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No animated show on earth has lasted longer than The Simpsons, and for good reason. After over 30 years of being on the air, it seems the Simpsons have been working with a winning formula every year. It all began during the early years of the show when The Simpsons was first finding its voice. And as the torch was passed to new show runners, they used the previous blue print to create an absolutely perfect season of The Simpsons.
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It may be on a lousy channel, but The Simpsons are on TV
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In the medium of television, every once in a while, a show comes along that defines an entire generation
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In this pantheon of shows, The Simpsons stands tall. But what exactly was the secret to the show's success
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The formula for the show's greatness can be found all the way back in one single season, season four
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Boy, everyone is stupid except me. Although the show has been around for over 30 years
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the first eight seasons are widely recognized as the golden age of the series
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During these seasons, the show kept a rotating group of showrunners, with a new runner taking over every two seasons
0:42
Additionally, the show established a clear structure for itself under the tenure of showrunners Al Jean and Mike Reese during seasons three and four
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This structure was seen as so effective, it was revitalized again years later when Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein
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began their tenures as of season seven. Cartoons have writers? Eh, sort of
1:03
Oh, yeah, well, you and I could write a better cartoon than that. But what exactly are the elements that make up the perfect season of The Simpsons
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According to Bill Oakley, it goes something like this. In a 22-episode season, you get six Homer episodes
1:18
three episodes each for Lisa, Bart, and Marge, a Sideshow Bob episode
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an episode related to Itchy and Scratchy, with the remaining open to experiment with structure
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or give a spotlight to one of the show's growing cast of side characters
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While some of these definitions are a bit vague, this structure would provide the series with a winning formula
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that both expanded on the rich characterization of the central cast while also providing space to fill out the world of the show
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Uh-oh, a cute little character could take America by storm. When looking at season four it impossible to deny it the best season of The Simpsons It a season filled with iconic episodes gags and character moments that are still
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remembered to this day. It's obvious at this point in the series that Homer is one of its key comedic elements
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Episodes like Mr. Plough and Homer the Heretic give him plenty of great comedic fodder to
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work with. However, each of these episodes also capture a vital element of the character
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In Last Exit to Springfield, we see how much he cares for his family through Homer's willingness to go on strike to protect their dental plan because Lisa needs braces
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Dental plan! Lisa needs braces. Dental plan! Lisa needs braces. Similarly, the episodes focused on the remaining members of the Simpsons clan provide richer characterizations than viewers would expect from most sitcom family archetypes
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Episodes like Lisa the Beauty Queen and Whacking Day developed the progressive and activist-minded
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mentality that would become a vital part of Lisa's characterization. While all of the characters have clear emotional touchstones in these early seasons, Lisa's
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episodes always seem to have the strongest element of truth to them
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Starting here in season four, the Lisa episodes are focused on the tension between her need
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to be understood and the ignorance of the many adults around her. From now on, I will speak out against the evils in society
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Looking at Bart, his character was perhaps the one in the most danger of becoming a two-dimensional caricature
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From the earliest days of the series, Bart was the breakout character with his face plastered on countless t-shirts with varying degrees of authenticity
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Episodes like New Kid on the Block, written by Conan O'Brien, made the key elements of Bart's character beyond his real-world popularity clear
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Lesser writers wouldn't let their cool guy character express serious emotional vulnerabilities with their father figure like in Brother from the Same Planet or show positive creative relationships with a sister as we see in the front Taking these three episodes to focus on Bart were vital to making him more than a catchphrase
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spouting device and into a well-rounded part of the cast. I'll show them who's just a kid
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Bart, it's your bedtime. I laid out your jammy jams. A side effect of the show's writing staff primarily being young males for most of its
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run, Marge Simpson is frequently an overlooked element of the series. But the strength of season four shines through even here, as it provides Marge with arguably her strongest episodes in the entire series
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Episodes like Marge gets a job and a streetcar named Marge provide important interior motives and desires that will continue on throughout the series
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These two season four episodes show Marge's desire to be more than a housewife
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and the way she will occasionally make impulsive and somewhat destructive decisions in order to escape the mundanity of suburbia
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My life is pretty boring. Last week, some Jehovah's Witnesses came to the door and I wouldn't let them leave
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With the primary characterizations of the central cast handled by the 15 Spotlight episodes
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the rest would be fertile ground for the writers to chase whatever wild ideas came to them
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Episodes like the annual Treehouse of Horror, or So It Comes to This, a Simpsons clip show
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gave the writers an opportunity to experiment with the show's structure and completely break the format of not only their series, but sitcoms in general
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The episodes focused on Itchy and Scratchy skewer the animation industry itself
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with tons of inside baseball jokes about writers' rooms, award competitions, and the daily grind of trying to make entertainment
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Selma's Choice cast a spotlight on Marge's sister Selma, whose insecurities about aging and missing an opportunity to raise children
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provides a level of depth to the archetype of the meddling in-law
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that few sitcoms ever attempted. Krusty Gets Cancelled gives everyone favorite clown the chance to win back his audience with an absurdly stacked cavalcade of cameos ranging from Johnny Carson to Elizabeth Taylor
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both hilarious and the ultimate flex of the show's popularity. What you got for us? Some jokes
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Actually, I thought I'd lift this 1987 Buick Skylark over my head
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Perhaps the most important non-central character spotlight in the show's history, I Love Lisa, took Ralph Wiggum, a character that barely existed in previous seasons
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and made him into one of the funniest characters in the show while filling him with genuine pathos
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If there were any episodes that proved The Simpsons could sustain itself
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almost entirely on side characters, it was this one. You choose me
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But while this formula makes sense on paper, just how effective was it in practice
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First, the fourth season provided the show with a jolt of a ratings boost
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from its previous season. It also stands with a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes
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While this season may only be ranked third on IMDb, the two seasons that are ranked above it are season six and seven
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The two seasons show ran by Bill Oakley, who explicitly used the structure of season four as a model
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But if numbers aren't your thing, it's clear from the show's cultural standing
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that this season has the highest joke to episode hit rates. It's a testament to the way the structure of the show
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found the perfect balance to highlight its central cast and provide new comedic material to the show's supporting cast
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The important thing is, we're like a family. Of course, Steve. Shut your hole
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Above all else, this is the season where The Simpsons truly became the show we know it as today
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From the character designs to the performances to the comedy, this is where the show that would last for 34 years was born
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The Simpsons became a cultural juggernaut and redefined for American studios what an animated series could be
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And it all began with one perfectly structured season of television
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