Template:Use mdy dates Template:Short description Template:Infobox television season The fifteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons aired from Sunday, November 2, 2003, to Sunday, May 23, 2004. The season was produced by Gracie Films and 20th Century Fox Television. Executive producer Al Jean remained the showrunner. The season contains five hold-over episodes from the season 14 (EABF) production line. The most watched episode had 16.2 million viewers and the least watched had 6.2 million viewers. The season was nominated for four Emmy Awards, winning one, and was nominated for five Writers Guild of America Awards, winning two. Season 15 was released on DVD and Blu-ray in Region 1 on December 4, 2012, Region 2 on December 3, 2012, and Region 4 on December 12, 2012.
Voice cast & characters
Main cast
- Dan Castellaneta as Homer Simpson, Kodos, Mayor Quimby, Sideshow Mel, Gil Gunderson, Blue-Haired Lawyer, Grampa Simpson, Krusty the Clown, Squeaky-Voiced Teen, Santa's Little Helper, Groundskeeper Willie, Itchy, Barney Gumble, Snowball II, Hans Moleman, Yes Guy, Rich Texan, Mr. Teeny, and various others
- Julie Kavner as Marge Simpson, Patty Bouvier, and Selma Bouvier
- Nancy Cartwright as Bart Simpson, Nelson Muntz, Todd Flanders, Kearney Zzyzwicz, Ralph Wiggum, and various others
- Yeardley Smith as Lisa Simpson
- Hank Azaria as Moe Szyslak, Professor Frink, Comic Book Guy, Lou, Chief Wiggum, Snake, Carl Carlson, Superintendent Chalmers, Cletus Spuckler, Disco Stu, Wiseguy, Drederick Tatum, Old Jewish Man, Luigi Risotto, Kirk Van Houten, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Dr. Nick, Duffman, Sea Captain, and various others
- Harry Shearer as Kang, Principal Skinner, Ned Flanders, Jasper Beardley, Kent Brockman, Dr. Hibbert, Eddie, Mr. Burns, Judge Snyder, Lenny Leonard, Waylon Smithers, Otto Mann, Rainier Wolfcastle, Scratchy, Reverend Lovejoy, Dr. Marvin Monroe, Dewey Largo, and various others
Supporting cast
- Pamela Hayden as Milhouse Van Houten, Rod Flanders, Jimbo Jones, and various others
- Tress MacNeille as Agnes Skinner, Dolph Shapiro, Crazy Cat Lady, Mrs. Muntz, Cookie Kwan, Lindsey Naegle, Brandine Spuckler, Booberella, and various others
- Maggie Roswell as Helen Lovejoy, Elizabeth Hoover, and Luann Van Houten
- Russi Taylor as Martin Prince, Sherri and Terri
- Karl Wiedergott as additional characters
Guest cast
Guest stars for the season included Glenn Close, Jackie Mason, Jennifer Garner, Jerry Lewis, Oscar De La Hoya, Tony Blair, Ian McKellen, J. K. Rowling, Jane Leeves, Evan Marriott, Simon Cowell, Mr. T, and Michael Moore. Robert Stack was reported to be a guest star but did not appear.[1]
Episodes
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Production
By January 2003, the series had been renewed through the sixteenth season. With this season, the series became the longest-running American primetime television sitcom, surpassing The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet by number of seasons.[2] Al Jean remained as showrunner, a role he had since the thirteenth season.[3] The season had five holdover episodes from the previous season's EABF production line.
This season featured the final episodes of the series written by John Swartzwelder and the first episodes of the series written by Michael Price. It also featured the only episodes written by Robin J. Stein and Julie and David Chambers.[4]
Reception
Critical response
High Def Digest gave a rating of 4 stars, writing "The Simpsons' is one of only a handful of shows that I know I'm guaranteed to laugh out loud at least once an episode (usually more). Even though the cutting wit of the first decade lost its edge a bit, I still find 'The Simpsons' an extremely enjoyable way to spend my time. There aren't many things that are better than sitting down with a new season of 'The Simpsons' on Blu-ray and watching every episode back to back as fast as I possibly can. While the episodes sort of blend together, the humor is still there, and I still end up having quite a few genuine laughs".[5] CraveOnline rated the season 8.5/10, noting "Some "Simpsons" fans gave up during a perceived rough patch around season 12, and boy have they missed out. Season 13 was a particular favorite of mine, but now we're over the hump on the DVD releases. Season 15 is kind of a sweet spot, because it's got some highlight episodes I love, but also plenty that I don't remember."[6] DVDActive said "The Simpsons season 15 isn't one of the series' best, but I'm pretty sure it isn't one of the worst either".[7] ScreenJabber gave a rating of 4 stars, writing "Imagine my surprise when I sat down to review Season 15...and realised that I had never seen most of its episodes. Imagine, then, my joy at being able to enjoy almost 22 episodes of factory-fresh Simpsons, even though they were made about a decade ago. And even though some of the cultural references are a little dated, there's still an awful lot to laugh at and enjoy here. As always, this season of The Simpsons features a stellar line-up of guest stars. And, as always, there are some standout episodes. All in all, a more than decent season of this long, long-running show."[8] DIY wrote "While Season 15 of The Simpsons may not be golden from start to finish it has a higher great to soggy episode ratio than more recent seasons. In fact, there are some real gems amongst the 22 episodes".[9] Boxofficebuz gave it 4 stars, and said "...Throw in flashback episode 'The Way We [Weren't],' Pie-Man antics in 'Simple Simpson' and a Catch Me If You Can spoof in 'Catch 'Em If You Can,' you have a solid, solid season. A definite uptick over the previous couple seasons".[10] Bubbleblabber rated it 9.0 out of 10, and concluded "In terms of the content, Season 15 was a highly underrated season for The Simpsons and brought along a number of now well-known classics".[11] ‘’DVD Movie Guide’’ gave the season a B, and wrote "Should viewers expect greatness from Season 15 of The Simpsons? No, as the year comes with some mediocre shows. Still, it delivers a reasonable number of good episodes and seems worthwhile overall...S15 won't win over new fans, but it's usually fun".[12]
Nielsen ratings
The season ranked 42 in the seasonal ratings below its repeat timeslot at 36. The average viewership was 10.59 million viewers.[13]
Awards and nominations
At the 56th Primetime Emmy Awards, Dan Castellaneta won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for his roles in "Today I Am a Clown".[14] "The Way We Weren't" was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (for programming less than one hour).[15] Composer Alf Clausen was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score).[16] Clausen and Dana Gould were nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics.[17]
At the 57th Writers Guild of America Awards, Ian Maxtone-Graham won the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Animation for his script for "Catch 'em if You Can".[18] Don Payne won the Paul Selvin Award for "Fraudcast News".[19] In addition, he was also nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Animation for that episode along with the writers for the episodes "Today I Am a Clown" and "Milhouse Doesn't Live Here Anymore".[20] Michael Price was nominated for the same award for "My Mother the Carjacker" at the 56th Writers Guild of America Awards. [21]
At the 14th Environmental Media Awards, "The Fat and the Furriest" won the award for Television Episodic Comedy.[22]
Home media
The DVD and Blu-ray boxset for season fifteen was released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment in the United States and Canada on Tuesday, December 4, 2012, eight years after it had completed broadcast on television. As well as every episode from the season, the Blu-ray and DVD releases feature bonus material including deleted scenes, animatics, and commentaries for every episode. The boxart features Otto Mann, and a special limited edition "embossed head case" package was also released.
| The Complete Fifteenth Season | ||||
| Set Details | Special Features | |||
|
| |||
| Release Dates | ||||
| Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | ||
| Tuesday, December 4, 2012[23] | Monday, December 3, 2012[24] | Wednesday, December 12, 2012[25] | ||
References
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Bibliography
External links
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