The Simpsons (season 18)

The Simpsons (season 18)
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	22
Release
Original network	Fox
Original release	September 10, 2006 – May 20, 2007
Season chronology

The Simpsons' 18th season aired from September 10, 2006^[1] to May 20, 2007. The season contained seven hold-over episodes from the season 17 (HABF) production line. Al Jean served as the Showrunner, a position he has held since the thirteenth season.

The season finale, "You Kent Always Say What You Want", was the series' 400th episode. Additionally, the Simpsons franchise celebrated its 20th anniversary, as it has been on the air since April 1987, beginning with shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show.

Season 18 included guest appearances by Metallica, Tom Wolfe, Gore Vidal, Michael Chabon, Ludacris, Jonathan Franzen, Fran Drescher, The White Stripes, Kiefer Sutherland, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Richard Lewis, Phil McGraw, Elvis Stojko, Natalie Portman, Jon Lovitz, Betty White, Eric Idle, Sir Mix-a-Lot, Stephen Sondheim, Ronaldo, Meg Ryan, Andy Dick, Peter Bogdanovich, James Patterson and others.^[2]

Critical reception

Reception

Robert Canning of IGN gave the season a 6.6 saying it was "Passable" and that "Now in its eighteenth season (go ahead, say that out loud: 'eighteen seasons'), The Simpsons continues to supply America with a decent half-hour of comedy every Sunday night. However, most long-time fans of the show agree that the last several years have seen the program in constant decline. Looking back at this particular season, there's little evidence to prove them wrong. Though we were treated with at least a few hilarious gems this year, the mediocre (to the downright terrible) heavily outweighed the great."^[3]

Awards

At the 35th Annie Awards, Alf Clausen and Michael Price won the award for "Best Music in an Animated Television Production" for "Yokel Chords" while Ian Maxtone-Graham and Billy Kimball won "Best Writing in an Animated Television Production" for "24 Minutes"^[4] Jeff Westbrook won a WGA Award for "Kill Gil: Vols. 1 & 2"^[5] while Matt Selman was nominated for "The Haw-Hawed Couple" and John Frink received a nomination for "Stop, or My Dog Will Shoot".^[6]

The series also received a British Comedy Award nomination for "Best International Comedy"^[7] a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Animated Program for "The Haw-Hawed Couple"^[8] and an Environmental Media Award nomination for "Best Television Episodic Comedy" for "The Wife Aquatic".^[9]

Nielsen ratings

The show ranked 60th in the seasonal ratings with an average of 8.6 million watching it and a Nielsen rating of 4.1/10^[10][11]

Episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code	U.S. viewers (millions)
379	1	"The Mook, the Chef, the Wife and Her Homer"	Michael Marcantel	Bill Odenkirk	September 10, 2006	HABF15	11.50[12]
Lisa becomes friends with Fat Tony's son Michael, who would rather cook than run a crime ring, but when the Simpsons are invited over for dinner and Fat Tony is shot, Homer ends up being the town's newest kingpin. Guest Stars: Joe Mantegna, Joe Pantoliano, Michael Imperioli, and Metallica.
380	2	"Jazzy and the Pussycats"	Steven Dean Moore	Daniel Chun	September 17, 2006	HABF18	8.94[13]
Bart gets a drum kit to work out his aggressions after being a nuisance at the funeral of Homer's Vegas wife and becomes top pick for a local jazz band -- a position that the saxophone-playing Lisa has been going after for years. Guest Stars: The White Stripes.
381	3	"Please Homer, Don't Hammer 'Em"	Mike B. Anderson & Ralph Sosa	Matt Warburton	September 24, 2006	HABF20	9.72[14]
Marge takes an interest in carpentry after reading some books on the subject meant for Homer, but when everyone in town declines Marge's services (because they believe that women cannot be carpenters), Marge uses Homer as a front. Meanwhile, Springfield Elementary bans all peanut products, and Bart discovers the reason: Principal Skinner is allergic to them.
382	4	"Treehouse of Horror XVII"	David Silverman & Matthew Faughnan	Peter Gaffney	November 5, 2006	HABF17	10.43[15]
Season 18's annual trio of Halloween stories. "Married to the Blob" - Homer eats a mysterious green substance from a meteorite landing that turns him into a giant blob with an insatiable, cannibalistic appetite. "You Gotta Know When to Golem" - Bart discovers a golem backstage at Krusty's show and uses it to do his bidding. "The Day the Earth Looked Stupid" - After being fooled by H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds, the citizens of Springfield in 1938 ignore a real alien invasion set up by Kang and Kodos. Guest Stars: Phil McGraw, Richard Lewis, Fran Drescher, Sir Mix-a-lot and Maurice LaMarche.
383	5	"G.I. (Annoyed Grunt)"	Nancy Kruse	Daniel Chun	November 12, 2006	HABF21	11.43[16]
Homer finds himself in an army training camp after trying to get his children out of an agreement to join by age 18. Guest Star: Kiefer Sutherland.
384	6	"Moe'N'a Lisa"	Mark Kirkland	Matt Warburton	November 19, 2006	HABF19	9.31[17]
Lisa discovers that Moe's written rantings are perfect fodder for poetry, but when Moe is invited to a writer's convention that throws out anyone who uses someone else to create their works, Moe ends up taking the credit. Guest Stars: Tom Wolfe, Gore Vidal, Michael Chabon, Jonathan Franzen and J.K. Simmons.
385	7	"Ice Cream of Margie (with the Light Blue Hair)"	Matthew Nastuk	Carolyn Omine	November 26, 2006	HABF22	10.90[18]
After Homer gets fired once again from the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, he takes over Springfield's ice cream truck business after his favorite driver dies. Meanwhile, Marge, depressed over seeing women more successful than her and looking for a way to be remembered, creates sculptures from the discarded Popsicle sticks in Homer's ice cream truck.
386	8	"The Haw-Hawed Couple"	Chris Clements	Matt Selman	December 10, 2006	JABF02	8.29[19]
Bart becomes Nelson's best friend, and discovers how possessive Nelson can be. Meanwhile, Homer gets hooked on Lisa's Angelica Button fantasy novels, but worries when he finds out that the book he's reading has a sad ending.
387	9	"Kill Gil, Volumes I & II"	Bob Anderson	Jeff Westbrook	December 17, 2006	JABF01	8.96[20]
After Gil Gunderson gives Lisa a Malibu Stacy doll reserved for Mr. Costington's daughter, he gets fired as a mall Santa and moves in with the Simpsons. Meanwhile, Homer picks a fight with Ice Capades character The Grumple. Guest Star: Elvis Stojko.
388	10	"The Wife Aquatic"	Lance Kramer	Kevin Curran	January 7, 2007	JABF03	13.90[21]
When Patty and Selma save "Outdoor Movie Night" from going bust by playing an old home movie of their time at Barnacle Bay, Homer decides to surprise Marge by taking her and the kids there -- only to find her childhood vacation spot an abandoned wreck. Guest Stars: Maurice LaMarche and Sab Shimono.
389	11	"Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Three Times"	Michael Polcino	Joel H. Cohen	January 28, 2007	JABF05	8.09[22]
Homer's misguided revenge on the Rich Texan combined with an untimely car breakdown leaves Marge, Lisa, and Bart to tell three tales about revenge gone wrong. "The Count of Monte Fatso": In 19th century France, Moe(Fernand) breaks up the marriage of Homer (Edmond Dantés) and Marge (Mercedes); for this, Homer swears revenge, now in a French prison.[23] "Revenge of the Geeks": Milhouse uses The Getbackinator, an ultra technologic weapon made by Martin, for fight back against the school bullies and the consequences when he goes too far.[23] "Bartman Begins": After Homer(Thomas) and Marge (Martha Wayne) are killed by Snake Jailbird (Joe Chill) in a dark alley, Bart (Bruce Wayne) swears revenge with a superhero alter ego, Bartman.
390	12	"Little Big Girl"	Raymond S. Persi	Don Payne	February 11, 2007	JABF04	8.27[24]
When Cletus ineptly tosses his pipe, Springfield is in danger when the town is about to be hit by a ferocious fire. Bart unwittingly saves the day and is rewarded with a driver's license. However, when he drives to North Haverbrook, he is then engaged with a girl named Darcy who ropes Bart into marriage after declaring that she's pregnant. Meanwhile, Lisa lies about her family heritage in an essay and gets chosen to give a keynote speech at a convention. Guest star: Natalie Portman.
391	13	"Springfield Up"	Chuck Sheetz	Matt Warburton	February 18, 2007	JABF07	8.80[25]
Declan Desmond returns as he shows a documentary about Springfield's current adult population as children, discussing their future aspirations and meets up with Homer to see if he followed his dreams. Guest star: Eric Idle.
392	14	"Yokel Chords"	Susie Dietter	Michael Price	March 4, 2007	JABF09	9.09[26]
Lisa becomes a teacher for Cletus the Slack-Jawed Yokel's children after Principal Skinner bars them from enrolling in Springfield Elementary. Meanwhile, Bart ends up in therapy after scaring his peers with stories of a school chef notorious for cooking children. Guest stars: Peter Bogdanovich, Andy Dick, James Patterson, Meg Ryan, and Stephen Sondheim.
393	15	"Rome-Old and Juli-Eh"	Nancy Kruse	Daniel Chun	March 11, 2007	JABF08	8.98[27]
When Grampa gets kicked out of the retirement castle thanks to Homer declaring bankruptcy (and discovering that bankruptcy laws have changed), Grampa falls in love with Marge's sister Selma, prompting sworn enemies Homer and Patty to team up to break them up. Meanwhile, Bart and Lisa con a delivery man into giving them cardboard boxes for a fort, but the delivery men fight back. Guest star: Jane Kaczmarek.
394	16	"Homerazzi"	Matthew Nastuk	J. Stewart Burns	March 25, 2007	JABF06	6.91[28]
After the family photo album is destroyed in a fire involving a Krusty doll and a bottle of cologne, Marge restages all of the family's photographs, and when a celebrity dating scandal is captured in the background of one of their photos, the Simpsons strike tabloid gold. Tasting success and seeing money to be made, Homer takes to the streets as one of the paparazzi, capturing Springfield's celebrities at their worst. Guest stars: J.K. Simmons, Betty White and Jon Lovitz.
395	17	"Marge Gamer"	Bob Anderson	J. Stewart Burns	April 22, 2007	JABF10	6.40[29]
Marge discovers the wonders of the Internet and becomes hooked on an online roleplaying game, where Bart is the game master. Meanwhile, Lisa resorts to cheating to score points with Homer (who is now a referee) during soccer matches. Guest star: Ronaldo
396	18	"The Boys of Bummer"	Rob Oliver	Michael Price	April 29, 2007	JABF11	7.57[30]
Bart becomes a town pariah (once again) after losing the championship for Springfield's Little League team, and is driven insane to the point of suicide from constant harassment. Meanwhile, Homer gets a job at Costington's Department store as a mattress tester, and finds a mattress that he wants to keep for himself after it reignites his stagnant love life with Marge.
397	19	"Crook and Ladder"	Lance Kramer	Bill Odenkirk	May 6, 2007	JABF13	7.72[31]
When reading a parenting magazine, Marge follows the advice too literally and throws away Maggie's pacifier. However, when the pacifier is thrown in the trash, Maggie goes on a path of destruction in the Simpsons' home. Meanwhile, Homer, Moe, Apu, and Principal Skinner become volunteer firefighters and begin stealing items from the homes whose fires they extinguish.
398	20	"Stop! Or My Dog Will Shoot"	Matthew Faughnan	John Frink	May 13, 2007	JABF12	6.48[32]
When Homer gets lost in a cornfield maze, Santa's Little Helper rescues him and becomes a local hero, which prompts the Simpson family to enroll him in Police Dog Academy, where he dons a new and more stern personality. However, he becomes jaded when he catches Snake Jailbird, who is released on a technicality, and bites Bart, causing the family to give him away. Meanwhile, Bart, missing Santa's Little Helper, gets a strangling snake as a new pet. Guest stars: Stephen Hawking, Maurice LaMarche, and Rudolph Giuliani (in a deleted scene that would later be reinstated in syndicated airings).
399	21	"24 Minutes"	Raymond S. Persi	Billy Kimball & Ian Maxtone-Graham	May 20, 2007	JABF14	9.80[33]
When finding out Jimbo, Dolph, and Kearney plan on sabotaging Springfield Elementary School's annual bake sale by releasing the "ultimate stinkbomb" (a rotten yogurt cup from Springfield's Nuclear Power Plant), Bart and Lisa enlist the help of Jack Bauer and Chloe O'Brian. Meanwhile, Marge attempts to make the perfect cake for the school bake sale. Guest stars: Kiefer Sutherland and Mary Lynn Rajskub.
400	22	"You Kent Always Say What You Want"	Matthew Nastuk	Tim Long	May 20, 2007	JABF15	9.80[33]
Thanks to Ned Flanders' meddling, Kent Brockman gets in trouble for blurting a horrible curse word during a soft-news interview about Homer winning Phineas Q. Butterfat's 1,000,000th ice cream cone, and gets fired for allegedly being a cocaine addict. While living with the Simpsons, Brockman teams up with Lisa to create a YouTube video revealing why a politically conservative media empire like Fox would create raunchy television shows. Guest stars: Ludacris and Maurice LaMarche.

Blu-ray and DVD release

Series showrunner Al Jean reported in April 2015 that The Simpsons would no longer see home media releases after the seventeenth season, claiming an inability for DVD sales to keep up with the rise in streaming and downloads, as well as a boom in FXX reruns, and FOX's on-demand video service, FXNOW. Jean reassured that bonus features commonly featured on the DVDs, such as commentaries for each episode, will still be available, now packaged with the digital format.^[34][35][36]

In 2016, audio commentary for the 18th season was made available exclusively through FXNOW.

References

1. Fox Broadcasting Company (2006-06-21). "FOX Announces Fall Premiere Dates For the 2006-2007 Season". The Futon Critic. Retrieved 2013-07-27.
2. Fox Broadcasting Company (2006-07-24). "Guest Voices Next Season on 'The Simpsons'". The Futon Critic. Retrieved 2006-12-17.
3. "The Simpsons: Season 18 Review - IGN". Tv.ign.com. 2007-06-14. Retrieved 2016-09-15.
4. "Legacy: 35th Annual Annie Award Nominees and Winners (2008)". Annie Awards. Archived from the original on April 11, 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
5. "Awards Winners". Writers Guild of America. Archived from the original on 2006-04-12. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
6. "2008 Writers Guild Awards Television & Radio Nominees Announced". Writers Guild of America. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
7. "British Comedy Awards nominations". London: Guardian Unlimited. 2007-11-07. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
8. Variety staff (2007-07-18). "Emmy nominations list — part I". Variety. Archived from the original on April 3, 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
9. "17th Annual Environmental Media Awards". Environmental Media Awards. Archived from the original on October 16, 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
10. unknown (May 25, 2006). "2006-07 primetime wrap". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2 January 2012.
11. Fitzgerald, Toni (September 24, 2007). "Star power: Fox's 'Family Guy' roars in. Hour-long 'Star Wars' spoof pulls a 5.5 in 18-49s". Media Life Magazine. Retrieved 2013-07-28. Fox's premiere of The Simpsons fell 13 percent from last year's premiere, from a 5.3 to a 4.7, but it was up nicely from the show's 4.1 average last year. C1 control character in |quote= at position 33 (help)
12. unknown (12 September 2006). "Ratings: The Mook, The Chef, The Wife & Her Homer". Posted by Adam. Simpsons Channel. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
13. unknown (19 September 2006). "Ratings: Jazzy & The Pussycats". Posted by Adam. Simpsons Channel. Archived from the original on January 15, 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
14. unknown (26 September 2006). "Ratings: Please Homer Don't Hammer Em". Posted by Adam. Simpsons Channel. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
15. unknown (7 November 2006). "Ratings: Treehouse Of Horror XVII". Posted by Adam. Simpsons Channel. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
16. unknown (14 November 2006). "Ratings: G.I.D'oh!". Posted by Adam. Simpsons Channel. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
17. unknown (21 November 2006). "Ratings: Moe 'N' A Lisa". Posted by Adam. Simpsons Channel. Archived from the original on November 15, 2010. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
18. unknown (28 November 2006). "Ratings: Ice Cream Of Margie (With The Light Blue Hair)". Posted by Adam. Simpsons Channel. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
19. unknown (12 December 2006). "Ratings: The Haw-Hawed Couple". Posted by Adam. Simpsons Channel. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
20. unknown (19 December 2006). "Ratings: Kill Gil (Volumes I And II)". Posted by Adam. Simpsons Channel. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
21. unknown (9 January 2007). "Ratings: The Wife Aquatic". Posted by Adam. Simpsons Channel. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
22. unknown (30 January 2007). "Ratings: Revenge Is A Dish Best Served Three Times". Posted by Adam. Simpsons Channel. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
23. Jim Vejvoda (2008-07-26). "SDCC 08: Simpsons Footage Screened". IGN. Retrieved 2008-07-26.
24. unknown (14 February 2007). "Ratings: Little Big Girl". Posted by Adam. Simpsons Channel. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
25. unknown (19 February 2007). "Ratings: Springfield Up". Posted by Adam. Simpsons Channel. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
26. unknown (6 March 2007). "Ratings: Yokel Chords". Posted by Adam. Simpsons Channel. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
27. unknown (13 March 2007). "Ratings: Rome-old And Juli-eh". Posted by Adam. Simpsons Channel. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
28. unknown (27 March 2007). "Ratings: Homerazzi". Posted by Adam. Simpsons Channel. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
29. unknown (23 April 2007). "Ratings: Marge Gamer". Posted by Adam. Simpsons Channel. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
30. unknown (30 April 2007). "Ratings: The Boys Of Bummer". Posted by Adam. Simpsons Channel. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
31. unknown (7 May 2007). "Ratings: Crook And Ladder". Posted by Adam. Simpsons Channel. Archived from the original on November 18, 2011. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
32. unknown (15 May 2007). "Ratings: Stop Or My Dog Will Shoot". Posted by Adam. Simpsons Channel. Archived from the original on November 18, 2011. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
33. unknown (21 May 2007). "Ratings/Video 400th Episode Hour". Posted by Adam. Simpsons Channel. Archived from the original on December 25, 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
34. "Fox to End 'The Simpsons' Seasonal DVD Production". The Hollywood Reporter. 9 April 2015.
35. "The Simpsons to no longer see Blu-ray, DVD releases". SlashGear.com. 2015-04-12. Retrieved 2016-09-15.
36. "The death knell for optical media: There will be no more Simpsons DVDs | News". Geek.com. Retrieved 2016-09-15.

Bibliography

• Turner, Chris (2004). Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation. Foreword by Douglas Coupland. (1st ed.). Toronto: Random House Canada. ISBN 978-0-679-31318-2. OCLC 55682258.

External links

• Season 18 at The Simpsons.com