Behind the Laughter (The Simpsons)

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Behind the Laughter (The Simpsons)
One of the few episodes from Season 11 that doesn't rely on an outlandish story.
Series: The Simpsons
Part of Season: 11
Episode Number: 22
Air Date: May 21, 2000
Writer: Tim Long
George Meyer
Mike Scully
Matt Selman
Director: Mark Kirkland
Previous episode: "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge"
Next episode: "Treehouse of Horror XI"

Behind the Laughter is the last episode of the eleventh season of The Simpsons.

Why It Rocks

  1. Unlike most episodes from Season 11, which usually rely on outlandish and ridiculous stories, this episode breaks the formula of a normal episode of The Simpsons and tries to do a different formula compared to normal episodes of the show, and it manages to execute that idea very well.
  2. The episode has an interesting concept, as it is in the perspective of a documentary about how the rise and fall of the Simpsons family and their TV show.
  3. Tons of throwbacks and continuity to older episodes are shown here.
  4. The episode has a couple of funny self-aware jokes, and unlike "Saddlesore Galactica", it is executed way better here, such as one scene where it makes fun of the infamous episode "The Principal and the Pauper" as an example of the show relying on episodes with nonsensical plots.
  5. Plenty of funny moments, such as Homer's line "success was like a drug, but what was even more like a drug was the drugs" and the part where it shows the aftermath of Homer falling down the Springfield Gorge (which was a scene from the episode "Bart the Daredevil").
  6. The song "Simpsons Boogie" is catchy and fun to listen to.
  7. It ended Season 11 on a high note.

Reception

  • The episode was well-received by fans and critics of The Simpsons, it currently sits at a 7.9 rating on IMDb.
  • According to TV.com user ratings, this is the best Season 11 episode with a 9.0/10 rating, followed closely by "E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt)" which has a 8.9/10 rating. The Simpsons writing staff voted this in their list of Top 15 Simpsons episode becoming the newest episode in the list.
  • This episode won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour).

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