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The Simpsons (season 12)
Encyclopedia
The Simpsons' 12th season (November 2000 - May 2001) began on Wednesday, November 1, 2000 with "Treehouse of Horror XI
".
The season contains four hold over episodes from the season 11 (BABF) production line. The show runner for the twelfth production was Mike Scully
. The season features three episodes that were produced for the eleventh season which was also run by Scully. The season won and was nominated for numerous awards including two Primetime Emmy Awards wins and an Annie Award
.
, in his last season as executive producer. He later returned to the series in season fourteen
as a writer and executive producer for the episode "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation
". Mike Scully has stated his goal during his tenure was to "not wreck the show".
Don Payne, John Frink
and Bob Bendetson
began writing for the series, while Larry Doyle, Julie Thacker
and Tom Martin
left the series. Rob LaZebnik received his first sole writing credit for the episode "Homer vs. Dignity
". LaZebnik would not get a writing credit for another episode until the 20th season, where he was credited for writing "Father Knows Worst
". Shaun Cashman received his sole directing credit on the series this season (for the 250th episode "A Tale of Two Springfields
"), while Neil Affleck
received his final directorial credit (also for the controversial episode "Homer vs. Dignity
").Tom Gammill and Max Pross
have been promoted to produce this season. As of 2009, Gammill & Pross are still credited as such, along with David Mirkin
. Mike Reiss
(Al Jean's former writing partner) returned to the writing staff as a producer.
The season began with the annual Treehouse of Horror
episode, beginning a practice of starting the season with the episodes, as well as airing the episodes shortly after Halloween
in November, due to Fox
's coverage of the World Series
. This season brought back Sideshow Bob
, who had not been seen since the season eight
episode "Brother from Another Series
". Ian Maxtone-Graham's episode "Tennis the Menace
" became the second episode of the series to be animated using digital ink and paint, which has not been used since the season seven episode "Radioactive Man
" and would not be used again (this time on a permanent basis) until the 14th season
. The episode would also have four episodes that would air the following season
.
received a nomination for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour)
the eleventh win for the series. Another Primetime Emmy Award nomination is for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series
. Another win for "HOMR
" is an Annie Award
for Outstanding Writing in an Animated Television Production. Other Primetime Emmy Awards nominations include Hank Azaria
for "Worst Episode Ever
". Lisa Simpson
also won a Board of Directors Ongoing Commitment Award. The show also won at the 2002 Kids' Choice Awards
.
Treehouse of Horror XI
"Treehouse of Horror XI" is the first episode of The Simpsons twelfth season and the 249th overall, and the eleventh Halloween episode. The episode features "G-G-Ghost D-D-Dad", "Scary Tales Can Come True" and "Night of the Dolphin" and was written by Rob LaZebnik , John Frink and Don Payne and...
".
The season contains four hold over episodes from the season 11 (BABF) production line. The show runner for the twelfth production was Mike Scully
Mike Scully
Mike Scully is an American television writer and producer. He is known for his work as executive producer and showrunner of the animated sitcom The Simpsons from 1997 to 2001. Scully grew up in West Springfield, Massachusetts and long had an interest in writing. He was an underachiever at school...
. The season features three episodes that were produced for the eleventh season which was also run by Scully. The season won and was nominated for numerous awards including two Primetime Emmy Awards wins and an Annie Award
Annie Award
The Annie Awards have been presented by the Los Angeles, California branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood since 1972...
.
Production
The season's executive producer was once again Mike ScullyMike Scully
Mike Scully is an American television writer and producer. He is known for his work as executive producer and showrunner of the animated sitcom The Simpsons from 1997 to 2001. Scully grew up in West Springfield, Massachusetts and long had an interest in writing. He was an underachiever at school...
, in his last season as executive producer. He later returned to the series in season fourteen
The Simpsons (season 14)
The fourteenth season of the animated television series The Simpsons was originally broadcast on the Fox network in the United States between November 3, 2002 and May 18, 2003. The show runner for the fourteenth production season was Al Jean, who executive produced 21 of 22 episodes. The other...
as a writer and executive producer for the episode "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation
How I Spent My Strummer Vacation
"How I Spent My Strummer Vacation" is the second episode of The Simpsons fourteenth season. The episode was first broadcast on November 10, 2002. It was intended to be the season premiere, but "Treehouse of Horror XIII" was moved ahead for Halloween. This episode was heavily promoted due to its...
". Mike Scully has stated his goal during his tenure was to "not wreck the show".
Don Payne, John Frink
John Frink
John Frink is an American television writer and producer. He has written several episodes of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons, many of which he co-wrote with his former writing partner Don Payne. Frink and Payne started their career in television writing for the short-lived sitcom Hope...
and Bob Bendetson
Bob Bendetson
Bob Bendetson is an American television writer and producer. He has written for a number of TV series, including ALF, Home Improvement and two episodes for The Simpsons .Bendetson served as a supervising producer on Coach, leaving after its fifth season to become...
began writing for the series, while Larry Doyle, Julie Thacker
Julie Thacker
Julie Thacker is an American television writer. She has written for The Simpsons, and along with her husband The Simpsons writer and producer Mike Scully she has co-created The Pitts and Complete Savages.-The Simpsons episodes:...
and Tom Martin
Tom Martin (writer)
Tom Martin is an American television writer. He grew up in Southern California and attended Rolling Hills High School and Indio High School. He graduated from University of California, Irvine in 1987 with degrees in Economics and Political Science. While at UC Irvine he ran on the Track and Cross...
left the series. Rob LaZebnik received his first sole writing credit for the episode "Homer vs. Dignity
Homer vs. Dignity
"Homer vs. Dignity" is the fifth episode of the The Simpsons’ twelfth season, first broadcast by Fox on November 26, 2000. In the episode, Mr...
". LaZebnik would not get a writing credit for another episode until the 20th season, where he was credited for writing "Father Knows Worst
Father Knows Worst
"Father Knows Worst" is the eighteenth episode of the twentieth season of The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 26, 2009. In the episode, Bart and Lisa start struggling in their academic and social lives at school and Homer starts monitoring them and...
". Shaun Cashman received his sole directing credit on the series this season (for the 250th episode "A Tale of Two Springfields
A Tale of Two Springfields
"A Tale of Two Springfields" is the second episode from season twelve of the animated TV series The Simpsons and is the 250th episode of the series overall in both broadcast and production order. The episode originally premiered November 5, 2000 on Fox Broadcasting Company.The episode was written...
"), while Neil Affleck
Neil Affleck
Neil Affleck is an actor, animator and director. Currently directing the children's cartoon, Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends on Nick Jr., he has worked on The Simpsons and Family Guy in the past....
received his final directorial credit (also for the controversial episode "Homer vs. Dignity
Homer vs. Dignity
"Homer vs. Dignity" is the fifth episode of the The Simpsons’ twelfth season, first broadcast by Fox on November 26, 2000. In the episode, Mr...
").Tom Gammill and Max Pross
Tom Gammill and Max Pross
Tom Gammill and Max Pross are an Emmy Award-winning American comedy writing team. Together they have written episodes for such successful shows as Seinfeld, The Critic, The Wonder Years, It's Garry Shandling's Show, and Monk.They have also worked as producers of episodes of The Simpsons and...
have been promoted to produce this season. As of 2009, Gammill & Pross are still credited as such, along with David Mirkin
David Mirkin
David Mirkin is an American feature film and television director, writer and producer. Mirkin grew up in Philadelphia and intended to become an electrical engineer, but abandoned this career path in favor of studying film at Loyola Marymount University. After graduating, he became a stand-up...
. 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...
(Al Jean's former writing partner) returned to the writing staff as a producer.
The season began with the annual Treehouse of Horror
Treehouse of Horror
"Treehouse of Horror" is the third episode of The Simpsons second season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 25, 1990. The episode was inspired by 1950s horror comics, and begins with a disclaimer that it may be too scary for children. It is the first of a...
episode, beginning a practice of starting the season with the episodes, as well as airing the episodes shortly after Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
in November, due to Fox
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...
's coverage of the World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
. This season brought back Sideshow Bob
Sideshow Bob
Robert Underdunk Terwilliger, better known as Sideshow Bob, is a recurring character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Kelsey Grammer and first appeared briefly in the episode "The Telltale Head". Bob is a self-proclaimed genius who is a graduate of Yale, a member of...
, who had not been seen since the season eight
The Simpsons (season 8)
The Simpsons eighth season originally aired between October 27, 1996 and May 18, 1997, beginning with "Treehouse of Horror VII". The show runners for the eighth production season were Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein. The aired season contained two episodes which were hold-over episodes from season...
episode "Brother from Another Series
Brother from Another Series
"Brother from Another Series" is the sixteenth episode of The Simpsons eighth season and originally aired February 23, 1997. Sideshow Bob is released from prison into the care of his brother Cecil and claims to be a changed man. However, Bart does not believe him and tries to find out what Bob is...
". Ian Maxtone-Graham's episode "Tennis the Menace
Tennis the Menace
"Tennis the Menace" is the twelfth episode of the twelfth season of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 11, 2001. In the episode, the Simpsons build a tennis court in their backyard, but Homer's inferior tennis ability...
" became the second episode of the series to be animated using digital ink and paint, which has not been used since the season seven episode "Radioactive Man
Radioactive Man (The Simpsons episode)
"Radioactive Man" is the second episode of The Simpsons seventh season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 24, 1995. The episode sees the film version of the comic book series Radioactive Man set up production in Springfield. Much to Bart's disappointment, the...
" and would not be used again (this time on a permanent basis) until the 14th season
The Simpsons (season 14)
The fourteenth season of the animated television series The Simpsons was originally broadcast on the Fox network in the United States between November 3, 2002 and May 18, 2003. The show runner for the fourteenth production season was Al Jean, who executive produced 21 of 22 episodes. The other...
. The episode would also have four episodes that would air the following season
The Simpsons (season 13)
The Simpsons thirteenth season originally aired on the Fox network between November 6, 2001 and May 22, 2002 and consists of 22 episodes. The show runner for the thirteenth production season was Al Jean who executive-produced 17 episodes...
.
Critical reception
The season has received generally positive reviews from critics. Matt Haigh of Den of Geek said that "The bad episodes are never really terrible, it's more that they're a bit boring and will most likely have you yawning 10 minutes in. With this in mind, season 12 ends up being very much a 50/50 affair". Nancy Basile gave a list of "Must See TV" episodes and "Not So Must See TV" episodes - with more "Must See TV" episodes.Awards
The episode received nominations. 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...
received a nomination for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour)
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour)
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program is a Creative Arts Emmy Award which is given annually to an animated series which is judged to have been the best...
the eleventh win for the series. Another Primetime Emmy Award nomination is for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series
This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series.-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:-Total Awards:* CBS - 10* ABC - 7* NBC - 6* FOX - 3* Syndicated - 3* Discovery Channel - 2...
. Another win for "HOMR
HOMR
"HOMR" is the ninth episode of The Simpsons’ twelfth season, originally aired on January 7, 2001 by the Fox Broadcasting Company. The episode is the 257th episode overall and the last episode produced for the eleventh season...
" is an Annie Award
Annie Award
The Annie Awards have been presented by the Los Angeles, California branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood since 1972...
for Outstanding Writing in an Animated Television Production. Other Primetime Emmy Awards nominations include Hank Azaria
Hank Azaria
Henry Albert "Hank" Azaria is an American film, television and stage actor, director, voice actor, and comedian. He is noted for being one of the principal voice actors on the animated television series The Simpsons , on which he performs the voices of Moe Szyslak, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Chief...
for "Worst Episode Ever
Worst Episode Ever
"Worst Episode Ever" is the eleventh episode of The Simpsons twelfth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 4, 2001. In the episode, Bart and Milhouse are banned from The Android's Dungeon after stopping Comic Book Guy from buying a box of priceless...
". Lisa Simpson
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...
also won a Board of Directors Ongoing Commitment Award. The show also won at the 2002 Kids' Choice Awards
2002 Kids' Choice Awards
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards 2002 featured a musical performance from double platinum recording artist Pink. The theme music for the awards was a Nickelodeon instrumental version of She Blinded Me With Science by Thomas Dolby...
.
Nielsen Rating
The season ranked 21st in the seasonal ratings with an average of 14.7 million viewers an episode rising 6% from last season.Episodes
| # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original airdate | Prod. code |
|---|
DVD release
| le="color:black;">The Complete Twelfth Season... | |||
| Set Details | Special Features | ||
|
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.... |
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| Release Dates | |||
| Region 1 DVD region code DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region... |
Region 2 DVD region code DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region... |
Region 4 DVD region code DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region... |
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| Tuesday, August 18, 2009 | Monday, September 28, 2009 | Wednesday, September 2, 2009 | |
External links
- Season 12 at The Simpsons.com