The Simpsons / Season 4

Season 4 of The Simpsons
Episodes	22nd
Country of production	United States
First broadcast	Sep 24, 1992 - May 13, 1993 on Fox
German-language first broadcast	February 16, 1993 - December 31, 1996 on ProSieben and ZDF
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The fourth season of the American animated series The Simpsons was first broadcast from September 24, 1992 to May 13, 1993 on the US broadcaster Fox . ProSieben broadcast the German-language first broadcast from April 14, 1994 to July 31, 1994. An exception is the episode Stage free for Marge , which was dubbed earlier and was broadcast for the first time by ZDF .

characters

See also : Characters from The Simpsons

characters	Original speaker	Voice actor
Homer Simpson	Dan Castellaneta	Norbert Gastell
Marge Simpson	Julie Kavner	Elisabeth Volkmann
Bart Simpson	Nancy Cartwright	Sandra Schwittau
Lisa Simpson	Yeardley Smith	Sabine Bohlmann
Maggie Simpson	Nancy Cartwright	Sabine Bohlmann
► Synchronization of the Simpsons

Development and production

Season four show runner

Al Jean

Mike Reiss

As in the third season, Al Jean and Mike Reiss acted as show runners for the series. Some screenwriters who have been with the crew since the first season left the series. The last episode written by the first generation of writers was Am Cape Fear , which only aired in the fifth season . Jay Kogen , Wallace Wolodarsky and Jeff Martin ended their work as writers on the series after the completion of the fourth season. David M. Stern and Jon Vitti also stopped writing scripts, but returned on later seasons. For the two show runners, Jean and Reiss, it was their last season together with the Simpsons before they devoted themselves to their new joint project . Jean himself returned to the Simpsons after several years of absence and has been the show's sole runner since season 13 . Rich Moore , who was responsible for over 15 episodes as a director for the Simpsons , accompanied Jean and Reiss and was henceforth one of the directors of The Critic ; he also returned to the Simpsons and was responsible for several small scenes on the Simpsons film . George Meyer and John Swartzwelder stayed on, while Conan O'Brien , Frank Mula and the future show Runner, Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein each wrote their first scripts. Adam I. Lapidus, Gary Apple and Michael Carrington had one-time authoring work in the fourth season.

Sam Simon , show runner of the first two Simpsons seasons, was still a member of the writing team in the fourth season; then he finished his work for the Simpsons . Simon got into an argument with series creator Matt Groening , producer James L. Brooks and the production company Gracie Films . Before Simon finally said goodbye to the Simpsons, he negotiated a contract that grants him additional profit shares and obliges him to fade in his name at the end of an episode, although he never worked for the show again.

For the first time, the fourth season was no longer produced by Klasky Csupo , but by Film Roman . Previously, Gracie Films , who owns the rights to The Simpsons , decided not to work with Klasky Csupo anymore. Sharon Bernstein of the Los Angeles Times wrote that Gracie Films executives were unhappy with Klasky Csupo's work and that they have chosen Film Roman as a new production partner.

Originally 24 episodes were arranged for the fourth season, but the producers decided that only 22 episodes belong to the fourth season and the remaining two will not be broadcast until the fifth season. So were the crisis in Kamp Krusty and A Streetcar Named Marge determined as episodes 1 and 2 of the fifth season. Brooks suggested that the script for Crisis in Kamp Krusty should be expanded to turn it into a full-length film. However, a decision was made against it, and so the minimum length of an episode was reached. It was then decided to show the episode as the season premiere of the fifth season. Al Jean himself said:

"First of all, if we make it into the movie then we don't have a premiere, and second if we can't make 18 minutes out of this episode how are we supposed to make 80?"

"First of all, if we were to expand this episode into a film, we would no longer have a season premiere and, secondly, we couldn't even produce 18 minutes, how are we supposed to do 80?"

Episodes

See also : The Simpsons / Episode List

No. ( total )	No. ( St. )	German title	Original title	First broadcast (USA)	German language first broadcast ( D )	Director	script	Prodc.
60	1	Crisis in Kamp Krusty	Kamp Krusty	Sep 24 1992	Apr 14, 1994	Mark Kirkland	David M. Stern	8F24
Bart and Lisa go to the summer camp "Camp Krusty", but find out that unmotivated employees treat the children cruelly. However, under the leadership of Bart, the camp residents take over the camp after an uprising. Finally, Krusty appears and takes the children on a trip to Mexico as compensation.
61	2	Clear the stage for Marge	A Streetcar Named Margin	Oct 1, 1992	Feb 16, 1993	Rich Moore	Jeff Martin	8F18
Marge gets a role in the musical version of “Endstation Sehnsucht” - and Maggie comes to a day care center. Guest Stars: Jon Lovitz and Phil Hartman
62	3	A blasphemous life	Homer the Heretic	Oct 8, 1992	Apr 21, 1994	Jim Reardon	George Meyer	9F01
Homer stays at home while Marge goes to church with the children. He uses his freedom, dances around in his underwear, bakes his favorite waffles and watches TV. Homer enjoys his free time so much that he decides to stay home every Sunday. He confronts Marge with his decision and at the same time announces that he wants to practice his own religion from now on. Marge is shocked by this, but on the same night Homer dreams that God supports his new faith. Homer stays home the next Sunday - he takes his “Playdude” magazines out of the closet and smokes a cigar. When he falls asleep, he starts a fire with the embers of the cigars. Homer is caught in the flames, but luckily Flanders faces the heat and pulls him outside. The Springfield Volunteer Fire Brigade consisting of Apu, Krusty and Reverend Lovejoy try to save what can be saved. Reverend Lovejoy assures Homer that God has nothing against him but is in the hearts of those who have helped him. Homer turns away from his new religion and goes to the Springfield service again next Sunday, where he falls asleep quickly. Homer dances alone at home in his underwear like Tom Cruise in Loose Business . While Flanders saves Homer, the ground burns beneath his feet like in the rescue scene from “ Backdraft - Men Who Walk Through Fire ”.
63	4th	Lisa, the beauty queen	Lisa the Beauty Queen	Oct 15, 1992	Apr 28, 1994	Mark Kirkland	Jeff Martin	9F02
A draftsman makes a caricature of Lisa during a school carnival. She is so horrified by the picture that she promptly develops an inferiority complex. Meanwhile, Homer wins a ride on the Duff Beer Zeppelin. When Homer notices Lisa's uncertainty about her appearance, he sells the ticket to scrape together the $ 250 entry fee and enter Lisa in the Little Miss Springfield beauty pageant. Lisa initially doesn't want to take part in the competition. Only when Marge tells her that Homer sold his Duff Zeppelin ticket out of love for her does she consent. Marge has Lisa completely transformed by beauty experts to increase her confidence and increase her chances of winning. However, the jury selects professional contestant Amber Dempsey as “Little Miss Springfield” and Lisa comes in second. Shortly thereafter, Amber is struck by lightning, and Lisa receives the title and appointment of Laramie cigarette promoter. During the Springfield Parade, Lisa stands on the Laramie wagon and announces that smoking cigarettes is bad for your health. She then loses her title and the crown. Lisa is very relieved and thanks Homer for showing her real beauty through him. Guest star: Bob Hope
64	5	Malicious games	Treehouse of Horror III	Oct 29, 1992	May 12, 1994	Carlos Baeza	Al Jean and Mike Reiss Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky Sam Simon and Jon Vitti	9F04
The Simpsons tell each other scary stories during a Halloween party: Clown without Pity (Lisa's story) - Homer gives Bart a Krusty the clown doll for his birthday, which he bought at the House of Evil. When Bart tugs on the doll's cord, the doll smiles and says that she is very fond of him. But when Homer is alone with the doll, it comes to life, speaks and tries to kill him. Scared to death, Homer asks the family to keep the doll away from him. Everyone believes that Homer is only imagining it, until Marge finally sees the doll clutching Homer's head and dipping him into his dog's water bowl. A Krusty service representative is called. This discovers the “good / bad switch” on the back of the clown doll and switches to “good”. Homer then makes the doll his personal servant. King Homer (Grampa's Story) - In the 1930s, Mr. Burns and Smithers went on an expedition to catch the monster monkey King Homer. Marge serves as a decoy. Arrived on Monkey Island, Smithers drugged the giant monkey with laughing gas and they took him to Manhattan, where he was supposed to appear on a freak show on Broadway. However, King Homer breaks his chains, kidnaps Marge and tries to climb the Empire State Building. However, he is already out of breath on the 2nd floor and falls back onto the asphalt. Marge feels sorry for him and becomes his wife. Dial Z for Zombie (Bart's story) - Bart finds a book in a library that tells you how to bring the dead to life. He tries to wake up Lisa's dead cat Snowball I. However, his attempts fail, instead he accidentally succeeds in bringing back to life all the human dead in Springfield cemetery, including a number of historical figures. The zombies get out of their graves and look for living human brains to feed them. They roam Springfield sucking the brains from the skulls of the residents. Eventually they advance to the Simpsons. Homer wants to sacrifice himself for his family, but the zombies find no brains in Homer and leave him alone. Bart finally finds another saying in his book to send the zombies back to their graves and the situation relaxes again. Lisa's story is based on the episode “Living Doll” of the television series Twilight Zone with Telly Savalas , Grampa's story is a parody of King Kong and Bart's story is based on George Romero's horror classic The Night of the Living Dead .
65	6th	Bart is punished	Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie	Nov 3, 1992	May 5, 1994	Rich Moore	John Swartzwelder	9F03
At the parents' evening at Springfield Elementary School, Marge is told that Bart needs a stricter upbringing in order to become a respected adult. Marge and Homer agree that they need to touch Bart harder. When Bart misbehaves next time, Marge sends him to his room without dinner. The starving Beard is on the verge of trying to improve his behavior until Homer shows up with a pizza, undermining Marge's attempts at discipline. Shortly thereafter, Marge and Homer let Bart take care of Maggie. But she managed to escape Bart, got into the car, drove off and crashed into the wall of the Springfield state prison. This time Homer remains tough and imposes a penalty: Bart is not allowed to watch the new "Itchy & Scratchy" movie. Bart is devastated because he's the only child in Springfield not allowed to see the movie. Months later, Bart explains to Homer that he won, but Homer tells Bart that they both won. The episode ends with a fade into a distant future - Bart is now the highest constitutional judge and he and Homer watch the Itchy & Scratchy film together. The first Itchy & Scratchy short film "Steamboat Itchy" parodies the first Mickey Mouse cartoon " Steamboat Willie ". In the flashing into the future, “Soylent Green” is being sold in the cinema, which is a common food in the film “ ... year 2022 ... who want to survive ”.
66	7th	Marge has to work	Marge gets a job	Nov 5, 1992	May 19, 1994	Jeffrey Lynch	Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein	9F05
Since Homer was too stingy to buy a rubber sealing ring for the house water system, a leaky faucet caused massive damage to the foundation of the Simpson house. The house is said to cost $ 8,500 to repair. To raise the money, Marge wants to take a job at the Springfield nuclear power plant against her husband's will. Marge forges her résumé and claims to speak Swahili. Smithers is very impressed and gives her a vacancy. At school, Bart pretends to be sick so he can go home and bypass a test. Grampa, who takes care of the children for Marge, reminds Bart of the story of the boy who calls out "Wolf" for fun. When this is actually attacked by a wolf, all of his calls for help consider another prank and no one comes to help. Since Bart never read the story, he doesn't worry about it. Meanwhile, at the power station, Mr. Burns falls in love with Marge and orders Mr. Smithers to organize a romantic dinner for him and Marge. Smithers kidnaps Tom Jones from his Las Vegas show to make it an unforgettable night for both of them . Meanwhile, a wolf escapes from the "Krusty the Clown Show" and walks into Springfield Elementary School. Bart, who is attacked by the animal, shouts “Wolf!” But Mrs. Krabappel ignores his cries for help. Eventually caretaker Willie intervenes and overpowers the animal. Meanwhile, Mr. Burns discovers that Marge is married and fires her. Homer takes sides with his wife, which impresses Mr. Burns. He leaves the planned romantic dinner in his villa to the two of them. Tom Jones sings for them there - still in chains. Guest Stars: Tom Jones and Phil Hartman
67	8th	Laura, the new neighbor	New kid on the block	Nov 12, 1992	May 26, 1994	Wes Archer	Conan O'Brien	9F06
In addition to the Simpsons, Laura Powers moves in with her divorced mother, Ruth Powers . Bart falls in love with Laura. Meanwhile, Homer wants to visit the deep-frying Dutchman with Marge , a seafood restaurant that advertises with an all you can eat menu. But he can't find a babysitter for Bart, Lisa and Maggie, whereupon Bart suggests that Laura should take care of them. Homer orders the all you can eat menu in the restaurant, but is thrown out of the restaurant before he is full because it closes. He then goes to court with a lawyer. Bart wants to know more about women, so he asks Grampa Abe and Homer, but doesn't get anything satisfactory from either of them. When Laura meets with Bart in the tree house, she tells him that she is with Jimbo Jones. Homer agrees to a comparison in court, he can eat as much as he wants, but is put on display by Horatio McCallister , the manager of the restaurant, as a "bottomless pit" and "greatest freak of nature" Attracting customers, which Homer doesn't mind. Meanwhile, Laura is back as a babysitter at the Simpsons, where her friend Jimbo visits her. Bart then pranks Moe on the phone , claiming to be Jimbo and explaining where he is. Moe then comes to the Simpsons house with a knife to cut Jimbo into pieces. However, he bursts into tears, whereupon Moe gives up his intention and returns to his bar. Laura then realizes that Jimbo is not a daredevil as she thought, and breaks up with him. She said to Bart that if he were a little older she would go out with him immediately. The court scene in which bailiffs bring in whole sacks of letters for Santa Claus is a parody of the film The Miracle of Manhattan (1947) Guest stars: Sara Gilbert and Pamela Reed
68	9	Once as the Snow King	Mr. Plow	Nov 19, 1992	June 9, 1994	Jim Reardon	Jon Vitti	9F07
After Homer wrecked his car and Marge's cars, he bought a snow plow. As a snow plow, he initially manages to pay off the installments. Barney, however, rivals Homer with a larger snow plow. Homer now wants to do something about it. Guest stars: Linda Ronstadt and Adam West
69	10	In the beginning was the Word	Lisa's First Word	December 3, 1992	June 16, 1994	Mark Kirkland	Jeff Martin	9F08
The Simpsons try to get Maggie to say her first word. Homer tries to get her to say "Daddy," but all Maggie gets to hear is a burp. Marge remembers Bart's first words: "Ay, Caramba" and when Lisa asks for her first words, Marge tells of 1983, when she found out that she was pregnant with Lisa. A flashback to 1983 follows. With the Simpsons now having a second baby, Homer and Marge start looking for a bigger house. 1983 passes and 1984 begins - and with it the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles . As a promotion, Krusty-Burger is handing out winning cards for the Olympic disciplines, which mean free burgers for customers in the event that the USA wins a gold medal in the discipline. However, only disciplines in which the Russians are favorites are on the cards. Since the Russians then boycott the games at their American venue and cancel their participation in Los Angeles, the Americans easily win all disciplines and Homer receives a huge amount of free Krustyburgers. When Lisa is finally born, Bart finds it difficult to adapt to the new situation as a big brother. Full of jealousy of Lisa and the attention that is shown to her, he does a lot to eliminate Lisa as a competitor. When none of this works, he wants to run away. However, he changes his mind when Lisa crawls into his room and says her first word: "Beard!". Homer tries to get her to say "Daddy" but all she brings out is "Homer". That ends the story. Back in the present, the Simpsons give up their attempts at Maggie. Homer puts her to bed, turns off the light, and leaves the room. When she is alone, Maggie says her first word: "Daddy". The music in the “Itchy & Scratchy” Olympic cartoon “100-Yard-Gash” comes from Vangelis' soundtrack to the film The Winner's Hour Guest star: Elizabeth Taylor
70	11	Oh pain, the heart!	Homer's triple bypass	Dec 17, 1992	3rd July 1994	David Silverman	Gary Apple and Michael Carrington	9F09
Homer hears strange knocking noises while driving. He takes the car to the mechanic, who tells him everything is fine with the car - it is Homer's heart that makes the noise. When Mr. Burns also catches Homer eating donuts during working hours, he calls him into his office and threatens him to be expelled. An argument ensues and when Mr. Burns actually wants to fire Homer, his heart actually stops beating for a short time. Homer learns he has had a minor heart attack and will need bypass surgery, which is said to cost $ 40,000. Since he doesn't have the money, he tries to get health insurance. He is about to sign the policy when he has another heart attack. His application is of course rejected. Shortly afterwards he sees an advertisement from Dr. Nick Riviera who performs each operation for $ 129.95. Homer goes to his hospital because he has nothing more to lose. To find out about the operation, Dr. Riviera borrow an instructional video. Unfortunately, the most important part of the video was copied over. Just in case, Homer says goodbye to his family. The very insecure Dr. Riviera cuts Homer open, but then doesn't know what to do next. However, Lisa did her own research about the operation and tells him what to do. Shortly afterwards Homer is completely the same again.
71	12	Homer gets going	Margin vs. the monorail	Jan. 14, 1993	July 10, 1994	Rich Moore	Conan O'Brien	9F10
Mr. Burns is caught dumping highly toxic trash from the nuclear power plant in a park. He is expected to pay a fine of $ 3 million, which he will give the city in cash. Springfield residents hold a town meeting to discuss how best to use the money. A quick-talking stranger named Lyle Lanley arrives at the gathering and uses a song to convince the residents that they should use the money to build a monorail to raise awareness of Springfield. Mainly because of the song, the residents are so enthusiastic about the proposal that everyone votes for it - only Marge is skeptical. Homer tries to use the monorail to his advantage and is training to be a train driver. Meanwhile, Marge goes to Lanley's office to apologize for her negative attitude to the town council. In the abandoned office she discovers a notepad with drawings showing Lanley disappearing with the money for the monorail. On her own she drives to one of Lanley's previous clients, the city of North Haverbrook, which is now completely deserted and run down: a victim of Lanley's flawed and useless monorail project. She drives back to Springfield to warn the others. Unfortunately she's too late. Homer has passed the monorail train driver exam and is on the maiden voyage with Leonard Nimoy and other passengers. Lanley has meanwhile made his way to the airport with the city's money. At full speed, the brakes fail and the monorail spins out of control. Lanley decided not to use rescue systems to save money. Homer makes an improvised anchor and throws it out of the cockpit window. He can use it to bring the monorail to a standstill, but it has already destroyed a large part of the city. The episode opens with a scene that is reminiscent of the opening credits of the US cartoon series “ The Flintstones ”. At the end of the shift, Homer slides into his car on a pipe and drives off, just like Fred Flintstone on the tail of a dinosaur. On Homer's journey home, the title melody of the Feuersteins sounds with modified text. The episode contains several allusions to the film The Music Man . The character Lyle Lanley is modeled after the traveling salesman Professor Harold Hill, who wants to start a band in the film in the fictional River City - Iowa. In addition, the "Monorail Song" contains elements of the song "Trouble" from the same film. The scene in which Mr. Burns and Smithers prepare to illegally dispose of nuclear waste is accompanied by a variation of “Axel F (Axel's Theme)” from Beverly Hills Cop . Guest stars: Phil Hartman and Leonard Nimoy
72	13	Selma wants a baby	Selma's Choice	Jan. 21, 1993	Aug 21, 1994	Carlos Baeza	David M. Stern	9F11
Marge learns that her aunt Gladys has died. The funeral takes place exactly on the day when the family actually wants to go to the amusement park "Duff Gardens", whereupon they postpone the trip. After the service, lawyer Lionel Hutz shows a video recording of Glady's will, in which she calls on Patty and Selma to have children so that they do not have to spend their entire lives alone. Selma then decides to actually become a mother and looks for a decent man. However, the best she can find is Hans Moleman, whom she finds too ugly to be the father of her children. As a last resort, she is considering donating sperm. But because Homer falls ill on the very day the Simpsons finally want to catch up on their trip to "Duff Gardens", Marge asks Selma to drive with the children so that she can look after Homer herself. Selma should also have the opportunity to try out the feeling of being a mother. In Duff Gardens, Bart and Lisa drive their aunt Selma insane. First Bart causes problems on the roller coaster, then Lisa drinks the water and hallucinates on the “Little Land of Duff” boat trip. The day turns out to be Selma's worst nightmare. Very happy to be able to leave Bart and Lisa back at home, she decides that children are too much for her and instead adopts Aunt Glady's tame iguana. Guest star: Phil Hartman
73	14th	Big brother - little brother	Brother from the Same Planet	Feb. 4, 1993	17th July 1994	Jeffrey Lynch	Jon Vitti	9F12
Homer forgets to pick up Bart after soccer practice. As a result, Bart wishes for a better father and applies to “Bigger Brothers” based on a TV commercial. This organization provides an adult companion for boys who do not have positive role models. Bart claims to be unwanted as a son and gets, without Homer knowing anything about it, a "big brother" named Tom. The two of them get along well and do all the things Homer never did with Bart. Meanwhile, Marge finds out that Lisa keeps calling 0190 numbers to speak to her favorite teen star Corey. Although Lisa promises never to do it again, she can't stop and shows all of the symptoms of an addict. She eventually tries hard withdrawal and aims to hold out until midnight without any further calls. Counting the minutes she fights against temptation, but apparently cannot control herself and picks up the phone. Marge later enters the room and finds her daughter sleeping next to the telephone receiver. When Marge picks up the phone, she only hears the voice of the time announcement - so Lisa persevered. Homer finds out that Bart has a "big brother" and tries to get him back with the same coin. He makes himself available to the organization and is himself the "big brother" of a boy named Pepi. Together they do everything that Homer wants to do. Homer and Pepi meet Bart and Tom in the aquarium. Since Tom thinks Homer is a bad father, he starts a fight. Bart, who doesn't want anything to happen to Homer, makes up with his father and Tom becomes Pepi's “big brother”. Milhouse writes the message “Trot pu Kcip! Trot pu Kcip! "(Pick up Bart! = Pick up the beard!) On the wall - in reverse writing like the child in the film" Shining " Guest star: Phil Hartman
74	15th	Ralph loves Lisa	I love Lisa	Feb 11, 1993	Aug 28, 1994	Wes Archer	Frank Mula	9F13
It's Valentine's Day in Springfield. In elementary school, every child in Lisa's class receives a Valentine's Day card - except for Ralph Wiggum. Out of pity Lisa quickly signs a card and puts it in Ralph's mailbox, whereupon Ralph immediately falls in love with her. He takes her home after school, but Lisa feels nothing but pity for Ralph. She tries to avoid him at school, but unfortunately they are supposed to play together in a school play. Lisa doesn't want anything to do with Ralph, but Ralph doesn't give up and invites her to join him on the Krusty anniversary show. Lisa is torn. On the one hand she would like to be on the show, but on the other hand she doesn't want to make Ralph feel like she likes him. Finally, Homer advises her to go and enjoy the show. At Krusty's show, however, Lisa gets scared of being seen with Ralph. When Krusty interviews people in the audience during the recording and also questions Ralph, he proudly announces that he is with Lisa on the show and refers to her as his girlfriend. Horrified, Lisa replies that she only gave him the Valentine's card out of pity and breaks Ralph's heart with it. Lisa is very sorry and realizes that she exposed Ralph in front of everyone. She wants to apologize, but doesn't get the opportunity to do so before the theater performance at Springfield Elementary School. Ralph brings his grief into his acting and overwhelms the audience, so that after the performance young girls throw themselves at him in droves. Lisa later gives Ralph another card asking him to just be a friend.
75	16	No experiments	Duffless	Feb. 18, 1993	4th Sep 1994	Jim Reardon	David M. Stern	9F14
Homer is arrested for drink-driving while driving home with Barney after a tour of the Duff Beer Brewery. He loses his driver's license and has to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Meanwhile, Springfield Elementary School is hosting a “Youth Research” exhibition where the children present various science projects. Bart throws a giant tomato - Lisa's science project - at Rector Skinner. In revenge, Lisa then starts a new experiment with which she wants to prove that a hamster is smarter than her brother Bart. She creates a specific test arrangement that the hamster successfully completes. Bart, however, fails miserably. After meeting with Alcoholics Anonymous, Homer decides to take Marges advice and not drink alcohol for a month. Meanwhile, Bart finds out that Lisa wants to expose him with her science project. He steals the hamster, puts on a tiny pilot suit and lets him fly in a model airplane to prove that hamsters can actually fly airplanes. The jury promptly selects Bart's project for first place. Homer can actually resist the temptation and does not drink alcohol for a month. When the month is over, he immediately runs to Moe's bar to get drunk. Once there, however, he finds out what the alcohol does to the regular guests. Homer turns off his beer and instead goes on a bike ride with Marge. When Homer rides a bicycle with Marge on the handlebars at the end of the episode, the song "Raindrops keep fallin 'on my Head" sounds just like in the film " Zwei Banditen " Guest stars: Phil Hartman and Marcia Wallace
76	17th	Princess of Tartar	Last Exit to Springfield	11th Mar 1993	Dec 31, 1996	Mark Kirkland	Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky	9F15
The union leader who represents the employees of the Springfield nuclear power plant disappears without a trace. During the new collective bargaining negotiations, of all things, the employees are now without a representative. Mr. Burns takes advantage of the situation and plans to cancel dental services. In return, he offers his workers free beer. Everyone, including Homer, wants to accept the proposal - until he realizes that he will have to pay for Lisa's new braces himself. At a works council meeting, he therefore calls on the others to reject the proposal. He manages to stir up his colleagues and Homer is elected as the new works council of the power plant. Without dental care, Marge and Lisa have to choose the cheapest braces that look huge and grotesque. In the meantime, all attempts by Mr. Burns to bribe or intimidate Homer fail. He vows to crush him, but the workers under Homer's leadership decide to go on strike. Burns plays his trump card and turns off the city's power supply - but the workers remain unswerving. Burns has to realize that he has no chance against Homer's leader. He makes the suggestion that dental care be reintroduced if Homer resigns from his position as works council in return. Homer agrees and Lisa gets brand new high-tech braces. When Lisa is put on the cheap braces, she smashes the mirror in which she was looking at herself, like the Joker in " Batman ". Guest star: Joyce Brothers
77	18th	Just an April Fool's Day ...	So It's Come to This: A Simpsons Clip Show	Apr 1, 1993	Sep 11 1994	Carlos Baeza	Jon Vitti	9F17
As an April Fool's joke, Homer puts sour milk in the fridge, Bart drinks the milk and swears vengeance. He lets a high-speed paint mixer shake one of Homer's beer cans at the hardware store thoroughly before putting it back in the refrigerator. When Homer opens the can, the house is shaken by a huge explosion and beer foam shoots into the sky. Homer has to go to the hospital and get an X-ray. The doctor notes some abnormalities that Marge reminds of some of Homer's earlier near-fatal experiences. When Homer gets a little better, the Simpsons commemorate past disasters together. After all, Homer is so good that he can get up. However, when he tries to get candy from a vending machine in the hospital, the machine buries him and he falls into a coma. Bart speaks to him, reminding him of all the fun they had. He also admits to having prepared the exploding beer can. Suddenly Homer wakes up, grabs Bart and chokes him. Barney's attempt to choke Homer with the pillow and his subsequent escape from the hospital parody the last scene from " One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest ".
78	19th	We from the cartoon	The front	Apr 15, 1993	Oct 31, 1996	Rich Moore	Adam I. Lapidus	9F16
After watching a particularly bad "Itchy & Scratchy" episode, Bart and Lisa decide to write one themselves. Unfortunately, the show's producer rejects their script because they are not of legal age. The two then simply write Grampa's name on their script - and the script is promptly hired as a permanent writer. Meanwhile, Marges and Homer's high school reunion is getting closer. When only Marge gets an invitation, Homer confesses that he never graduated because he screwed up a class back then. Nevertheless, he goes to the meeting with Marge and dusts off a number of prizes, all of which are taken away from him when Rector Dondelinger reveals his secret. Homer then decides to go back to school and graduate. Meanwhile, Grampa wins an award for Bart and Lisa's "Itchy & Scratchy" episode. After receiving the award from Brooke Shields, Grampa admits that he had never seen the episode before that evening and that he thinks the show is far too violent. Homer Marge proudly presents his new diploma at home. The episode ends with a short film called “The Adventures of Ned Flanders” starring Ned and the rest of the Flanders family. Guest star: Brooke Shields
79	20th	The snake's nest	Whacking Day	Apr 29, 1993	July 24, 1994	Jeffrey Lynch	John Swartzwelder	9F18
Once a year the springfielders beat snakes, which Lisa wants to prevent with the help of Bart. Guest star: Barry White
80	21st	Marge is arrested	Margin in chains	May 6, 1993	Aug 7, 1994	Jim Reardon	Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein	9F20
The dreaded Osaka flu hits Springfield. Homer, Bart and Lisa get sick and have to be looked after by Marge. The three are very demanding patients and are driving Marge crazy with their special requests. When she's shopping for supplies at Kwik-E-Mart, she forgets to pay the bourbon for grampa in the hustle and bustle and is arrested for shoplifting. Homer - as always tight with money - hires Lionel Hutz to defend Marge. The trial is a farce, however, and the jury sentenced her to 30 days in prison. Now that she's locked up, Marge's absence is painfully apparent - to the rest of the Simpsons as well as to the annual charity cake sale. Without their famous marshmallow cake, the city park commission will not be able to raise the money for a statue of Abraham Lincoln. Instead, the money is only enough for a statue of Jimmy Carter. When the plastic is unveiled, there is an uproar among disappointed citizens. Marge is released from prison. The residents welcome them and apologize for not trusting Marge. Guest star: David Crosby
81	22nd	Krusty, the TV star	Krusty Gets Canceled	May 13, 1993	July 31, 1994	David Silverman	John Swartzwelder	9F19
The whole of Springfield is captivated by a gigantic advertising campaign that announces the arrival of Gabbo, a ventriloquist dummy who talks like Jerry Lewis . The ventriloquist Arthur Crandall appears on television with Gabbo every afternoon - at the same time as the Krusty the Clown show. Bart and Lisa fear that the competition could endanger Krusty's career. In fact, Krusty's ratings are falling rapidly and his show is being canceled. Krusty's efforts to find a new job, or at least some money to win horse racing, fail miserably. Determined to ruin Gabbo, Bart sneaks behind the scenes and turns on the camera when Gabbo is making fun of his audience. In addition, Bart and Lisa Krusty recommend restarting his career with a special with many celebrities. The two help Krusty and contact stars like Bette Midler , Hugh Hefner , Elizabeth Taylor and the Red Hot Chili Peppers . Everyone except Liz Taylor agrees to be on the show. With the added help of Johnny Carson and Luke Perry , the special becomes a huge hit and Krusty's show is on air again. Gabbo is based on the ventriloquist doll "Howdy Doody", which actually had its own show on US TV from 1947 to 1960. The scene in which Gabbo ruffles his audience also has a real model. On a US children's show in the 1950s, a presenter immediately lost his job after an almost identical incident. Guest Stars: Johnny Carson , Hugh Hefner , Bette Midler , Barry White , Luke Perry , Elizabeth Taylor and Red Hot Chili Peppers

reception

criticism

“After a bitterly bad third year in the life of the yellow Simpson family, the fourth season does not consistently raise the bar, on the contrary. Especially towards the end of the season, the creators seem to have run out of ideas, which led them to indulge in the series' past and repeatedly use scenes that were already shown. This often happens in this fourth year, which is to be regretted. The Halloween episode wasn't as creative as previous episodes. "

- Thomas Ays from moviesection.de

Awards

See also : List of Awards and Nominations for The Simpsons

1993 was the first year in which the Simpsons were not nominated for the Primetime Emmy Awards in the category Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour) . One reason for this was that the nomination rules were changed in the spring of 1993 and the Simpsons were now assigned to the Outstanding Comedy Series category. Although the producers submitted two episodes, which could then be awarded by the voters and the jury, the two parties hesitated and did not make it to a nomination. Dan Castellaneta was recognized for an Emmy in the Outstanding Voice-Over Performance category. In addition, the horror episode Malicious Games was nominated in the Emmy category Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore) .

In addition to the Emmy Awards, an Annie Award in the category Best Animated Television Program , a Genesis Award in the category Best Television Prime Time Animated Series and a Saturn Award for Best Television Series could be won.

DVD release

The entire fourth season was released as a boxed DVD by 20th Century Fox in the United States on June 15, 2004. In Germany and Austria, the box was available in stores from October 7, 2004. In addition to all episodes, the DVD contains bonus material such as comments on each episode.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} The Simpsons Season 4 Episode Guide . tv.com. Retrieved July 30, 2011.
2. ↑ ^{a b c} "The Simpsons" Episodic Guide. In: epguides.de. Archived from the original ; Retrieved July 25, 2011 . 
3. ↑ ^{a b} Jon Vitti. (2004). DVD for the 5th season of "The Simpsons" (Episode: At the Cape of Fear )  [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
4. ↑ ^{a b c} Al Jean. (2004). DVD for the 5th season of "The Simpsons" (Episode: At the Cape of Fear )  [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
5. ↑ Mike B. Anderson; Steven Dean Moore; Rich Moore; David Silverman. (2007). Audio commentary  [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
6. ↑ ^{a b} Rapoport, Ron: Sam Simon's Next Trick . In: Stanford Magazine . Archived from the original on December 29, 2011 Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved December 2, 2012.  
7. ↑ David Owen: Taking Humor Seriously . In: The New Yorker , March 13, 2000. 
8. ↑ ^{a b} Ortved, pp. 146-149.
9. ↑ Dan Snierson: D'Oh! , Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved December 2, 2012. 
10. ↑ Schorn, Daniel; Safer, Morley : Meet Sam Simon, The Dog Nut . In: CBS News , March 2, 2007. Retrieved December 2, 2012. 
11. ↑ Mark Kirkland. (2003). DVD for the 3rd season of "The Simpsons" (Episode: Crisis in Kamp Krusty ). 20th Century Fox.
12. ↑ ^{a b} Bernstein, Sharon: 'The Simpsons' Producer Changes Animation Firms , Los Angeles Times . January 21, 1992, p. 18. Retrieved December 1, 2012. 
13. ↑ Production Code : Season 4 - Simpsonspedia, the Simpsons Wiki. In: simpsonspedia.net. Retrieved July 24, 2011 . 
14. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p} Ray Richmond and Antonia Coffman: The Simpsons - The ultimate series guide . Publisher (for the German edition): Dino Entertainment, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-89748-323-8 .
15. ↑ Diane Holloway: `` Simpsons 'get Emmy' s respect - Academy lets series drop cartoon status to compete as sitcom , Austin American-Statesman. February 2, 1993, p. B4. Retrieved December 2, 2012. 
16. ^ Diane Holloway: CBS, `Northern Exposure 'lead Emmy nominations , Austin American-Statesman. July 23, 1993, p. B4. Retrieved December 2, 2012. 
17. ↑ Ginny Holbert: Some Hits - and Misses - Emmy List Has Notable Omissions , Chicago Sun-Times . July 23, 1993, p. 35. Retrieved December 2, 2012. 
18. ^ Ray Richmond: Emmy selections go from horrible ('92) to terrible ('93) , Los Angeles Daily News. July 23, 1993, p. L44. Retrieved December 2, 2012. 
19. ↑ Outstanding Voice-Over Performance 1993 . Emmys.org. Retrieved December 2, 2012.
20. ↑ Legacy: 21st Annual Annie Award Nominees and Winners (1993) , Annie Awardsorg. Archived from the original on January 2, 2013 Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved December 2, 2012.  
21. ↑ ' Free Willy', 'Simpsons' win Genesis Awards , Rocky Mountain News. Jan. 30, 1994, p. 56A. Retrieved December 2, 2012. 
22. ^ Saturn Awards - Past Winners , The Saturn Awards. Archived from the original on September 14, 2008 Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved December 2, 2012.  

Web links

• Season at Simpsonspedia
• Season of Call of the Simpsons