It's Coke's World, Charlie Brown

The original airing of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown were sponsored by Coca-Cola, which inserted its logo into the show itself. As a result, it is virtually impossible to present the special in its original format.

TV Quote Weekends

"I told you- I'm not Xena, I'm Lucy Lawless!"

TV Quote Weekends

"This family has had its differences and we’ve squabbled, but we’ve never had knife fights before. And I blame this house."

Treehouse of Horror! Live Action Fun

While live action scenes have appeared in other episodes, the bulk of them have appeared on Treehouse of Horror segments. Like this one, the first live action sequence featuring a 3D rendered Homer:

The other live action sequence featured Regis and Kathie Lee, who get visited by Bart, Lisa, Itchy and Scratchy:

Treehouse of Horror! All Horror No Treehouse

The only Halloween episode that actually took place in Bart's Treehouse was the first one, which was officially called The Simpsons Halloween Special. It wouldn't officially be called Treehouse of Horror until the next episode when (ironically) it wouldn't take place in the treehouse at all.

Treehouse of Horror! The Tombstone Gags Disappear

One element of the early Treehouse of Horror episodes was a tour through the Springfield Cemetery, which featured witty tombstones emblazoned with various names and jokes. Some of the tombstones featured the names of television shows that had tried to take advantage of the show's success.

As the years went on, it became harder to write for the sequence and as the show's initial creative staff began moving on from The Simpsons, they would inevitably start working on other shows that could get parodied. The producers were afraid that could lead to bruised feelings so they quietly eliminated this element of the show.

Treehouse of Horror! Roy's Return

In the Treehouse of Horror segment Time and Punishment, Homer tries to repair a broken toaster and accidentally invents a time machine.

Homer proceeds to make mistakes which change elements of the future in many ways. Like creating a world where it rains donuts.

One alternate universe was to feature an additional Simpson family member named Roy who would surprise Homer as a teenaged son he never knew he had. The scene was cut from the episode, but the writers never forgot Roy. When a clueless Fox executive recommended that the show introduce a new family member to spice things up, they brought Roy out of exile to become a snarky parody of Fox's ridiculous request. Roy is introduced in The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show which was meant to mock shows randomly introducing characters to boost ratings.

Treehouse of Horror! Marge's Warning

The very first Simpsons Treehouse of Horror episode premiered in October 1990. Fox executives were so concerned about placing a horror themed episode on a cartoon show that they ordered a warning to be placed before the show. Not wanting to alarm their audience with the standard "parental guidance is advised" warning, the writers devised a tongue in cheek warning to be presented by Marge Simpson.

After the fifth Treehouse of Horror episode aired, the network seemed to forget about the warnings and the writers on the show were more than happy to drop the segment from that point on.

TV Quote Weekends

"These bat pants have been shredded by the Riddler!"

TV Quote Weekends

"Stu, you should buy that!"

Ten Bad Ideas for Children's Shows

10. “Marijuana Shortcake”

9. “Fat Albert and the Commune Kids”

8. “Steven Spielberg presents The Pyromaniacs”

7. “Booze Clues”

6. “Mighty Morphin Flower Arrangers”

5. “Crackhouse Rock”

4. “Scooby Doo”

3. “George Michael’s Playhouse”

2. “The Little Frenchmaid”

1. “Jerry Springer’s Muppet Babies”

M*A*S*H Endorsements

The television show M*A*S*H was a huge hit. The cast, however, found it difficult to parlay the show's success into outside deals because of the stark nature of the show. Who would want their products associated with a sitcom based on a war?

Hi-Ho Crackers, the poor man's Ritz Crackers apparently did. They hired Gary "Radar" Burghoff to endorse their line of NotQuiteRitz Crackers.

Leaving a successful show was only the second biggest mistake made by Gary Burghoff...

Technology companies apparently thought highly of the show. Atari hired Alan Alda to endorse its line of home computers.

Now seriously, what is it I'm endorsing? One of these typewriters?

IBM was so sure that M*A*S*H viewers would be swayed by the cast, it hired as many of them as it could three years after the show ended its run to promote IBM's futuristic line of computers. 

We're not sure what's in these boxes or what those odd televisions do, but the checks cleared, so yay IBM!

Jessica Fletcher and the Case of the Politically Incorrect Talk Show Host

Before he was being politically incorrect, Bill Maher was entertaining granny on not one but two Murder, She Wrote episodes!

In the first episode, the mulleted Maher actually gets to face off against Ms. Fletcher. In the second episode, which aired just one year later, he played a different character on one of the show's "bookend" episodes in which Ms. Lansbury only appears at the beginning and end of the episode to introduce the night's mystery.