Difference between revisions of "Season 3"

Latest revision as of 14:56, February 7, 2026

Season 3

Season Information No. of episodes: 24 Original run: September 19, 1991 – August 27, 1992 Showrunner(s): Al Jean Mike Reiss Matt Groening James L. Brooks Sam Simon DVD boxset: The Complete Third Season Previous season: Next season: 2 4

Season 3 is the third broadcast season of The Simpsons. It originally ran on Fox from September 19, 1991, with "Stark Raving Dad", to August 27, 1992, with "Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?". The season was mainly made up of production season 8F episodes, with two rollover episodes from production season 7F also airing. Al Jean and Mike Reiss served as the showrunners for most of the season Matt Groening, James L. Brooks, and Sam Simon served as the showrunners for the 7F episodes.

History[edit]

Al Jean and Mike Reiss became showrunners of the third season and the the following season after having written previous episodes of The Simpsons and felt pressure when executive managing the show.^[1] The pair also executive produced four episodes that were broadcast during Season 8 and 9 under a 3Gxx production code when The Simpsons at this period had Bill Oakley & Josh Weinstein and mostly Mike Scully as showrunners respectively. Jean has remained showrunner of the show since Season 13, this time without Reiss.

Awards[edit]

Episodes[edit]

Picture # Title Original airdate Directed by Written by Prod. code 36 - 1 "Stark Raving Dad" September 19, 1991 Rich Moore Al Jean & Mike Reiss 7F24 After wearing a pink shirt to work, Homer is promptly committed to a mental institution where he meets a heavy-set, bald, white man, Leon Kompowsky, who tells Homer that he is actually Michael Jackson. Guest Starring: Michael Jackson as Leon Kompowsky and Kipp Lennon as Leon's singing voice. 37 - 2 "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington" September 26, 1991 Wes Archer George Meyer 8F01 Thanks to Lisa's patriotic and winning essay in a contest sponsored by Reading Digest magazine, the Simpsons win a trip to Washington, D.C.. However, Lisa's faith in democracy is shaken when she sees her local representative taking a bribe for a permit to cut down Springfield National Forest. 38 - 3 "When Flanders Failed" October 3, 1991 Jim Reardon Jon Vitti 7F23 When Ned Flanders announces at a barbecue that he's starting his own general store catering to the left-handed, Homer wishes that his goody-goody neighbor would suffer financial ruin. Meanwhile, Bart takes karate class, but ends up cutting it when he realizes that it's not as exciting as it's cracked up to be. 39 - 4 "Bart the Murderer" October 10, 1991 Rich Moore John Swartzwelder 8F03 After having a very lousy day at school, Bart accidentally stumbles into the "Legitimate Businessman's Social Club", the front of the Springfield Mafia. He becomes a bartender, but when he shows up late at work and blames Principal Skinner, Skinner mysteriously disappears. Guest starring: Joe Mantegna as Fat Tony and himself, Phil Hartman as Lionel Hutz and Joey and Neil Patrick Harris as himself. 40 - 5 "Homer Defined" October 17, 1991 Mark Kirkland Howard Gewirtz 8F04 During a near-fatal meltdown at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, Homer frantically presses buttons on his console until he hits the right combination and saves the day. Homer becomes a hero even though he knows in his heart that what he did was a fluke. Meanwhile, Bart's friendship with Milhouse becomes strained when Milhouse's mother bars him from hanging out with her son. Guest starring: Chick Hearn as himself, Magic Johnson as himself, and Jon Lovitz as Aristotle Amadopolis. 41 - 6 "Like Father, Like Clown" October 24, 1991 Jeffrey Lynch & Brad Bird Jay Kogen & Wallace Wolodarsky 8F05 Krusty finally drops by to have dinner with the Simpsons to thank Bart for believing he was innocent, and drops a bombshell: his real name is Herschel Krustofsky, and he is estranged from his rabbi father, who disowned him when Krusty decided to be a clown instead of a rabbi. Bart and Lisa work to reunite Krusty with his estranged father. Guest starring: Jackie Mason as Hyman Krustofsky. 42 - 7 "Treehouse of Horror II" October 31, 1991 Jim Reardon Al Jean, Mike Reiss, Jeff Martin, George Meyer, Sam Simon and John Swartzwelder 8F02 In Lisa's nightmare, she dreams Homer purchases a monkey's paw granting the family four wishes. In Bart's nightmare, he dreams he has the power to read minds and punishes people if they aren't happy. In Homer's dream, his brain is put into a robot. 43 - 8 "Lisa's Pony" November 7, 1991 Carlos Baeza Al Jean & Mike Reiss 8F06 After failing to get Lisa a saxophone reed in time for the school talent show, he attempts to make it up to her by buying Lisa the one thing she's always wanted: a pony. But keeping the animal ends up costing the family money, and Homer takes a second job at the Kwik-E-Mart to make Lisa happy. 44 - 9 "Saturdays of Thunder" November 14, 1991 Jim Reardon Ken Levine & David Isaacs 8F07 Bart becomes deeply immersed in competitive soapbox racing while Homer begins to realize that he's not as good a father as he thought. Homer attempts to become a more attentive father, helping Bart build the ultimate soapbox racer. But Bart decides not to use it in his big race against Nelson Muntz, instead opting to borrow Martin Prince's scientifically engineered aerodynamic racer. Guest starring: Phil Hartman as Troy McClure. 45 - 10 "Flaming Moe's" November 21, 1991 Rich Moore & Alan Smart Robert Cohen 8F08 Homer tells Moe how he invented a bizarre drink called the Flaming Homer. It's so good that Moe steals his recipe, renames it the Flaming Moe, and takes credit for inventing it. The Flaming Moe revitalizes business, turning Moe's Tavern into the hottest spot in Springfield and causing Homer and Moe's relationship to splinter. Guest starring: Aerosmith (Tom Hamilton, Joey Kramer, Joe Perry, Steven Tyler, and Brad Whitford) as themselves and Phil Hartman as Lionel Hutz. 46 - 11 "Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk" December 5, 1991 Mark Kirkland Jon Vitti 8F09 Mr. Burns sells the Nuclear Power Plant to a pair of German businessmen for $100 million. As a result of the takeover, Homer loses his job and falls into a state of depression. Meanwhile, Burns tries to get used to life with no power. Guest starring: Phil Hartman as Troy McClure, Horst, and the stock broker. 47 - 12 "I Married Marge" December 26, 1991 Jeffrey Lynch Jeff Martin 8F10 Due to Marge having a pregnancy scare, Homer tells the kids the story of when Marge became pregnant with Bart. After finding out Marge was pregnant, Homer desperately tries to get a better job. But when he thinks that he's a failure, he considers the fact that Marge would be better off without him. 48 - 13 "Radio Bart" January 9, 1992 Carlos Baeza Jon Vitti 8F11 It's Bart's tenth birthday, and one of his presents is a radio microphone, which he promptly uses to play practical jokes on everyone. Things spin out of control, however, when Bart pranks Groundskeeper Willie by making him think a little boy named Timmy O'Toole has fallen down a local well, and the whole town ends up getting involved. Guest starring: Sting as himself. 49 - 14 "Lisa the Greek" January 23, 1992 Rich Moore Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky 8F12 Homer finds that Lisa can predict football results with incredible accuracy, and the two bond when watching the games. However, Homer secretly takes advantage of Lisa's ability and uses it to place bets with Moe, making huge winnings. When Lisa finds out what Homer has been doing, she calls off the bets—leaving him with a final prediction for the Super Bowl: if Washington win, she loves him, but if the Buffalos win, she won't. Guest starring: Phil Hartman as Smooth Jimmy Apollo. 50 - 15 "Homer Alone" February 6, 1992 Mark Kirkland David M. Stern 8F14 When the family causes Marge to become incredibly stressed, she takes a vacation from it all at Rancho Relaxo, leaving Lisa and Bart with Patty and Selma, and Homer alone with Maggie. Then, Maggie goes searching for Marge. Guest starring: Phil Hartman as Troy McClure. 51 - 16 "Bart the Lover" February 13, 1992 Carlos Baeza Jon Vitti 8F16 Bart pranks Mrs. Krabappel by responding to a lonely hearts advert as Woodrow. But when the prank spirals out of control, Bart begins to feel guilty. Meanwhile, Homer starts building a doghouse and tries to give up swearing. 52 - 17 "Homer at the Bat" February 20, 1992 Jim Reardon John Swartzwelder 8F13 Mr. Burns bets $1,000,000 that his company team can beat a competing plant's team in softball. In order to do so, he replaces the regular employees with a series of new employees, all of whom are professional baseball players. Guest starring: Wade Boggs as himself, Terry Cashman as "Talkin' Softball" singer, José Canseco as himself, Roger Clemens as himself, Ken Griffey, Jr. as himself, Don Mattingly as himself, Mike Scioscia as himself, Steve Sax as himself, Ozzie Smith as himself, and Darryl Strawberry as himself. 53 - 18 "Separate Vocations" February 27, 1992 Jeffrey Lynch George Meyer 8F15 After taking the Career Aptitude Normalization Test, Lisa finds out she's more suited to be a homemaker, while Bart is more suited to be a police officer. While Bart enjoys his taste of authority, Lisa turns into a bad kid. Guest starring: Steve Allen as Bart's warped courtroom voice. 54 - 19 "Dog of Death" March 12, 1992 Jim Reardon John Swartzwelder 8F17 When Santa's Little Helper suffers from a twisted stomach, the Simpsons cut corners wherever possible in order to pay for a life-saving operation. However, when the family's morale suffers from the cuts, the dog runs away from home. 55 - 20 "Colonel Homer" March 26, 1992 Mark Kirkland Matt Groening 8F19 After getting annoyed at Marge, Homer drives to a bar where he discovers a singer named Lurleen Lumpkin. Homer becomes her manager and helps her launch her musical career. Lurleen causes problems in the Simpson household, however, when Homer's manager role causes him to spend large amounts of time away from home, and when Marge realizes that Lurleen is attracted to Homer. Guest starring: Beverly D'Angelo as Lurleen Lumpkin. 56 - 21 "Black Widower" April 9, 1992 David Silverman Jon Vitti, Thomas Chastain, and Sam Simon 8F20 Selma decides to marry her prison pen-pal, Sideshow Bob. When he gets out of prison, he convinces the Simpson family he has changed for the better, but Bart remains skeptical and is determined to find out what Bob is really up to. Guest starring: Kelsey Grammer as Sideshow Bob. 57 - 22 "The Otto Show" April 23, 1992 Wes Archer Jeff Martin 8F21 Otto loses his job driving the school bus, partially because he doesn't have a driver's license. After being kicked out of his apartment, he goes to live with the Simpsons. Guest starring: Christopher Guest as Nigel Tufnel and Michael McKean as David St. Hubbins. 58 - 23 "Bart's Friend Falls in Love" May 7, 1992 Jim Reardon Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky 8F22 Milhouse gets into a relationship with a new student in Springfield Elementary, Samantha Stankey, which irritates Bart as his best friend gets more distant from him. Meanwhile, Homer tries to lose weight by listening to a subliminal tape. Guest starring: Phil Hartman as Troy McClure and Kimmy Robertson as Samantha Stanky. 59 - 24 "Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?" August 27, 1992 Rich Moore John Swartzwelder 8F23 Homer's half-brother Herb has been living as a bum since losing his car company. When he gets an idea for an invention that can make him rich again, he goes to Springfield and asks the Simpsons for help to develop it. Guest Starring: Danny DeVito as Herb Powell and Joe Frazier as himself.

Script covers[edit]

Release[edit]

All 24 episodes of Season 3 were released as on The Complete Third Season on August 26, 2003 in Region 1, October 6, 2003 in Region 2, and October 22, 2003 in Region 4. However, following the release of the documentary Leaving Neverland in 2019, future releases of The Complete Third Season omitted the episode "Stark Raving Dad" due to the involvement of Michael Jackson, resulting in "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington" being listed as the first episode.

References[edit]