The Front (The Simpsons)
Encyclopedia
"The Front" is the nineteenth episode of The Simpsons
' fourth season
, and originally aired in the United States on the Fox network
on April 15, 1993. In the episode, Bart
and Lisa
decide to write an episode of The Itchy & Scratchy Show
; after their script is rejected, they resubmit it under the name of Abraham Simpson
, resulting in Grampa being hired as a staff writer. Meanwhile, Homer
returns to high school to retake a failed science course.
The episode was written by Adam I. Lapidus
and directed by Rich Moore
. It is the only Simpsons episode written by Lapidus.
's hair off with hedge shears, they write a script titled "Little Barbershop of Horrors"
, but their episode is rejected by Roger Meyers, head of Itchy & Scratchy International. Correctly guessing that Meyers did not take them seriously because they were children, they resubmit the manuscript under Grampa's name, leading Meyers to hire Grampa as a staff writer. Bart and Lisa inform Grampa about what they did and the three of them conspire to continue passing off Bart and Lisa's scripts as Grampa's own, splitting the money three ways. Grampa then confesses to Meyers, but is ignored.
For his work on Itchy & Scratchy, Grampa is nominated for an award for Outstanding Writing in a Cartoon Series (presented by Krusty the Clown and Brooke Shields
). When Grampa sees Itchy & Scratchy for the first time in a clip show introducing the award, he is appalled at the violent humor, and turns his acceptance speech into an assault on both the cartoon and the audience amused by it. He storms off the stage amidst boos and thrown vegetables. Grampa gives the award to Bart and Lisa, and Bart swears never to watch an award show again.
Meanwhile, Homer and Marge attend their "Class of 1974" high school reunion
, where they have a great time and Homer wins a variety of humorous awards. However, Principal Dondelinger interrupts the ceremony to announce that Homer never graduated high school because he failed a remedial science course, leading Dondelinger to revoke Homer's awards. Determined to win back the accolades, Homer retakes the course and passes the final exam, finally graduating.
The conclusion of the episode features a brief segment, complete with its own theme song, entitled "The Adventures of Ned Flanders". In the sketch, Ned scolds his sons for failing to get ready for church, until they inform him that it's Saturday and the family laughs together.
and directed by Rich Moore
. In the early 1990s, Lapidus saw a news report on television about some children who had written a script for their favorite show, Tiny Toon Adventures
. The show's creator Steven Spielberg
liked the script so much that he brought the children to Hollywood to work with the show's writing staff. Upon seeing the report, Lapidus thought, "That would really be a neat idea for Bart and Lisa." He wrote a spec script
, which made its way via executive producer James L. Brooks
to the Simpsons staff, who hired Lapidus to write the episode. "The Front" is the only Simpsons episode written by Lapidus, causing some dispute among the show's fans as to whether he actually exists or was perhaps a pseudonym
. Lapidus' mother-in-law came upon one such debate on an Internet forum
.
The initial running time for "The Front" was "way, way short", and the writers had to use "every trick in the book" to make the episode reach the minimum length. Even after greatly expanding the original script and adding an extra-long couch gag during the opening sequence, the episode was still one minute too short; "The Adventures of Ned Flanders" was added to address the problem. The segment, which plays at the end of the episode, was designed purely to fill time and had nothing to do with the other events of the episode. Showrunner Mike Reiss
later commented, "As always, when we try something bold and new the general reaction is, 'What the hell was that?'" The scene was also an homage to Archie Comics
, which sometimes used a similar technique to fill a final page; the font used in the scene's title card is similar to the font used by Archie. The short inspired writers Bill Oakley
and Josh Weinstein
to produce the season seven episode "22 Short Films About Springfield
".
The Fox network censors had two objections to "The Front". The first issue was with a dream sequence in which Bart points a machine gun
at Santa Claus
and hijacks his sleigh. The second objection was to a scene not included in the finished episode, in which Itchy & Scratchy animators are seen observing a cat, and then putting a stick of dynamite
in the cat's mouth and lighting it. As Meyers, Bart and Lisa continue down the studio's corridor, an explosion emanates from the room. The scene was cut because of the implied animal abuse, but is included as a deleted scene on the show's The Complete Fourth Season DVD boxset.
Marge and Homer's high school classmate Artie Ziff makes a brief appearance in the episode; his conversation with Homer inspired the season 13 episode "Half-Decent Proposal
". Artie's usual voice artist Jon Lovitz
was not available, so regular cast member Dan Castellaneta
provided the voice instead. The school principal, Dondelinger, was named after someone Sam Simon knew.
s about The Simpsons and the animation industry in general. In a scene depicting the Itchy & Scratchy writer's lounge, each of the writers shown is a caricature of someone working on The Simpsons at the time. The joke was conceived by the show's the animators. Later in the episode, Roger Meyers fires a Harvard alumnus who resembles Simpsons writer Jon Vitti
. At the awards ceremony, The Simpsons creator Matt Groening
is shown in the audience. Lisa is also seen reading a book titled How to Get Rich Writing Cartoons by John Swartzwelder
, a Simpsons writer credited with nearly sixty episodes of the show. The credits at the end of Bart and Lisa's Itchy & Scratchy episode (shown in very small print) are a copy of the credits at the end of The Simpsons.
At the cartoon award ceremony, the clip from the nominated The Ren & Stimpy Show is merely a black screen with the text "clip not done yet". This was a counter-attack against Ren & Stimpy creator John Kricfalusi
, who had attacked the Simpsons staff by saying that "the show succeeded despite the writing" and similarly derogatory comments. Another industry reference is the "Animation Wing" door at Itchy & Scratchy studios; the door is identical to a door at the Disney
animation building.
Besides copying the Simpsons credits, the Itchy & Scratchy credits also parody the sequence seen at the end of the credits of many TV shows produced by Stephen J. Cannell
, where Cannell sits at the typewriter in his office and throws a sheet of paper into the air, with it forming of part of his production company's logo. In the episode, Itchy and Scratchy are seen at a desk; Scratchy pulls a sheet from his typewriter and throws it into the air, where it forms an "I & S Productions" logo. Mike Reiss later met Cannell, who was so pleased with the homage that he hugged Reiss. The title of the episode is a reference to The Front
, a 1976 film about writers fronting for blacklisted writers in the 1950s. The Simpsons writers considered trying to make the episode plot resemble that of the film, but in the end decided against it.
of 12.5, equivalent to approximately 11.6 million viewing households. It was the highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, beating Married... with Children
. Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, the authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, praised "The Front" as "an ironic look at the animation industry, with a higher than average Itchy and Scratchy count. The episode is followed by The Adventures of Ned Flanders with its own, rather wonderful, theme tune."
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
The Simpsons (season 4)
The Simpsons fourth season originally aired on the Fox network between September 24, 1992 and May 13, 1993, beginning with "Kamp Krusty." The show runners for the fourth production season were Al Jean and Mike Reiss. The aired season contained two episodes which were hold-over episodes from season...
, and originally aired in the United States on the Fox network
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
on April 15, 1993. In the episode, Bart
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
and Lisa
Lisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
decide to write an episode of The Itchy & Scratchy Show
The Itchy & Scratchy Show
The Itchy & Scratchy Show is a show within a show in the animated television series The Simpsons. It usually appears as a part of The Krusty the Clown Show, watched regularly by Bart and Lisa Simpson...
; after their script is rejected, they resubmit it under the name of Abraham Simpson
Abraham Simpson
Abraham J. "Abe" Simpson, often known simply as Grampa, is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and he is also the patriarch of the Simpson family, the father of Homer Simpson, and the grandfather of Bart, Lisa, and Maggie Simpson...
, resulting in Grampa being hired as a staff writer. Meanwhile, Homer
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
returns to high school to retake a failed science course.
The episode was written by Adam I. Lapidus
Adam I. Lapidus
Adam I. Lapidus is an American television writer, whose credits include Phil of the Future, Full House, Smart Guy, Jessie, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, The Suite Life on Deck and the season four Simpsons episode, "The Front"....
and directed by Rich Moore
Rich Moore
Rich Moore is an American animation director and a business partner in Rough Draft Studios, Inc., where he serves as Sr. Vice President of creative affairs. He is one of a handful of artists who in the early 90s redefined prime time television animation with his work on The Simpsons...
. It is the only Simpsons episode written by Lapidus.
Plot
After watching a terrible episode of Itchy & Scratchy, Bart and Lisa decide they can write a better one themselves. Inspired by the sight of Homer accidentally slicing MargeMarge Simpson
Marjorie "Marge" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. She is voiced by actress Julie Kavner and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
's hair off with hedge shears, they write a script titled "Little Barbershop of Horrors"
The Little Shop of Horrors
The Little Shop of Horrors is a 1960 American comedy film directed by Roger Corman. Written by Charles B. Griffith, the film is a farce about an inadequate young florist's assistant who cultivates a plant that feeds on human flesh and blood. The film's concept is thought to be based on a 1932...
, but their episode is rejected by Roger Meyers, head of Itchy & Scratchy International. Correctly guessing that Meyers did not take them seriously because they were children, they resubmit the manuscript under Grampa's name, leading Meyers to hire Grampa as a staff writer. Bart and Lisa inform Grampa about what they did and the three of them conspire to continue passing off Bart and Lisa's scripts as Grampa's own, splitting the money three ways. Grampa then confesses to Meyers, but is ignored.
For his work on Itchy & Scratchy, Grampa is nominated for an award for Outstanding Writing in a Cartoon Series (presented by Krusty the Clown and Brooke Shields
Brooke Shields
Brooke Christa Shields is an American actress and model. Some of her better-known movies include Pretty Baby and The Blue Lagoon, as well as TV shows such as Suddenly Susan, That '70s Show and Lipstick Jungle....
). When Grampa sees Itchy & Scratchy for the first time in a clip show introducing the award, he is appalled at the violent humor, and turns his acceptance speech into an assault on both the cartoon and the audience amused by it. He storms off the stage amidst boos and thrown vegetables. Grampa gives the award to Bart and Lisa, and Bart swears never to watch an award show again.
Meanwhile, Homer and Marge attend their "Class of 1974" high school reunion
High School Reunion
High School Reunion may refer to:*"High School Reunion" *Romy and Michele's High School Reunion*High School Reunion *Class reunion...
, where they have a great time and Homer wins a variety of humorous awards. However, Principal Dondelinger interrupts the ceremony to announce that Homer never graduated high school because he failed a remedial science course, leading Dondelinger to revoke Homer's awards. Determined to win back the accolades, Homer retakes the course and passes the final exam, finally graduating.
The conclusion of the episode features a brief segment, complete with its own theme song, entitled "The Adventures of Ned Flanders". In the sketch, Ned scolds his sons for failing to get ready for church, until they inform him that it's Saturday and the family laughs together.
Production
"The Front" was written by Adam I. LapidusAdam I. Lapidus
Adam I. Lapidus is an American television writer, whose credits include Phil of the Future, Full House, Smart Guy, Jessie, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, The Suite Life on Deck and the season four Simpsons episode, "The Front"....
and directed by Rich Moore
Rich Moore
Rich Moore is an American animation director and a business partner in Rough Draft Studios, Inc., where he serves as Sr. Vice President of creative affairs. He is one of a handful of artists who in the early 90s redefined prime time television animation with his work on The Simpsons...
. In the early 1990s, Lapidus saw a news report on television about some children who had written a script for their favorite show, Tiny Toon Adventures
Tiny Toon Adventures
Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures, usually referred to as Tiny Toon Adventures or simply Tiny Toons, is an American animated television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. It began production as a result of Warner Bros....
. The show's creator Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
liked the script so much that he brought the children to Hollywood to work with the show's writing staff. Upon seeing the report, Lapidus thought, "That would really be a neat idea for Bart and Lisa." He wrote a spec script
Spec script
A spec script, also known as a speculative screenplay, is a non-commissioned unsolicited screenplay. It is usually written by a screenwriter who hopes to have the script optioned and eventually purchased by a producer, production company, or studio....
, which made its way via executive producer James L. Brooks
James L. Brooks
James Lawrence Brooks is an American director, producer and screenwriter. Growing up in North Bergen, New Jersey, Brooks endured a fractured family life and passed the time by reading and writing. After dropping out of New York University, he got a job as an usher at CBS, going on to write for the...
to the Simpsons staff, who hired Lapidus to write the episode. "The Front" is the only Simpsons episode written by Lapidus, causing some dispute among the show's fans as to whether he actually exists or was perhaps a pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
. Lapidus' mother-in-law came upon one such debate on an Internet forum
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
.
The initial running time for "The Front" was "way, way short", and the writers had to use "every trick in the book" to make the episode reach the minimum length. Even after greatly expanding the original script and adding an extra-long couch gag during the opening sequence, the episode was still one minute too short; "The Adventures of Ned Flanders" was added to address the problem. The segment, which plays at the end of the episode, was designed purely to fill time and had nothing to do with the other events of the episode. Showrunner Mike Reiss
Mike Reiss
Michael "Mike" Reiss is an American television comedy writer. He served as a show-runner, writer and producer for the animated series The Simpsons and co-created the animated series The Critic...
later commented, "As always, when we try something bold and new the general reaction is, 'What the hell was that?'" The scene was also an homage to Archie Comics
Archie Comics
Archie Comics is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the Village of Mamaroneck, Town of Mamaroneck, New York, known for its many series featuring the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle and Jughead Jones. The characters were created by...
, which sometimes used a similar technique to fill a final page; the font used in the scene's title card is similar to the font used by Archie. The short inspired writers Bill Oakley
Bill Oakley
Bill Oakley is an American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animated comedy series The Simpsons. Oakley and Josh Weinstein became best friends and writing partners at high school; Oakley then attended Harvard University and was Vice President of the Harvard Lampoon...
and Josh Weinstein
Josh Weinstein
Josh Weinstein is an American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animated comedy series The Simpsons. Weinstein and Bill Oakley became best friends and writing partners at St. Albans High School; Weinstein then attended Stanford University and was editor-in-chief of the...
to produce the season seven episode "22 Short Films About Springfield
22 Short Films about Springfield
"22 Short Films About Springfield" is the twenty-first episode of The Simpsons seventh season, which originally aired on April 14, 1996. It was written by Richard Appel, David S. Cohen, Jonathan Collier, Jennifer Crittenden, Greg Daniels, Brent Forrester, Rachel Pulido, Steve Tompkins, Josh...
".
The Fox network censors had two objections to "The Front". The first issue was with a dream sequence in which Bart points a machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
at Santa Claus
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
and hijacks his sleigh. The second objection was to a scene not included in the finished episode, in which Itchy & Scratchy animators are seen observing a cat, and then putting a stick of dynamite
Dynamite
Dynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...
in the cat's mouth and lighting it. As Meyers, Bart and Lisa continue down the studio's corridor, an explosion emanates from the room. The scene was cut because of the implied animal abuse, but is included as a deleted scene on the show's The Complete Fourth Season DVD boxset.
Marge and Homer's high school classmate Artie Ziff makes a brief appearance in the episode; his conversation with Homer inspired the season 13 episode "Half-Decent Proposal
Half-Decent Proposal
"Half-Decent Proposal" is the tenth episode of The Simpsons thirteenth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 10, 2002...
". Artie's usual voice artist Jon Lovitz
Jon Lovitz
Jonathan "Jon" Lovitz is an American comedian, actor, and singer. He is best known as a cast member of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live from 1985 to 1990.-Early life:...
was not available, so regular cast member Dan Castellaneta
Dan Castellaneta
Daniel Louis "Dan" Castellaneta is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Noted for his long-running role as Homer Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, he voices many other characters on The Simpsons, including Abraham "Grampa" Simpson, Barney Gumble,...
provided the voice instead. The school principal, Dondelinger, was named after someone Sam Simon knew.
Cultural references
The episode focuses on animation and includes several in-jokeIn-joke
An in-joke, also known as an inside joke or in joke, is a joke whose humour is clear only to people who are in a particular social group, occupation, or other community of common understanding...
s about The Simpsons and the animation industry in general. In a scene depicting the Itchy & Scratchy writer's lounge, each of the writers shown is a caricature of someone working on The Simpsons at the time. The joke was conceived by the show's the animators. Later in the episode, Roger Meyers fires a Harvard alumnus who resembles Simpsons writer Jon Vitti
Jon Vitti
Jon Vitti is an American writer best known for his work on the television series The Simpsons. He has also written for the King of the Hill and The Critic series, and has served as a consultant for several animated movies, including Ice Age and Robots...
. At the awards ceremony, The Simpsons creator Matt Groening
Matt Groening
Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama....
is shown in the audience. Lisa is also seen reading a book titled How to Get Rich Writing Cartoons by John Swartzwelder
John Swartzwelder
John Swartzwelder is an American comedy writer and novelist, best known for his work on the animated television series The Simpsons, as well as a number of novels. He is credited with writing the largest number of Simpsons episodes by a large margin...
, a Simpsons writer credited with nearly sixty episodes of the show. The credits at the end of Bart and Lisa's Itchy & Scratchy episode (shown in very small print) are a copy of the credits at the end of The Simpsons.
At the cartoon award ceremony, the clip from the nominated The Ren & Stimpy Show is merely a black screen with the text "clip not done yet". This was a counter-attack against Ren & Stimpy creator John Kricfalusi
John Kricfalusi
Michael John Kricfalusi , better known as John K., is a Canadian animator. He is creator of The Ren & Stimpy Show, its adults-only spin-off Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon", The Ripping Friends animated series, and Weekend Pussy Hunt, which was billed as "the world's first interactive web-based...
, who had attacked the Simpsons staff by saying that "the show succeeded despite the writing" and similarly derogatory comments. Another industry reference is the "Animation Wing" door at Itchy & Scratchy studios; the door is identical to a door at the Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
animation building.
Besides copying the Simpsons credits, the Itchy & Scratchy credits also parody the sequence seen at the end of the credits of many TV shows produced by Stephen J. Cannell
Stephen J. Cannell
Stephen Joseph Cannell was an American television producer, writer, novelist and occasional actor, and the founder of Stephen J. Cannell Productions.-Early life:...
, where Cannell sits at the typewriter in his office and throws a sheet of paper into the air, with it forming of part of his production company's logo. In the episode, Itchy and Scratchy are seen at a desk; Scratchy pulls a sheet from his typewriter and throws it into the air, where it forms an "I & S Productions" logo. Mike Reiss later met Cannell, who was so pleased with the homage that he hugged Reiss. The title of the episode is a reference to The Front
The Front
The Front is a 1976 film drama about the Hollywood blacklist during the age of live television. It is written by Walter Bernstein, directed by Martin Ritt and stars Woody Allen and Zero Mostel....
, a 1976 film about writers fronting for blacklisted writers in the 1950s. The Simpsons writers considered trying to make the episode plot resemble that of the film, but in the end decided against it.
Reception
In its original broadcast, "The Front" finished 21st in ratings for the week of April 12-18, 1993, with a Nielsen ratingNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
of 12.5, equivalent to approximately 11.6 million viewing households. It was the highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, beating Married... with Children
Married... with Children
Married... with Children is an American surrealistic sitcom that aired for 11 seasons that featured a dysfunctional family living in Chicago, Illinois. The show, notable for being the first prime time television series to air on Fox, ran from April 5, 1987, to June 9, 1997. The series was created...
. Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, the authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, praised "The Front" as "an ironic look at the animation industry, with a higher than average Itchy and Scratchy count. The episode is followed by The Adventures of Ned Flanders with its own, rather wonderful, theme tune."
External links
- "The Front" at The Simpsons.com