“The Simpsons” might be one of the greatest TV shows of all time, but creator Matt Groening certainly isn’t proud of every episode. In fact, Groening thinks one “Simpsons” installment was a huge mistake. Scratch that, he thinks two episodes were a huge mistake. While the show creator remains upset over the infamous season 9 episode “The Principal and the Pauper,” he was arguably even more upset by a March 1995 episode that saw him remove his name from the credits and cause significant behind-the-scenes controversy that soon became very public.
Before it was swallowed by the Disney machine, “The Simpsons” was a genuinely subversive show. In its golden age, the animated sitcom expertly skewered every aspect of pop culture, even taking shots at its own network, Fox, in what became a long-running joke for the series. The writers’ room might have been full of nerds, but “The Simpsons” always had a punk rock ethos. So, when the show crossed over with another Fox series, Groening viewed it as a betrayal of what “The Simpsons” — which would later cross over with “Futurama” — stood for.
After season 4, showrunners Mike Reiss and Al Jean left to start their own show. “The Critic” was another animated series that starred Jon Lovitz as New York film critic Jay Sherman. Originally airing on ABC, “The Critic” was cancelled after half a season before Fox picked it up for a further 10 episodes. This was when producer James L. Brooks, who also executive-produced “The Simpsons,” decided that Jay Sherman needed to visit Springfield as a way of promoting the show’s arrival on Fox. Groening hit the roof.
Matt Groening went public with his outrage over A Star Is Burns
“A Star Is Burns” was just as funny and sharp as any of the other episodes of that era. It saw Jay Sherman arrive in Springfield to judge a film festival created to help improve the town’s reputation following its unfortunate designation as the most unpopular city in America. It might not be the very best episode of “The Simpsons,” but this was the installment that gave us the legendary quote, “I was saying Boo-urns.” As far as Matt Groening was concerned, however, “A Star Is Burns” was nothing but a cynical attempt at cross-promotion.
When “The Critic” moved to Fox, it was scheduled to air directly after “The Simpsons.” With Jay Sherman also appearing in an episode of the show, producer James L. Brooks was sure this would be what was needed to make “The Critic” a hit. In orchestrating this crossover, however, Brooks also managed to stoke Groening’s ire, prompting the show creator to not only cause a fuss behind the scenes but go public with his outrage.
A 1995 Los Angeles Times report details how Groening was so angry with the decision that he removed his name from the credits of the episode. In a last-minute press release, the show creator outlined his objections. “The two reasons I am opposed to this crossover is that I don’t want any credit or blame for ‘The Critic,'” he said, “and I feel this (encroachment of another cartoon character) violates the Simpsons’ universe.” According to Groening, he had tried “for more than six months” to convince Brooks and others that they shouldn’t engage in “such a cynical thing,” which he felt would come at “the expense of the integrity of The Simpsons.”
A Star Is Burns caused major tension between Matt Groening and his colleagues
When “A Star Is Burns” first aired on March 5, 1995, it became the only episode to ever do so without Matt Groening’s name in the credits. Having failed to convince James L. Brooks that his cross-promotion idea was a mistake, the show creator removed his name ahead of the episode’s broadcast and went public with the whole debacle. That prompted some scathing comments from Brooks, who said he was “furious,” adding:
“He’s been going to everybody who wears a suit at Fox and complaining about this […]Certainly he’s allowed his opinion, but airing this publicly in the press is going too far […] He is a gifted, adorable, cuddly ingrate. But his behavior right now is rotten.”
Meanwhile, “The Critic” co-creator Mike Reiss said he was a “little upset” by the whole thing, while fellow co-creator Al Jean added, “What bothers me about all of this is that now people may get the impression that this ‘Simpsons’ episode is less than good. It stands on its own even if ‘The Critic’ never existed.” Jean went on to say that he and Reiss weren’t “trying to shove anything down anybody’s throat,” but none of it seemed to ameliorate Groening’s disgust.
After “The Critic” debuted on Fox in the wake of “A Star Is Burns,” the show lasted five episodes in that timeslot before being moved and ultimately cancelled in May 1995. A revival of the cult classic Fox animated sitcom could still happen, though at this point, a crossover with “The Simpsons,” which is currently churning out some of its worst storylines, would probably hurt rather than help such a thing.
