>The Simpsons</i> shorts Special episode list for an animated series

The Simpsonsshorts are a series of animated short films that aired as a recurring segment on Fox variety television series The Tracey Ullman Show for three seasons, before the characters spun off into The Simpsons, their own half-hour prime-time show. They feature Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie, and a few secondary characters. The series was created by Matt Groening, who designed the Simpson family and wrote many of the shorts. The shorts first aired on April 19, 1987, starting with "Good Night". The final short to air was "TV Simpsons", originally airing on May 14, 1989. The Simpsons later debuted on December 17, 1989, as an independent series with the Christmas special "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire".

"Krusty Gets Busted" is the twelfth and penultimate episode of the first season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on April 29, 1990. The episode was written by Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky and directed by Brad Bird. In the episode, Krusty the Clown is convicted of armed robbery of the Kwik-E-Mart. Believing that Krusty has been framed for it, Bart and Lisa investigate the crime and learn that Krusty's sidekick, Sideshow Bob, is the culprit.

Some Enchanted Evening (<i>The Simpsons</i>) 13th episode of the 1st season of The Simpsons

"Some Enchanted Evening" is the thirteenth and final episode of the first season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It was originally broadcast on Fox in the United States on May 13, 1990. A family drama, it had a very long delayed release. Written by Matt Groening and Sam Simon and directed by David Silverman and Kent Butterworth, "Some Enchanted Evening" was the first episode produced for season one and was intended to air as the series premiere in fall 1989, but aired as the season one finale due to animation problems. The Christmas special "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" premiered in its place on December 17, 1989. It is the last episode to feature the original opening sequence starting from "Bart the Genius". In the episode, Homer and Marge go on a night out while leaving the children under the care of a diabolical babysitter named Ms. Lucille "Botz" Botzcowski, who is found to be a wanted criminal.

"Dancin' Homer" is the fifth episode of the second season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on November 8, 1990. In the episode, Homer becomes the new mascot of the Springfield Isotopes, the town's baseball team, after firing up the crowd at a baseball game. When the Isotopes start a winning streak, Homer becomes the mascot for the Capital City Capitals. The Simpsons move there but return home after Homer fails to enthrall the big-city crowd.

"Another Simpsons Clip Show" is the third episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on September 25, 1994. In the episode, Marge reads a romance novel in bed, and it prompts her to have a family meeting, where the Simpson family recall their past loves in form of clips from previous episodes.

"Bart's Comet" is the fourteenth episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on February 5, 1995. In the episode, Bart Simpson accidentally discovers a comet, which is heading towards Springfield. The show's writing staff saw an issue of Time magazine that presented the threat of comets hitting Earth on its cover, and so decided to create an episode in a similar vein. "Bart's Comet" contains references to Where's Waldo? and The Twilight Zone, and received positive reviews.

"Bart Carny" is the twelfth episode of the ninth season of the American animated television series, The Simpsons. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on January 11, 1998. Homer and Bart start working at a carnival and befriend a father and son duo named Cooder and Spud. It was written by John Swartzwelder, directed by Mark Kirkland and guest stars Jim Varney as Cooder the carny. The episode contains several cultural references and received a generally mixed critical reception.

<i>The Simpsons</i> season 1 Season of television series

The first season of the American animated television series The Simpsons premiered on the Fox network on December 17, 1989, with the Christmas special "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", with the rest of the season airing from January 14 to May 13, 1990. The executive producers for the first production season were Matt Groening, James L. Brooks, and Sam Simon. It was produced by Gracie Films and 20th Century Fox Television.

<i>The Simpsons</i> (franchise) American animated comedy franchise

The Simpsons is an American animated comedy franchise whose eponymous family consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The Simpsons were created by cartoonist Matt Groening for a series of animated shorts that debuted on The Tracey Ullman Show on Fox on April 19, 1987. After a three-season run, the sketch was developed into The Simpsons, a half-hour prime time show that was an early hit for Fox, becoming the first Fox series to land in the Top 30 ratings in a season (1989–1990). The popularity of The Simpsons has made it a billion-dollar merchandising and media franchise. Alongside the television series, the characters of the show have been featured in a variety of media, including books, comic books, a magazine, musical releases, and video games.

References

Citations

  1. ↑ HarperCollins Staff (October 3, 1997). "The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family by Matt Groening" (About the book). HarperCollins . Retrieved January 11, 2014.
  2. ↑ HarperCollins Staff (November 3, 1999). "The Simpsons Forever!: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family...Continued by Matt Groening" (About the book). HarperCollins . Retrieved January 11, 2014.
  3. ↑ HarperCollins Staff (October 22, 2002). "The Simpsons Beyond Forever!: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family...Still Continued by Matt Groening" (About the book). HarperCollins . Retrieved January 11, 2014.
  4. ↑ HarperCollins Staff (October 11, 2005). "The Simpsons One Step Beyond Forever: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family...Continued Yet Again by Matt Groening" (About the book). HarperCollins . Retrieved January 11, 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 "Simpsons World The Ultimate Episode Guide Seasons 1-20 (The Simpsons)". HarperCollins Publishers UK. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  6. ↑ Groening 2010, p. 20–21.
  7. ↑ Groening 2010, p. 4–11.
  8. ↑ Groening 2010, p. 24.
  9. ↑ Groening 2010, p. 1002.
  10. ↑ HarperCollins Staff (October 26, 2010). "Simpsons World The Ultimate Episode Guide: Seasons 1–20 by Matt Groening" (About the book). HarperCollins . Retrieved January 11, 2014.
  11. ↑ Groening 2010, p. 1012.
  12. ↑ Groening 2010, p. 1026.
  13. ↑ Groening 2010, p. 1036.
  14. ↑ Groening 2010, p. 1112.
  15. ↑ Richmond & Coffman & 1997 (USA).
  16. ↑ Richmond & Coffman & 1997 (UK).
  17. ↑ Gimple & 1999 (USA).
  18. ↑ Gimple & 1999 (UK).

Bibliography

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