Think You Know Everything About ‘The Simpsons’? Think Again!

Fanatics of “The Simpsons” may think they know everything there is to know about the show. Mike Reiss, who has been a writer, producer and show-runner for the series from the day it began nearly 30 years ago to the present, has written a book titled “Springfield Confidential: Jokes, Secrets and Outright Lies From a Lifetime of Writing for ‘The Simpsons’.” Here are a few fun facts even the most loyal fans may not know.

Read: ‘Simpsons’ Writer Mike Reiss Chronicles ‘Greatest Job In World’

The Opening

Writes Reiss: “Since season one, January 1990, each Simpsons episode begins with a joke that is missed by tens of millions of fans in hundreds of millions of viewings. When The Simpsons title card emerges from the clouds, you see the first half of the family’s name, “The Simps,” before the rest of the word. So what? Well, “Simps” is short for simpletons — stupid people — like the ones you’re about to see in the show. If you never caught this, don’t feel bad; most of our current staff didn’t know it, either.”

The Prediction

In the futuristic episode, “Bart to the Future,” Lisa says, “We’ve inherited quite a budget crunch from President Trump.” “An impressive call,” writes Reiss, “especially since we made it in 2000, 16 years before he was elected. Virtually every news outlet mentioned the joke, but none of our writers can recall who pitched it. Or maybe nobody wants the blame. One thing to remember about the prediction: ‘President Trump’ was the punchline to the setup, ‘What’s the dumbest thing we can imagine America doing?’ ”

Comic Padding

Sometimes scripts run too short to air and need additional material. “There’s the famous Sideshow Bob joke in the ‘Cape Feare’ episode that involves him stepping on an endless series of rakes. That alone was creative padding. But the show was still seven seconds short, so [show runner] Al Jean said, ‘Let’s do it again.’ We repeated the sequence exactly, and somehow turned a slapstick joke into a surreal classic.”

Identity Changes

“Mr. Burns’ loyal assistant Smithers used to be an African-American. The first season of the show, Smithers was black — well, actually greenish-brown, in The Simpsons’ weird color palette. It was only when we saw those early shows in color that it seemed wrong to have a prominent black character kissing up to his cruel white boss. So we went Poof! He’s white. Midway through the seabed season [show runner Sam Simon] walked into our office and announced, ‘Smithers is gay. Don’t mention it directly, don’t make jokes about it, just have it in your minds when you’re writing the character.’ So Smithers is the first man in history to go from black and straight to white and gay. The second was Michael Jackson.”

The Only Original Catch Phrase

“The Simpsons” has many catch phrases but only one is truly original. No, not “cowabunga,” “Don’t have a cow,” “Ay caramba” or even “D’oh.” The original one? “Nelson Muntz’ ‘haw-haw!’,” writes Reiss. “There are a million ways to read that word, but the way Nancy Cartwright did it was as a two-note bray: E-sharp, C-sharp. That first ‘haw-haw’ produced an explosion of laughter at the table read, and a classic was born.”

Little Know Facts

Homer is an expert on the Supreme Court, knowing the names of all the court justices; Principal Skinner wears a toupee; there was never a U.S. president as guest on the show. “The closest we ever came was Bill Clinton. After we wrote him a part and sent him the script, he notified us: ‘While I’d love to do The Simpsons, I’d never do anything to disgrace the office of the president.’ Sometimes they write the jokes for you.” And perhaps the most astonishing footnote: “There’s a guy living in Macon, Georgia, whose name is Homer Simpson … and he works in a nuclear power plant. That poor guy. Having to live in Macon, Georgia.”