Difference between revisions of "Season 20"

Revision as of 01:47, November 28, 2024

Season 20

Season Information Original run: June 5, 2008 – May 17, 2009 No. of episodes: 21 (430th Episode and 440th Episode) Previous season: 19 Next season: 21 DVD boxset: The Complete Twentieth Season

The twentieth season began airing on June 5, 2008 with "Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes" and ended airing on May 17, 2009 with "Coming to Homerica". Al Jean is the showrunner of this season and previous seasons since Season 13. The season had officially been confirmed to air by the network in May, 2008.

Production on the season was delayed because of contract negotiations with the six main voice actors, but was resolved and the actors' salary was raised to $400,000 per episode. The delay in production has caused the planned 22 episodes to be shortened to 21. Voice actor Dan Castellaneta is credited as a consulting producer for the first time. The Simpsons Season 20 was released on DVD on January 12, 2010 to celebate its twenty years.

Episodes

Picture # Original title Original airdate Directed by Written by Prod. code 421 - 1 "Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes" June 28, 2008 Lance Kramer Kevin Curran KABF17 After Homer is punished for brawling on St. Patrick's Day, he meets a bounty hunter when he gets his bail bond. Intrigued, he decides to try his hand at the profession - but is saved by Flanders when it doesn't go quite to plan. Together, they form an unlikely bounty-hunting duo, but when Homer's attitude gets the better of him, Flanders is less than impressed. Meanwhile, Marge unwittingly starts working at an erotic bakery. Guest starring: Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Gloria, Robert Forster as Lucky Jim and Joe Mantegna as Fat Tony. 422 - 2 "Lost Verizon" June 5, 2008 Raymond S. Persi John Frink KABF15 While trying to earn money at the country club, Bart acquires Denis Leary's cell phone after Leary angrily chucks it away. Bart keeps the phone and makes prank calls pretending to be Leary and when Marge finds out what Bart is doing she contacts Leary. Denis says Bart might as well keep the phone, but he advises her to activate the GPS system in the phone so she can track Bart's every move. Guest starring: Denis Leary as himself and Brian Grazer as himself. 423- 3 "Double, Double, Boy in Trouble" July 19, 2008 Michael Polcino Bill Odenkirk KABF14 Bart meets his doppelganger, Simon Woosterfield, a member of the richest family in Springfield and the two decide to switch places. Simon adjusts nicely to his new digs at the Simpson home, while Bart discovers that his new siblings are plotting his death so they can have his inheritance. Guest starring: Joe Montana as himself. 424 - 4 "Treehouse of Horror XIX" July 2, 2008 Bob Anderson Matt Warburton KABF16 The frightfest begins with "Untitled Robot Parody" when Bart buys Lisa a knock-off of a Malibu Stacy convertible for Christmas. Later that night, the car morphs into a robot and instructs the other toys in Lisa's room to also transform. Soon, other giant robots appear and make Springfield the ultimate battleground. The scare-ific tricks continue in "How to Get Ahead in Dead-Vertising" when Homer accidentally kills Krusty. The clown's crooked lawyer enlists Homer to kill other celebrities so their likenesses can be exploited free-of-charge. For a fee, Homer goes on a killing spree and whacks Prince, George Clooney and William Shatner. Meanwhile in heaven, Krusty convinces other dead celebrities to stage a revolt and descend upon Homer. In the final Halloween scare, "It's the Grand Pumpkin, Milhouse," Lisa accompanies Milhouse to a pumpkin patch to await the appearance of the Grand Pumpkin. When he finally appears, the Grand Pumpkin goes on a rampage to avenge all pumpkins carved and tortured in the name of Halloween. 425 - 5 "Dangerous Curves" August 9, 2008 Matthew Faughnan Ian Maxtone-Graham Billy Kimball KABF18 The Simpson clan takes a road trip to a cabin in the woods that Homer and Marge once vacationed at 20 years ago. In a series of flashbacks Homer and Marge reflect on some history from their courtship and Bart and Lisa recall some pleasant memories from their very early days. Guest starring: Maurice LaMarche as Toucan Sam. 426 - 6 "Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words" August 16, 2008 Nancy Kruse Tim Long KABF19 Lisa discovers she has an impressive knack for solving crossword puzzles and she enters in a city-wide crossword tournament. Feelings are hurt though when Homer bets against Lisa in the championship match. Guest starring: Merl Reagle as himself, Will Shortz as himself, and Scott Thompson as Grady Little. 427 - 7 "MyPods and Boomsticks" September 30, 2008 Steven Dean Moore Marc Wilmore KABF20 Bart befriends Bashir bin Laden, a Muslim boy who's new at school, and invites him and his parents over for dinner. Unfortunately Homer's paranoia gets the better of him and he ends up offending Bashir and his parents. Homer goes over to the bin Laden home to apologize, but his paranoia strikes again when he sees Bashir's father with sticks of TNT and thinks he's going to blow up Springfield Mall. Meanwhile, Lisa gets a Mapple MyPod - and a bill for over 1200 downloaded songs at 99 cents each. Guest starring: Shohreh Aghdashloo as Mina. 428 - 8 "The Burns and the Bees" September 7, 2008 Mark Kirkland Stephanie Gillis KABF21 When Mr. Burns wins a professional basketball team in a poker game, he decides to build a new sports arena in Springfield for them - on the site where Lisa is trying to keep Springfield's bee population from dying out; Homer tries to solve the problem by mating the bees - with "killer" Africanized bees. Guest starring: Marv Albert as himself, Jeff Bezos as himself and Mark Cuban as himself. 429 - 9 "Lisa the Drama Queen" January 25, 2009 Matthew Nastuk Brian Kelley KABF22 Lisa and a new friend create the fantasy world of Equalia together, but Lisa is a little worried when her friend treats Equalia as a real place to escape the problems of the real world. Guest starring: Emily Blunt as Juliet Hobbes and Fall Out Boy. 430 - 10 "Take My Life, Please" February 15, 2009 Steven Dean Moore Don Payne LABF01 Vance Connor is inducted into the Springfield wall of fame, and Homer recalls how he ran against Vance for school president. After discovering that the real ballot box was hidden, Homer searches for it and finds it - only to discover that he should have won. The family go to Luigi's restaurant, and meet a man who can tell people's fates by stirring tomato sauce, and Homer sees what his life would've been like had he been class president. 431 - 11 "How the Test Was Won" March 1, 2009 Lance Kramer Michael Price LABF02 A national achievement test has Springfield Elementary School in an uproar. Bart and the school's other underachievers are sent on a trip to Capital City so they don't bring down the school's score, while Lisa, rattled by her score of "only" 96 percent on a practice test, has trouble with the real thing. Meanwhile, Homer forgets to send in an insurance payment on time and has to prevent anybody from getting hurt in his house. 432 - 12 "No Loan Again, Naturally" March 8, 2009 Mark Kirkland Jeff Westbrook LABF03 When the adjustable rate on Homer and Marge's mortgage resets at more than they can afford, they must put their home up for sale. Good Samaritan Ned Flanders buys the house and rents it out to them at an affordable rate. But Homer pushes his luck too far when he takes advantage of Ned's generous land lording duties. Guest starring: Maurice LaMarche as Dwight D. Eisenhower. 433 - 13 "Gone Maggie Gone" March 15, 2009 Chris Clements Ian Maxtone-Graham Billy Kimball LABF04 Lisa infiltrates a convent in order to steal back Maggie who was accidentally taken in by nuns. While in the convent, Lisa uncovers a series of cryptic clues leading to a hidden jewel in Springfield. With help from resident history buffs Principal Skinner and Comic Book Guy, Lisa sets off to find the coveted prize. But Springfield's Freemasons are also hot on the trail of the jewel, and Lisa must race against them to find the jewel and rescue Maggie. Guest starring: Ed Begley, Jr. as himself. 434 - 14 "In the Name of the Grandfather" March 17, 2009 March 22, 2009 Ralph Sosa Matt Marshall LABF11 The Simpsons travel to Ireland so that Grampa can have a final drink at O'Flanagan's Pub, an old watering hole of his. But when the small town of Dunkilderry isn't quite what Grampa remembers it as and O'Flanagans has become a rundown, empty pub, he and Homer decide to buy it and fix it up. Guest starring: Colm Meaney as Tom O'Flanagan, Glen Hansard as street musician and Markéta Irglová as an Eastern European woman. 435 - 15 "Wedding for Disaster" March 29, 2009 Chuck Sheetz Joel H. Cohen LABF05 It turns out that Reverend Lovejoy didn't have a valid license to perform weddings when he presided over Homer and Marge's wedding (remember that he married them after their divorce in "A Milhouse Divided"), so they have to get married again, but just when the wedding is about to start, Homer disappers, and the only clue is a key attached to a keychain marked "SB"...but is it Sideshow Bob? No! Guess who... Guest starring: Kelsey Grammer as Sideshow Bob. 436 - 16 "Eeny Teeny Maya, Moe" April 5, 2009 Nancy Kruse John Frink LABF06 Moe develops an internet relationship with a beautiful woman named Maya. When the two agree to meet face to face, Moe is shocked to discover that Maya is three feet tall. Meanwhile, Marge wants Homer to spend more time with Maggie. Homer obliges and finds himself in luck when he discovers a daycare right next to Moe's Tavern. 437 - 17 "The Good, the Sad, and the Drugly" April 19, 2009 Rob Oliver Marc Wilmore LABF07 Bart volunteers at the Springfield Retirement Castle in order to impress Jenny, a girl who likes helping the world, but this leaves Milhouse (who took the rap for a school prank he and Bart pulled) less than impressed; Lisa becomes depressed when she writes a report on what Springfield will be like 50 years from now, but her medication makes her see everything happy - bright yellow happy faces, that is. Guest starring: Anne Hathaway as Jenny. 438 - 18 "Father Knows Worst" April 26, 2009 Matthew Nastuk Rob LaZebnik LABF08 When Homer realizes that Bart's underachievements aren't going to be helped any by Lisa's unpopularity, he tries "helicopter parenting" - that is, he hovers over them constantly; meanwhile, Marge is too busy relaxing in the mysterious new basement sauna she just happened to find in the basement to care. 439 - 19 "Waverly Hills 9-0-2-1-D'oh" May 3, 2009 Michael Polcino J. Stewart Burns LABF10 When Marge discovers the poor teaching conditions at Springfield Elementary School, she gets Homer to rent an apartment in the Waverly Hills area so Bart and Lisa can attend school there, but Lisa's lack of knowledge about singer Alaska Nebraska makes her as unpopular as ever, until Bart spreads a rumor that Lisa and Alaska are best friends - which comes back to haunt Lisa when her new friends want backstage passes to her upcoming concert; Homer has to stay in his shabby apartment until the city's inspector pays a surprise visit to make sure they actually live in the area, but he gets to like it - until he invites Marge to move in with him. Guest starring: Elliot Page as Alaska Nebraska and Maurice LaMarche as City inspector. 440 - 20 "Four Great Women and a Manicure" May 10, 2009 Raymond S. Persi Valentina Garza LABF09 A "quad-rilogy" episode featuring Simpsonized versions of history and popular cinema and literature. Selma stars as Queen Elizabeth I, Lisa stars as Snow White in a parody of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Marge stars in Lady Macbeth in a Macbeth parody, and Maggie stars as the Howard Roark character in a spoof of The Fountainhead. Guest starring: Jodie Foster as Maggie Roark. 441 - 21 "Coming to Homerica" May 17, 2009 Steven Dean Moore Brendan Hay LABF12 Ogdenville's economy takes a tumble after tainted barley is discovered in Krusty's veggie burgers and the unemployed of Ogdenville flock to Springfield. When Mayor Quimby closes off the town's borders and enlists private citizens to help patrol them, Homer puts together a border patrol group.

Season 20 episodes script covers