• Wikisimpsons needs more Featured Article, Picture, Quote, Episode and Comprehensive article nominations!
  • Wikisimpsons has a Discord server! Click here for your invite! Join to talk about the wiki, Simpsons and Tapped Out news, or just to talk to other users.
  • Make an account! It's easy, free, and your work on the wiki can be attributed to you.
TwitterFacebookDiscord

Difference between revisions of "Seymour Skinner"

Wikisimpsons - The Simpsons Wiki
m (→‎Appearances)
 
(484 intermediate revisions by more than 100 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
−
{{navigation}}
+
{{Icons|FA}}
−
{{Character|
+
:''For the non-canon "real" Seymour Skinner who appeared in "[[The Principal and the Pauper]]", see: [[Seymour Skinner (The Principal and the Pauper)]]. For other characters named Skinner, see [[:Category:Skinner family|Skinner family]].''
−
image= [[Image:Skinner.jpg|250px]]|
+
{{Quote|Young man, I'm going to be on you like a numerator on a denominator.|Seymour Skinner|The Debarted}}
−
name=Seymour Skinner / Armin Tamzarian|
+
{{Character
−
gender=[[Male]]|
+
|name = Seymour Skinner
−
hair=Graying, neat|
+
|image = [[File:Seymour Skinner.png]]
−
age=45|
+
|caption = Artwork of Seymour Skinner
−
job=Principal of Springfield Elementary|
+
|gender = {{Male}}
−
relatives=[[Agnes Skinner]], mother|
+
|status = Alive
−
appearance=[[Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire]]|
+
|alias = Armin Tamzarian (non-canon)<ref name="The Principal and the Pauper"/><br>"Big Butt" Skinner<br>[[Where Stalks... The Penalizer!|The Penalizer]]<br>[[The Stickler]]<br>Dick Fiddler<ref name="Yellow Subterfuge">"[[Yellow Subterfuge]]"</ref>
−
voiced by= [[Harry Shearer]]
+
|age = 46<ref>"[[Grade School Confidential]]"</ref>
 +
|hair = Gray
 +
|job = Principal of [[Springfield Elementary]]<br>'''Former:''' Singer<br>4th grade science teacher<ref>"[[Bart the Murderer]]"</ref>
 +
|relatives = '''Mother:''' [[Agnes Skinner]]<br>'''Father:''' [[Sheldon Skinner]]<br>'''Cousin:''' [[Cousin Peter]]<br>'''Aunt:''' Hope<ref>"[[A Test Before Trying]]"</ref>
 +
|appearance = "[[Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire]]"
 +
|voiced by = [[Harry Shearer]]
 
}}
 
}}
−
'''Principal W. Seymour Skinner''' (born 8th July 1957 in [[Capital City (The Simpsons)|Capital City]], under the name '''Armin Tamzarian'''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0701257/|title="The Simpsons" The Principal and the Pauper (1997) at [[IMDB]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thesimpsons.com/episode_guide/0902.htm|title="The Principal and the Pauper"|accessdate=2007-08-04|work=The Simpsons Episode Guide}})</ref>) is a fictional character on the animated [[Situation comedy|sitcom]] ''[[The Simpsons]]'', voiced by [[Harry Shearer]]. He is of [[Armenian]] descent. He is the principal of [[Springfield Elementary School]], and a stereotypical educational [[bureaucrat]]. He struggles to control the crumbling school and is constantly engaged in a battle against its inadequate resources, apathetic and bitter teachers, and often rowdy and unenthusiastic students, [[Bart Simpson]] being a standout example. A strict disciplinarian, Skinner has an uptight, militaristic attitude that stems from his years in the army, and service in the [[Vietnam War]].
 
  
 +
'''Walter Seymour Skinner''', better known as '''Seymour Skinner''' and '''Principal Skinner''', is the principal of [[Springfield Elementary School]], and a stereotypical educational bureaucrat. He struggles to control the crumbling school and is constantly engaged in a battle against its inadequate resources, apathetic and bitter teachers, and often rowdy and unenthusiastic students, [[Bart Simpson]] being a standout example. A strict disciplinarian, Skinner has an uptight, militaristic attitude that stems from his years in the United States Army as a Green Beret, which included service in the [[Vietnam]] War, where he achieved the rank of a sergeant, according to his rank insignia.
 +
[[File:Skinners Sense of Snow.gif|thumb|266px|Principal Skinner with Groundskeeper Willie and Children]]
  
−
== Introduction ==
+
== Biography ==
 +
[[File:Skinner Every Simpsons Ever.jpg|thumb|left|250px]]
  
−
Seymour Skinner is the principal of [[Springfield Elementary School]]. He almost always is seen wearing a blue suit with a purple shirt and pink tie. He is a Vietnam War veteran, having obtained the rank of sargeant, and frequently refers/has flashbacks to his experiences in the military as well as being held captive in a Vietcong POW camp. He considers [[Bart Simpson| Bart]] to be his archnemesis.
+
[[File:Unborn Seymour.png|thumb|left|An unborn Seymour Skinner]]
 +
Out of genuine concern for the quality of education of his students, most of Skinner's actions revolve around ensuring the school has adequate funding. His constant desperate, and usually ineffective attempts at maintaining discipline are an effort to receive good reviews from the frequent inspections of his very strict boss, [[Superintendent Chalmers]] - who makes no effort to hide his disapproval of Skinner. These inspections usually turn awry due to Bart Simpson's elaborate pranks—which play off Skinner's desperation for order. Over the years of pranks and inspections, though, Skinner developed a love-hate relationship with each of them; when Skinner was fired and replaced by [[Ned Flanders]], Bart found pranks less meaningful, due to Flanders' lax approach to discipline.<ref>"[[Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song]]"</ref> In an accident involving both Skinner and Chalmers, Chalmers showed grief over Skinner before he realized he was still alive. Although he likes to maintain the image of a strict disciplinarian, he is often weak-willed, nervous, and has a very unhealthy dependence on his mother who constantly makes demands from him. She addresses him by the nickname "Spanky." Also, it was heavily implied Seymour Skinner suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder from his days in Vietnam, where he spent 18 months as a prisoner of war.<ref name="The Principal and the Pauper">"[[The Principal and the Pauper]]"</ref> Seeing his entire platoon devoured by an elephant was one of the many things that led to the development of his post-traumatic stress disorder. He also expelled Bart for the prank really caused by [[Groundskeeper Willie]] during the feast, but he welcomes him back as an apology for blaming the Groundskeeper's prank which Bart happily accepts. When [[Otto]] starts spanking Bart as an act of corporal punishment, he comes to aid Bart and suspends his driving the [[school bus]]. Skinner's unhealthy relationship with his mother began early: it is revealed Agnes's pregnancy resulted in her failing to win a medal at the [[1952 Helsinki Summer Olympics|Helsinki Olympics]] in 1952.<ref>"[[Boy Meets Curl]]"</ref> He originally was quite laid back as a principal, even going as far as to do a jumpflip to catch a frisbee while telling a student to keep up with his studies, but it all changed when one of his students, [[Andy Hamilton]], managed to fill the pool with worms and locked Skinner in the pool for the whole weekend, causing him to become serious and almost merciless in his approach on rules, even going as far as to shut down the pool and demoting Willie, the swim teacher, to groundskeeper. When Bart attempted to stop Krusty from diving into a worm filled pool out of fear of [[Krusty]] becoming like Skinner, he accidentally blurted what happened to Skinner on the air, causing Skinner to angrily mutter sarcastically his mother told him Krusty the Clown was supposed to be a good influence, indicating he was attempting to repress the traumatic memory. Besides his job as Principal for Springfield Elementary, he also worked as a member of [[Mensa]], and was also the acting referee/a major organizer of the annual Civil War re-enactment of the Battle of Springfield. He mentioned to [[Superintendent Chalmers]] he is a Libra (b. September 23-October 21)<ref>"[[The Heartbroke Kid]]"</ref>
 +
[[File:SkinnerFolder.PNG|thumbnail|left|His character folder from the [[Springfield Hall of Records|Hall of Records]].]]
 +
At one point, when the Vice President's Assessment Test was coming up, Skinner and Superintendent Chalmers came up with a plan to lure all of the underachievers away from test day by faking a perfect score on the pretest and tricking them into going for a chopper ride to a pizza party in Capital City (going as far as to disguise the school bus as a chopper). However, when the plan reached fruition, Skinner ended up betrayed by Superintendent Chalmers with the latter tricking Skinner into boarding the bus to "get his sunglasses." He has to get the kids back to the school, and also saved Ralph Wiggum when he somehow managed to board a garbage barge, to which Skinner impresses Bart and the other underachievers by saving Wiggum using the Conservation of Angular Momentum. Luckily for them, the Garbage Barge was also heading to Springfield Elementary, so Skinner reads the newly motivated underachievers the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn the rest of the way, and after returning, cancels the Vice President's Test, and also re-institutes dancing in school.
  
−
In [[The Principal and the Pauper]], it is revealed that Skinner is actually Armin Tanzarian, a no-good street thug from Capital City who met and befriended the real Seymour Skinner in the military.  Believing the real Skinner to have been killed in combat in Vietnam, Tanzarian assumes the role of "Seymour Skinner" when he goes to Springfield to inform Seymour's mother [[Agnes Skinner]] of Seymour's death. In the course of the episode it is revealed that Agnes knew all along that Armin was not her son, but for whatever reason played along and encouraged the charade. By the end of the episode, everyone decides they like Armin Tanzarian more than the real Seymour Skinner, so they tie the real Skinner up to a departing railroad car and declare they will never speak of "Armin Tanzarian" again.  This episode is a parody of the famous [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Guerre Martin Guerre] impostor case.
+
=== Romantic Relationships ===
 +
Aside from a short-lived relationship with [[Patty Bouvier]],<ref>"[[Principal Charming]]"</ref> Skinner's love life focused on [[Edna Krabappel]]. The two dated for several years and became engaged, but later cancelled the wedding.<ref name="My Big Fat Geek Wedding">"[[My Big Fat Geek Wedding]]"</ref> Edna showed she does want to live a life with Skinner, but first wants him to commit to her—namely by not letting his mother, with whom he still lives, control him anymore.<ref name="Special Edna">"[[Special Edna]]"</ref> Their relationship ended when Skinner admitted to having second thoughts on the night before their wedding.<ref name="My Big Fat Geek Wedding"/> Though Skinner had other relationships since, he still held a candle for Edna. He was seen dancing with [[Miss Hoover]] at the Simpsons' Mardi Gras party.<ref>"[[No Loan Again, Naturally]]"</ref> He also had a relationship with replacement music teacher [[Calliope Juniper]] (with whom he briefly left with).<ref>"[[Flaming Moe]]"</ref>
  
−
Skinner is at once an authority figure and a meek and powerless paper-pusher.  While he attempts to exercise authority over the children and teachers at Springfield Elementary, one shout of his name by his boss [[Superintendent Chalmers]] (Skin-NER!) is enough to make him practically wet his pants.  He is similarly cowed into submission by his domineering mother Anges Skinner, whom he lives with.  Anges frequently embarrasses Skinner in public, undercutting his attempts to wield authority.  Seymour mostly represses his frustration, but sometimes expresses it, as in [[Bart's Inner Child]] where he beats up and tears limb from limb a stuffed effigy of his mother (in front of her).  He also desparately seeks the approval of Superintendent Chalmers, who tries to "reassure" him by telling him that he is "the best [principal] we could find with the funds at our disposal." ([[My Big Fat Geek Wedding]])
+
[[Lisa Simpson]] identified Skinner as representing "The Confirmed Bachelor" among [[The 20 Types of People You Meet in Elementary School]].<ref>''[[The Lisa Book]]''</ref>
  
 +
=== Vietnam ===
 +
It was established Skinner served as a sergeant in the US Army during the Vietnam War and captured at the Battle of Khe Sanh. Skinner often seems weak-willed and easily suppressed—perhaps because he wants to avoid confrontation—but often will use his military command experience gained in the Vietnam War to get real respect and discipline; when he and the students were snowed-in at school, he treated them like his squad to control the chaos temporarily—before they mutinied.
  
−
== Charaterizations by Other Characters ==
+
He once used unarmed combat skills he learned in Vietnam to take out [[Blue-haired lawyer]], [[Joey Crusher]] and [[Low Blow]] when they tried to shut down the school carnival.<ref>"[[Lisa the Beauty Queen]]"</ref> Despite these combat skills, [[Moe Szyslak]], [[Lenny Leonard]], [[Superintendent Chalmers]] and [[Comic Book Guy]] held their own against Skinner in fights.<ref name="My Big Fat Geek Wedding"/><ref>"[[Bart's Inner Child]]"</ref><ref>"[[The Cartridge Family]]"</ref><ref>"[[The Bart of War]]"</ref>
  
−
*[[Superintendent Chalmers]]: "The rod up that man's ass has a rod up its ass!"
+
== Appearance ==
−
*[[Bart Simpson]] (at different times): "Skinfish" "Skinman" "Skinny"
+
Skinner wears a blue suit, only one tie (orange), and a lavender shirt. He also wears blue slacks matching his suit. It is sometimes stated he wears a toupee.
−
*[[Groundskeeper Willie]] (at different times): "Croquet-Playin' Mint-Muncher!"  "Bath-taking, underpants-wearing, lily-hugger!"
 
−
*[[Moe Syzlak]]: "perfect posture and store-bought hair"
 
  
 +
== Non-canon ==
 +
{{Noncanon}}
 +
=== Back-story ===
 +
Skinner's back-story is re-visited, revealing Skinner is an impostor. Born Armin Tamzarian, he grew up in the [[433rd Street]] neighborhood of [[Capital City]]. He was a troubled orphan and rebellious teenager until he was forced into the United States Army during the Vietnam War. There, he was befriended by {{ap|Seymour Skinner|The Principal and the Pauper|Sgt. Seymour Skinner}}, whom he came to idolize. When Sgt. Seymour Skinner was reported missing and presumed dead, Tamzarian returned to Springfield to tell Skinner's mother, but she deliberately mistook him for Seymour, so he assumed his identity and followed Skinner's dream of becoming a school principal.<ref name="The Principal and the Pauper"/> It is revealed Skinner (AKA Armin Tamzarian) was born in New Orleans. The real Seymour Skinner had been alive after all and briefly returned to Springfield to take his rightful place as Springfield Elementary School Principal, but proved hopelessly unpopular and the Springfielders ran him out of town on the railroad. [[Judge Snyder]] granted Tamzarian Skinner's "name, and his past, present, future, and mother", and decreed no one will mention his true identity again "under penalty of torture", thus everything returned to normal.<ref name="The Principal and the Pauper"/>
  
−
== Vehicles ==
+
=== Treehouse of Horror ===
−
He drives an orange sedan. It appears to be the same model as [[Homer]]'s car.
+
In "[[Treehouse of Horror XIV]]", Skinner's skeletal system is ripped out by the regenerated body of [[Jonathan Frink Sr.|Professor Frink's father]]. In "[[Treehouse of Horror V]]", Skinner, and the rest of the faculty start eating students, with [[Jimbo Jones]] being the first victim. the last survivors were [[Lisa]], Bart, and [[Milhouse]].
  
−
== Love Life ==
+
=== The Simpsons: Hit and Run ===
 +
In ''[[The Simpsons: Hit & Run]]'', Homer delivers Lisa her school project, because she forgot it. He drives quicker than Skinner to the school. The next day Skinner chases [[Bart]] on his car after he skips school. His [[Agnes Skinner|mother]] can be seen sitting in the back seat. Later, he confiscates a laser gun from [[Bart]] and [[Bart]] has to destroy his car to get it back.
  
−
Skinner's major love interest is [[Edna Krabappel]], Bart's fourth-grade teacher.  However, he and Edna broke up soon after Edna left him at the altar when she discovered Skinner had cold feet. She soon had a rebound fling with [[Comic Book Guy]]. ([[My Big Fat Geek Wedding]])
+
=== The Simpsons Game ===
 +
In ''[[The Simpsons Game]]'', he hires [[Dolph]], [[Jimbo]] and [[Kearney]] to steal artifacts from the Springfield Museum for the school (as he couldn't get any science stuff the legal way due to lack of funds), till they are stopped by [[Homer]] and [[Bart]]. He also takes part of an angry mob led by [[Marge Simpson]] and [[Lisa Simpson]], recruited near the museum, implying that he was planning another heist when Marge's mob came around the corner.
  
−
==Allergies==
+
=== The Simpsons: Tapped Out ===
−
Peanuts
+
==== Skinner ====
 +
{{TranscludeSection|The Simpsons: Tapped Out characters/School Workers|Skinner}}
  
−
== Role in ''The Simpsons'' ==
+
==== Costumes ====
−
[[Image:Gradeschoolconfidential.png|thumb|200px|left|Skinner and Edna]]  
+
<gallery>
−
Skinner lives in fear of the wrath of his boss, [[Superintendent Chalmers]], a martinet who makes no effort to hide his disapproval of him or give him a fair chance to prove himself.
+
File:Number 600.png|[[Number 600]]
 +
File:Fireman Skinner.png|[[Fireman Skinner]]
 +
File:Longshot Skinner.png|[[Longshot Skinner]]
 +
File:Pharaoh Skinner.png|[[Pharaoh Skinner]]
 +
File:Dodgeball Skinner.png|[[Dodgeball Skinner]]
 +
</gallery>
  
−
At one point Skinner was fired and replaced by [[Ned Flanders]], despite Flanders' thorough lack of administrative skill and experience. During this period Bart actually befriends the unemployed Skinner, telling him about Flanders' lax approach (using the [[honor system]] and no formal punishments) and the chaos that ensues. Skinner eventually decides to rejoin the military as a [[Drill instructor|drill sergeant]], feeling that he would never be happy doing anything unrelated to administration, and Bart finds that he misses Skinner on two levels: as a friend, but even more as an enemy. While Bart initially enjoys pulling [[Practical joke|pranks]] during Flanders' period as principal, he ultimately finds it unfulfilling because the laid-back Flanders lacks Skinner's uptight personality for Bart to play off and ultimately, Bart conspires to return Skinner to his post.
+
== Behind the Laughter ==
 +
=== Creation ===
 +
Principal Skinner first appeared in "[[Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire]]", which was also the first ''Simpsons'' episode to air.<ref name="Roasting">[http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season1/page1.shtml Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire] ''BBC.co.uk''. Retrieved on March 2, 2007</ref> [[Matt Groening]] based him on "all of the principals of [his] youth, rolled into one bland lump."<ref name=tvguide>{{cite news|title=Flash! 24 Simpsons Stars Reveal Themselves|accessdate=2007-08-15|date=2000-10-21|publisher=TV Guide|author=Joe Rhodes}}</ref> Writer [[Jon Vitti]] named him after behavioral psychologist [[B. F. Skinner]].<ref name="Reiss1">{{Com|Reiss, Mike|Principal Charming|Second|(2002).|link=Mike Reiss}}</ref> Skinner was originally supposed to wear a toupee, but it was dropped because the writers didn't like "that type of joke".<ref name="Groening1">{{cite video | people=Groening, Matt|year=2002|title=The Simpsons season 2 DVD commentary for the episode "Principal Charming"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> The Simpsons Guide to Springfield did, however, briefly imply Skinner did wear a toupee.
  
−
In the season 2 episode "[[Principal Charming]]," Skinner dates [[Patty Bouvier]], who refuses to marry him at the end of the episode, ending the relationship.
+
=== Development ===
 +
In the first few seasons, Skinner resembles Norman Bates, the main character from Alfred Hitchcock's film ''Psycho''<ref>[http://www.simpsonsfolder.com/library/continuity.html Simpsonsfolder.com: Continuity]</ref> In later episodes, Skinner's behavior was based on teachers [[Bill Oakley]] and [[Josh Weinstein]] had in high school.<ref name="Weinstein1">{{cite video | people=Weinstein, Josh|year=2005|title=The Simpsons season 5 DVD commentary for the episode "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Badaaasssss Song"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref>
  
−
In later seasons, Skinner and [[Edna Krabappel]] start dating, and they later get engaged. They subsequently break up, although it has been hinted that he still wants her and that they may reunite in the future. He remained a [[virgin]] until he started dating Edna Krabappel. He still lives at home with his mother, and frequently has [[post-traumatic stress disorder|flashbacks]] to the [[Vietnam War]]. On one occasion, while announcing Bart's vulgar Valentine candies, he lapsed into a flashback in which his best friend was killed while writing a [[Valentine's Day|Valentine]] and then cried his friend's name over the school's still-active PA system.
+
[[Superintendent Chalmers]] was introduced in the episode "[[Whacking Day]]" as a boss for Skinner and Harry Shearer and [[Hank Azaria]], the voice of Chalmers, fell right into the characters and quite often ad-lib between them.<ref name="Jean1">{{cite video | people=Jean, Al|year=2004|title=The Simpsons season 4 DVD commentary for the episode "Whacking Day"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref>
  
−
Outside school, Skinner often seems weak-willed and easily suppressed—perhaps because he wants to avoid confrontation—but on one occasion he uses his Vietnam training to beat up (with disturbing efficiency) a lawyer and his two enormous bodyguards who were accusing him of [[copyright infringement]] because the school's fair unintentionally ripped off a tagline similar to the [[Disneyland]] theme park. He also reveals here that he was apparently a [[green beret]]. There are other moments where Skinner uses his military training, which shows that while he may tend to be a pushover, he is quite deadly when angered or cornered, although many never see him this way. He also stands up to [[Montgomery Burns]] when Burns tries to get him to cede control of the school's newly discovered [[petroleum|oil]] deposit, but Skinner refused to buckle, only to have Burns steal the oil from under him.
+
=== The Principal and the Pauper ===
 +
In the episode "[[The Principal and the Pauper]]", it was revealed Skinner is actually Armin Tamzarian. Armin was a troubled orphan until he joined the Army and was befriended by Sgt. Skinner, whom he came to idolize. Believing himself responsible for the real Skinner being killed, he returned to Springfield to tell Skinner's mother, but she (deliberately) mistook him for Seymour, and he followed the true Skinner's dream of becoming a school principal. At the end of the episode, Judge Snyder granted Tamzarian Skinner's "name, and his past, present, future, and mother," and decreed no one will mention his true identity again under penalty of torture (this, after the Springfielders ran the real Seymour, voiced by [[Martin Sheen]]—who had been alive after all—out of town by way of railroad).
  
−
Skinner is sometimes depicted as intelligent as an element of a [[geek]] stereotype. He is one of the members of [[Springfield (The Simpsons)|Springfield]]'s branch of [[Mensa International|Mensa]]. He was also the only person to ever successfully beat the [[List of recurring characters from The Simpsons#Blue-Haired Lawyer|Blue-Haired Lawyer]]. He is also a member of Springfield's Cultural Advisory Board. However, when Lisa steals the teacher's editions, he is just as helpless as the teachers, which means that he heavily relied on the books. He is also clueless when it comes to bullies. In "[[New Kid on the Block]]", Bart remembers a time when Jimbo was giving him a [[swirly]] while Skinner was waiting outside the stall and questioned Jimbo if there was a problem (thinking that Jimbo was just going to the bathroom), since Jimbo had been flushing for twenty minutes. When Jimbo replies "No, Principal Skinner (stupid laugh)", Skinner says, "Alright, I'll continue to wait" and cluelessly begins whistling while the toilet continues to flush.
+
The episode was negatively received by fans and critics over the sudden change of Skinner's backstory. During an interview, [[Harry Shearer]], the voice of Seymour Skinner publicly criticized the episode. He noted he told the writers after reading the script: "That's so wrong. You're taking something an audience built eight years or nine years of investment in and just tossed it in the trash can for no good reason, for a story we did before with other characters. It's so arbitrary and gratuitous, and it's disrespectful to the audience." In the introduction to the Season 9 DVD Boxset, [[Matt Groening]] described the episode as his "least favorite" and in a ''Rolling Stones'' interview, he called it a "mistake".
  
−
Seymour Skinner's personal history, like that of many ''Simpsons'' characters, is somewhat convoluted. It was long known that he was a Vietnam War veteran: having been a [[prisoner of war]] (prisoner #[[24601]], the number given by [[Victor Hugo]] to the principal character Jean Valjean in ''[[Les Miserables]]'' and [[Sideshow Bob]] as a prisoner), he often goes into [[flashback]]s of how the guards mistreated him. He lives alone with his domineering elderly mother (his father—who bears a resemblance to fake Seymour Skinner, rather than his actual son—having died in a parade float accident in 1979, along with Arnie Gumble, Iggy Wiggum, Etch Westgrin and Griff McDonald, all of the Flying Hellfish).  
+
''The Simpsons'' writers occasionally mocked the inconsistencies in subsequent episodes, it was referenced in "[[Behind the Laughter]]" as a 'far-out plot line' to distract from the family's behind-the-cameras turmoil. When Lisa acquires [[Snowball II]] and declares, "To save money on a new dish, I'll call you [[Snowball II]]." Skinner says, "Isn't that a cheat?" to which Lisa replies, "I guess it is, Principal ''Tamzarian''." Skinner replies, "I'll just be moving along", nods at Lisa and the new Snowball, and walks off. In the DVD commentary for "The Principal and the Pauper", the producers stated they intended for the episode's ending to reset the continuity to before Skinner was revealed to be Tamzarian. As such, they said, fans could dismiss the discontinuities created by the notion Skinner is actually an impostor and consider the episode on its own terms, divorced from the rest of the series. This episode is proved non-canon in "[[Boy Meets Curl]]".
  
−
However, in the episode "[[The Principal and the Pauper]]", it was revealed that Skinner is actually Armin Tamzarian. Armin was a troubled orphan until he joined the [[United States Army|Army]] and was befriended by Sgt. Skinner, whom he came to idolize. Believing himself responsible for the real Skinner being killed, he returned to Springfield to tell Skinner's mother, but she (deliberately) mistook him for Seymour, and he followed the true Skinner's dream of becoming a school principal. At the end of the episode, [[List of recurring characters from The Simpsons#Judge Roy Snyder|Judge Snyder]] granted Tamzarian Skinner's "name, and his past, present, future, and mother," and decreed that no one will mention his true identity again under penalty of torture (this, after the Springfielders ran the real Seymour, voiced by [[Martin Sheen]]&mdash;who had been alive after all&mdash;out of town by way of railroad). ''The Simpsons'' writers have occasionally mocked the inconsistencies in subsequent episodes, it was referenced in "[[Behind the Laughter]]" as a 'far-out plot line' to distract from the family's behind-the-cameras turmoil. When Lisa acquires [[Snowball V]] and declares, "To save money on a new dish, I'll call you [[List of animals in The Simpsons#Snowball II|Snowball II]]." Skinner says, "Isn't that a cheat?" to which Lisa replies, "I guess it is, Principal ''Tamzarian''." Skinner then replies, "I'll just be moving along", nods at Lisa and the new Snowball,"Lisa, Snowball II" and walks off.  In the DVD commentary for "The Principal and the Pauper", the producers described that they intended for the episode's ending to [[Reset button technique|reset]] the continuity to before Skinner was revealed to be Tamzarian.  As such, they said, fans could dismiss the discontinuities created by the notion that Skinner is actually an impostor and consider the episode on its own terms, divorced from the rest of the series. The nerdy Seymour Skinner has a hobby that is only seen rarely on the TV show: amateur radio. His ham radio callsign was given as WA3QIK once, while communicating on the radio with Homer who was at sea.
+
=== Foreign dubs ===
 +
{{Dub voices
 +
|czVoice=Dalimil Klapka (season 1 - 31)<br>Petr Stach (season 32 - present)
 +
|deVoice=[[german:Fred Klaus|Fred Klaus]] (season 1 - 13)<br>[[german:Klaus Guth|Klaus Guth]] (season 14 - 31)<br>[[german:Josef Vossenkuhl|Josef Vossenkuhl]] (season 32 - present)
 +
|Dub voices
 +
|esVoice=Antonio Medina (season 1 and 2)<br>José Padilla (season 3 - present)
 +
|esLAVoice=César Izaguirre (season 1 , ep. 1 and season 2, ep. 14)<br>Alejandro Villeli (season 1, ep. 2, season 3, ep. 7 and season 9, ep. 11)<br>Octavio Rojas (season 1, ep. 5)<br>Bardo Miranda (season 2, ep. 8)<br>Alejandro Illescas (season 3, ep. 4 and season 15, final episodes)<br>Juan Alfonso Carralero (season 3, ep. 5)<br>César Arias (season 5, ep. 1)<br>Tito Reséndiz (season 5, ep. 10, last loops)<br>Víctor Delgado (season 26, ep. 4)<br>Agustín Sauret (seasons 2-4)<br>José Luis Castañeda (seasons 5-9)<br>Gabriel Pingarrón (seasons 9-15)<br>Gerardo Vásquez (seasons 16-31)<br>Roberto Mendiola (season 32-present)
 +
|fiVoice=Markus Bäckman
 +
|flVoice=Geert Willems
 +
|frVoice=Michel Modo (season 1 - 18)<br>Gérard Rinaldi (season 19 - 22)<br>Xavier Fagnon (season 23 - present)
 +
|quVoice=Mario Desmarais
 +
|huVoice=István Orosz
 +
|itVoice=Renato Cortesi (season 1 - "[[Black Widower]]")<br>Piero Tiberi ("[[The Otto Show]]" - "[[Homer Goes to College]]")<br>Mauro Magliozzi (only "[[Rosebud]]")<br>Massimo Corvo ("[[Treehouse of Horror IV]]" - season 8)<br>Stefano Mondini (season 9 - present)
 +
|jaVoice=Shin Aomori
 +
|poVoice=Marcin Troński
 +
|brVoice=Márcio Simões
 +
|ptVoice=Peter Michael
 +
}}
  
−
==Character==
+
== Trivia ==
−
===Creation===
+
*Skinner's prisoner of war ID number was 24601.
−
Principal Skinner first appeared in "[[Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire]]", which was also the first ''Simpsons'' episode to air.<ref name="Roasting">[http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season1/page1.shtml Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire] ''BBC.co.uk''. Retrieved on [[March 2]], [[2007]]</ref> He is named after behavioral psychologist [[B.F. Skinner]] and it was given to him by [[Jon Vitti]].<ref name="Reiss1">{{cite video | people=Reiss, Mike|year=2002|title=The Simpsons season 2 DVD commentary for the episode "Principal Charming"| medium=DVD||publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> Skinner was originally supposed to wear a [[toupee]], but it was dropped because the writers didn't like "that type of joke".<ref name="Groening1">{{cite video | people=Groening, Matt|year=2002|title=The Simpsons season 2 DVD commentary for the episode "Principal Charming"| medium=DVD||publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref>  
+
*Skinner is ambidextrous <ref name="Special Edna"/><ref name="Please Homer, Don't Hammer 'Em">"[[Please Homer, Don't Hammer 'Em]]"</ref>
 +
*He is allergic to peanuts <ref name="Please Homer, Don't Hammer 'Em"/>
 +
*He drives a white 2006 {{W|Kia Rio}}<ref>"[[The Color Yellow]]"</ref>
 +
*Skinner is 5'8".<ref name="Yellow Subterfuge">"[[Yellow Subterfuge]]"</ref>
  
−
===Development===
+
== Appearances ==
−
In the first few seasons, Skinner resembles [[Norman Bates]], the main character from [[Alfred Hitchcock]]'s film ''[[Psycho (1960 film)|Psycho]]''.{{Fact|date=August 2007}} In later episodes, Skinner's behavior was based on teachers that [[Bill Oakley]] and [[Josh Weinstein]] had in high school.<ref name="Weinstein1">{{cite video | people=Weinstein, Josh|year=2005|title=The Simpsons season 5 DVD commentary for the episode "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Badaaasssss Song"| medium=DVD||publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref>
+
{{Scroll|
 +
{{TO}}
 +
'''Episodes:'''
 +
{{Season1A
 +
|E1=yes
 +
|E2=yes
 +
|E5=yes
 +
|E6=yes
 +
|E6n=mentioned
 +
|E8=yes
 +
|E11=yes
 +
}}
 +
{{Season2A
 +
|E1=yes
 +
|E6=yes
 +
|E8=yes
 +
|E14=yes
 +
|E17=yes
 +
|E19=yes
 +
}}
 +
{{Season3A
 +
|E3=yes
 +
|E4=yes
 +
|E5=yes
 +
|E7=yes
 +
|E7n=Bart's nightmare
 +
|E8=yes
 +
|E13=yes
 +
|E16=yes
 +
|E17=yes
 +
|E18=yes
 +
|E19=yes
 +
|E22=yes
 +
|E23=yes
 +
|E24=yes
 +
}}
 +
{{Season4A
 +
|E1=yes
 +
|E4=yes
 +
|E5=yes
 +
|E6=yes
 +
|E8=yes
 +
|E9=yes
 +
|E12=yes
 +
|E14=yes
 +
|E15=yes
 +
|E16=yes
 +
|E17=yes
 +
|E20=yes
 +
|E21=yes
 +
}}
 +
{{Season5A
 +
|E1=yes
 +
|E4=yes
 +
|E5=yes
 +
|E5n=Terror at 5 1/2 Feet
 +
|E7=yes
 +
|E8=yes
 +
|E9=yes
 +
|E10=yes
 +
|E11=yes
 +
|E12=yes
 +
|E16=yes
 +
|E17=yes
 +
|E18=yes
 +
|E19=yes
 +
|E20=yes
 +
|E21=yes
 +
|E22=yes
 +
}}
 +
{{Season6A
 +
|E1=yes
 +
|E2=yes
 +
|E5=yes
 +
|E6=yes
 +
|E6n=opening sequence; Nightmare Cafeteria
 +
|E7=yes
 +
|E8=yes
 +
|E10=yes
 +
|E11=yes
 +
|E12=yes
 +
|E14=yes
 +
|E17=yes
 +
|E18=yes
 +
|E19=yes
 +
|E20=yes
 +
|E21=yes
 +
|E22=yes
 +
|E23=yes
 +
|E25=yes
 +
}}
 +
{{Season7A
 +
|E1=yes
 +
|E2=yes
 +
|E3=yes
 +
|E4=yes
 +
|E5=yes
 +
|E6=yes
 +
|E8=yes
 +
|E9=yes
 +
|E10=yes
 +
|E10n=archive footage
 +
|E12=yes
 +
|E13=yes
 +
|E15=yes
 +
|E16=yes
 +
|E18=yes
 +
|E20=yes
 +
|E21=yes
 +
|E23=yes
 +
|E25=yes
 +
}}
 +
{{Season8A
 +
|E1=yes
 +
|E1n=The Genesis Tub
 +
|E2=yes
 +
|E4=yes
 +
|E5=yes
 +
|E7=yes
 +
|E8=yes
 +
|E9=yes
 +
|E10=yes
 +
|E11=yes
 +
|E13=yes
 +
|E14cg=yes
 +
|E15=yes
 +
|E16=yes
 +
|E17=yes
 +
|E18=yes
 +
|E19=yes
 +
|E21=yes
 +
|E22=yes
 +
|E23=yes
 +
|E23n=picture
 +
|E24=yes
 +
|E25=yes
 +
}}
 +
{{Season9A
 +
|E2=yes
 +
|E3=yes
 +
|E4=yes
 +
|E5=yes
 +
|E7=yes
 +
|E8=yes
 +
|E9=yes
 +
|E10=yes
 +
|E11=yes
 +
|E11n=archive footage
 +
|E12=yes
 +
|E13=yes
 +
|E14=yes
 +
|E15=yes
 +
|E16=yes
 +
|E18=yes
 +
|E19=yes
 +
|E20=yes
 +
|E21=yes
 +
|E22=yes
 +
|E23=yes
 +
|E24=yes
 +
|E25=yes
 +
}}
 +
{{Season10A
 +
|E2cg=yes
 +
|E3=yes
 +
|E5=yes
 +
|E6=yes
 +
|E7=yes
 +
|E9=yes
 +
|E10=yes
 +
|E11=yes
 +
|E12=yes
 +
|E13=yes
 +
|E14=yes
 +
|E15=yes
 +
|E16=yes
 +
|E18=yes
 +
|E18n=wraparounds; Lisa's Dream, as [[Pharaoh]]
 +
|E19=yes
 +
|E20=yes
 +
|E21=yes
 +
|E22=yes
 +
|E23=yes
 +
}}
 +
{{Season11A
 +
|E1=yes
 +
|E2=yes
 +
|E3=yes
 +
|E4=yes
 +
|E5=yes
 +
|E6=yes
 +
|E8=yes
 +
|E9=yes
 +
|E11=yes
 +
|E13=yes
 +
|E14=yes
 +
|E16=yes
 +
|E20=yes
 +
|E21=yes
 +
|E22=yes
 +
}}
 +
{{Season12A
 +
|E1=yes
 +
|E2=yes
 +
|E4=yes
 +
|E5=yes
 +
|E6=yes
 +
|E7=yes
 +
|E8=yes
 +
|E9=yes
 +
|E10=yes
 +
|E11=yes
 +
|E13=yes
 +
|E14=yes
 +
|E15=yes
 +
|E16=yes
 +
|E19=yes
 +
|E20=yes
 +
|E21=yes
 +
|E21n=Paul Bunyan; Connie Appleseed
 +
}}
 +
{{Season13A
 +
|E1=yes
 +
|E1n=Wiz Kids
 +
|E2=yes
 +
|E6=yes
 +
|E7=yes
 +
|E8=yes
 +
|E9=yes
 +
|E10=yes
 +
|E11=yes
 +
|E12=yes
 +
|E17=yes
 +
|E18=yes
 +
|E19=yes
 +
|E20=yes
 +
|E21=yes
 +
|E22=yes
 +
}}
 +
{{Season14A
 +
|E1=yes
 +
|E2=yes
 +
|E3=yes
 +
|E4=yes
 +
|E5=yes
 +
|E7=yes
 +
|E8=yes
 +
|E9=yes
 +
|E10=yes
 +
|E12=yes
 +
|E13=yes
 +
|E16=yes
 +
|E17=yes
 +
|E18=yes
 +
|E19=yes
 +
|E20=yes
 +
|E21=yes
 +
|E22=yes
 +
}}
 +
{{Season15A
 +
|E1=yes
 +
|E1n=Frinkenstein; Stop the World, I Want to Goof Off
 +
|E2=yes
 +
|E3=yes
 +
|E4=yes
 +
|E7=yes
 +
|E8=yes
 +
|E9=yes
 +
|E10=yes
 +
|E12=yes
 +
|E13=yes
 +
|E14=yes
 +
|E15=yes
 +
|E16=yes
 +
|E17=yes
 +
|E19=yes
 +
|E21=yes
 +
|E22=yes
 +
}}
 +
{{Season16A
 +
|E1=yes
 +
|E1n=Four Beheadings and a Funeral
 +
|E3=yes
 +
|E5=yes
 +
|E6=yes
 +
|E8=yes
 +
|E9=yes
 +
|E10=yes
 +
|E11=yes
 +
|E14=yes
 +
|E15=yes
 +
|E17=yes
 +
|E18=yes
 +
|E19=yes
 +
|E20=yes
 +
|E21=yes
 +
}}
 +
{{Season17A
 +
|E3=yes
 +
|E4=yes
 +
|E5=yes
 +
|E6=yes
 +
|E7=yes
 +
|E9=yes
 +
|E9n=wraparounds; The First D'oh-El; The Nutcracker...Sweeeeet
 +
|E10=yes
 +
|E11=yes
 +
|E12=yes
 +
|E13=yes
 +
|E14=yes
 +
|E15=yes
 +
|E16=yes
 +
|E18=yes
 +
|E18n=The Neptune Upending
 +
|E19=yes
 +
|E20=yes
 +
|E21=yes
 +
}}
 +
{{Season18A
 +
|E1=yes
 +
|E2=yes
 +
|E3=yes
 +
|E4=yes
 +
|E4n=You Gotta Know When to Golem; The Day the Earth Looked Stupid
 +
|E5=yes
 +
|E7=yes
 +
|E8=yes
 +
|E11=yes
 +
|E11n=Revenge of the Geeks; Bartman Begins
 +
|E12=yes
 +
|E14=yes
 +
|E17=yes
 +
|E18=yes
 +
|E19=yes
 +
|E20=yes
 +
|E21=yes
 +
|E22=yes
 +
}}
 +
*{{mov}}
 +
{{Season19A
 +
|E1=yes
 +
|E2=yes
 +
|E3=yes
 +
|E4=yes
 +
|E5=yes
 +
|E6=yes
 +
|E7=yes
 +
|E8=yes
 +
|E9=yes
 +
|E10=yes
 +
|E13=yes
 +
|E14=yes
 +
|E15=yes
 +
|E16=yes
 +
|E18=yes
 +
}}
 +
{{Season20A
 +
|E1=yes
 +
|E2=yes
 +
|E3=yes
 +
|E4=yes
 +
|E6=yes
 +
|E7=yes
 +
|E8=yes
 +
|E9=yes
 +
|E10=yes
 +
|E11=yes
 +
|E12=yes
 +
|E13=yes
 +
|E14=yes
 +
|E15=yes
 +
|E17=yes
 +
|E18=yes
 +
|E19=yes
 +
|E21=yes
 +
}}
 +
{{Season21A
 +
|E1=yes
 +
|E2=yes
 +
|E3=yes
 +
|E4=yes
 +
|E5=yes
 +
|E6=yes
 +
|E7=yes
 +
|E8=yes
 +
|E11=yes
 +
|E12=yes
 +
|E13=yes
 +
|E14=yes
 +
|E15=yes
 +
|E18=yes
 +
|E19=yes
 +
|E20=yes
 +
|E21=yes
 +
|E22=yes
 +
}}
 +
{{Season22A
 +
|E2=yes
 +
|E3=yes
 +
|E4=yes
 +
|E5=yes
 +
|E6=yes
 +
|E7=yes
 +
|E10=yes
 +
|E11=yes
 +
|E13=yes
 +
|E15=yes
 +
|E16=yes
 +
|E17=yes
 +
|E18=yes
 +
|E19=yes
 +
|E20=yes
 +
|E21=yes
 +
|E22=yes
 +
}}
 +
{{Season23A
 +
|E1=yes
 +
|E2=yes
 +
|E3=yes
 +
|E4=yes
 +
|E6=yes
 +
|E7=yes
 +
|E7n=cog in Homer's head
 +
|E8=yes
 +
|E9=yes
 +
|E11=yes
 +
|E12=yes
 +
|E13=yes
 +
|E14=yes
 +
|E15=yes
 +
|E18=yes
 +
|E19=yes
 +
|E20=yes
 +
|E21=yes
 +
|E22=yes
 +
}}
 +
{{Season24A
 +
|E2=yes
 +
|E2n=opening sequence; The Greatest Story Ever Holed; Bart & Homer's Excellent Adventure
 +
|E3=yes
 +
|E6=yes
 +
|E7=yes
 +
|E8=yes
 +
|E9=yes
 +
|E10=yes
 +
|E11=yes
 +
|E11n=picture
 +
|E12=yes
 +
|E13=yes
 +
|E14=yes
 +
|E15=yes
 +
|E16=yes
 +
|E18=yes
 +
|E20=yes
 +
}}
 +
{{Season25A
 +
|E2=yes
 +
|E3=yes
 +
|E4=yes
 +
|E6=yes
 +
|E7=yes
 +
|E8=yes
 +
|E9=yes
 +
|E12=yes
 +
|E13=yes
 +
|E15=yes
 +
|E16=yes
 +
|E17=yes
 +
|E18=yes
 +
|E19=yes
 +
|E20=yes
 +
|E21=yes
 +
|E22=yes
 +
}}
 +
{{Season26A
 +
|E1=yes
 +
|E2=yes
 +
|E4=yes
 +
|E5=yes
 +
|E6=yes
 +
|E7=yes
 +
|E8=yes
 +
|E9=yes
 +
|E10=yes
 +
|E11=yes
 +
|E12=yes
 +
|E13=yes
 +
|E14=yes
 +
|E14n=picture
 +
|E15=yes
 +
|E16=yes
 +
|E17=yes
 +
|E18=yes
 +
|E19=yes
 +
|E19n=picture
 +
|E21=yes
 +
|E22=yes
 +
}}
 +
{{Season27A
 +
|E1cg=yes
 +
|E2=yes
 +
|E4=yes
 +
|E5=yes
 +
|E6=yes
 +
|E7=yes
 +
|E7n=picture
 +
|E8=yes
 +
|E10=yes
 +
|E11=yes
 +
|E12=yes
 +
|E13=yes
 +
|E14=yes
 +
|E16=yes
 +
|E17=yes
 +
|E18=yes
 +
|E21=yes
 +
|E22=yes
 +
}}
 +
{{Season28A
 +
|E1=yes
 +
|E2=yes
 +
|E4=yes
 +
|E4n=Dry Hard; BFF; Moefinger
 +
|E6=yes
 +
|E7=yes
 +
|E7n=picture
 +
|E9=yes
 +
|E10=yes
 +
|E11=yes
 +
|E12=yes
 +
|E14=yes
 +
|E15=yes
 +
|E17=yes
 +
|E20=yes
 +
|E22=yes
 +
}}
 +
{{Season29A
 +
|E1=yes
 +
|E1n=severed head
 +
|E2=yes
 +
|E3=yes
 +
|E5=yes
 +
|E6=yes
 +
|E8=yes
 +
|E9=yes
 +
|E10=yes
 +
|E11=yes
 +
|E14=yes
 +
|E16=yes
 +
|E17=yes
 +
|E21=yes
 +
}}
 +
{{Season30A
 +
|E1=yes
 +
|E2=yes
 +
|E4=yes
 +
|E4n=Intrusion of the Pod-Y Switchers; Geriatric Park
 +
|E5=yes
 +
|E6=yes
 +
|E7=yes
 +
|E8=yes
 +
|E9=yes
 +
|E10=yes
 +
|E11cg=yes
 +
|E12=yes
 +
|E13=yes
 +
|E14=yes
 +
|E15=yes
 +
|E16=yes
 +
|E17=yes
 +
|E18=yes
 +
|E19=yes
 +
|E20=yes
 +
|E21=yes
 +
|E22=yes
 +
}}
 +
{{Season31A
 +
|E1=yes
 +
|E4=yes
 +
|E4n=Heaven Swipes Right
 +
|E5=yes
 +
|E6=yes
 +
|E8=yes
 +
|E8n=A-Gobble-Ypto; The Last Thanksgiving
 +
|E9=yes
 +
|E11=yes
 +
|E12=yes
 +
|E13=yes
 +
|E14=yes
 +
|E16=yes
 +
|E17=yes
 +
|E19=yes
 +
|E20=yes
 +
|E21=yes
 +
}}
 +
{{Season32A
 +
|E2=yes
 +
|E3=yes
 +
|E3n=1863 France
 +
|E5=yes
 +
|E7=yes
 +
|E8=yes
 +
|E10=yes
 +
|E12=yes
 +
|E13=yes
 +
|E15=yes
 +
|E16=yes
 +
|E16n=picture
 +
|E18=yes
 +
|E19=yes
 +
}}
 +
{{Season33A
 +
|E1=yes
 +
|E2=yes
 +
|E3=yes
 +
|E3n=Bong Joon Ho's This Side of Parasite; Poetic Interlude; Dead Ringer
 +
|E5=yes
 +
|E6=yes
 +
|E7=yes
 +
|E9=yes
 +
|E11=yes
 +
|E13=yes
 +
|E13n=mentioned
 +
|E14=yes
 +
|E15=yes
 +
|E16=yes
 +
|E18=yes
 +
|E19=yes
 +
|E21=yes
 +
|E22=yes
 +
}}
 +
{{Season34A
 +
|E1=yes
 +
|E2=yes
 +
|E3=yes
 +
|E6=yes
 +
|E6n=SimpsonsWorld
 +
|E8=yes
 +
|E9=yes
 +
|E10=yes
 +
|E11=yes
 +
|E12=yes
 +
|E15=yes
 +
|E16=yes
 +
|E19=yes
 +
|E20=yes
 +
|E21=yes
 +
|E22=yes
 +
|E22n=mentioned
 +
}}
 +
{{Season35A
 +
|E1=yes
 +
|E2=yes
 +
|E3=yes
 +
|E5=yes
 +
|E5n=Lout Break
 +
|E7=yes
 +
|E8=yes
 +
|E9=yes
 +
|E9n=picture
 +
|E10=yes
 +
|E12=yes
 +
|E13=yes
 +
|E14=yes
 +
|E16=yes
 +
|E16n=dream
 +
|E17=yes
 +
|E18=yes
 +
}}
 +
{{Season36A
 +
|E1=yes
 +
|E2=yes
 +
|E2n=picture
 +
|E4=yes
 +
|E5=yes
 +
|E5n=The Information Rage; The Fall of the House of Monty
 +
|E7=yes
 +
|E7n=Marionettes, Inc.
 +
}}
 +
'''Specials:'''
 +
{{SpecialsA
 +
|Bartman=yes
 +
|Ride=yes
 +
|SU2C=yes
 +
|Shake=yes
 +
|DDT=yes
 +
|TSG=yes
 +
|Bowl=yes
 +
|Balenciaga=yes
 +
|Plus=yes
 +
|TDLM=yes
 +
|RogueOne=yes
 +
|TMWTOTY=yes
 +
}}
 +
'''Adverts:'''
 +
{{AdvertsA
 +
|Coke=yes
 +
|TSTO2=yes
 +
}}
 +
'''Butterfinger Adverts:'''
 +
{{ButterfingerA
 +
|BF16=yes
 +
|BF21=yes
 +
}}
 +
'''Simpsons Illustrated:'''
 +
{{SimpsonsIllustratedA
 +
|I1S3=yes
 +
|I1S8=yes
 +
|I1S8n=mentioned
 +
|I3S2=yes
 +
|I3S2n=picture
 +
|I4S1=yes
 +
|I4S1n=mentioned
 +
|I5S3=yes
 +
|I6S3=yes
 +
|I7S7=yes
 +
}}
 +
'''Simpsons Comics:'''
 +
{{SimpsonsComicsA
 +
|I2S1=yes
 +
|I3S1=yes
 +
|I4S1=yes
 +
|I5S1=yes
 +
|I6S1=yes
 +
|I8S2=yes
 +
|I9S1=yes
 +
|I12S2=yes
 +
|I13S1=yes
 +
|I13S2=yes
 +
|I18S1=yes
 +
|I19S1=yes
 +
|I20S1=yes
 +
|I21S1=yes
 +
|I22S1=yes
 +
|I25S1=yes
 +
|I26S1=yes
 +
|I27S2=yes
 +
|I28S1=yes
 +
|I29S1=yes
 +
|I30S1=yes
 +
|I31S1=yes
 +
|I32S1=yes
 +
|I33S1=yes
 +
|I34S2=yes
 +
|I38S1=yes
 +
|I39S1=yes
 +
|I41S2=yes
 +
|I42S1=yes
 +
|I42S2=yes
 +
|I43S1=yes
 +
|I44S1=yes
 +
|I46S1=yes
 +
|I46S2=yes
 +
|I47S1=yes
 +
|I49S2=yes
 +
|I50S1=yes
 +
|I50S2=yes
 +
|I53S1=yes
 +
|I54S1=yes
 +
|I56S1=yes
 +
|I57S1=yes
 +
|I57S2=yes
 +
|I58S1=yes
 +
|I60S1=yes
 +
|I60S2=yes
 +
|I61S1=yes
 +
|I64S1=yes
 +
|I65S1=yes
 +
|I65S2=yes
 +
|I66S1=yes
 +
|I67S1=yes
 +
|I69S1=yes
 +
|I71S1=yes
 +
|I71S2=yes
 +
|I73S1=yes
 +
|I74S1=yes
 +
|I75S1=yes
 +
|I77S1=yes
 +
|I79S1=yes
 +
|I80S1=yes
 +
|I81S1=yes
 +
|I82S1=yes
 +
|I83S1=yes
 +
|I84S1=yes
 +
|I85S1=yes
 +
|I86S1=yes
 +
|I87S1=yes
 +
|I89S1=yes
 +
|I90S2=yes
 +
|I91S1=yes
 +
|I92S1=yes
 +
|I93S1=yes
 +
|I95S1=yes
 +
|I99S1=yes
 +
|I100S1=yes
 +
|I101S1=yes
 +
|I103S1=yes
 +
|I104S1=yes
 +
|I105S1=yes
 +
|I106S1=yes
 +
|I107S1=yes
 +
|I109S1=yes
 +
|I112S1=yes
 +
|I118S1=yes
 +
|I121S1=yes
 +
|I123S1=yes
 +
|I125S3=yes
 +
|I136S1=yes
 +
|I137S1=yes
 +
|I139S1=yes
 +
|I141S1=yes
 +
|I145S1=yes
 +
|I147S1=yes
 +
|I148S1=yes
 +
|I149S1=yes
 +
|I150S1=yes
 +
|I152S1=yes
 +
|I156S1=yes
 +
|I158S1=yes
 +
|I159S1=yes
 +
|I162S1=yes
 +
|I163S1=yes
 +
|I164S1=yes
 +
|I169S1=yes
 +
|I170S1=yes
 +
|I171S1=yes
 +
|I172S1=yes
 +
|I173S1=yes
 +
|I174S1=yes
 +
|I176S1=yes
 +
|I177S1=yes
 +
|I180S1=yes
 +
|I182S1=yes
 +
|I184S1=yes
 +
|I185S1=yes
 +
|I185S2=yes
 +
|I185S3=yes
 +
|I187S1=yes
 +
|I190S1=yes
 +
|I191S1=yes
 +
|I192S1=yes
 +
|I194S1=yes
 +
|I196S1=yes
 +
|I198S1=yes
 +
|I200S1=yes
 +
|I202S1=yes
 +
|I203S1=yes
 +
|I204S1=yes
 +
|I206S1=yes
 +
|I207S1=yes
 +
|I209S1=yes
 +
|I210S1=yes
 +
|I211S5=yes
 +
|I212S1=yes
 +
|I214S1=yes
 +
|I215S1=yes
 +
|I217S1=yes
 +
|I220S1=yes
 +
|I224S1=yes
 +
|I227S1=yes
 +
|I229S1=yes
 +
|I229S2=yes
 +
|I231S3=yes
 +
|I232S1=yes
 +
|I232S1n=mentioned
 +
|I235S2=yes
 +
|I239S1=yes
 +
|I240S1=yes
 +
|I240S3=yes
 +
|I242S2=yes
 +
|I242S3=yes
 +
|I243S1=yes
 +
|I244S1=yes
 +
}}
 +
'''Bartman:'''
 +
{{BartmanA
 +
|I2S1=yes
 +
|I3S1=yes
 +
}}
 +
'''Bart Simpson's Joke Book:'''
 +
{{JokeBookA
 +
|I1S2=yes
 +
}}
 +
'''Treehouse of Horror:'''
 +
{{TreehouseA
 +
|I1S1=yes
 +
|I2S2=yes
 +
|I3S1=yes
 +
|I4S3=yes
 +
|I5S1=yes
 +
|I5S2=yes
 +
|I6S1=yes
 +
|I9S1=yes
 +
|I9S1n=hallucination
 +
|I12S3=yes
 +
|I13S1=yes
 +
|I14S2=yes
 +
|I16S1=yes
 +
|I16S3=yes
 +
|I19S2=yes
 +
|I19S3=yes
 +
|I20S2=yes
 +
|I20S3=yes
 +
|I20S4=yes
 +
|I21S2=yes
 +
|I22S2=yes
 +
|I22S3=yes
 +
|I22S3n=mentioned
 +
|I23S1=yes
 +
|I23S2=yes
 +
|I23S3=yes
 +
|B1S3=yes
 +
|B1S7=yes
 +
|B2S2=yes
 +
|B2S3=yes
 +
|B2S16=yes
 +
|B2S16n=picture
 +
|B4S1=yes
 +
|B4S7=yes
 +
|B4S7n=mentioned
 +
|B4S9=yes
 +
}}
 +
'''Bart Simpson:'''
 +
{{BartSimpsonA
 +
|I2S1=yes
 +
|I3S3=yes
 +
|I4S2=yes
 +
|I5S2=yes
 +
|I5S3=yes
 +
|I7S1=yes
 +
|I9S3=yes
 +
|I10S6=yes
 +
|I11S1=yes
 +
|I11S3=yes
 +
|I12S2=yes
 +
|I12S5=yes
 +
|I13S2=yes
 +
|I13S4=yes
 +
|I14S2=yes
 +
|I14S2n=dialogue only
 +
|I15S1=yes
 +
|I15S3=yes
 +
|I16S4=yes
 +
|I18S1=yes
 +
|I19S1=yes
 +
|I19S2=yes
 +
|I20S1=yes
 +
|I20S2=yes
 +
|I20S3=yes
 +
|I21S3=yes
 +
|I22S1=yes
 +
|I23S1=yes
 +
|I24S1=yes
 +
|I24S3=yes
 +
|I24S3n=picture
 +
|I27S3=yes
 +
|I28S2=yes
 +
|I29S4=yes
 +
|I30S1=yes
 +
|I30S2=yes
 +
|I30S3=yes
 +
|I31S1=yes
 +
|I31S3=yes
 +
|I35S4=yes
 +
|I38S1=yes
 +
|I39S5=yes
 +
|I40S3=yes
 +
|I43S1=yes
 +
|I44S3=yes
 +
|I45S1=yes
 +
|I46S1=yes
 +
|I46S2=yes
 +
|I47S1=yes
 +
|I49S2=yes
 +
|I50S3=yes
 +
|I53S1=yes
 +
|I55S1=yes
 +
|I56S1=yes
 +
|I57S4=yes
 +
|I58S1=yes
 +
|I59S1=yes
 +
|I59S3=yes
 +
|I63S2=yes
 +
|I63S4=yes
 +
|I64S1=yes
 +
|I64S2=yes
 +
|I66S3=yes
 +
|I68S1=yes
 +
|I71S1=yes
 +
|I72S1=yes
 +
|I73S1=yes
 +
|I73S4=yes
 +
|I75S3=yes
 +
|I78S3=yes
 +
|I79S1=yes
 +
|I80S1=yes
 +
|I81S1=yes
 +
|I81S2=yes
 +
|I82S1=yes
 +
|I82S3=yes
 +
|I83S1=yes
 +
|I83S2=yes
 +
|I84S2=yes
 +
|I85S1=yes
 +
|I87S1=yes
 +
|I88S1=yes
 +
|I88S2=yes
 +
|I89S1=yes
 +
|I89S2=yes
 +
|I90S2=yes
 +
|I92S2=yes
 +
|I94S1=yes
 +
|I95S3=yes
 +
|I96S1=yes
 +
|I97S1=yes
 +
|I98S1=yes
 +
|I98S1n=mentioned
 +
|I99S1=yes
 +
|I99S4=yes
 +
|I100S1=yes
 +
}}
 +
'''Futurama Crossover:'''
 +
{{FuturamaCrossoverA
 +
|S1=yes
 +
|S3=yes
 +
|S4=yes
 +
}}
 +
'''Comic Strips:'''
 +
{{ComicStripsA
 +
|S19=yes
 +
|S30=yes
 +
|S42=yes
 +
|S55=yes
 +
|S60=yes
 +
|S74=yes
 +
|S78=yes
 +
|S80=yes
 +
|S80n=picture
 +
}}
 +
'''Holiday Humdinger:'''
 +
{{HolidayHumdingerA
 +
|S3=yes
 +
|S4=yes
 +
|S4n=picture
 +
|S11=yes
 +
}}
 +
'''Super Spectacular:'''
 +
{{SuperSpectacularA
 +
|I2S1=yes
 +
|I3S3=yes
 +
|I4S1=yes
 +
|I11S2=yes
 +
|I11S2n=mentioned
 +
|I12S1=yes
 +
|I12S1n=mentioned
 +
|I8S1=yes
 +
|I10S1=yes
 +
}}
 +
'''Winter Wingding:'''
 +
{{WinterWingdingA
 +
|I1S7=yes
 +
|I2S1=yes
 +
|I2S6=yes
 +
|I3S1=yes
 +
|I5S1=yes
 +
|I5S5=yes
 +
|I6S5=yes
 +
|I7S1=yes
 +
|I9S3=yes
 +
|I9S4=yes
 +
|I10S3=yes
 +
}}
 +
'''Summer Shindig:'''
 +
{{SummerShindigA
 +
|I1S1=yes
 +
|I2S3=yes
 +
|I4S3=yes
 +
|I4S4=yes
 +
|I5S1=yes
 +
|I8S3=yes
 +
}}
 +
'''Comic Book Guy: The Comic Book:'''
 +
{{DOCBGA
 +
|S2=yes
 +
|S4=yes
 +
|S5=yes
 +
}}
 +
'''Homer for the Holidays:'''
 +
{{HftHA
 +
|S8=yes
 +
|S11=yes
 +
}}
 +
'''One-Shot Wonders:'''
 +
{{OneShotsA
 +
|IRWS5=yes
 +
|IPFS1=yes
 +
|ILSS1=yes
 +
|IJJS2=yes
 +
|IBMS1=yes
 +
}}
 +
'''Video Games:'''
 +
{{GamesA
 +
|TSTO=yes
 +
|Game=yes
 +
|H&R=yes
 +
|TSRR=yes
 +
|Cartoon=yes
 +
|NOTLTHOH=yes
 +
|Skate=yes
 +
|Virtual=yes
 +
}}
 +
'''Books:'''
 +
{{BooksA
 +
|UEG=yes
 +
|TBoM=yes
 +
|CWBoC=yes
 +
|TBB=yes
 +
|FBoF=yes
 +
|UFA=yes
 +
|UJRoSFB=yes
 +
|BSGTL=yes
 +
|CBG=yes
 +
|LSGtGC=yes
 +
|GfTS07=yes
 +
|TSGtS=yes
 +
|SCExtra=yes
 +
|SCCC5=yes
 +
|SCCC6=yes
 +
|SCoP=yes
 +
|BSBO=yes
 +
|RDFB=yes
 +
|SCSB=yes
 +
|TSFH=yes
 +
|TSFCC=yes
 +
|BBeastBoBS=yes
 +
|TRWB=yes
 +
|TSH=yes
 +
|SCFSFBL=yes
 +
|BSTtR=yes
 +
|BSA15=yes
 +
|BSMoD=yes
 +
|THOHO1=yes
 +
|THOHO2=yes
 +
|HSLBoL=yes
 +
|TMB=yes
 +
|TMBn=mentioned
 +
|BMTSH=yes
 +
|BMTSHn=as [[Mama's Boy]]
 +
}}
 +
{{TC}}
 +
}}
  
−
[[Superintendent Chalmers]] was introduced in the episode "[[Whacking Day]]" as a boss for Skinner and Harry Shearer and [[Hank Azaria]], the voice of Chalmers, fell right into the characters and quite often ad-lib between them.<ref name="Jean1">{{cite video | people=Jean, Al|year=2004|title=The Simpsons season 4 DVD commentary for the episode "Whacking Day"| medium=DVD||publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref>
+
== References ==
 +
{{Images|Principal Skinner}}
 +
{{Reflist|2}}
  
−
== Links ==
+
{{MultiNavbox|
−
 
+
{{Athletes|other=yes}}
−
[http://www.snpp.com/guides/seymour.html The Simpsons Archive, Seymour Skinner File]
+
{{Authors}}
 +
{{The Be Sharps}}
 +
{{Bloody, Bloody Jebediah}}
 +
{{Mayors}}
 +
{{Movementarianism}}
 +
{{Springfield Elementary|admin=yes}}
 +
{{Wall of Fame}}
 +
{{Stonecutters|others=yes}}
 +
{{Tapped Out characters|school=yes|morestonecutters=yes}}
 +
{{Teachers|elementary=yes}}
 +
{{Simpsons characters|elementary=yes}}
 +
{{Simpsons World factfiles|2=yes|6=yes}}
 +
}}
 +
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skinner, Seymour}}
  
−
{{simpsons characters}}
+
[[Category:Adults]]
−
[[Category: Characters]]
+
[[Category:Musicians]]
 +
[[Category:Celebrities]]
 +
[[Category:Singers]]
 +
[[Category:Military personnel]]
 +
[[Category:Skinner family]]
 +
[[Category:Recurring characters]]
 +
[[Category:Business proprietors]]
 +
[[Category:Characters voiced by Harry Shearer]]
 
[[Category:Springfield Elementary School faculty]]
 
[[Category:Springfield Elementary School faculty]]
 +
[[Category:Characters introduced in season 1]]

Latest revision as of 18:37, November 25, 2024


For the non-canon "real" Seymour Skinner who appeared in "The Principal and the Pauper", see: Seymour Skinner (The Principal and the Pauper). For other characters named Skinner, see Skinner family.
"Young man, I'm going to be on you like a numerator on a denominator."
―Seymour Skinner[src]
Seymour Skinner
Seymour Skinner.png
Artwork of Seymour Skinner
Character Information
Gender:
Male ♂
Status:
Alive
Alias(es): Armin Tamzarian (non-canon)[1]
"Big Butt" Skinner
The Penalizer
The Stickler
Dick Fiddler[2]
Age: 46[3]
Hair: Gray
Occupation: Principal of Springfield Elementary
Former: Singer
4th grade science teacher[4]
Relatives: Mother: Agnes Skinner
Father: Sheldon Skinner
Cousin: Cousin Peter
Aunt: Hope[5]
First appearance: "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire"
Voiced by: Harry Shearer
v • d • e • h


Walter Seymour Skinner, better known as Seymour Skinner and Principal Skinner, is the principal of Springfield Elementary School, and a stereotypical educational bureaucrat. He struggles to control the crumbling school and is constantly engaged in a battle against its inadequate resources, apathetic and bitter teachers, and often rowdy and unenthusiastic students, Bart Simpson being a standout example. A strict disciplinarian, Skinner has an uptight, militaristic attitude that stems from his years in the United States Army as a Green Beret, which included service in the Vietnam War, where he achieved the rank of a sergeant, according to his rank insignia.

Principal Skinner with Groundskeeper Willie and Children

Biography[edit]

Skinner Every Simpsons Ever.jpg
An unborn Seymour Skinner

Out of genuine concern for the quality of education of his students, most of Skinner's actions revolve around ensuring the school has adequate funding. His constant desperate, and usually ineffective attempts at maintaining discipline are an effort to receive good reviews from the frequent inspections of his very strict boss, Superintendent Chalmers - who makes no effort to hide his disapproval of Skinner. These inspections usually turn awry due to Bart Simpson's elaborate pranks—which play off Skinner's desperation for order. Over the years of pranks and inspections, though, Skinner developed a love-hate relationship with each of them; when Skinner was fired and replaced by Ned Flanders, Bart found pranks less meaningful, due to Flanders' lax approach to discipline.[6] In an accident involving both Skinner and Chalmers, Chalmers showed grief over Skinner before he realized he was still alive. Although he likes to maintain the image of a strict disciplinarian, he is often weak-willed, nervous, and has a very unhealthy dependence on his mother who constantly makes demands from him. She addresses him by the nickname "Spanky." Also, it was heavily implied Seymour Skinner suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder from his days in Vietnam, where he spent 18 months as a prisoner of war.[1] Seeing his entire platoon devoured by an elephant was one of the many things that led to the development of his post-traumatic stress disorder. He also expelled Bart for the prank really caused by Groundskeeper Willie during the feast, but he welcomes him back as an apology for blaming the Groundskeeper's prank which Bart happily accepts. When Otto starts spanking Bart as an act of corporal punishment, he comes to aid Bart and suspends his driving the school bus. Skinner's unhealthy relationship with his mother began early: it is revealed Agnes's pregnancy resulted in her failing to win a medal at the Helsinki Olympics in 1952.[7] He originally was quite laid back as a principal, even going as far as to do a jumpflip to catch a frisbee while telling a student to keep up with his studies, but it all changed when one of his students, Andy Hamilton, managed to fill the pool with worms and locked Skinner in the pool for the whole weekend, causing him to become serious and almost merciless in his approach on rules, even going as far as to shut down the pool and demoting Willie, the swim teacher, to groundskeeper. When Bart attempted to stop Krusty from diving into a worm filled pool out of fear of Krusty becoming like Skinner, he accidentally blurted what happened to Skinner on the air, causing Skinner to angrily mutter sarcastically his mother told him Krusty the Clown was supposed to be a good influence, indicating he was attempting to repress the traumatic memory. Besides his job as Principal for Springfield Elementary, he also worked as a member of Mensa, and was also the acting referee/a major organizer of the annual Civil War re-enactment of the Battle of Springfield. He mentioned to Superintendent Chalmers he is a Libra (b. September 23-October 21)[8]

His character folder from the Hall of Records.

At one point, when the Vice President's Assessment Test was coming up, Skinner and Superintendent Chalmers came up with a plan to lure all of the underachievers away from test day by faking a perfect score on the pretest and tricking them into going for a chopper ride to a pizza party in Capital City (going as far as to disguise the school bus as a chopper). However, when the plan reached fruition, Skinner ended up betrayed by Superintendent Chalmers with the latter tricking Skinner into boarding the bus to "get his sunglasses." He has to get the kids back to the school, and also saved Ralph Wiggum when he somehow managed to board a garbage barge, to which Skinner impresses Bart and the other underachievers by saving Wiggum using the Conservation of Angular Momentum. Luckily for them, the Garbage Barge was also heading to Springfield Elementary, so Skinner reads the newly motivated underachievers the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn the rest of the way, and after returning, cancels the Vice President's Test, and also re-institutes dancing in school.

Romantic Relationships[edit]

Aside from a short-lived relationship with Patty Bouvier,[9] Skinner's love life focused on Edna Krabappel. The two dated for several years and became engaged, but later cancelled the wedding.[10] Edna showed she does want to live a life with Skinner, but first wants him to commit to her—namely by not letting his mother, with whom he still lives, control him anymore.[11] Their relationship ended when Skinner admitted to having second thoughts on the night before their wedding.[10] Though Skinner had other relationships since, he still held a candle for Edna. He was seen dancing with Miss Hoover at the Simpsons' Mardi Gras party.[12] He also had a relationship with replacement music teacher Calliope Juniper (with whom he briefly left with).[13]

Lisa Simpson identified Skinner as representing "The Confirmed Bachelor" among The 20 Types of People You Meet in Elementary School.[14]

Vietnam[edit]

It was established Skinner served as a sergeant in the US Army during the Vietnam War and captured at the Battle of Khe Sanh. Skinner often seems weak-willed and easily suppressed—perhaps because he wants to avoid confrontation—but often will use his military command experience gained in the Vietnam War to get real respect and discipline; when he and the students were snowed-in at school, he treated them like his squad to control the chaos temporarily—before they mutinied.

He once used unarmed combat skills he learned in Vietnam to take out Blue-haired lawyer, Joey Crusher and Low Blow when they tried to shut down the school carnival.[15] Despite these combat skills, Moe Szyslak, Lenny Leonard, Superintendent Chalmers and Comic Book Guy held their own against Skinner in fights.[10][16][17][18]

Appearance[edit]

Skinner wears a blue suit, only one tie (orange), and a lavender shirt. He also wears blue slacks matching his suit. It is sometimes stated he wears a toupee.

Non-canon[edit]

Donut Homer.png The contents of this article or section are considered to be non-canon and therefore may not have actually happened or existed.

Back-story[edit]

Skinner's back-story is re-visited, revealing Skinner is an impostor. Born Armin Tamzarian, he grew up in the 433rd Street neighborhood of Capital City. He was a troubled orphan and rebellious teenager until he was forced into the United States Army during the Vietnam War. There, he was befriended by Sgt. Seymour Skinner, whom he came to idolize. When Sgt. Seymour Skinner was reported missing and presumed dead, Tamzarian returned to Springfield to tell Skinner's mother, but she deliberately mistook him for Seymour, so he assumed his identity and followed Skinner's dream of becoming a school principal.[1] It is revealed Skinner (AKA Armin Tamzarian) was born in New Orleans. The real Seymour Skinner had been alive after all and briefly returned to Springfield to take his rightful place as Springfield Elementary School Principal, but proved hopelessly unpopular and the Springfielders ran him out of town on the railroad. Judge Snyder granted Tamzarian Skinner's "name, and his past, present, future, and mother", and decreed no one will mention his true identity again "under penalty of torture", thus everything returned to normal.[1]

Treehouse of Horror[edit]

In "Treehouse of Horror XIV", Skinner's skeletal system is ripped out by the regenerated body of Professor Frink's father. In "Treehouse of Horror V", Skinner, and the rest of the faculty start eating students, with Jimbo Jones being the first victim. the last survivors were Lisa, Bart, and Milhouse.

The Simpsons: Hit and Run[edit]

In The Simpsons: Hit & Run, Homer delivers Lisa her school project, because she forgot it. He drives quicker than Skinner to the school. The next day Skinner chases Bart on his car after he skips school. His mother can be seen sitting in the back seat. Later, he confiscates a laser gun from Bart and Bart has to destroy his car to get it back.

The Simpsons Game[edit]

In The Simpsons Game, he hires Dolph, Jimbo and Kearney to steal artifacts from the Springfield Museum for the school (as he couldn't get any science stuff the legal way due to lack of funds), till they are stopped by Homer and Bart. He also takes part of an angry mob led by Marge Simpson and Lisa Simpson, recruited near the museum, implying that he was planning another heist when Marge's mob came around the corner.

The Simpsons: Tapped Out[edit]

Skinner[edit]

This section is transcluded from The Simpsons: Tapped Out characters/School Workers. To edit it, please edit the transcluded page.
Skinner
Image Cost Unlock method Unlocks with Unlock message
Tapped Out Unlock Skinner.png Cash3,750 Level 9
We Do Need Yes Education Pt. 2 		Springfield Elementary Shouldn't you be in school?
Technical Information ID Groups Internal Name
8 Regular Characters, Regular Male, Brainiac, Adult, Krustyland Goers, TTT Excavators, School Workers, Normal Springfielders, LARPers Skinner

Costumes[edit]

Behind the Laughter[edit]

Creation[edit]

Principal Skinner first appeared in "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", which was also the first Simpsons episode to air.[19] Matt Groening based him on "all of the principals of [his] youth, rolled into one bland lump."[20] Writer Jon Vitti named him after behavioral psychologist B. F. Skinner.[21] Skinner was originally supposed to wear a toupee, but it was dropped because the writers didn't like "that type of joke".[22] The Simpsons Guide to Springfield did, however, briefly imply Skinner did wear a toupee.

Development[edit]

In the first few seasons, Skinner resembles Norman Bates, the main character from Alfred Hitchcock's film Psycho[23] In later episodes, Skinner's behavior was based on teachers Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein had in high school.[24]

Superintendent Chalmers was introduced in the episode "Whacking Day" as a boss for Skinner and Harry Shearer and Hank Azaria, the voice of Chalmers, fell right into the characters and quite often ad-lib between them.[25]

The Principal and the Pauper[edit]

In the episode "The Principal and the Pauper", it was revealed Skinner is actually Armin Tamzarian. Armin was a troubled orphan until he joined the Army and was befriended by Sgt. Skinner, whom he came to idolize. Believing himself responsible for the real Skinner being killed, he returned to Springfield to tell Skinner's mother, but she (deliberately) mistook him for Seymour, and he followed the true Skinner's dream of becoming a school principal. At the end of the episode, Judge Snyder granted Tamzarian Skinner's "name, and his past, present, future, and mother," and decreed no one will mention his true identity again under penalty of torture (this, after the Springfielders ran the real Seymour, voiced by Martin Sheen—who had been alive after all—out of town by way of railroad).

The episode was negatively received by fans and critics over the sudden change of Skinner's backstory. During an interview, Harry Shearer, the voice of Seymour Skinner publicly criticized the episode. He noted he told the writers after reading the script: "That's so wrong. You're taking something an audience built eight years or nine years of investment in and just tossed it in the trash can for no good reason, for a story we did before with other characters. It's so arbitrary and gratuitous, and it's disrespectful to the audience." In the introduction to the Season 9 DVD Boxset, Matt Groening described the episode as his "least favorite" and in a Rolling Stones interview, he called it a "mistake".

The Simpsons writers occasionally mocked the inconsistencies in subsequent episodes, it was referenced in "Behind the Laughter" as a 'far-out plot line' to distract from the family's behind-the-cameras turmoil. When Lisa acquires Snowball II and declares, "To save money on a new dish, I'll call you Snowball II." Skinner says, "Isn't that a cheat?" to which Lisa replies, "I guess it is, Principal Tamzarian." Skinner replies, "I'll just be moving along", nods at Lisa and the new Snowball, and walks off. In the DVD commentary for "The Principal and the Pauper", the producers stated they intended for the episode's ending to reset the continuity to before Skinner was revealed to be Tamzarian. As such, they said, fans could dismiss the discontinuities created by the notion Skinner is actually an impostor and consider the episode on its own terms, divorced from the rest of the series. This episode is proved non-canon in "Boy Meets Curl".

Foreign dubs[edit]

Language Voice dubber
Czech Republic flag.png Čeština Dalimil Klapka (season 1 - 31)
Petr Stach (season 32 - present)
Germany.png Deutsch Fred Klaus (season 1 - 13)
Klaus Guth (season 14 - 31)
Josef Vossenkuhl (season 32 - present)
Spain flag.png Español Antonio Medina (season 1 and 2)
José Padilla (season 3 - present)
Hispanic America.gif Español César Izaguirre (season 1 , ep. 1 and season 2, ep. 14)
Alejandro Villeli (season 1, ep. 2, season 3, ep. 7 and season 9, ep. 11)
Octavio Rojas (season 1, ep. 5)
Bardo Miranda (season 2, ep. 8)
Alejandro Illescas (season 3, ep. 4 and season 15, final episodes)
Juan Alfonso Carralero (season 3, ep. 5)
César Arias (season 5, ep. 1)
Tito Reséndiz (season 5, ep. 10, last loops)
Víctor Delgado (season 26, ep. 4)
Agustín Sauret (seasons 2-4)
José Luis Castañeda (seasons 5-9)
Gabriel Pingarrón (seasons 9-15)
Gerardo Vásquez (seasons 16-31)
Roberto Mendiola (season 32-present)
Finland flag.png Suomi Markus Bäckman
Flag of Belgium.png Vlaams Geert Willems
France.png Français Michel Modo (season 1 - 18)
Gérard Rinaldi (season 19 - 22)
Xavier Fagnon (season 23 - present)
Flag of Quebec.svg.png Français Mario Desmarais
Hungary flag.png Magyar István Orosz
Italy Flag.png Italiano Renato Cortesi (season 1 - "Black Widower")
Piero Tiberi ("The Otto Show" - "Homer Goes to College")
Mauro Magliozzi (only "Rosebud")
Massimo Corvo ("Treehouse of Horror IV" - season 8)
Stefano Mondini (season 9 - present)
Flag of Japan.png 日本語 Shin Aomori
Poland flag.png Polski Marcin Troński
Brazil flag.png Português Márcio Simões
Portugal.png Português Peter Michael

Trivia[edit]

  • Skinner's prisoner of war ID number was 24601.
  • Skinner is ambidextrous [11][26]
  • He is allergic to peanuts [26]
  • He drives a white 2006 Kia Rio[27]
  • Skinner is 5'8".[2]

Appearances[edit]

Episodes:Specials:Adverts:Butterfinger Adverts:Simpsons Illustrated:Simpsons Comics:Bartman:Bart Simpson's Joke Book:Treehouse of Horror:Bart Simpson:Futurama Crossover:Comic Strips:Holiday Humdinger:Super Spectacular:Winter Wingding:Summer Shindig:Comic Book Guy: The Comic Book:Homer for the Holidays:One-Shot Wonders:Video Games:Books:

References[edit]

The Saga of Carl - title screen.png Wikisimpsons has a collection of images related to Seymour Skinner.
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "The Principal and the Pauper"
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Yellow Subterfuge"
  3. ↑ "Grade School Confidential"
  4. ↑ "Bart the Murderer"
  5. ↑ "A Test Before Trying"
  6. ↑ "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song"
  7. ↑ "Boy Meets Curl"
  8. ↑ "The Heartbroke Kid"
  9. ↑ "Principal Charming"
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 "My Big Fat Geek Wedding"
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Special Edna"
  12. ↑ "No Loan Again, Naturally"
  13. ↑ "Flaming Moe"
  14. ↑ The Lisa Book
  15. ↑ "Lisa the Beauty Queen"
  16. ↑ "Bart's Inner Child"
  17. ↑ "The Cartridge Family"
  18. ↑ "The Bart of War"
  19. ↑ Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire BBC.co.uk. Retrieved on March 2, 2007
  20. ↑ Joe Rhodes. "Flash! 24 Simpsons Stars Reveal Themselves"TV Guide. Retrieved on 2007-08-15. 
  21. ↑ Reiss, Mike (2002). Commentary for "Principal Charming", in The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season.
  22. ↑ Groening, Matt. (2002). The Simpsons season 2 DVD commentary for the episode "Principal Charming" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  23. ↑ Simpsonsfolder.com: Continuity
  24. ↑ Weinstein, Josh. (2005). The Simpsons season 5 DVD commentary for the episode "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Badaaasssss Song" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  25. ↑ Jean, Al. (2004). The Simpsons season 4 DVD commentary for the episode "Whacking Day" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 "Please Homer, Don't Hammer 'Em"
  27. ↑ "The Color Yellow"


Retrieved from "https://simpsonswiki.com/w/index.php?title=Seymour_Skinner&oldid=1349649"
  • Modified on November 25, 2024, at 18:37.
  • Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported
  • Powered by MediaWiki