The Ned-Liest Catch
Encyclopedia
"The Ned-Liest Catch" is the twenty-second episode and season finale of the twenty-second season
of The Simpsons
. It aired on the Fox network in the United States
on May 22, 2011. This is the second season finale to end on a cliffhanger
, with the first being "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" from the sixth season
. It is the third episode and the second one from Season 22
(The other being the The Great Simpsina
) to have no opening credits, blackboard or couch gag. The first one was "Sideshow Bob Roberts
" from The Simpsons sixth season
which aired seventeen years earlier.
gets Mrs. Krabappel
suspended after he pulls a prank that leads her to slap him in the face. Superintendent Chalmers tells Krabappel she is suspended with full pay, but will have to report to a rubber room where teachers spend agonizing days waiting until their fates are decided. Bart feels guilty about his behavior and helps Krabappel escape detention. When she uses a ladder outside the window to leave the building, it collapses but Ned Flanders
winds up catching and saving her.
Ned and Krabappel start dating, and Krabappel is on top of the world when she learns she can return to teaching as long as she also does some weekend work as a prison guard. Fed up with Homer
and Bart's attitudes towards Krabappel and Ned's romance, Marge shames Homer into putting in some good words about Krabappel with Ned. However, Homer then makes a reference to Krabappel's extensive dating history, and Ned is surprised that she has been with many of Springfield's men, including Aerosmith
drummer Joey Kramer
. Ned runs away in horror from Krabappel, and Homer has to endure Ned's silent treatment until he makes some points that make Ned think. Ned then tells Krabappel he forgives her past, but Krabappel angrily tells him off by saying she is not sorry about her past and does not want or need his approval, she only wants to date him again. She then tells him that, if they are going to stay together, her past must never get in their way. Ned sighs and says "I guess this is gonna have to be decided... by a higher power." As soon as he says this, the image of him and Krabappel freezes and zooms out and Homer and Marge walk on screen.
The end of the episode and the season ends with a cliffhanger with Homer and Marge giving a link to TheSimpsons.com and encourage viewers to vote on whether Ned and Krabappel should stay together. The results were revealed during the first episode of the 23rd season
, making this the second cliffhanger episode of The Simpsons, the first being "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" sixteen years earlier.
An alternate version of the credits aired during the September 19 airing of the episode, with Marge saying that the contest was over and that the fans would have to wait until the premiere of Season 23 (just as she did in the original version) to see if they remained together. Homer insults the show's viewers, saying something along the lines of "They're the kind of people we don't need." Marge corrects him, saying there is plenty for the fans to check out on TheSimpsons.com. Marge and Homer then say goodbye to the viewers, ending the episode.
said in an interview that the writers decided it would not be interesting for them to do another episode where a relationship ended, and they thought it would be interesting "to see what people think, [...] the Internet certainly has a lot of opinion on the show, might as well have them have their say." When asked why the writers thought Ned and Edna were the right characters for a cliffhanger like this, Jean said that "In life, unusual things happen. People couple together in ways you would not expect, and he's single and she's single. We thought it would be funny, the fact that they both have these connections to the Simpsons but they never really met or if they have met it was minimal."
".
The Simpsons (season 22)
The Simpsons twenty-second season began airing on Fox on September 26, 2010 and ended on May 22, 2011. The Simpsons was renewed for at least two additional seasons during the twentieth season leading up to this season. The cast is currently signed through the 25th season. On November 11, 2010, the...
of The Simpsons
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...
. It aired on the Fox network in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on May 22, 2011. This is the second season finale to end on a cliffhanger
Cliffhanger
A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma, or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction...
, with the first being "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" from the sixth season
The Simpsons (season 6)
The Simpsons sixth season originally aired on the Fox network between September 4, 1994 and May 21, 1995 and consists of 25 episodes. The Simpsons is an animated series about a working class family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie...
. It is the third episode and the second one from Season 22
The Simpsons (season 22)
The Simpsons twenty-second season began airing on Fox on September 26, 2010 and ended on May 22, 2011. The Simpsons was renewed for at least two additional seasons during the twentieth season leading up to this season. The cast is currently signed through the 25th season. On November 11, 2010, the...
(The other being the The Great Simpsina
The Great Simpsina
"The Great Simpsina" is the eighteenth episode of The Simpsons twenty-second season. It aired on April 10, 2011. It was written by Matt Warburton and directed by Chris Clements...
) to have no opening credits, blackboard or couch gag. The first one was "Sideshow Bob Roberts
Sideshow Bob Roberts
"Sideshow Bob Roberts" is the fifth episode of The Simpsons sixth season, and it originally aired on October 9, 1994. Kelsey Grammer returns as villain Sideshow Bob, who, in this episode, wins the Springfield mayoral election through electoral fraud. The episode was written by Bill Oakley and Josh...
" from The Simpsons sixth season
The Simpsons (season 6)
The Simpsons sixth season originally aired on the Fox network between September 4, 1994 and May 21, 1995 and consists of 25 episodes. The Simpsons is an animated series about a working class family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie...
which aired seventeen years earlier.
Plot
BartBart 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...
gets Mrs. Krabappel
Edna Krabappel
Edna Krabappel is a fictional character from the animated TV series The Simpsons, voiced by Marcia Wallace. She is a 4th grade teacher at Springfield Elementary School. Krabappel is the only character Wallace voices on a regular basis.- Profile :...
suspended after he pulls a prank that leads her to slap him in the face. Superintendent Chalmers tells Krabappel she is suspended with full pay, but will have to report to a rubber room where teachers spend agonizing days waiting until their fates are decided. Bart feels guilty about his behavior and helps Krabappel escape detention. When she uses a ladder outside the window to leave the building, it collapses but Ned Flanders
Ned Flanders
Nedward "Ned" Flanders, Jr. is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Harry Shearer, and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". He is the next door neighbor to the Simpson family and is generally...
winds up catching and saving her.
Ned and Krabappel start dating, and Krabappel is on top of the world when she learns she can return to teaching as long as she also does some weekend work as a prison guard. Fed up with 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...
and Bart's attitudes towards Krabappel and Ned's romance, Marge shames Homer into putting in some good words about Krabappel with Ned. However, Homer then makes a reference to Krabappel's extensive dating history, and Ned is surprised that she has been with many of Springfield's men, including Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
drummer Joey Kramer
Joey Kramer
Joseph Michael "Joey" Kramer is the drummer for the American hard rock band Aerosmith....
. Ned runs away in horror from Krabappel, and Homer has to endure Ned's silent treatment until he makes some points that make Ned think. Ned then tells Krabappel he forgives her past, but Krabappel angrily tells him off by saying she is not sorry about her past and does not want or need his approval, she only wants to date him again. She then tells him that, if they are going to stay together, her past must never get in their way. Ned sighs and says "I guess this is gonna have to be decided... by a higher power." As soon as he says this, the image of him and Krabappel freezes and zooms out and Homer and Marge walk on screen.
The end of the episode and the season ends with a cliffhanger with Homer and Marge giving a link to TheSimpsons.com and encourage viewers to vote on whether Ned and Krabappel should stay together. The results were revealed during the first episode of the 23rd season
The Simpsons (season 23)
The Simpsons twenty-third season is the current season of The Simpsons. It premiered on September 25, 2011. It will include the 500th episode which is expected to air February 19, 2012. Due to financial difficulties, the network was unable to produce the show under its current contract and unless...
, making this the second cliffhanger episode of The Simpsons, the first being "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" sixteen years earlier.
An alternate version of the credits aired during the September 19 airing of the episode, with Marge saying that the contest was over and that the fans would have to wait until the premiere of Season 23 (just as she did in the original version) to see if they remained together. Homer insults the show's viewers, saying something along the lines of "They're the kind of people we don't need." Marge corrects him, saying there is plenty for the fans to check out on TheSimpsons.com. Marge and Homer then say goodbye to the viewers, ending the episode.
Production
On The Simpsons, when characters become couples, they usually break up at the end of the episodes. Executive producer Al JeanAl Jean
Al Jean is an award-winning American screenwriter and producer, best known for his work on The Simpsons. He was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his writing career in the 1980s with fellow Harvard alum Mike Reiss...
said in an interview that the writers decided it would not be interesting for them to do another episode where a relationship ended, and they thought it would be interesting "to see what people think, [...] the Internet certainly has a lot of opinion on the show, might as well have them have their say." When asked why the writers thought Ned and Edna were the right characters for a cliffhanger like this, Jean said that "In life, unusual things happen. People couple together in ways you would not expect, and he's single and she's single. We thought it would be funny, the fact that they both have these connections to the Simpsons but they never really met or if they have met it was minimal."
Reception
In its original American broadcast, "The Ned-Liest Catch" was viewed by an estimated 5.25 million households and received a 2.5 rating/7% share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49. This means that it was seen by 2.5% of all 18–49 years olds, and 7% of all 18–49 year olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. The episode stayed even with the ratings from the previous episode, "500 Keys500 Keys
"500 Keys" is the twenty-first episode of the twenty-second season of The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 15, 2011. It was written by John Frink and directed by Bob Anderson.-Plot:...
".