The second season of the 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, ...

'' originally aired on the Fox network between October 11, 1990, and July 11, 1991, and contained 22 episodes, beginning with " Bart Gets an "F". Another episode, "

Blood Feud A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one pa ...

", aired during the summer after the official season finale. The executive producers for the second production season were

Matt Groening Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is the creator of the comic strip ''Life in Hell'' (1977–2012) and the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), ''Fut ...

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

Sam Simon Samuel Michael Simon (June 6, 1955 – March 8, 2015) was an American director, producer, writer, animal rights activist and philanthropist, who co-developed the television series ''The Simpsons''. While at Stanford University, Simon w ...

, who had also been EPs for the previous season. It was 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 Co ...

. The DVD box set was released on August 6, 2002 in Region 1, July 8, 2002 in Region 2 and in September 2002 in Region 4. The episode " Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment" won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour), and was also nominated in the "Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or a Special" category.Emmy Awards official site
"The Simpsons" "1991–1991" ''emmys.org''. Retrieved on August 31, 2007

Production

Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish "Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish" is the fourth episode of the second season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It is actually the first episode of that season in the production order. It originally ...

" was the first episode produced for the season, but Bart Gets an "F" aired first because Bart was popular at the time and the producers had wanted to premiere with a Bart themed episode. The second season featured a new

opening sequence A title sequence (also called an opening sequence or intro) is the method by which films or television programmes present their title and key production and cast members, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound (often a opening theme song with vis ...

, which was shortened from its original length of roughly 90 seconds. The opening sequence for the first season showed Bart stealing a "Bus Stop" sign; whilst the new sequence featured him skateboarding past several characters who had been introduced during the previous season. Starting with this season, there were three versions of the opening: a full roughly 75-second version, a 45-second version and a 25-second version. This gave the show's editors more leeway.

Voice cast & characters

The season saw the introduction of several new recurring characters, including Mayor Quimby,

Kang and Kodos Kang and Kodos Johnson are a duo of fictional recurring characters in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. Kang is voiced by Harry Shearer and Kodos by Dan Castellaneta. They are green, perpetually drooling, octopus-like aliens from ...

, Maude Flanders, Bill and Marty,

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 ...

, Roger Meyers, Jr., Sideshow Mel, Lionel Hutz, Dr. Nick Riviera, Blue Haired Lawyer,

Rainier Wolfcastle 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 ...

, Troy McClure, Groundskeeper Willie,

Hans Moleman 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 ...

, Professor Frink, Snake and Comic Book Guy.

Main cast

Dan Castellaneta Daniel Louis Castellaneta (; born October 29, 1957) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He is best known for voicing Homer Simpson on the animated series ''The Simpsons'' (as well as other characters on the show such as Abraham "Grampa" ...

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 ...

, Grampa Simpson, Krusty the Clown, Groundskeeper Willie, Troy McClure, Barney Gumble and various others *

Julie Kavner Julie Deborah Kavner (born September 7, 1950) is an American actress. Best known for her voice role as Marge Simpson on the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', Kavner first attracted notice for her role as Brenda Morgenstern, the younge ...

Marge Simpson Marjorie Jacqueline "Marge" Simpson () is a character in the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' and part of the eponymous family. Voiced by Julie Kavner, she first appeared on television in '' The Tracey Ullman Show'' short " Good Night ...

, Patty Bouvier, Selma Bouvier and various others *

Nancy Cartwright Nancy Cartwright (born October 25, 1957) is an American actress. She is the long-time voice of Bart Simpson on the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', for which she has received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Perform ...

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 Sh ...

Nelson Muntz Nelson Mandela Muntz is a fictional character and the lead school bully from the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', where he is best known for his signature mocking laugh "Ha-ha!". He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright. Nelson was first intro ...

, Ralph Wiggum and various others * Yeardley Smith as

Lisa Simpson Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. She is the middle child and most accomplished of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa was born as a character in '' The Tracey Ullman ...

Harry Shearer Harry Julius Shearer (born December 23, 1943) is an American actor, comedian, writer, musician, radio host, director and producer. Born in Los Angeles, California, Shearer began his career as a child actor. From 1969 to 1976, Shearer was a member ...

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 (The Simpsons), Homer's ...

, 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, and Reverend Lovejoy *

Hank Azaria Henry Albert Azaria ( ; born April 25, 1964) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He is known for voicing many characters in the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), most notably Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy, ...

Moe Szyslak Moe Szyslak is a recurring character from the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He is voiced by Hank Azaria and first appeared in the series premiere episode " Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". Moe is the proprietor and bartender o ...

, Chief Wiggum, Professor Frink, Carl Carlson, Comic Book Guy and Apu

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 ...

, Jimbo Jones * Maggie Roswell 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 h ...

Martin Prince 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

Sherri and Terri 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 ...

Tress MacNeille Teressa Claire MacNeille (née Payne; born June 20, 1951) is an American voice actress, whose credits include voicing Dot Warner on the animated television series '' Animaniacs'', Babs Bunny on ''Tiny Toon Adventures'', Chip and Gadget Hackwrenc ...

as Mrs. Bloomenstein, Kim and Davey *

Marcia Wallace Marcia Karen Wallace (November 1, 1942 – October 25, 2013) was an American actress and comedian, primarily known for her roles in television situation comedies. She is best known for her roles as receptionist Carol Kester on the 1970s sitc ...

as Edna Krabappel * Jon Lovitz as Artie Ziff, Professor Lombardo and the doughnut delivery man *

Jo Ann Harris Jo Ann Harris (born Jo Ann Marcovitch; May 27, 1949) is an American actress known for her many film and television roles beginning in 1967. In the 1971 film '' The Beguiled'' she portrayed a 17-year-old who seduced Clint Eastwood's character. H ...

as background characters

Guest stars

* Phil Hartman as Troy McClure, Lionel Hutz,

Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu ( Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pr ...

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

and various others (various episodes) *

Harvey Fierstein Harvey Forbes Fierstein ( ; born June 6, 1952) is an American actor, playwright and screenwriter. He is best known for his theater work in '' Torch Song Trilogy'' and '' Hairspray'' and movie roles in '' Mrs. Doubtfire'', ''Independence Day'', an ...

as Karl
("

Simpson and Delilah "Simpson and Delilah" is the second 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 October 18, 1990. In the episode, Homer uses the Springfie ...

") *

James Earl Jones James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...

as the mover, Serak the Preparer, and the narrator of "The Raven" (" Treehouse of Horror") *

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birt ...

as himself (" Dancin' Homer") *

Tom Poston Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

as the Capital City Goofball ("Dancin' Homer") * Daryl L. Coley as "Bleeding Gums" Murphy ("Dancin' Homer") * Ken Levine as Dan Horde ("Dancin' Homer") * Greg Berg as Rory (" Bart vs. Thanksgiving") *

Alex Rocco Alex Rocco (born Alessandro Federico Petricone Jr.; February 29, 1936 – July 18, 2015) was an American actor. Known for his distinctive, gravelly voice, he was often cast as villains, including Moe Greene in ''The Godfather'' (1972) and his Pr ...

as Roger Meyers, Jr.
(" Itchy & Scratchy & Marge") *

Larry King Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger; November 19, 1933 – January 23, 2021) was an American television and radio host, whose awards included 2 Peabodys, an Emmy and 10 Cable ACE Awards. Over his career, he hosted over 50,000 interviews. ...

as himself
("

One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish "One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish" is the eleventh 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 January 24, 1991. In the episode, ...

") *

George Takei George Takei (; ja, ジョージ・タケイ; born Hosato Takei (武井穂郷), April 20, 1937) is an American actor, author and activist known for his role as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the fictional starship USS ''Enterprise'' in the televi ...

as Akira Kurosawa
("One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish") *

Danny DeVito Daniel Michael DeVito Jr. (born November 17, 1944) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He gained prominence for his portrayal of the taxi dispatcher Louie De Palma in the television series ''Taxi'' (1978–1983), which won him a Gold ...

Herb Powell The Simpson family are the fictional characters featured in the Animated series, animated television series ''The Simpsons''. The Simpsons are a nuclear family consisting of married couple Homer Simpson, Homer and Marge Simpson, Marge and thei ...

Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" is the fifteenth 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 February 21, 1991. In the episode, Grampa co ...

") * Tracey Ullman as Emily Winthrop and Sylvia Winfield (" Bart's Dog Gets an "F") *

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 animal voices
(" Bart's Dog Gets an "F") * Audrey Meadows as Beatrice "Bea" Simmons ("

Old Money Old money is "the inherited wealth of established upper-class families (i.e. gentry, patriciate)" or "a person, family, or lineage possessing inherited wealth". The term typically describes a social class of the rich who have been able t ...

") *

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

as himself
(" Brush with Greatness") *

Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable characters. He is th ...

as Mr. Bergstrom
("

Lisa's Substitute "Lisa's Substitute" is the nineteenth 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 April 25, 1991. In the episode, Lisa's teacher Miss H ...

") *

Cloris Leachman Cloris Leachman (April 30, 1926 – January 27, 2021) was an American actress and comedian whose career spanned nearly eight decades. She won many accolades, including eight Primetime Emmy Awards from 22 nominations, making her the most nomina ...

as Mrs. Glich
(" Three Men and a Comic Book") * Daniel Stern as the adult version of Bart ("Three Men and a Comic Book")

Reception

Ratings

Due to the show's success during its abbreviated first season, Fox decided to move The Simpsons from its Sunday night lineup on August 23, 1990. The move came as the still-fledgling network was adding two additional nights of programming to its lineup, one of which was Thursday. Fox placed ''The Simpsons'' in the leadoff position of their lineup for their initial Thursday offerings, with the new sitcom ''

Babes Babes may refer to: __NOTOC__ Arts and entertainment * Babes (band), an American indie pop band * "Babes", a song from the album '' The Inner Me'' by Lala Hsu * ''Babes'' (TV series), an American sitcom (1990–1991) * Babes (website), a pornogra ...

'' and a new

Aaron Spelling Aaron Spelling (April 22, 1923 June 23, 2006) was an American film and television producer and occasional actor. His productions included the TV series ''Family'' (1976–1980), '' Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1981), '' The Love Boat'' (1977–198 ...

-produced drama, ''

Beverly Hills 90210 ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to by its short title, ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling under his production company Spelling Television. The series ran for ...

'', offering competition for the lineups fielded by the other networks including ratings champion

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

. ''The Simpsons'' settled into the 8:00 PM position, which put it in direct competition with the five-time defending #1 show in all of television, ''

The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom co-created by and starring Bill Cosby, which aired Thursday nights for eight seasons on NBC between September 20, 1984, until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on an upper middle-class Africa ...

''. Many of the producers, including

, were against the move because ''The Simpsons'' had been in the top 10 while airing on Sunday and they felt the move would destroy its ratings. All through the summer of 1990, several news outlets published stories about the supposed "Bill vs. Bart" rivalry. At the time, NBC had 208 television stations, while Fox had only 133. Bart Gets an "F" was the first episode to air against ''

'' and averaged an 18.4

Nielsen rating Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rati ...

and 29% of the audience. In the weeks ratings, it finished tied for eighth behind ''The Cosby Show'' which had an 18.5 rating. However, an estimated 33.6 million viewers watched the episode, making it the number one show in terms of actual viewers that week. At the time, it was the most watched episode in the history of Fox. The next week, "

" had a 16.2 rating and 25% share while the ''Cosby Show'' managed to maintain its 18.5 rating. However, viewer-wise, ''The Simpsons'' won again with 29.9 million viewers. The next week, " Treehouse of Horror" fell in the ratings, finishing 24th. Ratings wise, new episodes of ''The Cosby Show'' beat ''The Simpsons'' every time during the second season and ''The Simpsons'' eventually fell out of the top 10. " Three Men and a Comic Book" would boast the only victory over ''The Cosby Show'', finishing 23rd in the weekly ratings while a rerun of ''Cosby'' finished 26th. At the end of the season, ''Cosby'' averaged as the fifth highest rated show on television while ''The Simpsons'' was 38th. It would not be until the seventeenth episode of the third season, " Homer at the Bat," that ''The Simpsons'' would beat ''The Cosby Show'' in the ratings. The show remained in its Thursday timeslot until the sixth season.

Reception

The second season of ''The Simpsons'' received critical acclaim. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, the season has a 100% approval rating based on 8 critical reviews. On aggregate review website

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, a site which uses a weighted mean score, the season scored a 92/100 based on seven critics, indicating "universal acclaim". At the 7th annual Television Critics Association Awards, the second season of the show was nominated for 'Outstanding Achievement in Comedy' but lost to "Murphy Brown."

Episodes

DVD release

The DVD boxset for season two was released by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

in the United States and Canada on August 6, 2002, eleven years after it had completed broadcast on television. As well as every episode from the season, the DVD release features bonus material including commentaries for every episode. The commentaries were recorded in late 2001.The Simpsons Archive: The Springfield Times: Simpsons DVD News Archive - Season 2
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References

;Bibliography * * *

External links

Season 2
at the BBC {{DISPLAYTITLE:''The Simpsons'' (season 2) Simpsons season 02 1990 American television seasons 1991 American television seasons