The Complete Twentieth Season
Contents
Disc Features
Disc 1
- Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes
- Lost Verizon
- Double, Double, Boy in Trouble
- Treehouse of Horror XIX
- Dangerous Curves
- Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words
Disc 2
- Mypods and Broomsticks
- The Burns and the Bees
- Lisa the Drama Queen
- Take My Life, Please
- How the Test Was Won
Disc 3
- No Loan Again, Naturally
- Gone Maggie Gone
- In the Name of the Grandfather
- Wedding for Disaster
- Eeny Teeny Maya Moe
Disc 4
- The Good, the Sad, and the Drugly
- Father Knows Worst
- Waverly Hills 9-0-2-1-D'oh
- Four Great Women and a Manicure
- Coming to Homerica
Production
It contained nine holdover episodes from the season 19 (KABF) production line.
Production on the season was delayed because of contract negotiations with the six main voice actors. The dispute was resolved, and the actors' salary was raised to $400,000 (US) per episode. The delay in production caused the planned 22 episodes to be shortened to 21. In addition, voice actor Dan Castellaneta was credited as a consulting producer for the first time.
The Simpsons began high-definition production in season 20. The first episode in HD, "Take My Life, Please", aired on February 15, 2009, along with a new opening sequence.
20th anniversary
In 2009, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the premiere of The Simpsons, Fox announced earlier in the year that a year-long celebration of the show titled "Best. 20 Years. Ever." would run from January 14, 2009 to January 14, 2010. Several contests are being run, including the "Unleash Your Yellow" contest in which entrants must design a poster for the show and "Best. Couch Gag. Ever." where fans create their own live-action couch gag video.
As part of the celebration, the Irish-themed episode "In the Name of the Grandfather" premiered on Sky1 in the United Kingdom and Ireland on March 17, 2009. It was the first-ever episode of the show to air in Europe before airing in the United States. The American debut of the episode was on March 22.
Reception
Critical reception
Robert Canning of IGN gave the season of 7.9 improving 1.3 from the past season. He gave it a positive review saying that it was "Good" and that "With at least two more years of The Simpsons guaranteed, this unexpected but very welcome resurgence has come at a perfect time. If they can keep the momentum moving, the series is primed to once again approach perfection and go out at the top of its game."
Awards
Episodes from the twentieth season received five Primetime Emmy Award nominations. "Gone Maggie Gone" was nominated for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour) and Outstanding Music Composition for a Series. Dan Castellaneta won the Outstanding Voice-Over Performance Emmy for voicing Homer in the episode "Father Knows Worst"; Hank Azaria and Harry Shearer were also nominated for the episodes "Eeny Teeny Maya, Moe" and "The Burns and the Bees" respectively. The winners were announced on September 12, 2009. The Simpsons was the only series to be nominated in the Animation category at the Writers Guild of America Awards in 2010. The nominees were: Stephanie Gillis for "The Burns and The Bees", John Frink for "Eeny Teeny Maya Moe", Billy Kimball & Ian Maxtone-Graham for "Gone Maggie Gone", Don Payne for "Take My Life, Please", and Joel H. Cohen for "Wedding for Disaster". The award was won by Joel H. Cohen.
Nielsen ratings
The season ranked 77th in ratings with an average of 6.930 million viewers and a 18/49 rating of 3.4/9 and the rerun timeslot ranking 113th. The most viewed episode Treehouse of Horror XIX with 12.48 million watching it and a 4.9 Nielsen rating. The least viewed episode was Four Great Women and a Manicure which is the second least viewed episode of the series, after Season 21's Million Dollar Maybe.
