Season 4
Season 4
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Season Information
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The Simpsons' fourth season began on 24th September 1992 with the first episode, "Kamp Krusty" and ended on 13th May 1993 with "Krusty Gets Kancelled". Al Jean and Mike Reiss were the show runners of the season, as they also were for the previous season.
Two episodes that had Season 3's Production code, 8FXX i.e."Kamp Krusty" and "A Streetcar Named Marge" were aired on this season, which Season 4's production code is 9FXX. Several episodes that were produced for the preceding season occasionally air on the succeding season.
This was the first time the producers did not submit episodes for the "Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour) award as by 1993, animated TV series were allowed to be nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series, which the series could only be nominated for animated awards."A Streetcar Named Marge" and "Mr. Plow" were submitted by producers although neither had a nomination as voters deemed it unsuitable to have animation nominated alongside live action TV series. Nonetheless, the season was nominated for 6 awards. Winning an Emmy Award "Outstanding Voice-Over Performance" by Dan Castellaneta for "Mr. Plow", an Annie Award for "Best Animated Television Program",a Genesis Award for "Best Television Prime Time Animated Series" for "Whacking Day" and a Saturn Award for "Best Television Series".
All of the 22 episodes of Season 4 including extras were released on DVD on 15th June 2004 in Region 1, 2nd August 2004 in Region 2 and 25th August 2004 in Region 4.
Episodes
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Title |
Original airdate | Directed by | Written by | Prod. code |
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| Summary | |||||
| 60 - 1 | September 24, 1992 | Mark Kirkland | David M. Stern | 8F24 | |
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Children of Springfield, including Bart and Lisa, go to Kamp Krusty in for the summer holiday. While they are living in deplorable conditions in the camp, Bart anticipates that Krusty the Clown will apppear. Although the children know that he is impersonated when presumably said he will appear, resulting them to rebel on the camp. The real Krusty eventually arrives at the camp and makes it up for the children to take them to Tijuana, Mexico. Meanwhile, Homer and Marge are having a pleasant time without Bart and Lisa, with Homer gaining more hair and losing weight. | |||||
| 61 - 2 | "A Streetcar Named Marge" | September 26, 1991 | Wes Archer | George Meyer | 8F01 |
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Lisa wins the local competition of an essay contest, earning the family a trip to Washington, D.C. for the finals. Lisa sees Bob Arnold (her own representative) taking a bribe. Disgusted, she changes her previous uplifting essay into a cynical one denouncing corruption in government in general and Bob Arnold in particular. Her faith in the system is restored when Arnold is arrested and expelled from Congress. | |||||
| 62 - 3 | October 3, 1991 | Jim Reardon | Jon Vitti | 7F23 | |
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Ned Flanders opens the Leftorium, a store specializing in merchandise for left-handed people. Homer thinks it's a stupid idea and secretly wishes for the store to fail and Ned to be humiliated. Homer's wish comes true when business is very slow, and Ned is facing financial ruin and the loss of his house. Homer goes through a change of heart, tells Ned to open the store one more time, and calls every left-handed person he knows to tell them about the Leftorium. They all come to the store the next morning and buy all kinds of left-handed items, and Ned's store is saved. | |||||
| 63 - 4 | October 10, 1991 | Rich Moore | John Swartzwelder | 8F03 | |
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Bart is hired to work in a Mafia bar run by Fat Tony (making his first appearance). Bart is late for work due to having been put in detention by Principal Skinner. Fat Tony announces that he and his men will "meet and greet" Skinner, and shortly after that, Skinner disappears. Both Bart and Fat Tony are accused of Skinner's murder, and at trial Fat Tony tries to pin the murder (and all of his other illegal activities) on Bart. Skinner then re-appears, telling the court that he had an accident at home and was trapped under a pile of newspapers for a week. The case is dismissed and Bart quits his job at Fat Tony's bar. | |||||
| 64 - 5 | "Homer Defined" | October 17, 1991 | Mark Kirkland | Howard Gewirtz | 8F04 |
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At the nuclear power plant, Homer prevents a meltdown through sheer luck. He is hailed as a hero, but fears being found out as being only lucky rather than brave or clever. When the truth comes out, the phrase "to pull a Homer" becomes a widely used term meaning "to succeed despite idiocy," and Homer's picture ends up in the dictionary, illustrating the definition. Meanwhile, Bart's and Milhouse's friendship is strained when Mihouse's mother considers Bart to be a bad influence and orders Milhouse to stay away from him. | |||||
| 65 - 6 | "Like Father, Like Clown" | October 24, 1991 | Jeffrey Lynch with Brad Bird | Jay Kogen & Wallace Wolodarsky | 8F05 |
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Krusty the Clown has dinner with the Simpsons, and reveals that he is Jewish, his real name is Herschel Krustofski, and he is estranged from his rabbi father. They parted ways over Krusty's becoming a clown instead of following his father and becoming a rabbi. Bart and Lisa see Krusty becoming depressed, and they take it upon themselves to reunite him with his father. They find Rabbi Krustofski, and after several attempts convince him to meet Krusty on the set of his show, where they reconcile their differences. Krusty introduces his father to the audience, and together they sing a song. | |||||
| 66 - 7 | "Treehouse of Horror II" | October 31, 1991 | Jim Rondo Reardon | Atrocious Al Jean & Morbid Mike Reiss, Jittery Jeff Martin, Gasping George Meyer, Silthering Sam Simon, Spooky John Swartzelder | 8F02 |
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Opening: Marge warns viewers again that the following episode will be even scarier than last years for young viewers. Aware that she will be ignored like the previous Halloween special, she resigns herself. Prologue: Lisa, Bart, and Homer eat an excessive amount of candy, which Marge warns them that they will get nightmares if they do so. While they ignore her warning, each of the three begin to have them. Lisa's Nightmare: The Simpsons buys a severed monkey paw from Morocco, which can grant a limited amount of wishes for a particular set of users depending on the amount of fingers out. Maggie, Bart, Lisa and Homer make a wish from it, which most result in unexpected circumstances. Bart's Nightmare: Bart has an ability to manipulate things by his mind. Everyone is compelled to carry his orders, opinions etc to prevent his potent ability on them. Homer's Nightmare: In an effort to create the ultimate worker, Mr. Burns transplants Homer's brain into a robot. | |||||
| 67 - 8 | "Lisa's Pony" | November 7, 1991 | Carlos Baeza | Al Jean & Mike Reiss | 8F06 |
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Homer loses much of Lisa's appreciation for him after he was unable to give her a required saxophone reed for her role in a talent show on time. After seeing that he had ignored her greatly when she was younger, presuming that had caused her lack of pride in him, she purchases a pony to change her opinion on him and that she likes the type of animal. While she loves Homer as a result and happily keeps the pony named "Princess", he is required to carry another job, a Kwik-E-Mart cashier at graveyard shifts, to pay for Princess's expensive housing. He becomes more and more tired when doing his secondary job, gaining lack of sufficent to no sleep, which prompts Lisa to decide to keep the pony or have her father exhausted. | |||||
| 68 - 9 | "Saturdays of Thunder" | November 14,1991 | Jim Reardon | Ken Levine & David Isaacs | 8F07 |
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Trying to be a better father, Homer helps Bart build a soapbox racer. Bart's racer is a flop, but Martin Prince's is the fastest and wins the race. When Martin is hurt, he asks Bart to fill in as driver so that at least one of them can beat Nelson Muntz in the race. This angers Homer, as Bart won't be driving the racer that they built. Homer, however, does some thinking and realizes the experience has brought him closer to Bart and made him a better father, and Bart needs his support regardless of what racer he's driving. Homer goes to the race, wishes Bart luck, and he wins. Bart and Homer then celebrate the victory. | |||||
| 69 - 10 | "Flaming Moe's" | November 21,1991 | Rich Moore & Alan Smart | Robert Cohen | 8F08 |
| Moe steals the recipe for a beverage created by Homer, which is made from several liquids including cough syrup and that fire improves its taste, for the fledging Moe's Tavern to gain more profits. Initially called "Flaming Homer" by Homer, Moe renames it "Flaming Moe" under his control of it. stating that he created it without Homer and subsequently sells it. Although the drink is a success and has elevated Moe's Tavern by business and patronage, Homer is angered by Moe for not mentioning his association to the drink and vows revenge. | |||||
| 70 - 11 |
"Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk" "Burns Sells the Power Plant"* |
December 5,1991 | Mark Kirkland | Jon Vitti | 8F09 |
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Rumours of a takeover of a successor to take over the power plant as Mr.Burns wishes to resign to pursue other interests. All but Homer each have received $5,200 for the rise of stocks. Homer, however, sold his stocking for 25¢ and earns $25 dollars, spending it on a beer which he was unaware of the skyrocketed stock. The takeover then unfolds as German Businessmen had paid Burns $100,000,000 for the plant, which worries employees to possibly being fired by Germany's stricter and hard working ethic.
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| 71 - 12 | December 26, 1991 | Jeffrey Lynch |
Jeff Martin |
8F10 | |
| Marge worries that she may be again pregnant. While she is going to contact Dr.Hibbert, Homer tells Bart, Lisa and Maggie how he and Marge got married and the conception and birth of Bart as well as Homer applying for a job at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. | |||||
| 72 - 13 | January 9, 1992 | Carlos Baeza | Jon Vitti | 8F11 | |
| Bart has a disapointing birthday and presents although later, he then appreciates Homer's present to him, a microphone able to have a user's voice from the microphone to a nearby radio. He uses it for mainly pranks, which he sets up a particular one where he impersonates a fictitious boy named Timmy O'Toole trapped in a local well, gaining public attention, as he put a radio in the well. | |||||
| 73 - 14 | "Lisa the Greek" | January 23, 1992 | Rich Moore | Jay Kogen & Wallace Wolodarsky | 8F12 |
| Homer and Lisa begin to bond as they watch American football which Lisa can accurately predict which team will win. An ability that Homer wagers on people for matches which Lisa thinks Homer is using her as a tool for this and loses much appeciation for him. | |||||
| 74 - 15 | "Homer Alone" | February 6, 1992 | Mark Kirkland | David M. Stern | 8F14 |
| Marge decides to take a vacation to calm down. Homer take cares of Maggie while Lisa and Bart are under Patty and Selma's responsibility. While Marge is enjoying the spa in her vacation, the family are struggling without her and misfortune ensures. | |||||
| 75 - 16 | "Bart the Lover" | February 13, 1992 | Carlos Baeza | Jon Vitti | 8F16 |
| Bart writes love letters to Mrs.Krabappel under a pseudonym of a fictionous man named Woodrow Wilson, named after the 28th US president. Meanwhile, Ned Flanders convinces Homer to control his swearing as his son, Todd, learns profanity by Homer. | |||||
| 76 - 17 | "Homer at the Bat" | February 20, 1992 | Jim Reardon | John Swartzwelder | 8F13 |
| Springfield Nuclear Power Plant employees, including Homer, sign up for softball and are a runaway success with Homer's homemade yet efficent Wonderbat. Mr. Burns, however, seeks for professional baseball players to replace the team members. | |||||
| 77 - 18 | "Separate Vocations" | February 27, 1992 | Jeffrey Lynch | George Meyer | 8F15 |
| Students of Springfield Elementary are assigned to take an aptitude exam to see what career would suit them. Bart is noted as a policeman and Lisa a homemaker. After they had experience the jobs, Bart's performance and discipline in school has him a hall monitor while Lisa then develops a poorer attitude. | |||||
| 78 - 19 | "Dog of Death" | March 12, 1992 | Jim Reardon | John Swartzwelder | 8F17 |
| Santa's Little Helper becomes severely ill, which as the Simpsons subsequently notice, they are forced to make budget cuts to afford his expensive operation to cure him. While the operation was a success, the family then resent the sacrifices they had to make to save Santa's Little Helper's life which they required, prompting him to run away before being owned and changed by Mr. Burns. | |||||
| 79 - 20 | "Colonel Homer" | March 26, 1992 | Mark Kirkland | Matt Groening | 8F19 |
| Homer meets a barmaid named Lurleen Lumpkin, who possess a talent for singing. He tries to make her famous by being her manager on her way to be a singer. He does not seem to know most of the time that Lurleen has fallen in love in Homer, which prompts him to consider the importance of his marriage with an upset Marge, who thinks that he is having an affair on her than his wife. | |||||
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80 - 21 |
"Black Widower" |
April 9, 1992 | David Silverman | Jon Vitti,Thomas Chastain and Sam Simon | 8F20 |
| Sideshow Bob is released from prison and has a relationship with Selma. Bart is suspicious about this so called renewal of him, with Bob's history deeming him sinister after an attempt to frame Krusty the Klown. Bart discovers that he is planning to kill her by a gas explosion with her cigarette. He proceeds to prevent this, saving Selma's life and having Bob arrested again. | |||||
| 81 - 22 | "The Otto Show" | April 23, 1992 | Wes Archer | Jeff Martin | 8F21 |
| Otto finds out that he had never had an official license after damaging a school bus, resulting in being fired by authorities. He is also evicted from his home and moves in with the Simpsons, while teaching Bart how to play a guitar | |||||
| Previous Season: Season 3 |
The Simpsons Season 4 | Next Season: Season 5 |
Seasons
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| Season 1 • Season 2 • Season 3 • Season 4 • Season 5 • Season 6 • Season 7 • Season 8 • Season 9 • Season 10 • Season 11 • Season 12 Season 13 • Season 14 • Season 15 • Season 16 • Season 17 • Season 18 • Season 19 • Season 20 • Season 21 • Season 22 • Season 23 • Season 24 Season 25 • Season 26 • Season 27 • Season 28 • Season 29 • Season 30 • Season 31 • Season 32 • Season 33 • Season 34* • Season 35* • Season 36* Upcoming episodes Special episodes |
