Tonight marks the season premiere of Fox's newly redesigned Sunday line-up. After over a decade of Animation Domination, they have altered the line-up and are now calling it Sunday Funday. Among the premieres is yet another extravaganza for The Simpsons. After a summer that saw America's favorite yellow family have a 12-day marathon on FX and a historic concert at The Hollywood Bowl, they are coming back with a double shocker that may be a publicity stunt or a well-needed reboot in quality. Tonight, The Simpsons will first kill off a beloved character in their premiere episode "Clown in the Dumps" and then an even more unprecedented move: a crossover on Family Guy. Or is it really that unprecedented? Here is a brief history of the series that have visited Springfield for an entire episode.
While this crossover has deservedly gotten everyone all offended over rape jokes and the thought of this being the worst idea since they did the Harlem Shake. Yes, The Simpsons has made some bad decisions in their 26 year run. Family Guy has made worse in a quarter of that. This is a legitimate bad idea. However, there is an off chance that it could be good. Even then, it is hard not to think of this quote from creator Matt Groening from the time that The Critic came to visit on "A Star is Burns":
"The two reasons I am opposed to this crossover is that I don't want any credit or blame for The Critic and I feel this (encroachment of another cartoon character) violates the Simpsons' universe, The Critic has nothing to do with the Simpsons' world. [...] [I'm] not criticizing The Critic. But cartoons have their own style and I really have nothing to say about The Critic. Through all the years of The Simpsons we have been careful about maintaining their uniqueness. Sure, there have been other cartoons who visit, but it's usually just one scene, often for a sight gag."
This was in 1995. Mind you, it is 19 years later and the show is a completely different beast. It is now an experimental art show that will go into surreal places for a laugh.
The following is a look at only the episodes in which a TV series crossed over for the ENTIRE episode. It would be a little too tedious to do a catalog of every small appearance. So please, enjoy and look forward to tonight's crossover as well as the reported Futurama episode that will be coming later on this season.
The Critic
Episode: "A Star is Burns" (season 6)
Character: Jay Sherman (Jon Lovitz)
It's the episode that started it all. It's controversial for being the episode that Matt Groening publicly complained about and took his name off of the credits. Still, with Jon Lovitz being one of The Simpsons' most reliable guest stars, it only seemed fair that he would come on the show after he got his own series The Critic. As part of a film festival, it played right into his wheelhouse and allowed the character to be himself. While it went against Groening's desire for the series to be pure and only have visitors, it was still a really good episode featuring a lot of the most iconic gags ("Boo-urns") given the previously established repertoire between Lovitz and the show.
The X-Files
Episode: "The Springfield Files" (season 8)
Characters: Agent Mulder (David Duchovony) and Agent Scully (Gillian Anderson)
It's quite interesting what difference two years could make. After Groening infamously bashed the crossover episode with The Critic, Fox's most popular 90's series The X-Files came to town for a sci-fi noir tale that was just as bizarre as their show. Tonally, it is one of the more consistent parodies of another series that The Simpsons ever did. Even then, the choice to have Mulder and Scully as visitors allowed them to feel like observers more than intruders. Also, adding the reliable Leonard Nimoy as a narrator only made this episode even more of a geeky delight.
The Jerry Springer Show
Episode: "Treehouse of Horror IX" - Segment "Starship Poopers" (season 10)
Character: Jerry Springer
While this is technically a borderline cameo (also present in episode: Live with Regis and Kathy Lee, though that didn't even clock in at a minute), this Halloween segment handled an intergalactic affair in the only way that 90's culture knew how to: by going on The Jerry Springer Show. Following the traditional format, the series features brawls, bleeped out cursing, and those final words with Mr. Springer himself. It may be for more of a gag that the family is dysfunctional and can't solve Maggie's origins, but it's spot on for the most part in the lunacy that came with this infamous daytime series.
Public Broadcasting Station (PBS)
Episode: "Missionary: Impossible" (season 11)
Characters: Betty White
This may be a stretch, but The Simpsons did an episode that predates Inception by quite a few years and does almost the same thing. When Homer wants to watch a show on PBS, he will do anything to watch it, causing an uproar that features cameos by various characters (not voiced by their actual actors). However, the inclusion of a pledge drive hosted by Betty White gives the series some credibility, as she has been known to help them in times of need. Also, the episode is bookended by PBS in such an important way that it is hard not to think of this as anything but a crossover.
The Prisoner
Episode: "The Computer Wore Menace Shoes" (season 12)
Character: Patrick McGoohan (Number Six)
Compared to everyone else on this list, The Prisoner is quite an obscure crossover. If anything, Homer goes into The Prisoner world after being kidnapped for accidentally sharing the society's information. He is gassed and forced to be manipulated into believing what they want. Since the episode ends with Homer and his family still on The Prisoner's island, some have lead to speculation that everything since has been nothing but hallucination caused by the gassing.
24
Episode: "24 Minutes" (season 18)
Characters: Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) and Chloe O'Brian (Mary Lynn Rajskub)
It has been awhile since The Simpsons crossed over with another Fox series. Unlike "The Springfield Files," this one is more rooted in the characters having a cameo. Still, the overall set-up plays too much into the 24 episode structure for their involvement to be ignored. It satirizes the cop drama with skill and even allows Bart to update his prank phone call technique. Still, when Jack Bauer came to Springfield, he brought the menace and humor in equal proportions.
American Idol
Episode: "Judge Me Tender" (season 21)
Characters: Ryan Seacrest, Randy Jackson, Ellen Degeneres, Simon Cowell, Kara DioGuardi
After Moe becomes a harsh judge, he joins American Idol and is on the verge of becoming an icon of insults. While there's cameos by the other judges, this is more specifically an episode geared around Moe's relationship with Simon Cowell, who is out to sabotage him. The parody is probably the least explicit and least interesting. However, it is the most recent in the long line of Fox series crossing over into each other's territories.
So there you have it. It may not be a lucrative or long career, but with reported crossovers with Family Guy AND The Simpsons this season, it is going to be another banner year. Here's hoping that while the show may sacrifice its originality sometimes to benefit their visitors that it won't entirely be a letdown.
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