The fourth season of the American animated television series '' The Simpsons'' originally aired on the

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

network between September 24, 1992, and May 13, 1993, beginning with "

Kamp Krusty "Kamp Krusty" is the first episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 24, 1992. During summer vacation, the children of Spri ...

". The

showrunner A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also th ...

s for the fourth production season were Al Jean and Mike Reiss, with the season being produced by Gracie Films and

20th Century Fox Television 20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Century-Fox Television, and TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Compa ...

. The aired season contained two episodes which were hold-over episodes from season three, which Jean and Reiss also ran. Following the end of the production of the season, Jean, Reiss and most of the original writing staff left the show. The season was nominated for two

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

s and Dan Castellaneta would win one for his performance as Homer in "

Mr. Plow "Mr. Plow" is the ninth episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox Network in the United States on November 19, 1992. In the episode, Homer buys a snowplow and starts a ...

". The fourth season was released on DVD in Region 1 on June 15, 2004, Region 2 on August 2, 2004, and in Region 4 on August 25, 2004.

Development

The season was executive produced by Al Jean and Mike Reiss, who had also run the previous season. Several of the show's original writers who had been with the show since the first season left following the completion of the season's production run. "

Cape Feare "Cape Feare" is the second episode of the fifth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 7, 1993. The episode features guest star Kelsey Grammer i ...

", which was the final episode to be produced by the "original team", aired during

season five A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pola ...

as a holdover. Jay Kogen, Wallace Wolodarsky and

Jeff Martin Jeff Martin may refer to: * Jeff Martin (American musician) (born 1957), lead vocalist for the bands Surgical Steel and Racer X; drummer for Badlands *Jeff Martin (Canadian musician) (born 1969), guitarist, singer, and songwriter for the Tea Party ...

wrote their final episodes for the season four production run. David M. Stern and Jon Vitti also left but returned to write episodes for later seasons. Reiss and Jean left to produce their own series, '' The Critic'', but later returned to produce several more ''The Simpsons'' episodes, and Jean again became the showrunner starting with season thirteen. Rich Moore, one of the show's original directors, also left to work on ''The Critic'', but returned years later to assist with animation on ''

The Simpsons Movie ''The Simpsons Movie'' is a 2007 American animated comedy film based on the long-running animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. The film was directed by the show's supervising director David Silverman and stars the show's regular cast of Dan Caste ...

''. George Meyer and

John Swartzwelder John Joseph Swartzwelder Jr. (born February 8, 1949) is an American comedy writer and novelist, best known for his work on the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. Born in Seattle, Washington, Swartzwelder began his career working in adv ...

stayed on, while

Conan O'Brien Conan Christopher O'Brien (born April 18, 1963) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is best known for having hosted late-night talk shows for almost 28 years, beginning with ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' (19 ...

Frank Mula Frank Mula (January 20, 1950 – December 17, 2021) was an American television writer. He wrote for '' Cosby'', ''Madame's Place'', ''Grand'', ''The Simpsons'', and created the series '' Local Heroes'' which lasted 7 episodes. Life and career Mu ...

and future show runners

Bill Oakley William Lloyd Oakley (born February 27, 1966) is an American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animated comedy series ''The Simpsons''. Oakley and Josh Weinstein became best friends and writing partners at St. Albans Sc ...

and Josh Weinstein received their first writing credits. One-time writers for the season include

Adam I. Lapidus Adam I. Lapidus is an American television writer, whose credits include ''Phil of the Future'', ''Full House'', ''Smart Guy'', ''Jessie (2011 TV series), Jessie'', ''Bunk'd'', ''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody'', ''The Suite Life on Deck'' and the s ...

and the team of Gary Apple and Michael Carrington, although Carrington later returned to voice characters in "

Simpson Tide "Simpson Tide" is the nineteenth episode of the ninth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 29, 1998. After being fired from the Springfield Nuclea ...

" and "

Million Dollar Abie "Million Dollar Abie" is the sixteenth episode of the seventeenth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 2, 2006. This is the first episode to have ...

". Sam Simon, who had been showrunner for the show's first two seasons, assembled the original writing team, been the series' creative supervisor from its inception, and has been credited as "developing

he show's He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...

sensibility", departed at the end of season four. Simon was involved in a series of creative disputes with the show's creator Matt Groening, producer

James L. Brooks James Lawrence Brooks (born May 9, 1940) is an American director, producer, screenwriter and co-founder of Gracie Films. His television and film work includes ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'', ''Taxi'', ''The Simpsons'', '' Broadcast News'', ''As G ...

and production company Gracie Films.Ortved, pp. 146–149. Simon commented that he "wasn't enjoying it anymore," and "that any show I've ever worked on, it turns me into a monster. I go crazy. I hate myself." Before leaving, he negotiated a deal that saw him receive a share of the show's profits every year and an executive producer credit despite not having worked on the show since then until his death. This season's production run (9F) was the first to be animated by

Film Roman Film Roman, LLC is an American independent animation studio currently based in Woodland Hills, California and formerly in Burbank. It was previously owned by Starz Inc., which is now a division of Lionsgate, and later by Waterman Entertainment, ...

, after Gracie Films opted to switch domestic production of the series from Klasky Csupo. Sharon Bernstein of the '' Los Angeles Times'' wrote that "Gracie executives had been unhappy with the producer Csupo had assigned to ''The Simpsons'' and said the company also hoped to obtain better wages and working conditions for animators at Film Roman." Klasky Csupo co-founder Gábor Csupó had been "asked

y Gracie Films Y, or y, is the twenty-fifth and penultimate letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. According to some authorities, it is the sixth (or seventh ...

if they could bring in their own producer

o oversee the animation production O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), plu ...

" but declined, stating "they wanted to tell me how to run my business." Simon commented that: "There won't be any change in the quality or look of the show. We're not going to compromise the quality of the show, and key creative personnel will continue on the show." "

A Streetcar Named Marge "A Streetcar Named Marge" is the second episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 1, 1992. In the episode, Marge wins the role of B ...

" and "

" were holdovers from the previous season and so were the last of the Klasky Csupo produced episodes to air. Brooks suggested that the script for "Kamp Krusty" be expanded and produced as a feature-length theatrically released film. However, the episode ran very short, barely reaching the minimum length allowed, with the episode's musical number having to be lengthened by a number of verses. The episode had also been selected to be the season's premiere. As Jean told Brooks, "First of all, if we make it into the movie then we don't have a premiere, and second if we can't make 18 minutes out of this episode how are we supposed to make 80?"

Voice cast & characters

Main cast

* Dan Castellaneta as

Homer Simpson Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared, along with the rest of his family, in ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' short "G ...

, Grampa Simpson, Krusty the Clown, Groundskeeper Willie, Barney Gumble and various others * Julie Kavner as Marge Simpson, Patty Bouvier, Selma Bouvier and various others * Nancy Cartwright as

Bart Simpson Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional character in the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' ...

, Nelson Muntz, Ralph Wiggum and various others * Yeardley Smith as Lisa Simpson * Hank Azaria as Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Professor Frink, Comic Book Guy,

Apu APU or Apu may refer to: Film and television * ''The Apu Trilogy'', a series of three Bengali films, directed by Satyajit Ray, with the fictional character Apu Roy, comprising: ** ''Pather Panchali'' (''Song of the Little Road'') (1955), the first ...

Bumblebee Man The American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' contains a wide range of minor and supporting characters like co-workers, teachers, students, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, and even animals. The writ ...

and various others * Harry Shearer as

Mr. Burns Charles Montgomery Plantagenet Schicklgruber "Monty" Burns, usually referred to as Mr. Burns, Monty, or C. Montgomery Burns, is a recurring character and the main antagonist of the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', voiced initially by ...

Waylon Smithers Waylon Joseph Smithers Jr., usually referred to as Mr. Smithers or simply Smithers, is a recurring fictional character in the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Harry Shearer. He first appeared in "Homer's Odyssey", although his voice co ...

, Ned Flanders, Principal Skinner,

Lenny Leonard The American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' contains a wide range of minor and supporting characters like co-workers, teachers, students, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, and even animals. The writ ...

, Kent Brockman, Reverend Lovejoy, and various others

Recurring

Pamela Hayden Pamela Hayden (born November 28, 1953) is an American actress and voice actress, known for providing various voices for the animated television show ''The Simpsons'', such as Milhouse Van Houten. Biography Hayden provides voices for characters ...

Milhouse van Houten Milhouse Mussolini Van Houten is a recurring character in the Fox animated television series ''The Simpsons'' voiced by Pamela Hayden and created by Matt Groening. Milhouse is Bart Simpson's best friend in Mrs. Krabappel's fourth grade class at ...

, Jimbo Jones *

Maggie Roswell Maggie Roswell is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer from Los Angeles, California. She is well known for her voice work on the Fox network's animated television series ''The Simpsons'', in which she has played recurring characters ...

as Maude Flanders,

Helen Lovejoy The American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' contains a wide range of minor and supporting characters like co-workers, teachers, students, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, and even animals. The writ ...

and Miss Hoover *

Russi Taylor Russi Taylor (May 4, 1944 – July 26, 2019) was an American voice actress. She is best remembered as the official voice of Minnie Mouse from 1986 to 2019, and was notably married to voice actor Wayne Allwine, the voice of Mickey Mouse, until his ...

as Martin Prince * Tress MacNeille as Mrs. Bloomenstein, Kim and Davey * Marcia Wallace as Edna Krabappel * Jon Lovitz as Artie Ziff, Professor Lombardo and the doughnut delivery man * Joe Mantegna as Fat Tony *

Frank Welker Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American voice actor. He began his career in the 1960s, and holds over 860 film, television, and video game credits as of 2022, making him one of the most prolific voice actors of all time. With ...

as Santa's Little Helper, and Princess

Guest stars

* Phil Hartman as Troy McClure,

Lionel Hutz Lionel Hutz is a fictional character in the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. He was voiced by Phil Hartman, and his first appearance was in the season two episode " Bart Gets Hit by a Car". Hutz is a stereotypical shady ambulance cha ...

, Lyle Lanley and Mr. Muntz (various episodes) *

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...

as Maggie Simpson ("

Lisa's First Word "Lisa's First Word" is the tenth episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It was first broadcast on the Fox network in the United States on December 3, 1992. In the episode, as the Simpson family g ...

") and herself ("

Krusty Gets Kancelled "Krusty Gets Kancelled" is the twenty-second and final episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 13, 1993. In the episode, a new show fea ...

") * Barry White as himself ('

Whacking Day "Whacking Day" is the twentieth episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 29, 1993. The episode revolves around the fictional h ...

") * Jon Lovitz as Llewellyn Sinclair and Ms. Sinclair ("

") * Bob Hope as himself (" Lisa the Beauty Queen") *

Lona Williams Lona Williams (born September 26, 1966) is an American television producer, writer, and actress. Early life and education Williams was raised in Rosemount, Minnesota, where her father, Les, was a middle school math teacher. Williams participate ...

as Amber Dempsey ("Lisa the Beauty Queen") *

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer * Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in ...

as himself (" Marge Gets a Job") * Sara Gilbert as Laura Powers ("

New Kid on the Block "New Kid on the Block" is the eighth episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 12, 1992. After meeting his new neighbor, Laur ...

") * Pamela Reed as Ruth Powers ("New Kid on the Block") * Adam West as himself ("

") * Linda Ronstadt as herself ("Mr. Plow") * Leonard Nimoy as himself ("

Marge vs. the Monorail "Marge vs. the Monorail" is the twelfth episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 14, 1993. The plot revolves around Springfie ...

") * Michael Carrington as Sideshow Raheem (" I Love Lisa") *

Dr. Joyce Brothers Joyce Diane Brothers (October 20, 1927 – May 13, 2013) was an American psychologist, television personality, advice columnist, and writer. She first became famous in 1955 for winning the top prize on the American game show '' The $64,000 Ques ...

as herself ("

Last Exit to Springfield "Last Exit to Springfield" is the seventeenth episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 11, 1993. The plot revolves around Homer ...

") *

Brooke Shields Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress and model. She was initially a child model and gained critical acclaim at age 12 for her leading role in Louis Malle's film ''Pretty Baby'' (1978). She continued to model into ...

as herself (" The Front") * David Crosby as himself (" Marge in Chains") *

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He is best known as the host of ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson received six Pr ...

as himself ("

") *

Hugh Hefner Hugh Marston Hefner (April 9, 1926 – September 27, 2017) was an American magazine publisher. He was the founder and editor-in-chief of ''Playboy'' magazine, a publication with revealing photographs and articles which provoked charges of obsc ...

as himself ("Krusty Gets Kancelled") *

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Be ...

as herself ("Krusty Gets Kancelled") * Luke Perry as himself ("Krusty Gets Kancelled") * Red Hot Chili Peppers as themselves ("Krusty Gets Kancelled")

Awards

1993 marked the first year that the producers of ''The Simpsons'' did not submit episodes for the " Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour)". Prior to this season, the series had only been allowed to compete in the animation category, but in early 1993 the rules were changed so that animated television shows would be able to submit nominations in the " Outstanding Comedy Series" category. The producers submitted "

" and "

" but the Emmy voters were hesitant to pit cartoons against live action programs, and ''The Simpsons'' did not receive a nomination. Several critics saw the show's failure to gain a nomination as one of the biggest snubs of that year. Dan Castellaneta was awarded an Emmy for " Outstanding Voice-Over Performance". " Treehouse of Horror III" was nominated for Emmys for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore)" (

Alf Clausen Alf Heiberg Clausen (born March 28, 1941) is an American film and television composer. He is best known for his work scoring many episodes of ''The Simpsons'', for which he was the sole composer between 1990 and 2017. Clausen has scored or orc ...

) and "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or a Special". The series won several other awards this season, including an

Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in cinema and television. Originally desi ...

for "Best Animated Television Program", a

Genesis Award The Genesis Awards are awarded annually by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) to individuals in the major news and entertainment media for producing outstanding works which raise public awareness of animal issues. Presented by the HSUS ...

for "Best Television Prime Time Animated Series" for the episode "

" and a

Saturn Award The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...

for "Best Television Series". At the 9th annual Television Critics Association Awards, the fourth season of the show was nominated for 'Outstanding Achievement in Comedy' but lost to "Seinfeld." Additionally, it was nominated for 'Program of the Year,' losing to "Barbarians at the Gate."

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the fourth season of ''The Simpsons'' has a 100% approval rating based on 11 critical reviews. The sites critical consensus reads: "One word: Monorail".

Episodes

DVD release

The DVD boxset for season four was released by

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment (commonly referred to as 20th Home Video, or 20th Home Entertainment, formerly known as 20th Century-Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video, Fox Video, and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) is a home video label of Wa ...

in the United States and Canada on June 15, 2004, eleven years after it had completed broadcast on television. As well as every episode from the season, the DVD release features bonus material including

deleted scene A deleted scene is footage that has been removed from the final version of a film or television show. There are various reasons why these scenes are deleted, which include time constraints, relevance, quality or a dropped story thread. A similar o ...

s, Animatics, and commentaries for every episode. The menus are a different format than the previous seasons.

References

;Bibliography * * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Simpsons season 4 Simpsons season 04 1992 American animated television seasons 1993 American animated television seasons