Template:Use mdy dates Template:Short description Template:Infobox television season The eighteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons aired from September 10, 2006[1] to May 20, 2007. The season contained seven hold-over episodes from season 17’s HABF production line. Al Jean served as the showrunner, a position he has held since the thirteenth season, while the season was produced by Gracie Films and 20th Century Fox Television.
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.
Voice cast & characters
Main cast
- Dan Castellaneta as Homer Simpson, Hans Moleman, Groundskeeper Willie, Louie, Squeaky-Voiced Teen, Krusty the Clown, Sideshow Mel, Gil Gunderson, Snowball II, Mayor Quimby, Grampa Simpson, Barney Gumble, Kodos, Santa's Little Helper, Rich Texan, Mr. Teeny, Arnie Pye, and various others
- Julie Kavner as Marge Simpson, Patty Bouvier, and Selma Bouvier
- Nancy Cartwright as Bart Simpson, Kearney Zzyzwicz, Nelson Muntz, Ralph Wiggum, Database, Todd Flanders, and various others
- Yeardley Smith as Lisa Simpson
- Hank Azaria as Johnny Tightlips, Moe Szyslak, Carl Carlson, Sea Captain, Cletus Spuckler, Professor Frink, Chief Wiggum, Wiseguy, Superintendent Chalmers, Comic Book Guy, Disco Stu, Lou, Snake, Kirk Van Houten, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Mr. Costington, Old Jewish Man, Drederick Tatum, Dr. Nick, and various others
- Harry Shearer as Otto Mann, Principal Skinner, Dewey Largo, Dr. Hibbert, Ned Flanders, Lenny Leonard, Reverend Lovejoy, Kent Brockman, Mr. Burns, Waylon Smithers, Kang, Rainier Wolfcastle, Judge Snyder, Eddie, and various others
Supporting cast
- Pamela Hayden as Milhouse Van Houten, Jimbo Jones, Rod Flanders, Janey Powell, and various others
- Tress MacNeille as Lunchlady Dora, Lindsey Naegle, Dolph Shapiro, Agnes Skinner, Brandine Spuckler, Crazy Cat Lady, and various others
- Russi Taylor as Martin Prince and various others
- Karl Wiedergott as additional characters
- Maggie Roswell as Helen Lovejoy and various others
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, Dr. Phil, 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]
Episodes
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Production
This season and the following season were ordered in March 2006.[3] Al Jean remained as showrunner, a role he had since the thirteenth season.[4] This season included the 400th episode of the series and marked the 20th anniversary of the Simpson characters' debut on The Tracey Ullman Show. Regarding the show's longevity, executive producer James L. Brooks commented that the fan base of the show was being "replenished" with younger fans as current fans become older. He thought the work environment remained the same as it was in the beginning but with more creative independence.[5]
Reception
Critical response
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."[6]
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"[7] Jeff Westbrook won a WGA Award for "Kill Gil, Volumes I & II"[8] while Matt Selman was nominated for "The Haw-Hawed Couple" and John Frink received a nomination for "Stop, or My Dog Will Shoot!".[9]
The series also received a British Comedy Award nomination for "Best International Comedy"[10] a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Animated Program for "The Haw-Hawed Couple"[11] and an Environmental Media Award nomination for "Best Television Episodic Comedy" for "The Wife Aquatic".[12]
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.[13][14]
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, would still be available, now packaged with the digital format.[15][16][17]
In 2016, audio commentary for the 18th season was made available exclusively through FXNOW.
On Saturday, July 22, 2017, it was announced during the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con panel that, due to fan demand, the eighteenth season DVD would be released after all on Tuesday, December 5, 2017, in the United States and Canada by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, ten years after it had completed broadcast on television.[18]
| The Complete Eighteenth Season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Set Details | Special Features | |||
|
| |||
| Release Dates | ||||
| Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | ||
| Tuesday, December 5, 2017[19] | Monday, December 11, 2017 | Wednesday, December 13, 2017 | ||
References
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- Bibliography
External links
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