#OnThisDay#OTD February 21, 1999, "Marge Simpson in: 'Screaming Yellow Honkers'" (S10E15) first aired on the Fox network. Dir: @markk1914. Wr: David M. Stern. EP: @scullymike. Guest-starring Hank Williams Jr. as the Canyonero singer and @JohnKassir as Possum. #TheSimpsons
@markk1914@scullymike@JohnKassir The road rage film which Chief Wiggum shows during the road rage class was originally titled "Screaming Yellow Honkers". The road rage film was originally to have been presented, of course, by Troy McClure, but voice actor Phil Hartman died the previous year.
@markk1914@scullymike@JohnKassir The group of people running out of the zoo, before Homer, Bart, and Lisa, are caricatures of showrunner Mike Scully, his wife @ScullyThacker, and his children. They are also seen running behind Kent Brockman's news report later in the episode.
@markk1914@scullymike@JohnKassir@ScullyThacker Amongst other references, this episode features Skinner and Chalmers attempting to perform Abbott and Costello's famous "Who's On First?" routine and, in an attempt to stop the rhinos, Homer shouts "Jumanji!", a reference to the film Jumanji. (video: Onikorp)
@markk1914@scullymike@JohnKassir@ScullyThacker Fox executives were displeased with the positive references to NBC near the end of the show. As a compromise, the writers added in the sequence during the end credits where Homer reads a statement at gunpoint that disparages NBC and praises Fox (and briefly praises CBS).
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#OnThisDay #OTD #30YearsAgo October 7, 1993, "Cape Feare" (S05E02) first aired on the Fox network. Dir: @_rich_moore. Wr: @jon_vitti. EP: @AlJean & @MikeReissWriter. Guest-starring @KelseyGrammer as Sideshow Bob. #TheSimpsons 🧵
Wally Wolodarsky had seen the 1991 version of Cape Fear and pitched the idea of spoofing the film. Instead of using the spoof as only a part of the episode, which could have contained a B-story, the entire episode was devoted to this parody.
There were difficulties getting this episode up to the minimum length of an episode. The repeated a long couch gag from "Lisa's First Word", an Itchy & Scratchy cartoon, and a few red herrings as to who was trying to kill Bart. Even with all these, the episode still ran short.
#OnThisDay #OTD September 24, 1995, "Radioactive Man" (S07E02) first aired on the Fox network. Dir: Susie Dietter. Wr: @JJSwartzwelder. EP: @DaveMirkin. Guest-starring Mickey Rooney as himself and Phil Hartman as Troy McClure and Lionel Hutz. #TheSimpsons
@JJSwartzwelder @DaveMirkin "Radioactive Man" was the first episode to be digitally colored. The duties of that task went to USAnimation, who would later work on "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular". The show would not permanently be digitally colored until Season 14.
@JJSwartzwelder @DaveMirkin Mickey Rooney guest starred as himself. @nancycartwright recalled in her autobiography My Life as a 10-Year-Old Boy that Rooney recorded his lines with the other actors. Although he was late for the session, she noted that he was "so full of pep" and very enthusiastic.
@markk1914@ScullyThacker@scullymike This was the first Simpsons episode Julie Thacker wrote. The plot was based on a "disastrous" school program, in which students had to participate in community service to advance to the next grade. The B-story, which involved Homer selling springs, was conceived by Mike Scully.
@markk1914@ScullyThacker@scullymike In a scene in the episode, Lenny gets one of Homer's springs stuck in his eye. Lenny's eye injuries have since become a running gag, and "The Old Man and the 'C' Student" "started the trend", according to Thacker.
#OnThisDay#OTD April 23, 1989, "Family Therapy" first aired on The Tracey Ullman Show on Fox. Wr: Matt Groening. Animation: @tubatron & Wes Archer. #TheSimpsons
@Interbang1Jeff@AlJean@MikeReissWriter@MJMcKean Otto's full name is revealed for the first time in this episode and to feature the character in a prominent role. Writers @JayKogen and Wallace Wolodarsky had originally wanted to name him Otto Mechanic, but the animators gave him the last name Mann. (This shot looks like "Mang")
@Interbang1Jeff@AlJean@MikeReissWriter@MJMcKean@JayKogen Otto's statement that he would prefer to be sleeping in a Dumpster brand trash container over a "Trash Co. Waste Disposal Unit" alludes to the word's status as a registered trademark for a brand of large trash containers. (Yes, "Dumpster" is a brand name.)