Difference between revisions of "Season 5"

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Season 5

Season Information Original run: September 30, 1993 – May 19, 1994 No. of episodes: 22 Previous season: 4 Next season: 6 DVD boxset: The Complete Fifth Season

The fifth season of The Simpsons originally aired from September 30, 1993, to May 19, 1994.

Highlights

Season 5 began on September 30, 1993 with the first episode, "Homer's Barbershop Quartet", and ended on May 19, 1994 with "Secrets of a Successful Marriage". David Mirkin was the show runner through most of the season's episodes. Al Jean and Mike Reiss were show runners of two episodes, "Homer's Barbershop Quartet" and "Cape Feare", which had been produced for the previous season. Consequently, they have Season 4's production code, 9FXX, rather than Season 5's, with 1FXX.

"Cape Feare" was the final episode written by the "original team", who wrote the first four seasons of The Simpsons. The episodes was considered to be "cartoonish" compared to their previous efforts, due to the fact that the writers became careless before their departure.

"Deep Space Homer" stirred up some controversy as some deemed the episode to be too "large" of an idea. Matt Groening encouraged the writers to produce the episode as they had "nowhere [else] to go". As a result, every aspect of the show was worked on to make the concept work. The writers focused more upon the relationship between Homer and his family and Homer's attempts to be a hero.^[1]

"Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song" was the 100th Simpsons episode broadcasted (with Season 6's "Lisa's Rival" being the 100th produced). "Baadasssss" was intentionally made the show's 100th episode because it heavily featured Bart who was the most popular Simpsons character at the time. "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song" was promoted as "Bart's biggest prank ever", even though Bart did not actually pull any pranks in the episode;^[2] Cletus Spuckler and the Rich Texan were the only recurring characters to be introduced this season, first appearing in "Bart Gets an Elephant" and "$pringfield" respectively. Other minor characters who first appeared this season were Luigi Risotto and Baby Gerald.

Production of the fifth season ended abruptly when the Northridge earthquake affected the Film Roman building where Simpsons writers and animators were working in, forcing them to move temporarily while producing "Bart of Darkness" and "Lisa's Rival".^[3] Both episodes aired early in the following season as the staff of the show were given an extra month to complete them. The only staff members that came in expecting to work were future show runners Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein.

The season received eight awards nominations. It won an Annie Award for "Best Animated Television Production", an Environmental Media Award for "Best Television Episodic Comedy" for "Bart Gets an Elephant" and a Genesis Award for "Best Television Comedy Series". David Silverman earned a nomination for "Best Individual Achievement for Creative Supervision in the Field of Animation", Alf Clausen and Greg Daniels received a nomination in the "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music and Lyrics" category for the song "Who Needs the Kwik-E-Mart?", a song from "Homer and Apu". Clausen had another nomination for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore)" for the episode "Cape Feare" and the series was nominated for a Saturn Award for "Best Genre Television Series". The producers again tried to submit episodes for "Outstanding Comedy Series" category rather than "Outstanding Animated Program" as they had previously done, but were still not nominated.

All 22 episodes of Season 5 including extras were released on DVD on December 21, 2004 in Region 1, March 21, 2005 in Region 2 and March 23, 2005 in Region 4.

Episodes

Picture # Title Directed by Written by Original airdate Prod. code 82 - 1 "Homer's Barbershop Quartet" Mark Kirkland Jeff Martin September 30, 1993 9F21 Homer tells the story of when he was a member of a barbershop quartet consisting of himself, Principal Skinner, Apu and Chief Wiggum. The group became popular in Springfield and eventually got an agent, who told Homer to get rid of Wiggum because he was "too Village People". Homer complied, and after auditioning and rejecting several applicants (including a disguised Wiggum), the group settled on Barney as a replacement and called themselves The Be-Sharps. The group became popular very fast, largely due to their album's hit song, "Baby on Board", which earned them a Grammy. The award was presented by David Crosby, and Homer got to meet ex-Beatle George Harrison. The Be-Sharps went on tour and recorded a second album, but Homer missed his family. The group's popularity began to decline when Homer ran out of song ideas and Barney got a girlfriend whose influence pushed him into musical directions that bewildered the rest of the group. Soon after that, the group broke up and the members returned to their regular lives. Back in the present, Homer calls the other members and the group reunites to perform "Baby on Board" on the roof of Moe's Tavern. A crowd gathers, and George Harrison happens by in his limo and dismissively says, "It's been done." The gathering also draws Wiggum and the police, and they also enjoy the performance, but Wiggum still orders Lou to get the tear gas. Guest starring: George Harrison as himself, David Crosby as himself. 83 - 2 "Cape Feare" Rich Moore Jon Vitti October 7, 1993 9F22 Bart is worried when he receives anonymous threatening letters written in blood, and even more worried when he learns that the sender is Sideshow Bob, and Bob has recently been released from prison. For their protection, the Simpsons are placed on the Witness Relocation Program, given new identities and moved to a houseboat in a town called Terror Lake, 15 miles upriver from Springfield. Unbeknownst to the Simpsons, Bob follows them to Terror Lake, stowing away by clinging to the undercarriage of their car. That night, Bob breaks into the boat, ties up the family, sets the boat adrift, and advances on Bart to kill him. Thinking quickly, Bart appeals to Bob's vanity by asking him to sing the entire score of H.M.S. Pinafore. Bob consents and gives an excellent performance, but is unaware that while he's singing, the boat is drifting downriver—and back into the jurisdiction of the Springfield Police. When Bob finishes, he is about to kill Bart when the boat runs aground. The police then board the boat, arrest Bob and take him back to jail. Guest starring: Kelsey Grammer as Sideshow Bob. 84 - 3 "Homer Goes to College" Jim Reardon Conan O'Brien October 14, 1993 1F02 Inspectors from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission conduct a surprise evaluation of worker competence at Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, and Homer is discovered to be underqualified for his own job because he has no college training in nuclear physics. Homer enrolls at Springfield University, where he tries to live the stereotypical college life of pranks and parties. His schoolwork doesn't go as well, however, as Homer causes a meltdown in class and is assigned supplemental tutoring with three physics nerds. Unabated, Homer continues his pranking and partying ways and gets the nerds to go along with him. When one prank gets the nerds expelled, they move in with the Simpsons and cause all kinds of problems for the family. Homer is able to get the nerds back into school, but fails his class. The nerds hack into the college computer and give Homer a passing grade, but Marge finds out and makes him retake the class. 85 - 4 "Rosebud" Wes Archer John Swartzwelder October 21, 1993 1F01 Smithers overhears Mr. Burns talking in his sleep, saying he misses someone called Bobo. Burns then falls into a depression and nothing brings him out of it, not even a birthday performance from The Ramones. Smithers discovers that Bobo is Burns's long-lost childhood teddy bear and begins searching for the bear. Maggie Simpson is discovered to be in possession of Bobo, and Burns offers the Simpsons a large reward to give him back. They decline, however, when they see how attached Maggie is to Bobo. Burns and Smithers try threats and begging to get Bobo back, but nothing succeeds. When the next step (cutting off beer and TV) affects all of Springfield, the whole town forces Homer to return the bear, but they relent when they see the expression on Maggie's face. Finally, Burns confronts Maggie in person and persuades her to gives Bobo back to him. Now reunited with Bobo, Burns snuggles up with him and wonders what the future holds for Bobo. Guest starring: Ramones (Joey Ramone, Johnny Ramone, C. J. Ramone, and Marky Ramone) as themselves. 86 - 5 "Treehouse of Horror IV" David Silverman Conan O'Brien, Bill Oakley & Josh Weinstein, Greg Daniels & Dan McGrath, Bill Canterbury October 28, 1993 1F04 When Homer announces he will sell his soul for a donut, the Devil, disguised as Ned Flanders, shows up to take him up on the offer. Second Act, while riding to school, Bart believe he sees a malevolent gremlin on the side of the bus. And final act, Mr. Burns is Dracula, in a spoof of Francis Ford Coppola's vampire film. 87 - 6 "Marge on the Lam" Mark Kirkland Bill Canterbury November 4, 1993 1F03 When Homer misses a date to take Marge to the ballet, Marge instead takes the family's neighbor, Ruth Powers. The two have so much fun that the next night they have a girls' night out, hanging out at a country bar and doing some target shooting using a farmer's antique cans as targets. Homer, meanwhile, decides to prove he can have fun on his own. He hires Lionel Hutz to babysit the children and goes out by himself. To Homer's disappointment, however, it's just not the same without Marge. He meets up with Chief Wiggum, who offers him a ride home. Then Wiggum sees a car with a broken taillight and tries to pull it over, but it speeds away: It's Ruth and Marge, and Ruth doesn't want to pull over because she's driving her ex-husband's car, which she stole from him to get even for his failing to pay child support. A high-speed pursuit follows, and the police eventually catch up to Ruth and Marge. In the end, a Dragnet-style voice-over summary says that the car theft charges against Ruth were dropped, but Marge was fined for shooting the farmer's cans. Guest starring: George Fenneman as the narrator, Phil Hartman as Lionel Hutz and Pamela Reed as Ruth Powers. 88 - 7 "Bart's Inner Child" Bob Anderson George Meyer November 11, 1993 1F05 Marge realizes she is addicted to nagging and consults a self-help guru, Brad Goodman, to overcome it. Marge and Homer put Goodman's teachings into practice and find that it improves their relationship. Encouraged, they take the whole family to hear Goodman speak, hoping that he can do something about Bart's bad behavior. Instead, Goodman uses Bart as an example of how people should behave: "Do what you feel." The whole town starts acting like Bart, which Bart at first enjoys, but later finds it disturbing as he feels he's losing his identity as a rebel. The town then holds a "Do what you feel" festival, but it causes a number of dangerous mishaps due to people not feeling like doing their jobs. The festival flops, and things in Springfield return to normal. Guest starring: Albert Brooks as Brad Goodman, James Brown as himself and Phil Hartman as Troy McClure. 89 - 8 "Boy-Scoutz 'n the Hood" Jeffrey Lynch Dan McGrath November 18, 1993 1F06 Bart and Milhouse go on an all-syrup Squishee bender, and Bart awakens the next morning to find that he's joined a Boy Scouts-esque group called the Junior Campers. Bart at first hates the group and wants to quit (especially when he learns the patrol leader is Ned Flanders), but comes to enjoy it when he discovers that the skills he learns are highly useful for pranking Homer. The group has a father-son rafting trip, and Bart reluctantly invites Homer. True to Bart's expectations, Homer's bumbling causes the raft with himself, Bart, Ned and Rod to take the wrong turn at a river fork and end up adrift at sea with no supplies. Homer saves the day, however, when he smells hamburgers and leads them to a Krusty Burger restaurant on an oil rig, where they are rescued. Meanwhile, the rest of the rafters (led by "celebrity dad" Ernest Borgnine) take the correct fork, but end up being stalked by hillbillies, attacked by a bear, and finally attacked by a mysterious person or creature at an abandoned summer camp. Guest starring: Ernest Borgnine as himself. 200px 90 - 9 "The Last Temptation of Homer" Carlos Baeza Frank Mula December 9, 1993 1F07 Homer finds himself highly attracted to Mindy Simmons, a new employee at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, but is torn because having an affair with her would ruin his marriage to Marge. It gets worse when Homer discovers that he and Mindy have very similar traits, such as a fondness for beer, TV, naps and junk food. A vision where Colonel Klink shows Homer what his and Marge's lives would have been like if Homer had married Mindy only leaves him more confused. Matters come to a head when Homer and Mindy are sent on an out-of-town overnight business trip and accidentally kiss while gorging on food they order from Room Service. In the end, Homer and Mindy acknowledge their mutual attraction, but Homer stays faithful to Marge. Meanwhile, a series of medical treatments temporarily transforms Bart into a nerd, making him a target for the school bullies. Guest starring: Michelle Pfeiffer as Mindy Simmons and Werner Klemperer as Colonel Klink. 91 - 10 "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)" Wes Archer Bill Oakley & Josh Weinstein December 16, 1993 1F08 A declining economy prompts Springfield to legalize gambling, and Mr. Burns opens a fancy casino, whose staff includes retired boxer Gerry Cooney as the greeter. Homer is hired as a blackjack dealer, and becomes popular among customers when they realize he always loses. Marge, however, becomes addicted to gambling, ignoring her family in favor of playing slot machines. She realizes she has a problem when Homer confronts her about breaking a promise to Lisa. Meanwhile, Mr. Burns becomes a reclusive clean freak (a. la. Howard Hughes), and Bart, after being kicked out of Burns' casino due to being underage, takes revenge by opening his own casino in his treehouse and tricking Robert Goulet (who had been booked into Burns' casino) into giving a performance for the neighborhood kids. Guest starring: Gerry Cooney as himself and Robert Goulet as himself. 92 - 11 "Homer the Vigilante" Jim Reardon John Swartzwelder January 6, 1994 1F09 A wave of burglaries hits Springfield, and many items, such as Lisa's saxophone, are stolen from people's homes. When the police can't catch the cat burglar, Homer forms a neighborhood watch group. However, it too is ineffective due to Homer's bungling, and the cat burglar steals the world's largest cubic zirconium from the Springfield Museum. Grampa Simpson reveals that the cat burglar is Molloy, a fellow resident of Springfield Retirement Castle. When the townspeople confront Molloy, he confesses, returns the stolen items, and says he's hidden a treasure worth millions of dollars in town. Everyone races to dig up the treasure, but they find only a note where Molloy says that there is no treasure and he tricked everyone so he could make his escape. Mayor Quimby, however, insists they keep digging just in case there really is a treasure. Guest starring: Sam Neil as Molloy. 93 - 12 "Bart Gets Famous" Susie Dietter John Swartzwelder February 3, 1994 1F11 Bart sneaks away from a school field trip and ends up getting a job assisting Krusty the Clown. When Krusty puts Bart into a sketch as a last-minute replacement for Sideshow Mel, Bart flubs his line and accidentally trashes the stage. He then says, "I didn't do it", which the audience finds hilarious. Krusty then puts Bart into more sketches to say "I didn't do it", and Bart's catchphrase catapults him to instant stardom. Bart, however, finds fame to be dissatisfying, and becomes tired of being known for only one line. He appears on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and tries to cultivate a more intelligent image, but to his frustration, all Conan and the audience are interested in is hearing him say "I didn't do it." Eventually Bart's popularity fades and he returns to being average. Guest starring: Conan O'Brien as himself. 94 - 13 "Homer and Apu" Mark Kirkland Greg Daniels February 10, 1994 1F10 Homer gets food poisoning twice from expired products at the Kwik-E-Mart. When Kent Brockman does an exposé on the store, Apu is fired and replaced by actor James Woods. Apu moves in with the Simpsons, and Homer decides to help Apu by going with him to India so he can ask the Kwik-E-Mart chain owner for his job back. However, the trip is unsuccessful as Homer's bumbling spoils Apu's chance to talk to the owner. Apu then visits the Kwik-E-Mart and saves James Woods from being shot in a robbery (by taking the bullet himself). A grateful Woods then helps Apu get his job back. Guest starring: James Woods as himself. 95 - 14 "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy" Jeffrey Lynch Bill Oakley & Josh Weinstein February 17, 1994 1F12 Lisa is dissatisfied with the new talking Malibu Stacy doll because everything it says is demeaning to women. Lisa visits Stacy Lovell, the doll line's reclusive creator, and persuades her to make a doll to be a more positive role model for girls. Together they make the doll, named "Lisa Lionheart" after Lisa. The Malibu Stacy executives see Lisa Lionheart as a threat, and sabotage her roll-out by distracting the customers with a Mailbu Stacy doll that has a new hat. Meanwhile, Grampa worries that he is getting old and tries to make the most of life by working at Krusty Burger. Grampa does not do well at the job, however, and when he sees how the restaurant treats seniors, he quits his job and leads a group of seniors in a boycott of Krusty Burger. Guest starring: Kathleen Turner as Stacy Lovell. 96 - 15 "Deep Space Homer" Carlos Baeza David Mirkin February 24, 1994 1F13 Homer is passed over yet again for the "Worker of the Week" award at the nuclear plant, the award going this time to an inanimate carbon rod. At the same time, NASA decides to launch an average American into space to improve TV ratings for space missions. Homer and Barney are selected as candidates, and Homer is chosen to make a shuttle flight with Race Banyon and veteran astronaut Buzz Aldrin. During the mission, an emergency arises when Homer accidentally breaks an ant farm, releasing ants and sand to drift into the controls. Matters aren't helped when James Taylor, in Misson Control, insists on singing for the astronauts in spite of the crisis. Taylor redeems himself, however, when he suggests opening the hatch to blow the ants and sand out of the shuttle's controls. Taylor's idea works, but in the process the hatch is damaged and won't close. Homer saves the day, albeit purely serendipitously, by using a carbon rod as an improvised latch to seal the hatch. The shuttle lands safely, and the rod is hailed as a hero—which disappoints Homer, but he wins his family's respect for making the trip. Guest starring: Buzz Aldrin as himself and James Taylor as himself. 97 - 16 "Homer Loves Flanders" Wes Archer David Richardson March 17, 1994 1F14 Homer is unable to get tickets to the Pigskin Classic football game, but Ned Flanders has an extra and invites Homer to come to the game as his guest, They have a good time and Homer is grateful, but his gratitude turns annoying when he constantly hangs out around Ned. Ned realizes he can't stand Homer when the two families go to the lake and the Simpsons start a food fight. In an attempt to get away from Homer, Ned drives off in his car and is pulled over and given a sobriety field test. The incident causes the Flanders family to be shunned at church, but Homer intervenes, lecturing the congregation for misjudging Ned. The churchgoers back off, and Homer and Ned finish up as friends—but things are back to normal within a week the next time Ned gets on Homer's nerves. 98 - 17 "Bart Gets an Elephant" Jim Reardon John Swartzwelder March 31, 1994 1F15 Bart wins a radio contest where the prize is either $10,000 or an elephant. Bart insists on the elephant, even though it's obviously a gag prize. When the announcers are threatened with being fired, they give Bart the elephant, which he names Stampy. Taking care of Stampy proves to be too expensive for the family finances, and the Simpsons look for a new home for him. They consider donating Stampy to a nature preserve, which Homer rejects in favor of selling him to an ivory dealer. Stampy escapes and wreaks havoc on Springfield. The family find Stampy again at the Springfield Tar Pits, and Homer insists on going through with selling Stampy to the ivory dealer. However, when Homer gets stuck in a tar pit and Stampy saves him, Homer relents and sends Stampy to the nature preserve. 99 - 18 "Burns' Heir" Mark Kirkland Jace Richdale April 14, 1994 1F16 Mr. Burns nearly drowns in his bathtub and decides he needs an heir to inherit his wealth. He holds auditions and rejects many local children, including Bart, but when Bart takes revenge by vandalizing Burns' mansion, Burns decides that Bart is what he's looking for and selects Bart to be his heir. Marge encourages Bart to spend time with Burns, which turns into Bart living at the Burns mansion full-time when Bart discovers the perks of living with Burns. The Simpsons become concerned about Bart and hire Lionel Hutz to try to force Burns to return Bart, but to no avail. Bart starts missing his family, but Burns shows him a video showing that they no longer care about him. (The "family", however, are obviously actors.) Bart then enjoys life with Mr. Burns, and Burns has Bart fire power plant workers for fun. As a loyalty test, Burns tells Bart to fire Homer, but Bart refuses, gives up being Burns' heir, and returns home to live with his family. Guest starring: Phil Hartman as Lionel Hutz. 200px 100 - 19 "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song" Bob Anderson Bill Oakley & Josh Weinstein April 28, 1994 1F18 Bart brings Santa's Little Helper to school for show and tell. The dog is a hit with the children, but he escapes and causes a series of mishaps, resulting in Principal Skinner being fired. Ned Flanders is hired as principal and Skinner rejoins the Army. At school, Flanders proves to be ineffective at discipline and the school turns into a madhouse. Bart, meanwhile, befriends Skinner and enjoys their friendship, but he realizes that the school needs Skinner, which means they need to be enemies again. Bart persuades Skinner to return to the school if Flanders is fired, and Superintendent Chalmers fires Flanders when he hears him saying "Thank the Lord" over the school's PA system. Skinner is re-hired as principal, and he and Bart return—reluctantly—to being enemies. 101 - 20 "The Boy Who Knew Too Much" Jeff Lynch John Swartzwelder May 5, 1994 1F19 Deeming the day too beautiful to stay inside, Bart ditches school. Principal Skinner nearly catches him, but Bart escapes by stowing away in a car driven by the mayor's nephew Freddy Quimby, who is on his way to his birthday party. Bart witnesses a confrontation between Freddy and a waiter, after which the waiter is injured in a bizarre series of mishaps. When Freddy is put on trial for assaulting the waiter, only Bart knows that Freddy is innocent; everyone else believes Freddy to be guilty in spite of Lionel Hutz's inept prosecution. However, in order to reveal the truth, Bart will have to admit to ditching school. In the end, Bart decides to testify. Freddy is acquitted, but Bart gets four months' detention for ditching school. Meanwhile, Homer serves on the jury and takes advantage of the situation, getting the jury sequestered and put up in a fancy hotel. Guest starring: Phil Hartman as Lionel Hutz. 102 - 21 "Lady Bouvier's Lover" Wes Archer Bill Oakley & Josh Weinstein May 12, 1994 1F21 Grampa falls for Marge's mother, Jacqueline, and they begin dating. However, when they go to a dance, Mr. Burns cuts in and Jacqueline decides to date Burns instead. She and Burns become engaged, and Grampa interrupts their wedding to win her back. Jacqueline says she doesn't want to marry either man. Grampa says that's good enough for him, and the two of them board a bus and ride off together. Meanwhile, Bart sees Troy McClure on TV selling Itchy & Scratchy animation cels, and uses Homer's credit card to buy one. To his disappointment, it only shows Scratchy's hand. Taking advantage of Burns' dating his grandmother, Bart extorts $350 from Mr. Burns to pay Homer back. Guest starring: Phil Hartman as Troy McClure. 103 - 22 "Secrets of a Successful Marriage" Carlos Baeza Greg Daniels May 19, 1994 1F20 Tired of being called "slow", Homer teaches a class at the Adult Education Annex on how to build a successful marriage. The class proves to be popular, drawing the interest of prominent Springfieldians such as Sideshow Mel, Waylon Smithers, Principal Skinner and Lionel Hutz. Homer discovers, however, that the only way he can hold his students' interest is by telling them stories about his and Marge's love life. When Marge finds out, she asks Homer to stop, but when the students threaten to walk out of the class, Homer resumes telling intimate stories and invites them to the house for dinner to see their marriage in action. At this, Marge has had enough and throws Homer out of the house. After only one day of living in Bart's treehouse, Homer realizes he can't survive without Marge and begs her forgiveness on the grounds that he can't afford to lose her trust again. Marge admits that Homer does make her feel needed, and she forgives him and lets him move back into the house. Guest starring: Phil Hartman as Lionel Hutz.

Season 5 episodes script covers

DVD release

Season 5 was released on DVD in its entirety as The Complete Fifth Season on December 21, 2004 in Region 1, March 21, 2005 in Region 2 and March 23, 2005 in Region by 20th Century Fox. While primarily containing the original 22 episodes, the boxset also consists on bonus features such as storyboards.

Awards

The season received eight awards nominations. It won an Annie Award for "Best Animated Television Production", an Environmental Media Award for "Best Television Episodic Comedy" for "Bart Gets an Elephant", a Genesis Award for "Best Television Comedy Series". David Silverman earned a nomination for "Best Individual Achievement for Creative Supervision in the Field of Animation", Alf Clausen and Greg Daniels received a nomination in the "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music and Lyrics" category for the song "Who Needs the Kwik-E-Mart?" from "Homer and Apu". Clausen had another nomination for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore)" for the episode "Cape Feare" and the series was nominated for a Saturn Award for "Best Genre Television Series." The producers again tried to submit episodes for "Outstanding Comedy Series" rather than "Outstanding Animated Program" as they had previously done, but were still not nominated.

References