Production season 9F

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Production season 9F

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Production season 9F

Season Information No. of episodes: 22 Previous season: Next season: 7F 1F

9F is the fourth production season of The Simpsons. Al Jean and Mike Reiss were the showrunners for the season. The episodes mostly aired in broadcast season 4 on Fox, with two rollover episodes from the production season airing in broadcast season 5. The episodes aired from October 8, 1992 with "Homer the Heretic", to October 7, 1993 with "Cape Feare".

Episodes

Picture Prod. code Title Original airdate Directed by Written by # 9F01 "Homer the Heretic" Jim Reardon George Meyer October 8, 1992 S4 E3 One Sunday morning, Homer skips church and has what he considers to be the best day of his life. He then decides to quit church completely and forms his own religion, customized for himself. Marge, Ned Flanders, and Reverend Lovejoy try to talk Homer into coming back, but Homer refuses. However, the very next Sunday, Homer falls asleep and a lighted cigar sets the house on fire. Flanders rescues Homer from the burning house, and the volunteer fire department puts out the fire. Reverend Lovejoy asks Homer to consider that the hand of God was working through his friends, saving him from the fire. Now convinced, Homer returns to church. 200px 9F02 "Lisa the Beauty Queen" Mark Kirkland Jeff Martin October 15, 1992 S4 E4 Lisa feels that she is ugly after she sees a caricatured drawing of herself. To boost her confidence, Homer enters Lisa in the Little Miss Springfield beauty pageant. Lisa is reluctant to enter, particularly when she sees the competition she faces from seasoned pageant participant Amber Dempsey. However, Lisa does quite well, finishing in second place to Amber. Lisa then becomes Little Miss Springfield by default after Amber is hit by lightning and hospitalized for her injuries. Lisa enjoys the perks of her reign (among other things, going on a USO tour with Bob Hope) until she learns that she is expected to be a spokesperson for Laramie Cigarettes. Lisa then rebels, and the pageant officials dethrone her on a technicality. Although she loses her title, Lisa has her self-esteem restored and thanks Homer for caring about her. Guest starring: Bob Hope as himself 250px 9F03 "Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie" Rich Moore John Swartzwelder November 2, 1992 S4 E6 Bart's behavior is worse than ever, as Homer and Marge learn at Parents Night at Springfield Elementary. Homer warns Bart that he needs to improve his behavior, and Marge warns Homer that he needs to do better at punishing Bart and sticking to it. Bart is asked to watch Maggie, doesn't do it, and she crashes the family car. Homer has finally had enough, and he forbids Bart from seeing The Itchy & Scratchy Movie, which has just come out and all the children are eager to see it. Bart tries to change Homer's mind by comparing the movie to the Apollo 11 landing and asking how Homer would have felt if he had been forced to miss watching it on TV, but Homer is unmoved. Bart later tries to go to the movie on his own, but finds he has been banned (due to Homer having told the theatre to deny him entry). In spite of all his attempts, Bart misses the movie. However, it pays off when in a flash forward scene forty years into the future, Bart has become the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, instead of a male stripper as Marge had feared. Guest starring: Neil Armstrong as himself (via archived audio). 9F04 "Treehouse of Horror III" Carlos Baeza Part 1: Al Jean & Mike Reiss Part 2: Jay Kogen & Wallace Wolodarsky Part 3: Sam Simon and Jon Vitti October 29, 1992 S4 E5 In the third annual Treehouse of Horror, Homer buys Bart an evil talking Krusty doll, King Homer's captured by Mr. Burns, and Bart and Lisa inadvertently cause zombies to attack Springfield. 200px 9F05 "Marge Gets a Job" Jeff Lynch Bill Oakley & Josh Weinstein November 5, 1992 S4 E7 The Simpson home is in dire need of foundation repairs, as one end of the house is sinking. Marge decides to get a job to help pay for them. She is hired on at Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, where she ends up working alongside Homer. Mr. Burns quickly becomes attracted to Marge and attempts to seduce her, but backs off when he sees how Homer stands up for her. Meanwhile, Bart repeatedly pretends to be ill to avoid taking a test. Guest starring: Tom Jones as himself and Phil Hartman as Troy McClure and Lionel Hutz. 9F06 "New Kid on the Block" Wes Archer Conan O'Brian November 12, 1992 S4 E8 The Simpsons have new next-door neighbors: Ruth Powers and her daughter, Laura. Bart quickly develops a crush on Laura, but is heartbroken when she tells him that she is in love with Jimbo Jones. Bart pulls a prank which lets Laura see that Jimbo is no good for her, and she says that she would date Bart if he were a little older. Meanwhile, Homer clashes with a local seafood restaurant, "The Frying Dutchman," over the definition of their "all-you-can-eat" special. They end up in court, but reach a compromise: Homer can eat all he wants in exchange for the restaurant being allowed to exhibit him as a freak of nature. Guest starring: Sara Gilbert as Laura Powers and Pamela Reed as Ruth Powers. 9F07 "Mr. Plow" Jim Reardon Jon Vitti November 19, 1992 S4 E9 Homer wrecks both of the family cars during a blizzard, buys a snowplow, and goes into business by starting his own plowing service business, "Mr. Plow." Homer's business succeeds, but he ends up facing competition as Barney starts his own rival snowplow business, the "Plow King." Barney creates a winning advertising jingle (with Linda Ronstadt's help) and steals all of Homer's customers. The business competition puts a strain on Homer's and Barney's friendship, but they manage to resolve their conflict—just in time for the spring thaw. Guest starring: Adam West as himself and Linda Ronstadt as herself 9F08 "Lisa's First Word" Mark Kirkland Jeff Martin December 3, 1992 S4 E10 Marge tells the story of how the Simpson family moved to their house when Bart was a toddler and Marge was pregnant with Lisa. Homer was frustrated with Bart because he said all kinds of words, but not "Daddy"—instead, he called Homer by his first name. (Bart's first words had been "Ay, caramba!" when he walked in on Homer and Marge in the bedroom.) When Lisa was born, Bart took an instant dislike to her, but she won his heart when she learned to talk and her first word was "Bart." She quickly said several other words, but not "Daddy", to Homer's continued frustration. Back in the present, Marge finishes her story, and Bart and Lisa start arguing. Homer then puts Maggie to bed and says to her, "The sooner kids talk, the sooner they talk back. I hope you never say a word." After Homer leaves, Maggie takes her pacifier out of her mouth and, unheard by anyone else, says her own first word: "Daddy." Guest starring: Elizabeth Taylor as Maggie Simpson. 9F09 "Homer's Triple Bypass" David Silverman Gary Apple & Michael Carrington December 17, 1992 S4 E11 The effects of years of unhealthy eating combined with work-related stress finally catch up to Homer, and he has a heart attack. He needs a triple bypass, but the family can't afford the $40,000 that Dr. Hibbert says it will cost. The family seek help from cut-rate doctor Nick Riviera, who says he'll do the operation for $129.95. Homer chooses the cheaper operation. During the surgery, Dr. Nick doesn't know what to do next because the critical part of the instructional video he had watched to prepare was taped over. With some help from Lisa, Nick succeeds in finishing the operation and Homer makes a full recovery. 9F10 "Marge vs. the Monorail" Rich Moore Conan O'Brien January 14, 1993 S4 E12 Mr. Burns is fined three million dollars for illegally dumping nuclear waste, and a town meeting is held to decide how to spend the money. The people are about to adopt Marge's idea to repair Main Street, when a smooth-talking stranger named Lyle Lanley shows up and convinces them to buy a monorail, even though the town has no need for one. Suspicious, Marge travels to another town that bought Lanley's monorails and learns that Lanley is a con man and his monorails are all dangerous due to shoddy materials. Marge then quickly returns to Springfield, but is too late to stop the monorail from opening. The monorail's brakes fail and it speeds out of control. Fortunately, monorail conductor Homer manages to stop the train with an improvised anchor, saving the passengers. Guest starring: Leonard Nimoy as himself and Phil Hartman as Lyle Lanley. 9F11 "Selma's Choice" Carlos Baeza David M. Stern January 21, 1993 S4 E13 Marge's, Patty's, and Selma's Aunt Gladys passes away, and in her video will, Gladys admonishes Patty and Selma to raise families rather than die alone as she did. Selma takes the advice to heart, investigating and discarding several possibilities for having a child. Meanwhile, Homer gets food poisoning from eating a rotten sandwich, and it looks like a planned family trip to Duff Gardens will be postponed again (the first postponement was for Aunt Gladys's funeral). Marge asks Selma to take Bart and Lisa, and she agrees. At Duff Gardens, the children get into all kinds of trouble, causing Selma to think twice about having a child. As a substitute, she adopts Gladys's pet iguana, Jub-Jub, who had originally been willed to Selma's, Patty's, and Marge's mother Jacqueline. Guest starring: Phil Hartman as Troy McClure. 9F12 "Brother from the Same Planet" Jeff Lynch Jon Vitti February 4, 1993 S4 E14 Fed up with Homer's neglect, Bart signs up with "Bigger Brothers", a mentor program, and is matched with a hip, cool, and caring young man named Tom. Homer finds out, and for revenge he joins Bigger Brothers as a mentor and is matched with an orphan boy named Pepe. When Homer and Tom finally meet, they get into a fight, Homer and Bart reconcile, and Tom takes Pepe under his wing. Meanwhile, Lisa struggles with an addiction to the 900-number hotline of a young celebrity named Corey, running up huge phone bills until she is caught and kicks her habit. Guest starring: Phil Hartman as Tom. 9F13 "I Love Lisa" Wes Archer Frank Mula February 11, 1993 S4 E15 When Ralph doesn't get any cards for Valentine's Day, Lisa feels sorry for him and gives him a card to cheer him up. Ralph misinterprets the gesture and falls in love with Lisa, relentlessly pursuing her to the point of getting the two of them cast as George and Martha Washington in the Presidents' Day Pageant. Eventually, Lisa tells Ralph (on live TV) that she was never interested in him and only gave him the card out of pity. Ralph is humiliated and heartbroken, but he gives a brilliant performance as George Washington, moving the audience (and Lisa) to tears. After the play, Ralph and Lisa agree to be friends. 9F14 "Duffless" Jim Reardon David M. Stern February 18, 1993 S4 E16 Homer is arrested for drunk driving, and his license is revoked and he is ordered to attend traffic school and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Marge persuades Homer to give up beer for a month, and the experience of living without beer gives him a whole new outlook on life. When the month is up, Homer is tempted to start drinking again, but passes up beer at Moe's Tavern in favor of bicycling with Marge. Meanwhile, Bart destroys Lisa's science fair project, a large genetically engineered tomato, and she replaces it with a project that compares the intelligence of Bart and a hamster. Guest starring: Phil Hartman as Lionel Hutz and Troy McClure. 9F15 "Last Exit to Springfield" Mark Kirkland Jay Kogen & Wallace Wolodarsky March 11, 1993 S4 E17 Springfield Nuclear Power Plant announces its intention to cancel the dental plan, and the Simpsons have just learned that Lisa needs braces. Homer realizes that he needs the plan to pay for Lisa's braces, and almost before he knows it, he finds himself leading the power plant employees' union in a strike to win back the dental plan. Lisa, meantime, is forced to wear cheap, but large and outdated, braces that look hideous. In spite of Homer's bumbling, Mr. Burns is convinced that Homer is a master negotiator, and a long standoff ensures, during which the plant uses tactics such as shutting off power to the entire town. Burns finally agrees to bring back the dental plan on the condition that Homer step down as union leader. Homer eagerly agrees and Lisa gets her new braces. Guest starring: Joyce Brothers as herself. 9F16 "The Front" Rich Moore Adam I. Lapidus April 15, 1993 S4 E19 Disappointed with the quality of recent Itchy & Scratchy episodes, Bart and Lisa decide to write one of their own and submit it to Roger Meyers, CEO of the cartoon's studio. Meyers rejects their script out of hand because Bart and Lisa are children, thus (in his view) too young to be cartoon writers. Bart and Lisa re-submit the script under Grampa's name, and this time it is accepted. Grampa finds himself with a new job as an Itchy & Scratchy writer, with Bart and Lisa doing the creative work while Grampa gets the credit. The front falls through, however, when Grampa's writing wins him an award, he sees the cartoon for the first time, and in his acceptance speech he denounces violence in cartoons. Meanwhile, Homer and Marge attend their high school reunion and learn that Homer never officially graduated because he failed a science class. Guest starring: Brooke Shields as herself. 9F17 "So It's Come to This: A Simpsons Clip Show" Carlos Baeza Jon Vitti April 1, 1993 S4 E18 For an April Fool's Day prank on Homer, Bart shakes a can of Duff Beer in a paint shaker, then leaves the beer in the refrigerator for Homer to find. When Homer opens the beer, the resulting explosion blows the roof off the house and puts Homer into a coma. During his coma, the family reminisce by way of clips from previous episodes. Homer shows some signs of life during the stories, but when Bart confesses to the shaken beer prank, Homer immediately wakes up and begins strangling Bart. The rest of the family are glad to see that Homer has recovered. 9F18 "Whacking Day" Jeff Lynch John Swartzwelder April 29, 1993 S4 E20 It's time for Whacking Day, a Springfield holiday where snakes are driven to the town square and beaten to death, a tradition dating back to town founder Jebediah Springfield. Lisa speaks out against the violence, but no one listens. Bart, who has become a serious student since being expelled from Springfield Elementary, discovers that Jebediah couldn't have started Whacking Day and learns that snakes are attracted to bass sounds. Lisa enlists the help of Barry White and his smooth bass singing voice to lure the snakes to the Simpson home where they'll be safe. The plan succeeds and Bart tells the town the truth about Whacking Day: It was actually invented in the 1920s as an excuse to beat up the Irish. The townspeople renounce the holiday, and Principal Skinner allows Bart to return to school. Guest starring: Barry White as himself. 200px 9F19 "Krusty Gets Kancelled" David Silverman John Swartzwelder May 13, 1993 S4 E22 A new children's TV program, featuring a ventriloquist's dummy named Gabbo and airing opposite the Krusty the Clown show, is an instant success. Krusty's show, meanwhile, declines in ratings and popularity and is soon cancelled. Bart and Lisa are uninmpressed with Gabbo and manage to record him on a live TV camera insulting the children of Springfield, creating a scandal which decreases Gabbo's popularity. Bart and Lisa then convince several of Krusty's celebrity friends (Bette Midler, Johnny Carson, Luke Perry, Hugh Hefner and the Red Hot Chili Peppers) to take part in a special comeback program for Krusty. The Krusty Comeback Special is very successful, and Krusty's show returns to the air. Guest starring: Johnny Carson as himself, Hugh Hefner as himself, Bette Midler as herself, Luke Perry as himself, Red Hot Chili Peppers as themselves, Elizabeth Taylor as herself and Barry White as himself. 9F20 "Marge in Chains" Jim Reardon Bill Oakley & Josh Weinstein May 6, 1993 S4 E21 Marge accidentally takes an item from the Kwik-E-Mart without paying, and is sentenced to thirty days in prison for shoplifting. Her absence is felt at home, as the house turns into a total mess. Marge's absence also impacts the entire town, as without her marshmallow squares, a bake sale fails to raise enough money for the Springfield Parks Commission to buy a statue of Abraham Lincoln. Instead, the Commission gets a statue of Jimmy Carter, but the townspeople dislike it and a riot breaks out. To restore order, Mayor Quimby orders Marge to be released early, and everyone welcomes her back. Guest starring: David Crosby as himself and Phil Hartman as Lionel Hutz and Troy McClure. 9F21 "Homer's Barbershop Quartet" Mark Kirkland Jeff Martin September 30, 1993 S5 E1 We flashback to 1985, where Homer, Apu, Principal Skinner, and Chief Wiggum (later replaced by Barney) were the hit barbershop quartet known as The Be Sharps. Guest starring: George Harrison as himself, David Crosby as himself. 9F22 "Cape Feare" Rich Moore Jon Vitti October 7, 1993 S4 E2 After Bart starts receiving death threats from his nemesis Sideshow Bob, the Simpsons enter the Witness Relocation Program and move to a "Cape Fear"-esque town several miles away. Guest starring: Kelsey Grammer as Sideshow Bob.

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Production seasons
7G • 7F • 8F • 9F • 1F • 2F • 3F • 3G • 4F • 5F • AABF • BABF • CABF • DABF • EABF • FABF • GABF • HABF • JABF • KABF • LABF • MABF • NABF • PABF • RABF • SABF • TABF • VABF • WABF • XABF • YABF • ZABF • QABF • UABF • OABF • 35ABF • 36ABF • 37ABF