All language subtitles for Icons.Unearthed.S02E06.The.Legacy.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DD+2.0.H.264-playWEB_track3_[eng]

COOPER BARNES: [NARRATING]
2007 was a big year
for The Simpsons.

-They graduated
to the big screen.
-BOTH: Woo-hoo!

BARNES: And tied
as the longest-running series
on television.

-It passed Gunsmoke.
-[GUNSHOT]

At this point, if it's not
the signature Fox show,

it's certainly one of them.

BARNES: But even bigger
than that, Fox became

the number one network
in America

for the very first time.

Everything was pointing towards

the Simpsons juggernaut just
becoming bigger

and more popular than ever.

-Unfortunately,
the ratings were...
-...slacking off.

BARNES: By 2009,
audiences had been cut in half

from its heyday in 2001.

Everyone's gone!

BARNES: Had The Simpsons
simply been around too long?

People have become savvier
in their taste.

I think there's things

that people just don't
gravitate toward.

Worst episode ever.

BARNES: Or had society
just moved on?

We're now in the world
of streaming.

It was sort of the birth
of Netflix

and people perhaps looking
other places

for their entertainment.

BARNES: Whatever the cause,

Fox needed to find a solution.

All right, here's the deal.

Every time you watch my show,
I will send you $40.

BARNES: This is the story
of a cultural phenomenon

that had appeared
to become a victim

of its own popularity...

Familiarity breeds
a certain amount of contempt.

I can't think of anything
I'd want to watch that much of.

BARNES: ...and how it needed
to evolve,

if it wanted to ensure
its survival.

You can't be on air
as long as The Simpsons has

and not reflect the changes
that society is asking.

[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]

BARNES:
Since their relationship began
back in the late '80s,

The Simpsons and Fox had shared
a wonderful life together.

There's a lot of shows
that, perhaps, you don't know

what network they're on
and it doesn't really matter.

Somehow The Simpsons and Fox
seem sort of married.

BARNES: Unfortunately,
poor ratings could

see them heading for divorce.

HOWELL: It can be tough
for a network.

Understandably, they're trying
to, you know, make money.

It's a business, after all.

BARNES: However, reviving
a show's flagging fortunes

isn't as easy as it sounds.

KIMMEL: There's
an old joke in Hollywood.

If there was a formula
for success,

somebody would have
discovered it,

made a lot of money
and gotten out of the business.

Nobody knows anything.

BARNES: However,
with the 20th anniversary

of The Simpsons' first episode
on the horizon,

the marketing department
at Fox came up with an idea

they hoped would
change all that.

Hi, I'm Al Jean.
For The Simpsons'
20th anniversary,

we bring you
the best 20 years ever.

A grassroots, fan-to-fan, local,
domestic, corporate-sponsored,

national, interplanetary,
straightforward,

decidedly-complex
promotional celebration

for you and your favorite
television family.

BARNES: The promotion...
the celebration
of The Simpsons' 20th year

was designed
to remind fans that, yes,

The Simpsons did still exist,

and they were
worth tuning into.

In typical Simpsons style,

they would be
anything but ordinary.

At one end of the spectrum was
a DIY poster competition.

At the other,
Marge posed for Playboy,

in a decidedly
not-safe-for-work spread.

-[HOMER GROWLING]
-[MARGE LAUGHING]

-[HOMER CHUCKLES]
-MARGE: Ooh!

BARNES: Somewhere
in the middle included
a holographic Homer Simpson

at MIPCOM,
a television festival
in France.

HOMER: Now, I better go
because every second of this is

costing Rupert Murdoch
$5 million.

BARNES: And possibly
more excitingly,

a documentary
by Morgan Spurlock,

-the director of Super Size Me.
-Oh, yeah.

BARNES:
The documentary covered
many of the show's high points

over the previous 20 years.

But what it glossed over,
were many of its lower ones

such as the many ratings issues

and competitors that were
enough to get mad about.

We were always beaten
by Mad About You,

which never stopped
frustrating us.

-I have to go to the bathroom.
-So?

So, I can't.

-Actually, that's the one thing
you can do in this room.
-[TV AUDIENCE LAUGHING]

I couldn't believe
that anybody would ever choose

to watch Mad About You over
a new episode of The Simpsons.

In the episode where
Krusty fakes his own death,

a bus drives by and it has...

it has an ad
for Mad About You on it.

Again that came out
of our frustration

that any person alive
would choose to watch

Mad About You
over the new Simpsons.

And Paul Reiser was like, "Hey,
the Simpsons shouted us out.

"We're going to put
a Bart Simpson doll
on the set."

And he did that,
and we were like,

"Thank you, Paul.
But that wasn't
what we had in mind.

"We're angry at your...
your success."

BARNES: There was
no point getting mad.

More importantly,
why was this happening?

Stop laughing, you imbecile!

But really, you know,
it's not that, suddenly,
it falls off a cliff

and is no longer
this brilliant piece of comedy.

HOMER: If this were a cartoon,

the cliff would break off now.

[DOGS HOWLING AND BARKING]

BARNES: But it seemed
the one big change

that coincided
with the downward spiral
of the ratings

was The Simpsons
on the big screen.

For me, it feels like,
around the time

a bunch of the writers left
to go write the movie.

You know, everyone sort
of reconvenes after the movie

and not everyone comes back,

it doesn't feel like
quite the same show anymore.

BARNES: But for a show
that's as creatively diverse

and textured as The Simpsons,

"It's not quite the same"
is sort of hard to define.

It just gets a little bit
more experimental

and a little bit more like
absurdity and more silliness.

BARNES: Yeah, but not so fast.

Absurdity and silliness have
been around in The Simpsons

since nearly the beginning.

One early example of that is
in the episode where we learned

that principal Skinner has
actually been lying

about his entire past.

I have never been happier or
prouder to be Seymour Skinner.

REAL SKINNER:
You're not Seymour Skinner.

[CROWD MURMURING]

-[GASPS] Skinner!
-Skinner?

I'm Skinner.

Seymour?

TURNER:
"Principal and the Pauper"
is the episode

where Principal Skinner,
who to this point has been
this very cartoonishly dull,

uninspired, by-the-book guy

is revealed to have been,

you know, basically have
stolen the identity

of someone in his platoon
in Vietnam

and is actually Armin Tamzarian.

Armin Tamzarian's reign
of terror is over.

BARNES: For many,
"The Principal and the Pauper"
wasn't just missing heart,

it was missing the reality

that Matt Groening fought
so hard to establish.

TURNER: It was
the first episode
where you see this willingness

to throw out the sort of core
of what holds the show together

just for a handful
of cheap jokes

that didn't work all that well.

Principal Skinner?

Up yours, children.

BARNES:
The fans weren't the only ones
questioning the episode.

GOERTZ: At the time,
Harry Shearer had said that

that episode had kind of
punished fans

for watching and caring
about the show.

People were probably responding
to something being so seismic

in the shift of what they knew
the show to be

up until that point.

They fall in love
with the character,
and they fall in love with

who they think
that character is.

And if you change the history
of that character,

it makes you feel betrayed
in a way,

like you've been living a lie.

BARNES: For many,
the problem wasn't the story.

The problem was that it wasn't
a Simpsons story.

Listen, we were not mad when
Don Draper did it in Mad Men.

You're not Don Draper.

Then why are we mad at it

when Principal Skinner does it
in The Simpsons?

If you must blame someone,

blame me.

BARNES: Well, whatever it was,
it was driving
the ratings' decline.

As the show entered
its third decade,

were people just getting
tired of The Simpsons?

I'm a diehard Simpsons fan,
but even I had periods

where I wasn't watching
the show consistently anymore.

And that started for me

when Maude Flanders died.

Ooh, a bobby pin.

-[MAUDE SCREAMS]
-[THUDS]

[GASPS] Maude?

I think at that point

there was just something
a little dark about that

where I kind of wondered,
like, is this the same show?

BARNES: Other fans can't
point to anything

other than a feeling
that something had changed.

There's never been that kind
of thing that they've done

that was embarrassing and sad
and made people stop watching.

BARNES: Even for the staff
that pioneered The Simpsons.

VITTI: For the first 10 years,
I watched every episode

and I've seen great episodes
from every season.

I just, you know...

I have reached the point

where so much of my life
was about The Simpsons,

part of it needed to be
about something else.

CARY: You're just doing
other stuff and thinking

about whatever show you're
working on at that point.

Part of its PTSD.

It's hard to do that show
and you've got to just move on

and make a clean break.

BARNES: Well, there is
one person out there

who maybe has seen
every Simpsons episode.

If there's anybody, it's Al.

BARNES: That's Al Jean.

There since the beginning
and still there today.

Yeah, Al Jean.

I think he started as showrunner

on my last season there.

I think he's been there
for 30-something years.

He just has a persistent
and iron will.

BARNES: And he'd need one.

As the
longest-serving showrunner
in television history,

Al Jean had seen the best
of times and worst of times.

And by season 23, the emphasis
was very much on worst.

Pay disputes had come up again
with the actors.

Fox issuing a statement,

"We cannot produce
future seasons

"under the current
financial model."

When it comes
to contract negotiations,

as a fan, whoever's
in charge of budgets

should pay literally
whatever... [CHUCKLES]
...the cast want.

BARNES: And with
The Simpsons family
on a downward trajectory,

they were in no position
to negotiate.

Suppose I refuse
to go along with this?

Then we've got
an entire reality show

all set to pick the new you.

Hey, hey! I'm non-union.

I think that everyone who's been
involved in this show deserves

to be treated
like kings and queens.

BARNES: The Simpsons may
have once been royalty.

Now, however, they were
in real danger of facing...

-[AXE STABBING]
-[SCREAMING]

BARNES: ...the axe.

BARNES: The pay dispute
between the actors and Fox

threatened to silence
The Simpsons forever.

Because you don't see
the person's face,

like you would
in a live action show,

there's less of a kind
of a celebrity to it

and as a result, I think they're
probably undervalued a bit.

Now the actors do get
a lot of money.

But the show makes a fortune.

Two things can be true at once.

"Yes, I'm getting paid a lot,

"but I'm also getting
drastically underpaid."

BARNES:
Given The Simpsons' decline,

Fox was in the driver's seat.

They could potentially
refuse the pay increase.

I suppose there's always,
you know,

sound-alikes and things
that you could do.

BARNES: But here's what makes
that sound-alike a bad idea.

These extraordinary
vocal talents do
multiple voices.

Because when you think about
replacing Dan Castellaneta

with a sound-alike...

You can't get someone else

to pretend to be Homer
and do that job.

Only, you know, Dan Castellaneta
can be that voice.

BARNES: ...you're also gonna
need to replace
Krusty the clown.

Hey, kids. [LAUGHS EVILLY]

-BARNES: This one.
-Of course, Mayor Quimby.

-BARNES: ...and Barney.
-[SNEEZES]

[AS BARNEY]
Hi, Homer. How are you doing?

BARNES: And let's
not even contemplate
the astronomical cost

of replacing Harry Shearer
with sound-alikes.

I've been told I've done
as many as 15 in a given show.

Harry was very hardcore about it

and he believed very strongly
that Fox was not paying

all the actors, not just him,
what they were worth.

BARNES: From Hank Azaria,

Julie Kavner...

I do Marge's whole family.

BARNES: ...and the late
Phil Hartman,

whose characters simply
couldn't exist without him...

-Troy McClure...
-Oh, hello!

-PRESCOTT: ...Lionel Hutz...
-[YELPS]

-All the celebrities.
-Thanks for taking care
of Dole for me. Hey!

BARNES: ...proves that
these exact voices and talents

are baked
Into The Simpsons' DNA.

And the show's runners
and producers understood that.

BARNES: And ultimately,
so did Fox.

However, whispers began
to circulate

that there could be
ulterior motives from Fox.

Perhaps they were looking
for an excuse

to cancel The Simpsons.

There was belief
within the industry

that The Simpsons
might actually

be worth more canceled

than it would if it remained
on the air.

Because they had this
old syndication deal

with local TV affiliates
that prevented Fox

from selling the show
to any local cable stations.

So as long as they kept
making new episodes,

they couldn't break that deal.

BARNES: What had once been
The Simpsons' springboard

to national fame and fortune

was now perhaps
a death sentence.

Back then, Fox desperately
needed The Simpsons.

It's certainly one
of the key shows

that gave them an identity,

that built an audience for them,

that basically allowed them
to build this,

what's now their Sunday Night
Animation Block.

BARNES: But in 2011,

things were
very different for Fox.

God had long left,
sorry, Barry Diller,

and Rupert Murdoch was
far more interested in news.

And the headlines
for The Simpsons
did not look good.

VITTI: You know,
Fox made their bed.

They were so merciless
when the actors didn't
have the leverage.

BARNES: And so,
with all the leverage,

Fox went
to the negotiating table

with a list of demands,
of course.

In order to keep it on,
you got to keep a budget

that is produce-able.

BARNES: The studio
and the actors
finally reached a deal.

ANCIER: I'm sympathetic.

I don't blame actors for trying
to get what they can,
when they can get it.

But most of them have no sense

of what it's like to actually
take all the elements of a show

and make a profit
at the end of the day.

BARNES: But it wasn't just
the voice actors.

Everybody involved in the show
took a pay cut as well.

This included
animators, writers,

the post-production crew,

even Al Jean,
the showrunner himself.

They're trying their best
to kind of like

keep the lights on,
keep the wheels rolling.

BARNES: However,
behind the scenes,

Fox was still making a killing

off of advertising
during the show.

In layman's terms,
The Simpsons was

the sixth most expensive
television series

in the United States
to sponsor.

Fox makes extraordinary amounts
of money off The Simpsons.

BARNES: And Fox, no doubt,
wanted to keep it that way.

And so, with the cast and crew
on a scaled-down budget,

all eyes once again
turned to Al Jean,

to somehow try
and steer The Simpsons back

towards the success
of its glory days,

back when the original team
was creating magic,

back when
these pioneers blazed a trail.

And so a valid question that
Al Jean might have asked was

"Maybe we should
get them all back?"

It would be a bad idea.

It's not that I...

I refuse to share my brilliance
with the current staff.

Your brain changes
when you get past 50.

Your childhood references
get older.

Deconstructing logic problems
with The Brady Bunch

and Gilligan's Island is,
like ancient.

When we were new,
when we were 29,

you just write.
You just wrote your life.

You knew it, and it applied

to everyone
who was watching the show.

And there's such
a giant disconnect now.

BARNES: Okay. Fair enough.
John Vitti's out.

But perhaps Al Jean could
consider convincing

the notoriously prickly
but brilliant co-developer

of The Simpsons,
Sam Simon, out of retirement

for a rescue mission.

You know, Sam had his...
had his quirks.

I would work with Sam...

anytime, anywhere.

Much of the stuff
that everybody loves

about The Simpsons came
from Sam's input.

Sam was instrumental
in developing everything

that became popular
about The Simpsons,

the whole universe
of Springfield.

He was great with,
you know, younger writers.

VITTI: If I could pick anyone
in the history of comedy

to teach me to write
I'd pick Sam Simon.

LEVINE: He was very supportive,

very giving,

very happy
to mentor young writers.

BARNES: Unfortunately,
any hopes of luring Sam Simon

back to help
the show were dashed

when in 2012, Sam was
diagnosed with colon cancer.

A battle he lost in 2015,
leaving an indelible mark

and a complicated legacy
for The Simpsons.

MOORE: Sam could be resentful.

But I just remember him as just
one of the funniest people

and very magnanimous
to be around.

And I can only say this now
'cause he's not around,

so it's not gonna
hurt his feelings,

and I always said, "Well,
he never got a fair shake"

'cause of something he couldn't
help, his personality.

His talent was so exceptional

that people should have
given more leeway

for his personality problems.

I wish I could hear
from Sam's mouth,

like, what his perspective was
in those days.

But that'll never happen now
because he's no longer with us.

BARNES: Sam Simon's
vital contributions

to the creation of The Simpsons
are undeniable,

and news of his death
reverberated around
the industry.

I mean, just the fact that

he left all of his money

to like, animal rights groups
and children's groups.

That's a good guy, you know?

How can you say
that's a bad guy?

BARNES: The writer's
own foundation would

put his Simpsons fortune
to work helping others.

ESTIN: And he created
a dog foundation

to rescue dogs,

to train them for veterans
who needed companions.

BARNES: Just like Sam Simon's
most famous rescue dog.

My wife was very interested
in getting a dog

for one of my two kids.

We got this dog.
Was a very sweet dog.

But if you got close
to its face like this,

it would try
to tear your face off.

But I said to my wife,

"Where exactly
did you get this dog?"

And she says, "Well,
from Sam Simons' Institution."

And I said, "Ah.

"Sam Simon. No wonder
the dog's vicious."

BARNES: Even more complicated
than Sam's legacy was

his relationship
with Matt Groening.

I think Sam and Matt wound up

with a tremendous amount
of mutual respect,

you know, when they got

a little time
and distance from it.

Sam was incredibly lucky
to be matched up with Matt.

Matt was incredibly lucky
to be matched up with Sam.

I think, in the end,
they realized that.

BARNES: One thing's for sure,
The Simpsons wouldn't be

the same show without him.

Around the time
of Sam Simon's death,

there were nearly 600 episodes
of The Simpsons,

leaving Al Jean and the team
to wonder

what stories are
there even left to tell.

I mean, the original
Sam Commandment
to write a Simpsons episode,

unlike any Simpsons episode
that's ever been done

is so impossible now.

OAKLEY: The stories use

a lot of material,
and they use it fast.

And if you don't want
to repeat yourself,

you're in severe danger
of running out of stories.

Oftentimes there would be like,
first act, they go
to the water park.

You just burned up every...

you can't do water parks again
for another six years.

I think all the work is about,

"Well, if we tweak it here,
it's not exactly like this one,

"or if we tweak it here,
it's not exactly like that one."

That's so much of the job now,
to give it some individuality.

BARNES: In fact,
The Simpsons has told

so many stories

that there's even stories
about how The Simpsons

have told all the stories
on other shows!

Uh-oh. Simpsons did it.
Simpsons did it.

BUTTERS: No, no.

Don't have a cow, man.

BARNES:
But the cows were coming.

[MOOING]

Because by 2017,

a unique story emerged
that hadn't been heard before.

However, it wasn't
one of theirs.

It was a documentary

that quite likely
made them question the validity

of "All publicity is
good publicity."

KONDABOLU: I should be
completely happy.

But there's still
one man who haunts me.

Apu Nahasapeemapetilon.

BARNES: Comedian
and documentarian
Hari Kondabolu put a spotlight

on the insensitivities
and issues

with having Apu
as a Simpsons character.

Oh, it is encrusted with filth.

Oh, well, let's sell it anyway.

Apu, a cartoon character

voiced by Hank Azaria,
a white guy.

BARNES: The Trouble
with Apu wasn't a call
to cancel The Simpsons.

It was a wake-up call
from fans who loved

but were being hurt
by the show,

regardless of intention.

APU: ...when he asked himself,

who will float my corpse
down the Ganges.

You know, Apu is actually
the most positive depiction
of anyone on the show.

He's a successful businessman.

He raises a family.

He can get shot
and be at work the next day.

I have been shot
eight times this year.

And as a result,
I almost missed work.

He really has
no negative traits.

I tried to really look at it
personally and think about

like, wow, I wrote for Apu.

I... never thought about it
for a second.

You're my uncle, bro.
And I love you.

But you're a stereotype, man.

[IMITATING APU] "Take a penny,
leave a penny.

"I'm Indian. I do yoga."

Now, if you just do that,

with an Indian-American actor,

it all feels so much better.

BARNES: However,
since the very beginning,

Apu wasn't
an Indian-American voice actor.

Apu is Hank Azaria,

who became acutely aware

of the stereotype
he was portraying.

...which took, really,
a few years for me to sort out.

I didn't want to knee-jerk stop
because people, like...

the joke I make,
but it's kind of true is

is this like 17 hipsters
in a micro-brewery in Brooklyn

deciding who should say
what and when,

or is this, like a real harm
that was done,

whether they're Indian or Latin

or black or whatever part
of this culture.

What has been so great, I think,

with the way
that has played out is

Hank's response to it was,
"I'm going to explore this.

"I'm going to listen
to the people who are

"complaining about it.
I'm not going to dismiss it."

BARNES:
And three years later,

Azaria would announce

that Apu was retiring
from the Kwik-E-Mart for good.

But as Hank Azaria
and The Simpsons producers were

mulling the eventual decision
to divorce the show

from one of its
longest-tenured characters,

another longstanding
relationship was
coming unstuck.

That being The Simpsons
and the very network

on which it's broadcast.

What the bloody hell?
I'm Rupert Murdoch.

The billionaire tyrant.

BARNES: Rumors began
to circulate

that Rupert Murdoch was looking
to sell the Fox network,

along with its production arms
to the highest bidder.

He's a media mogul.
He has interests far beyond Fox.

He was more interested
in the news side,

because after...
the parent corporation was
News Corp.

Newspapers, news channels

and media outlets,

satellite systems,
cable systems.

Things like that.

So that was more his interest.

BARNES: And so,
with ratings still
on a downward spiral...

-KRUSTY: Kaboom!
-MAN: What happened here?

BARNES:
...The Simpsons making the news
for all the wrong reasons,

and the News-Corp-owned
Fox Studios looking

to turn its back
on The Simpsons,

it wouldn't be too hard
to predict

the inevitable cancellation
of the show.

But then again,

predicting The Simpsons'
cancellation is one thing.

But as for everything else,

well, The Simpsons did
a pretty good job of that

over the decades.

There are some crazy
conspiracy theories surrounding

"Simpsons predict the future"

that I can't even wrap
my head around.

People are certain

that The Simpsons are
actually predicting the future.

BARNES: Okay. Well,
before we rush to dismiss

thousands of armchair detectives

or half of Reddit,
let's review the evidence.

Sure, just as easily
as you could say

The Simpsons
predicted Smartwatches,

you could say Dick Tracy
predicted them first.

And yes, after Blinky appeared
on The Simpsons,

a fisherman did, in fact,
find a three-eyed fish,

which is kind of weird.

But The Simpsons have
predicted the future

with alarming specificity.

In 2010, the idea
of the United States beating

Sweden to an Olympic gold was

the kind of far-fetched
underdog story

that made for great TV.

But eight years later,
that's exactly what happened
at the Winter Games.

The Simpsons would go on
to correctly predict

who would win the Nobel Prize,

that FIFA could be corrupt.
Real shocker, that is.

Homer almost
perfectly predicted

the mass of the God particle

fourteen years
before it was discovered,

and even nailed
what Kamala Harris would wear

on her first day
as vice president.

But one prediction trumps
them all.

As you know, we've inherited

quite a budget crunch
from President Trump.

How bad is it,
Secretary Van Houten?

We're broke.

So, we got President Trump.

The Simpsons allegedly predicted
Trump becoming president.

I know that that was
a big thing on Reddit,
and just on the Internet.

I mean, President Trump is
pretty amazing.

BARNES: But
every great psychic,

from Nostradamus
to Theresa Caputo,

have had their naysayers.

A lot of Simpson's jokes
revolve around

"this is a town full of morons
that are easily manipulated."

Like they, how they rioted

when they got
the Jimmy Carter statue.

Does that seem
so unbelievable today?

BARNES: However,
these predictions

weren't always made through
the gaze of a crystal ball.

Trump had talked many times
about how he should be president

before that episode came out.

It is very much like
not predicting anything.

There's certainly
no magical power from the show.

But it was intelligent people
locked in a room for 30 years,

they come up
with a lot of future jokes
that actually happened.

When people talk about

"Oh, The Simpsons
predicted everything",

more or less
what they're saying is,

"Here's a show that seems
to have touched upon

"almost every aspect
of American society

"and really got it right
more often than not."

BARNES: Yeah, but sometimes
it's just ridiculous.

Like this crazy prediction
from season 10.

Way back in 1998,

they predicted that Fox would
be bought by Disney,

which is absolutely...

what happened.

Disney buying Fox, I mean,
that's pretty impressive.

BARNES: Impressive for some,

but concerning
for The Simpsons.

On the 20th of March 2019,

Disney bought Fox
for $71.3 billion.

KIMMEL: Ultimately,
Rupert Murdoch ended up

selling off all
of the production companies
to Disney.

So The Simpsons are
now a Disney property.

Great show. It's super funny.
Totally not Disney.

BARNES: The Simpsons
had made fun of
the Mouse House for years...

I am the mascot
of an evil corporation.

BARNES: ...mocking everything
from their back catalog...

...Mickey Mouse massage parlors.

And those Disney sleazeballs
shut me down.

BARNES: ...to theme parks.

LISA: Ah, this place
sure has changed

since Disney bought
the rights to Cosmic Wars.

BARNES: So why had
Disney spent

70-odd billion dollars
buying Fox?

Well, time would tell.

And until it did,
things seemed oddly familiar.

So even though
everybody was worried
that it might get canceled,

they actually had nothing
to worry about.

And things just continued
the way they always had been.

Gracie Films kept writing it,

Fox kept airing it,
and everything was the same.

Except now, the House
of Mouse is writing the checks.

BARNES: As 2019 came
to a close,

Disney revealed why they had
gone so hard at purchasing Fox.

It's for the same reason I think
that they acquired Star Wars

and Marvel.
It's just more content.

BARNES: Yeah.
Like, a lot more content.

As of the end of 2019,

there were
an eye-watering 669 episodes,

give or take,

and Disney would now
have access to all of them.

From Season one Episode one,
thank you, Mimi,

through to new episodes
that would continue to be made.

Homer Simpson here,

proud addition
to the Disney family

and soon appearing
on Disney Plus.

I, for one, salute
our new corporate overlords.

Now family, put on
the mouse ears.

You only get one chance
to make a first impression.

BARNES: And for
the first time in a long time,

it seemed like The Simpsons
might find a new audience...

♪ Putting the spring
in Springfield ♪

BARNES: ...as new,
inquisitive viewers are drawn

to this strange, yellow-bodied,
bulbous-eyed family.

You know, all those kids
that are like,
"What's a network?",

like, they have access to it.

I mean, my daughter watches it
with me

because it's on Disney Plus.

BARNES: But it's not just
the tech-savvy kids of today
discovering The Simpsons.

Former fans now have
the opportunity

to rediscover
all their favorite episodes.

You know the ones.

It has to be, um...

Uh, the, the...

Um...

WIGGUM: You don't remember, huh?

People love to,

like, fight over what's
the best episode
of The Simpsons.

All of these
favorite episode questions is

like picking
your favorite child.

[CLEARS THROAT] Hello.
First-born within earshot.

BARNES: Well, for a bit
of help identifying

the most beloved
Simpsons episodes,

perhaps it's worth examining
the structure

of what many consider to be...

...their golden age,
season three or four.

BARNES: That's right.
The golden age.

Because season three,
as I said, is the best season.

Again, thanks to Mike and Al
for making it.

BARNES: And like
Bill Oakley did

when he took over
as showrunner,

we can use this season
as a cute framework

for jogging our memories,

and breaking down
just a few highlights

across the entire
Simpsons back catalog.

Season three had
three Lisa episodes.

BARNES: But it was
this episode from Season two

that might be the best one.

My very favorite episode
of all time,

"Lisa's substitute" because
the heart really gets to me.

Whenever you feel
like you're alone

and there's nobody
you can rely on.

Thank you, Mr. Bergstrom.

[EXHALES] Hold on a second.

BARNES: A classic
from the Sam Simon era,

this episode delivers

James L. Brooks' sentimentality
at its best.

I just immediately connected
to Lisa

of having a crush
on her teacher,

uh, who was played by none other
than Dustin Hoffman.

-BARNES: Directed
by Rich Moore...
-Yeah.

...and written
by the great John Vitti,

who was one of Sam Simon's
very first hires,

writing not only The Simpsons'
second episode ever...

-"Bart the Genius."
-BARNES: ...but many others,

including Bill Oakley's
favorite episode,

My favorite episode is
"Radio Bart",

which is the one where
Bart falls down the well.

[SCREAMING]

It's got an emotional story.

Mom, Dad!

Oh, Bart, I missed you so much.

Got a celebrity cameo
with Sting.

Yeah, I used
to open for Krusty in '69.

In fact, he fired me
as I recall.

It's got a parody
of We Are the World

with all the celebrities.

♪ We're sending
our love down the well

♪ Down the well! ♪

It has everything
that you'd hoped for.

BARNES: Oh,
and speaking of songs...

I am partial to any episode
of The Simpsons

that has a catchy song.

♪ I hate every ape I see

♪ From chimpan-a to chimpan-z

Any dumb idea done
a 110% percent, I love.

You see that a lot
with my favorite fake musical

that has ever existed,

The Journey through
the Betty Ford Center.

ALL: ♪ You're checking in! ♪

BARNES: From
this tiny selection

of our interviewees' favorites,

it's clear The Simpsons walks
a tightrope

between grounded reality
and the absurd.

HOMER: Come back here,
you little raven!

BARNES: And one episode
above all others

has the perfect balance
of both.

BARNES: Arguably the star
of The Simpsons is

everyone's favorite lovable,
lightbulb-shaped goofball.

Maybe the best single episode
of the show is

"Last Exit to Springfield",

which is the episode
where Homer, kind of,

accidentally winds up leading

a strike at the Springfield
nuclear plant.

We can't give up
our dental plan.

Yoink!

And then there's
like a flashback

that basically tells
the capsule labor history
of America.

-Take him away!
-You can't treat
the working man this way.

What other sitcom had decided,

"Yeah, let's throw, you know,

"some organized labor gags
into the mix."

BARNES: But just maybe

one of Homer's
greatest performances is

an episode
that focuses around...

-Sideshow Bob.
-BOTH: [SCREAMING]
Sideshow Bob!

"Cape Feare", obviously spelled
exactly like the movie

but with an extra 'E'
on the end.

BARNES: Which,
it's worth noting,

was also written by John Vitti.

TURNER: Sideshow Bob
in the Robert De Niro role,

trying to chase down
and kill Bart

after the family's placed

in the witness
protection program.

So just a couple of scenes

in "Cape Feare"
that I think really get at

how good the sort of writing
and production was in that era.

One is when they're
training Homer to respond

to his new witness protection
identity, Mr. Thompson.

So he's no longer Mr. Simpson,
he's Mr. Thompson.

And he just keeps
not getting it.

Remember now,
your name is Homer Thompson.

-I got you.
-Hello, Mr. Thompson.

It's like they've added

a sort of depth
to Homer's stupidity.

[WHISPERING] I think
he's talking to you.

Like, it's just this brilliant
little throwaway gag

that I think shows
just how well the show is
working at all levels.

BARNES:
And when it comes to levels,

The Simpsons has
many, many levels.

You have the show within a show,
Itchy and Scratchy.

One, Itchy and Scratchy.

GOERTZ: Itchy and Scratchy is
just pure chaos,

and you kind of can't help
but just grimace.

BARNES: But among the chaos,

there's also craziness.

Two crazy episodes.

The sort of
more realistic physics
of the world.

Something like the episode
where Homer eats

a Guatemalan insanity pepper

and goes on this
sort of spirit quest.

Part of what makes
that sequence so powerful is

they don't do that
every episode.

You got used to a, sort of,
pace of the show

and a feel of the show,

and then, all of a sudden,
you've got, you know,

Johnny Cash
as this spirit quest
Space Coyote.

I am your spirit guide.

TURNER: And Homer's steps
making the sun rise

and fall until it shatters
into a million pieces.

BARNES: But one
recurring episode

is designed to be
totally crazy.

"Treehouse of Horror",
it was the best episode.

-[KRUSTY GRUNTS]
-[HOMER SHRIEKS]

You could almost do anything
you wanted on the show.

[GROANS] Oh, you can be Lisa's.

And eventually
it started to become

the highest-rated
Simpsons episode every year,

and so they can't stop it now.

BARNES: However, the creator
of The Simpsons, Matt Groening,

rightfully had an opinion

on what kind of hijinks
his creations would get up to.

Matt was always on the side

of "This is a show
about a regular family

"that lives
in a regular suburb."

What? Can't we sit on the couch
without something happening?

And other forces were like...

-"Let's just go nuts."
-D'oh!

And so it was a tug
of war between that,

and I think
we eventually found a balance

where we'd go nuts occasionally.

But we'd also have episodes
that were very small

and emotional.
And then once in a while
we'd have a monorail episode.

[WHISTLES]
The Springfield Monorail!

BARNES: That monorail episode
might well be

the one most often cited

as the favorite
among favorites.

"Marge versus the Monorail" is
a perfect Simpsons episode.

BARNES: "Marge versus
the Monorail" was written

by arguably The Simpsons'
most famous alumni.

The monorail premise came
from Conan directly.

And I think the legend is

he was driving around
the Fox lot area one day
and he saw a billboard

that was
advertising a monorail.

Just tell us your idea
and we'll vote for it.

All right.

Now it's kind of
a pop-culture-based satire.

Yabba-dabba-do!

There's a lot
of unexpected twists.

I'd like you to explain
why we should build

a mass transit system
in a small town

with a centralized population.

There's a lot of extremely
cartoonish material.

BARNES: And,
of course, a song.

-What's it called?
-♪ Monorail! ♪

-Once again!
-♪ Monorail! ♪

BARNES: It even has
an exceptional quote.

A solar eclipse...

"the cosmic ballet goes on."

And I love injecting that

into any conversation
when I can.

BARNES: Well, we all have
a friend like that.

Simpsons' quotes are
a part of daily life,

and it's no coincidence
because, really,

The Simpsons is a part
of our daily lives.

It's almost something
we take for granted.

It's this paramount feature
of society.

Like, there are weekends,
we have jobs,

we pay taxes,
and we watch The Simpsons.

BARNES: And we have done
for decades.

And The Simpsons by now
is generational.

The people
who grew up watching it are

now Homer's age and older,

and they have now raised
their kids on The Simpsons,

and their kids will
hopefully raise their kids
on The Simpsons.

BARNES: And even if you don't
watch The Simpsons,

in some ways, you probably
indirectly still do.

Because, let's be honest,

when The Simpsons premiered,

there was nothing like it
on the air.

These days,
an animated family sitcom isn't
much of a rarity.

Uh-huh, uh-huh.

BARNES: The crop
of shows that have

-followed in
The Simpsons' footsteps...
-[GROANS]

...is a testament
to the show's influence.

We're kind of in
a animation golden age now.

The Simpsons paved the way,
obviously, for Futurama,
which is also Matt Groening.

You guys are
my new best friends.

But King of the Hill
Family Guy, even South Park.

I'll have to remember that.

As I was there
over the five years

we developed Bob's Burgers,

and other shows
to come up behind it.

BARNES: Suddenly,
The Simpsons were surrounded

by their spiritual successors.

Only The Simpsons
weren't going anywhere.

You knew that The Simpsons was
always the anchor.

If it wasn't for The Simpsons,

they wouldn't have
animation domination

every Sunday night on Fox.

Sorry, Family Guy
and Bob's Burgers,

but without The Simpsons,
you probably would
not have happened.

It was like, "Oh, right.

"It's not just
one version of this.

"There can be many iterations
of this." You know?

The Simpsons is
such a great show,

and we need reminders like this
to keep us watching.

Ah, son of a bitch.

BARNES: But The Simpsons'
influence can be seen

not just in animation.

It's easy to say
that all comedy shows

of the last couple decades have
Simpsons' DNA in it

because all
of the comedy writers grew up

watching The Simpsons,
myself included.

It taught us how to balance

storytelling mechanics

with comedy that was
a little bit more punchy.

BARNES: But The Simpsons'
impact is so far-reaching,

it goes beyond mere inspiration

for the creative machine
of Hollywood.

Far beyond indeed.

From its humble
animated beginnings...

Well, good night, son.

...The Simpsons
really did start small.

But in many ways,
the story of The Simpsons

is also the story
of a mega corporation.

The Simpsons really put
Fox on the map.

BARNES: And although Fox
and The Simpsons have gone
different ways,

their fates and fortunes will
always be inextricably linked.

HOWELL: Fox came
to its success,

sort of hand-in-hand
with The Simpsons.

I mean, I think they...

they both started
as, like teenagers,

and they grew
into adults together.

BARNES: A fitting metaphor
for a family that never ages.

But Rupert Murdoch, well,

he grew into a media mogul.

And, of course, he did
have God on his side.

I don't want to take credit away
from Rupert or others

but there's no question
that the center of fire

behind getting Fox started
was Barry Diller.

BARNES: But of course,
Barry Diller's essential role
in The Simpsons was saying yes

when a young executive,
trembling with fear,

convinced his boss
by any means necessary.

Yeah. So it's
the most profitable show
in the history of television,

and, you know, this is
what it comes down to,

like, a white lie in a meeting?
Okay, fine.

BARNES: But perhaps
it's not the beginning of this
story that matters most.

The question now is
"Where will this story end?"

Because since 1989,

The Simpsons has found its way

from here at this
little animation studio,

into homes across America

and the entire planet.

A constant yellow beacon
of comedy entertainment

that it's hard to imagine
the world being without.

But maybe one day it will be?

I hesitate to predict
it will ever end. Um...

Because I've always been
so wrong about it before.

I imagine it will
somehow reconnect

to that
first Christmas episode...

-Look what we got.
-[BARKS]

A dog! All right, Dad!

...coming somehow full circle
back to its origin.

Because, theoretically,
it all happens in one year.
These characters don't grow up.

If it is ever canceled,

you know,
the impact that it's had

on the world, on all of us,

you... you can't cancel that.

BARNES: And besides,
let's not forget,

The Simpsons machine
is still operating today.

PRESCOTT:
People still work there.

Like, people still go
into that office,

and there are people
that are starting their careers

on The Simpsons right now.

So there's new blood
pumping through it.

BARNES: From the new staff
that are there today,

to the old ones
who are still there,

from those we've lost...

Visualize it, Bart.

BARNES: ...to the team
who worked on the original
Tracey Ullman shorts...

I really loved those shorts.

Eat my shorts.

I feel lucky that I was
part of it in any small way.

BARNES: ...to the writer
of the very first episode...

You know,
money isn't everything.

What is everything is knowing
what your own worth is.

That's what is everything.

BARNES:
From all the writers...

I am so grateful to have written
for The Simpsons

and to be part of something

that's so ingrained
in American culture.

My episodes are going
to outlive me.

BARNES: ...to the directors.

MOORE: It's not just
about making cartoons

or telling jokes or whatever.

That it is a real connection
to other people, you know.

That, you just never know,

like how something
that you're doing

in your life,
how it touches another person

and makes their life better.

People still watching it,

and there is no age limit
who's watching it.

It's speaking to you.

And because of design
and I dare to say color,

it's survived.

BARNES: This team
of relative novices

pooled their collective talents
and combined them

into something extraordinary.

Because The Simpsons isn't
just a cartoon.

It isn't just a comedy.

It's not a sitcom.

It's not a drama.

The Simpsons is
something else altogether.

It's phenomenal and no one could
have seen that coming.

BARNES:
It's part of our lives.

Now, everyone, go to sleep.
Good night.

[SHUSHES]