The Simpsons season 12

Last updated

The Simpsons
Season 12
The Simpsons - The 12th Season.jpg
DVD cover featuring Comic Book Guy
No. of episodes21
Release
Original network Fox
Original releaseNovember 1, 2000 (2000-11-01) 
May 20, 2001 (2001-05-20)
Season chronology
 Previous
Season 11
Next 
Season 13
List of episodes

The twelfth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons originally aired between November 2000 and May 2001. It began on Wednesday, November 1, 2000 with "Treehouse of Horror XI". The season contains four hold-over episodes from the season 11 (BABF) production line. The showrunner for the twelfth production season was Mike Scully. The season won and was nominated for numerous awards including two Primetime Emmy Awards wins and an Annie Award. Season 12 was released on DVD in Region 1 on August 18, 2009, Region 2 on September 28, 2009, and Region 4 on September 2, 2009.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Production

The season's executive producer was once again Mike Scully, in his last season as executive producer, while it was produced by Gracie Films and 20th Century Fox Television. He later returned to the series in season fourteen as a writer and executive producer for the episode "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation". Mike Scully has stated his goal during his tenure was to "not wreck the show". [1]

Don Payne, John Frink and Bob Bendetson began writing for the series, while Larry Doyle, Julie Thacker and Tom Martin left following the completion of this season. Rob LaZebnik received his first sole writing credit for the episode "Homer vs. Dignity". LaZebnik would not get a writing credit for another episode until the 20th season, where he was credited for writing "Father Knows Worst". Shaun Cashman received his sole directing credit on the series this season (for the 250th episode "A Tale of Two Springfields"), while Neil Affleck received his final directorial credit (also for "Homer vs. Dignity"). Tom Gammill and Max Pross have been promoted to produce this season. As of 2009, Gammill & Pross are still credited as such, along with David Mirkin. Mike Reiss (Al Jean's former writing partner) returned to the writing staff as a producer.

The season began with the annual Treehouse of Horror episode, beginning a practice of starting the season with the episodes, as well as airing the episodes shortly after Halloween in November, due to Fox's coverage of the World Series. This season brought back Sideshow Bob, who had not been seen since the eighth-season episode "Brother from Another Series". Ian Maxtone-Graham's episode "Tennis the Menace" became the second episode of the series to be animated using digital ink and paint, which had not been used since the season seven episode "Radioactive Man" and would not be used again (this time on a permanent basis) until the 14th season. The season would also have four episodes that would air the following season.

Voice cast & characters

Main cast

Recurring

Reception

Critical reception

The twelfth season has received mostly positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the twelfth season of The Simpsons has an 80% approval rating based on 5 critical reviews. [2] Matt Haigh of Den of Geek said that "The bad episodes are never really terrible, it's more that they're a bit boring and will most likely have you yawning 10 minutes in. With this in mind, season 12 ends up being very much a 50/50 affair". [3] Nancy Basile gave a list of "Must See TV" episodes and "Not So Must See TV" episodes — with more of the former. [4]

Awards

"HOMR" was nominated for various awards. Al Jean received a nomination for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour) the eleventh win for the series. [5] Another Primetime Emmy Award nomination is for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series. [6] Another win for "HOMR" is an Annie Award for Outstanding Writing in an Animated Television Production. [7] Other Primetime Emmy Awards nominations include Hank Azaria for "Worst Episode Ever". [8] Lisa Simpson also won a Board of Directors Ongoing Commitment Award. [9] The show also won at the 2002 Kids' Choice Awards. [10]

Nielsen Rating

The season ranked 21st in the seasonal ratings with an average of 14.7 million viewers an episode, rising 6% from last season. [11] As of 2023, season 12's Nielsen ranking of #21 remains the highest in the show's history.

Episodes

"Electric Journeys | BBC World Service". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  • "The Simpsons (2000 - 2001)". Rotten Tomatoes .
  • "The Simpsons Season 12 DVD review". Den of Geek. October 1, 2009. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  • ""The Simpsons" Season 12 Review". Animatedtv.about.com. October 6, 2010. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  • White, Cindy (August 18, 2009). "The Simpsons: The Complete Twelfth Season DVD Review". IGN. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
  • "Primetime Emmy Award Database". Emmys.com. Archived from the original on October 14, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  • "Legacy - 29th Annual". Annie Awards. Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  • Dutka, Elaine (August 14, 2001). "Morning Report". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  • "Lisa Simpson animates environmental awards". USA Today. November 15, 2001. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
  • "Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards 2011". Nick.com. Archived from the original on November 3, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  • "The Bitter End". Entertainment Weekly. June 1, 2001. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
  • 1 2 "National Nielsen Viewership (Oct. 30-Nov. 5, 2000)". The Los Angeles Times . November 8, 2000. Retrieved February 27, 2023 via Newspapers.com Lock-green.svg .
  • "National Nielsen Viewership (Nov. 6-12, 2000)". The Los Angeles Times . November 15, 2000. Retrieved February 27, 2023 via Newspapers.com Lock-green.svg .
  • "National Nielsen Viewership (Nov. 13-19, 2000)". The Los Angeles Times . November 22, 2000. Retrieved February 27, 2023 via Newspapers.com Lock-green.svg .
  • "National Nielsen Viewership (Nov. 20-26, 2000)". The Los Angeles Times . December 1, 2000. Retrieved February 27, 2023 via Newspapers.com Lock-green.svg .
  • "National Nielsen Viewership (Nov. 27-Dec. 3, 2000)". The Los Angeles Times . December 6, 2000. Retrieved February 27, 2023 via Newspapers.com Lock-green.svg .
  • "National Nielsen Viewership (Dec. 4-10, 2000)". The Los Angeles Times . December 13, 2000. Retrieved February 27, 2023 via Newspapers.com Lock-green.svg .
  • "National Nielsen Viewership (Dec. 11-17, 2000)". The Los Angeles Times . December 20, 2000. Retrieved February 27, 2023 via Newspapers.com Lock-green.svg .
  • "National Nielsen Viewership (Jan. 1-7, 2001)". The Los Angeles Times . January 10, 2001. Retrieved February 27, 2023 via Newspapers.com Lock-green.svg .
  • "National Nielsen Viewership (Jan. 8-14, 2001)". The Los Angeles Times . January 19, 2001. Retrieved February 27, 2023 via Newspapers.com Lock-green.svg .
  • "National Nielsen Viewership (Jan. 29-Feb. 4, 2001)". The Los Angeles Times . February 7, 2001. Retrieved February 27, 2023 via Newspapers.com Lock-green.svg .
  • "National Nielsen Viewership (Feb. 5-11, 2001)". The Los Angeles Times . February 14, 2001. Retrieved February 27, 2023 via Newspapers.com Lock-green.svg .
  • "National Nielsen Viewership (Feb. 12-18, 2001)". The Los Angeles Times . February 22, 2001. Retrieved February 27, 2023 via Newspapers.com Lock-green.svg .
  • "National Nielsen Viewership (Feb. 19-25, 2001)". The Los Angeles Times . February 28, 2001. Retrieved February 27, 2023 via Newspapers.com Lock-green.svg .
  • "National Nielsen Viewership (Feb. 26-March 4, 2001)". The Los Angeles Times . March 7, 2001. Retrieved February 27, 2023 via Newspapers.com Lock-green.svg .
  • "National Nielsen Viewership (March 5-11, 2001)". The Los Angeles Times . March 14, 2001. Retrieved February 27, 2023 via Newspapers.com Lock-green.svg .
  • "National Nielsen Viewership (March 26-April 1, 2001)". The Los Angeles Times . April 4, 2001. Retrieved February 27, 2023 via Newspapers.com Lock-green.svg .
  • "National Nielsen Viewership (April 23-29, 2001)". The Los Angeles Times . May 2, 2001. Retrieved February 27, 2023 via Newspapers.com Lock-green.svg .
  • "National Nielsen Viewership (April 30-May 6, 2001)". The Los Angeles Times . May 9, 2001. Retrieved February 27, 2023 via Newspapers.com Lock-green.svg .
  • "National Nielsen Viewership (May 7-13, 2001)". The Los Angeles Times . May 16, 2001. Retrieved February 27, 2023 via Newspapers.com Lock-green.svg .
  • "National Nielsen Viewership (May 14-20, 2001)". The Los Angeles Times . May 23, 2001. Retrieved February 27, 2023 via Newspapers.com Lock-green.svg .
  • 1 2 3 "Release Date Finally Revealed for the Long-Awaited 12th Season DVDs!". TVShowsOnDVD. May 20, 2009.
  • "Release Date For Season 12 on Amazon.co.uk!". Amazon. May 20, 2009. Retrieved May 20, 2009.
  • "Simpsons, The — The 12th Season: Collector's Edition (4 Disc Box Set) @ EzyDVD". EzyDVD. May 26, 2009. Retrieved May 26, 2009.
  • Bibliography
    No.
    overall
    No. in
    season
    TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
    code
    U.S. viewers
    (millions)
    2491"Treehouse of Horror XI" Matthew Nastuk Rob LaZebnik November 1, 2000 (2000-11-01)BABF2113.23 [12]
    John Frink & Don Payne
    Carolyn Omine
    This year's Halloween story sees The Simpsons as "The Munsters" (with everyone except Lisa getting killed), Homer as a wandering spirit on the hunt for a good deed in "G-G-Ghost D-D-Dad," Bart and Lisa as peasants in a fairy tale forest in "Scary Tales Can Come True," and Lisa inadvertently dooming mankind by rescuing a dolphin in "Night of the Dolphin."
    2502"A Tale of Two Springfields"Shaun Cashman John Swartzwelder November 5, 2000 (2000-11-05)BABF2016.18 [12]
    While calling Animal Control over a badger taking residence in Santa's Little Helper's doghouse, Homer discovers that Springfield has two different area codes–and ends up leading a revolt that splits the town in two.
    Guest star: The Who