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"Behind the Laughter" is the twenty-second and final episode of the eleventh season of the American animated television series ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
''. It first aired on the
Fox network The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations an ...
in the United States on May 21, 2000. In the episode, a parody of the VH1 series ''
Behind the Music ''Behind the Music'' is a documentary television series on VH1. Each episode profiles and interviews a popular musical artist or group. The program examines the beginning of their career, their road to success, and the hardships they may have ...
'', the Simpsons are portrayed as actors on a sitcom, and their dramatic inner turmoil and struggles are detailed. Told in a
mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...
format, the episode presents a fictional version of how ''The Simpsons'' began. The episode was directed by
Mark Kirkland Mark Kirkland is an American animation director. He has directed 84 episodes of ''The Simpsons'' since 1990, more than any other director. Career At the age of 13, Kirkland began making super 8 films and working for his father, noted photograph ...
and written by
Tim Long Tim Long (born June 14, 1969) is a comedy writer born in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. Long calls Exeter, Ontario, his home town and has written for ''The Simpsons'', ''Politically Incorrect'', ''Spy (magazine), Spy'' magazine and the ''Late Show wit ...
,
George Meyer George Meyer (born 1956) is an American producer and writer. Meyer is best known for his work on ''The Simpsons'', where he led the group script rewrite sessions. He has been publicly credited with "thoroughly shap ng... the comedic sensibilit ...
,
Mike Scully Michael C. Scully (born October 2, 1956) is an American television writer and producer. He is known for his work as executive producer and showrunner of the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' from 1997 to 2001. Scully grew up in West Springfield, M ...
and
Matt Selman Matt Selman (born }) is an American writer and producer. Early life Selman is a native of Watertown, Massachusetts. He graduated from Beaver Country Day School in 1989 and the University of Pennsylvania in 1993. Career After considering a car ...
. The idea was pitched by Long, and the writers wrote the episode quickly without a draft. VH1 and the producers of ''Behind the Music'' allowed the crew to use the show's visual graphics package, and ''Behind the Music'' narrator Jim Forbes recorded narrations. In addition, country musician
Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...
guest stars as himself. The episode received critical acclaim, with many reviewers noting it as a highlight of the season and the series itself, and won an
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
for
Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour) The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program is a Creative Arts Emmy Award which is given annually to an animated series. In the following list, the first titles listed in gold are the winners; those not in gold are nominees, which ...
in 2000. In addition, composer
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 ...
won 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 " Outstanding Individual Achievement for Music in an Animated Television Production". In May 2004, the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
chose it as the last episode to be aired, having lost the terrestrial broadcasting rights in February 2002, to
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
, who later aired the series in November 2004.


Plot

The episode is a parody of the VH1 biography series ''
Behind the Music ''Behind the Music'' is a documentary television series on VH1. Each episode profiles and interviews a popular musical artist or group. The program examines the beginning of their career, their road to success, and the hardships they may have ...
'' and shares its narrator, Jim Forbes. It begins with the
Simpson family The Simpson family are the fictional characters featured in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. The Simpsons are a nuclear family consisting of married couple Homer and Marge and their three children, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. Th ...
history and how they got into show business: believing that families depicted in the numerous TV shows they watch together bear no resemblance to their comparative dysfunctionalism,
Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
writes and directs an inadequate video "
pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
" that fails to attract the attention of the major
networks Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...
except for
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 ...
, as its
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
happens to be
Marge Marge is a feminine given name, a shortened form of Marjorie, Margot or Margaret (name), Margaret. Notable Marges include: People *Marge (cartoonist) (1904–1993), pen name of Marjorie Henderson Buell, American cartoonist *Marge Anderson (1932 ...
's hairdresser. After much fine-tuning and on-set mishaps produce many of the show's
running gags Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...
, ''The Simpsons resounding ratings and merchandising success makes the family extraordinarily wealthy; having moved out of their house on
Evergreen Terrace Evergreen Terrace is a five-piece American metalcore band from Jacksonville, Florida. Formed in 1999, they are named after the street inhabited by the Simpsons. The band's sixth and latest studio album '' Dead Horses'' was released on Decembe ...
to live in
MC Hammer Stanley Kirk Burrell (born March 30, 1962), better known by his stage name MC Hammer (or simply Hammer), is an American rapper, dancer, record producer and entrepreneur. He is known for hit songs such as "U Can't Touch This", "2 Legit 2 Quit" ...
's former mansion, "
Hammertime ''Hammertime'' is a 2009 American reality TV series that chronicles the daily life of rapper MC Hammer. The show debuted June 14, 2009 on the A&E Network and was produced by 3Ball Productions. The title is derived from a lyric in Hammer's 1990 hit ...
" (renamed "Homertime"), they expand their scope to include a series of
Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
-winning, " mega-platinum" novelty albums. Problems begin to arise as the Simpsons' fame continues: they become reckless
spendthrift A spendthrift (also profligate or prodigal) is someone who is extravagant and recklessly wasteful with money, often to a point where the spending climbs well beyond his or her means. "Spendthrift" derives from an obsolete sense of the word "thrift" ...
s, alternating between buying their colleagues extravagant gifts and paying them to perform embarrassing acts for their amusement. After Homer's plummet stunt into Springfield Gorge from "
Bart the Daredevil "Bart the Daredevil" is the eighth episode of the second season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 6, 1990. In the episode, Bart decides he wants t ...
" causes him injury, he becomes addicted to prescription painkillers; Marge blows much of the family's fortune on licensing her likeness for use on diaphragms, and
Bart Bart is a masculine given name, usually a diminutive of Bartholomew, sometimes of Barton, Bartolomeo, etc. Bart is a Dutch and Ashkenazi Jewish surname, and derives from the name ''Bartholomäus'', a German form of the biblical name ''Barthol ...
goes into rehab after attacking flight attendants, being temporarily replaced on the show by Richie Rich. Following a tip from
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 ...
, the
IRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory tax ...
discovers that the Simpsons are evading tax payments and repossess Homertime. As tensions mount in the family, the show's writing and production team resort to gimmicky, nonsensical plots and shameless guest star appearances to maintain ratings. Finally, while performing with
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
at the
Iowa State Fair The Iowa State Fair is an annual state fair held in Des Moines, Iowa in August. It began in 1854 and has been held on the Iowa State Fairgrounds since 1886. It is based in the state capital Des Moines, Iowa over an 11 day period in August. With ...
, the family gets into a big dispute and splits up. Fox puts the show on hiatus since none of the Simpsons will talk to each other. The members pursue independent endeavors: Homer becomes a
character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...
in stage productions such as '' Rent II: Condo Fever''; Bart replaces
Lorenzo Lamas Lorenzo Fernando Lamas (born January 20, 1958) is an American actor. He is widely known for his role of Lance Cumson, the irresponsible grandson of Angela Channing—played by Jane Wyman—in the soap opera ''Falcon Crest'' (1981–1990), for ...
as the star of the syndicated action show ''
Renegade Renegade or The Renegade may refer to: Aircraft *Lake Renegade, an American amphibious aircraft design *Murphy Renegade, a Canadian ultralight biplane design *Southern Aeronautical Renegade, an American racing aircraft design Games *'' Comman ...
''; Marge creates a nightclub act performing Bob Marley's song "
I Shot the Sheriff "I Shot the Sheriff" is a song written by Jamaican reggae musician Bob Marley and released in 1973 with his band Bob Marley and the Wailers. Bob Marley and the Wailers version The song was first released in 1973 on The Wailers' album '' Burni ...
"; and
Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer * Lisa Komine (born 1978), J ...
writes ''Where Are My Residuals?'', a tell-all book about her negative experiences from working on the show, such as Homer's spiking of her cereal with anti-growth hormones. Bringing the family back together seems impossible, until
Dr. Hibbert Dr. Julius Michael Hibbert, M.D. is a recurring character on the television animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. He is Springfield's most prominent medical professional. Although he has a kind and warm persona, he is also often characterized as gree ...
tasks his old
fraternity A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...
brother, country singer
Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...
, with reuniting them. Nelson puts on a phony awards show in order to reconcile the family, who hug and forgive each other for their past wrongs. They look with hope to the many years of episodes of ''The Simpsons'' to come... or not. The episode ends with an epilogue, in which Forbes states, "...the future looks brighter than ever for this
northern Kentucky Northern Kentucky is the third-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky after Louisville and Lexington, and its cities and towns serve as the de facto "south side" communities of Cincinnati, Ohio. The three main counties ...
family". Following the epilogue, the Simpson family is shown in a video editing room, viewing a scene from an upcoming episode from the next season, which shows the family talking about winning a trip to
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
. Seemingly in response to the stilted and unfunny quality of the proceedings, Homer quietly assures the editor that the next season will be the last. The final scene shows a mock teaser for an "upcoming episode" of ''Behind the Laughter'' about
Huckleberry Hound Huckleberry "Huck" Hound is a fictional cartoon character, a blue anthropomorphic coonhound that speaks with a North Carolina Southern drawl. He first appeared in the series ''The Huckleberry Hound Show''. The cartoon was one of six TV shows to ...
, in which he reveals that he is
gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
.


Production

Gay Rosenthal, a friend of executive producer
Mike Scully Michael C. Scully (born October 2, 1956) is an American television writer and producer. He is known for his work as executive producer and showrunner of the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' from 1997 to 2001. Scully grew up in West Springfield, M ...
, was producing the VH1 series ''Behind the Music'', which was very popular during the episode's production. Tim Long was the one to pitch the idea for the episode.Long, Tim (2008). Commentary for "Behind the Laughter", in ''The Simpsons: The Eleventh Season'' VD 20th Century Fox. The idea for the episode was a drastic departure for the series to try something so different. It took the writers a long time to conceptualize the show, as they were unsure whether to make Homer a filmmaker or make the characters unaware they were being filmed. Selman recalled that there was no draft for the episode, instead the writers just sat down and "pounded it out." He noted that one of the disadvantages for producing an animated show that takes up to a year in advance to create was that many other comedy shows, most notably ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
'' with their " More cowbell" sketch, had already done ''Behind the Music'' parodies. Although the final episode only features one
bleeped A bleep censor is the replacement of a profanity or classified information with a beep (sound), beep sound (usually a ) in television and radio. It is mainly used in the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong ...
curse word for Marge (for comedic effect), Meyer recalled the writers spent many weeks just "pitching Marge filth."Meyer, George (2008). Commentary for "Behind the Laughter", in ''The Simpsons: The Eleventh Season'' VD 20th Century Fox. The writers had particular fun writing over-the-top, melodramatic "tortured metaphors," many of which were penned by producer
David Mirkin David Mirkin (born ) is an American feature film and television director, writer and producer. Mirkin grew up in Philadelphia and intended to become an electrical engineer, but abandoned this career path in favor of studying film at Loyola Mar ...
. Although not credited, Scully has noted writers
Tom Gammill and Max Pross Tom Gammill and Max Pross are an American comedy writing team. Together they have written episodes for such successful shows as ''Seinfeld'', ''The Critic'', ''The Wonder Years'', ''It's Garry Shandling's Show'', and ''Monk''. They have also wor ...
for making significant contributions to the episode.Scully, Mike (2008). Commentary for "Behind the Laughter", in ''The Simpsons: The Eleventh Season'' VD 20th Century Fox. The crew used actual early ''Simpsons'' promotional posters in the episode.Selman, Matt (2008). Commentary for "Behind the Laughter", in ''The Simpsons: The Eleventh Season'' VD 20th Century Fox. VH1 and Gay Rosenthal Productions were both "extremely cooperative" regarding the episode, letting the team use the entire graphics package. Larina Adamson drove over to the VH1 headquarters in order to compile most of the video graphics package. Part of the imitating of ''Behind the Music'' was using the "corny, stock
interstitial An interstitial space or interstice is a space between structures or objects. In particular, interstitial may refer to: Biology * Interstitial cell tumor * Interstitial cell, any cell that lies between other cells * Interstitial collagenase, ...
footage to amp up the drama of the situation."
Ian Maxtone-Graham Ian Howes Maxtone-Graham is an American television writer and producer. He has formerly written for ''Saturday Night Live'' (1992–1995) and ''The Simpsons'' (1995–2012), as well as serving as a co-executive producer and consulting producer ...
directed the voice actors during the recording sessions for the episode.Maxtone-Graham, Ian (2008). Commentary for "Behind the Laughter", in ''The Simpsons: The Eleventh Season'' VD 20th Century Fox. Jim Forbes, narrator for ''Behind the Music'', came in to the studio and did the narrations, which George Meyer called "fantastic". When Scully went to the studio to record
Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...
's guest appearance, he was running late and had to wait, as Nelson was recording a duet with
B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...
. Meyer recalled that Nelson said to the producers that he enjoyed ''The Simpsons'', and watched it on his tour bus before he went to perform. Mark Kirkland called the episode one of the "oddest he'd ever worked on." He attended the table reading for the episode with knowledge he was to direct the episode, but was surprised to find that the story was "not a linear story it was all chopped up." In the direction aspect, the episode was deemed to be very challenging, but also easy because the animation team did not need to look for
continuity errors In fiction, continuity is a consistency of the characteristics of people, plot, objects, and places seen by the reader or viewer over some period of time. It is relevant to several media. Continuity is particularly a concern in the production of ...
as the episode "jumped around so much." The animators and Kirkland watched multiple episodes of ''Behind the Music'' in order to get the feel of it, as did the writers. In an interview with ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' regarding the renewal of the show in
season 23 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 pol ...
, showrunner
Al Jean Alfred Ernest Jean III (born January 9, 1961) is an American screenwriter and producer. Jean is well known for his work on ''The Simpsons''. He was raised near Detroit, Michigan, and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his wri ...
discusses what episodes that have previously aired might serve well as a series finale. He regards "Behind the Laughter" and "
Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind "Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind" is the ninth episode of the nineteenth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 16, 2007. The episode averaged 1 ...
" as the strongest candidates, and further elaborates: "I don’t think we’re a serialized show and I don’t think we’re going to have a ''
Lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
'' finale where we reveal some truth about the world that nobody ever suspected. Whenever we do a last episode, we just hope that it would be sweet, true to the characters, funny, and give you a nice feeling for where the Simpsons would be headed."


Cultural references

The episode contains many references and allusions to ''Behind the Music'', and one line the staff thought was humorous was pulled straight from the actual series. *During Comic Book Guy's interview, a statue of the Giant from ''
The Iron Giant ''The Iron Giant'' is a 1999 American animated science fiction film produced by Warner Bros. Feature Animation and directed by Brad Bird in his directorial debut. It is based on the 1968 novel '' The Iron Man'' by Ted Hughes (which was publish ...
'' can be seen, as a nod to former ''Simpsons'' director and creative consultant
Brad Bird Phillip Bradley Bird (born September 24, 1957) is an American film director, animator, screenwriter, producer, and voice actor. He has had a career spanning forty years in both animation and live-action. Bird was born in Montana and grew up in ...
, who left to direct the film.Kirkland, Mark (2008). Commentary for "Behind the Laughter", in ''The Simpsons: The Eleventh Season'' VD 20th Century Fox. *The teenage fans of Bart Simpson screaming to the song "
Twist and Shout "Twist and Shout" is a 1961 song written by Phil Medley and Bert Berns (later credited as "Bert Russell"). It was originally recorded by the Top Notes, but it did not become a hit in the record charts until it was reworked by the Isley Brothers ...
" is a
Beatlemania Beatlemania was the fanaticism surrounding the English rock band the Beatles in the 1960s. The group's popularity grew in the United Kingdom throughout 1963, propelled by the singles "Please Please Me", "From Me to You" and "She Loves You". By ...
reference. *Bart and his
parachute pants Parachute pants, originally known as flight pants, are a style of trousers characterized by the use of nylon, especially Ripstop#Ripstop nylon, ripstop nylon. In the original tight-fitting style of the early 1980s, "parachute" referred to the pa ...
are allusions to M.C. Hammer, which was inspired by the ''Behind the Music'' episode based on his life that the staff watched during production. *Bart, while getting pampered by assistants, agrees to take a role in ''
Teen Wolf ''Teen Wolf'' is a 1985 American coming-of-age romantic fantasy comedy film directed by Rod Daniel and written by Jeph Loeb and Matthew Weisman. Michael J. Fox stars as the title character, a high school student whose ordinary life is changed ...
3'', a reference that Scully later considered to be dated. * Richie Rich replaces Bart's role on the show while Bart is undergoing rehab; the animators colored his suit green to avoid copyright infringement. *When ''The Simpsons'' is put on hiatus, the fictional Fox replaces it with ''Peepin' It Real!'', which consists of
hidden camera A hidden camera or spy camera is a camera used to photograph or record subjects, often people, without their knowledge. The camera may be considered "hidden" because it is not visible to the subject being filmed, or is disguised as another obje ...
footage from
Ann Taylor Ann or Anne Taylor may refer to: *Ann Taylor (writer, born 1757) (1757–1830), English writer *Ann Taylor (poet) (1782–1866), English poet and children's writer, daughter of the above *Ann Taylor (actress) (born 1936), British actress, hostess a ...
women's dressing rooms; Scully noted that the retailer was "not happy" about this joke. *The episode is also knowingly self-referential. A series of T-shirts are shown sporting a number of Bart Simpson "catchphrases", such as "You bet your sweet bippy, man" and "Life begins at conception, man." These are parodies of both officially licensed and bootleg ''Simpsons''-themed T-shirts in the early days of the series, usually revolving around Bart. *The famous scene of Homer plummeting into Springfield Gorge on Bart's skateboard from the season two episode "
Bart the Daredevil "Bart the Daredevil" is the eighth episode of the second season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 6, 1990. In the episode, Bart decides he wants t ...
" is shown; the sequence in which Homer falls from the jagged cliffs was reanimated. "Behind the Laughter" then shows the "unfunny aftermath" of Homer going through physical rehabilitation and becoming addicted to painkillers. *The episode states the series turned to "gimmicky premises and nonsensical plots" as ratings dipped, and uses a clip from the episode "
The Principal and the Pauper "The Principal and the Pauper" is the second episode of the ninth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 28, 1997. In the episode, Seymour Skinner ...
" to get that point across, as it was a highly controversial episode that many fans and critics panned.


Reception

The episode was ranked as the fourth best ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
'' episode by
askmen.com AskMen is a free online men's web portal, with international versions in Australia, Canada, the Middle East, the United Kingdom and the United States. It is owned by Ziff Davis and operates through the IGN Entertainment unit. History AskMen was ...
. In 2012, Johnny Dee of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' listed the episode as one of his five favorite episodes in the history of ''The Simpsons'', noting ''The Simpsons'' is "good at self-parody". ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
'' writing staff voted this in their list of Top 15 ''Simpsons'' episode becoming the newest episode in the list.
Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and film theories. ''Screen Rant'' was launched by Vic Holtreman in 2003, and originally had its primary office in Ogden, Utah. ''Scr ...
called it the best episode of the 11th season.


Notes


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Behind The Laughter The Simpsons (season 11) episodes 2000 American television episodes Mockumentaries Cultural depictions of Jimmy Carter Emmy Award-winning episodes