The Simpsons (season 3)

The third season of the American animated television series The Simpsons originally aired on the Fox network between September 19, 1991, and August 27, 1992. The showrunners for the third production season were Al Jean and Mike Reiss who executive produced 22 episodes for the season, while two other episodes were produced by James L. Brooks, Matt Groening, and Sam Simon, with it being produced by Gracie Films and 20th Century Fox Television. An additional episode, "Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?", aired on August 27, 1992, after the official end of the third season and is included on the Season 3 DVD set. Season three won six Primetime Emmy Awards for "Outstanding Voice-Over Performance" and also received a nomination for "Outstanding Animated Program" for the episode "Radio Bart". The complete season was released on DVD in Region 1 on August 26, 2003, Region 2 on October 6, 2003, and in Region 4 on October 22, 2003.

The Simpsons
Season 3
DVD cover featuring (from left to right) Homer Simpson, Marge Simpson, Lisa Simpson, Maggie Simpson and Bart Simpson about to fall backwards
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	24
Release
Original network	Fox
Original release	September 19, 1991 (1991-09-19) – August 27, 1992 (1992-08-27)
Season chronology
← Previous Season 2 Next → Season 4
List of episodes

Production

Al Jean and Mike Reiss, who had written for The Simpsons since the start of the show, took over as showrunners this season. Their first episode as showrunners was "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington" and they felt a lot of pressure about running the show.^[1] They also ran the following season and Jean would return as executive producer in season 13. There were two episodes, "Kamp Krusty" and "A Streetcar Named Marge", that were produced at the same time, but aired during season four as holdover episodes.^[2] Two episodes that aired during this season, "Stark Raving Dad" and "When Flanders Failed", were executive produced during the previous season by James L. Brooks, Matt Groening and Sam Simon.

Carlos Baeza and Jeffrey Lynch received their first directing credits this season.^[3] Alan Smart, an assistant director and layout artist, would receive his only directing credit. One-time writers from this season include Robert Cohen, Howard Gewirtz, Ken Levine and David Isaacs. Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein, who would later become story editors, became a part of the writing staff to replace Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky both of whom had decided to leave the next season.^[4] The current arrangement of the theme song by music composer Alf Clausen was introduced during this season, corresponding with the show now being produced and broadcast in Dolby Surround.

A crossover episode with the live-action sitcom Thirtysomething, titled "Thirtysimpsons", was written by David M. Stern for this season, but was never produced because it "never seemed to work".^[5] The crossover would involve Homer meeting a group of Yuppies and hanging out with them.

The season premiere episode was "Stark Raving Dad", which guest starred Michael Jackson as the speaking voice of Leon Kompowsky. One of Jackson's conditions for guest starring was that he voiced himself under a pseudonym.^[6] While he recorded the voice work for the character, all of his singing was performed by Kipp Lennon,^[7] because Jackson wanted to play a joke on his brothers.^[6] Michael Jackson's lines were recorded at a second session by Brooks.^[8] The January 30, 1992 rerun of the episode featured a brief alternate opening, which was written in response to a comment made by then-President of the United States George H. W. Bush. On January 27, 1992 Bush made a speech during his re-election campaign where he said, "We are going to keep on trying to strengthen the American family, to make American families a lot more like The Waltons and a lot less like The Simpsons."^[9] The writers decided that they wanted to respond by adding a response to the next broadcast of The Simpsons, which was a rerun of "Stark Raving Dad" on January 30. The broadcast included a new tongue-in-cheek opening where they watch Bush's speech. Bart replies, "Hey, we're just like the Waltons. We're praying for an end to the Depression, too".^[10][11]

On April 30, The Simpsons aired a repeat episode opposite the final episode of The Cosby Show on NBC. After the episode was over, a short clip of new animation showed Bart and Homer happily watching The Cosby Show finale. Bart asks Homer why Bill Cosby took the show off the air when it is still very popular. Homer replies that, "Mr. Cosby wanted to end the show before the quality began to suffer." Bart replies, "Quality, shmality. If I had a TV show, I'd run that baby into the ground!"

"Homer at the Bat" is the first episode in the series to feature a large supporting cast of guest stars. The idea was suggested by Sam Simon, who wanted an episode filled with real Major League Baseball players.^[8] They did manage to get nine players who agreed to guest star and they were recorded over a period of six months.^[12] Several new characters were introduced this season, including Lunchlady Doris, Fat Tony, Legs and Louie, Rabbi Hyman Krustofski, Lurleen Lumpkin, and Kirk and Luann Van Houten.^[13]

This season's production run (8F) was the last to be animated by Klasky Csupo, before the show's producers Gracie Films opted to switch domestic production of the series to Film Roman.^[14][15] Sharon Bernstein of the Los Angeles Times wrote that "Gracie executives had been unhappy with the producer Csupo had assigned to The Simpsons and said the company also hoped to obtain better wages and working conditions for animators at Film Roman."^[15] Klasky Csupo co-founder Gábor Csupó had been "asked [by Gracie Films] if they could bring in their own producer [to oversee the animation production]," but declined, stating, "they wanted to tell me how to run my business."^[15]

Voice cast & characters

Main article: List of The Simpsons characters

 

Musician Sting guest-starred in "Radio Bart"

Main cast

• Dan Castellaneta as Homer Simpson, Grampa Simpson, Krusty the Clown, Groundskeeper Willie, Troy McClure, Barney Gumble and various others
• Julie Kavner as Marge Simpson, Patty Bouvier, Selma Bouvier and various others
• Nancy Cartwright as Bart Simpson, Nelson Muntz, Ralph Wiggum and various others
• Yeardley Smith as Lisa Simpson
• Harry Shearer as Mr. Burns, Waylon Smithers, Ned Flanders, Principal Skinner, Lenny Leonard, Kent Brockman, and Reverend Lovejoy
• Hank Azaria as Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Professor Frink, Comic Book Guy and Apu

Recurring

• Pamela Hayden as Milhouse van Houten, Jimbo Jones
• Maggie Roswell as Maude Flanders, Helen Lovejoy and Miss Hoover
• Russi Taylor as Martin Prince and Sherri and Terri
• Tress MacNeille as Mrs. Bloomenstein, Kim and Davey
• Marcia Wallace as Edna Krabappel
• Jon Lovitz as Artie Ziff, Professor Lombardo and the doughnut delivery man
• Jo Ann Harris as background characters
• Joe Mantegna as Fat Tony and TV Fat Tony (himself)
• Frank Welker as Santa's Little Helper, various other animals

Guest stars

Main article: List of The Simpsons guest stars (seasons 1–20)

• Phil Hartman as Troy McClure, Lionel Hutz, various others (various episodes)
• John Jay Smith as Leon Kompowsky; Kipp Lennon provided the vocals ("Stark Raving Dad")
• Neil Patrick Harris as TV Bart Simpson (himself; "Bart the Murderer")
• Jackie Mason as Hyman Krustofsky ("Like Father, Like Clown")
• Steven Tyler, Tom Hamilton, Joey Kramer, Joe Perry, and Brad Whitford as themselves ("Flaming Moe's")
• Sting as himself ("Radio Bart")
• Roger Clemens, Mike Scioscia, Don Mattingly, Steve Sax, Ozzie Smith, Wade Boggs, Darryl Strawberry, Ken Griffey Jr. and José Canseco as themselves ("Homer at the Bat")
• Terry Cashman as himself ("Homer at the Bat")
• Steve Allen as Bart's electronically altered voice ("Separate Vocations")
• Beverly D'Angelo as Lurleen Lumpkin ("Colonel Homer")
• Kelsey Grammer as Sideshow Bob ("Black Widower")
• Christopher Guest as Nigel Tuffnel ("The Otto Show")
• Michael McKean as David St. Hubbins ("The Otto Show")
• Kimmy Robertson as Samantha Stanky ("Bart's Friend Falls in Love")
• Danny DeVito as Herb Powell ("Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?")
• Joe Frazier as himself ("Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?")

Reception

The season was critically acclaimed and remains popular among the show's fanbase. In 2003, Entertainment Weekly published a list of its 25 favorite episodes and placed "Homer at the Bat", "Flaming Moe's" and "Radio Bart" at 15th, 16th and 20th positions, respectively.^[16] On Rotten Tomatoes, the third season of The Simpsons has a 100% approval rating based on 5 critical reviews.^[17]IGN.com made a list of the best guest appearances in the show's history, and placed Aerosmith at 24, Spinal Tap at 18, the "Homer at the Bat" baseball players at 17, Jon Lovitz at eight, and Michael Jackson at number five.^[18] IGN would later name "Flaming Moe's" the best episode of the third season.^[19] Chris Turner, the author of the book Planet Simpson, believes that the third season marks the beginning of "the Golden Age" of The Simpsons and pinpoints "Homer at the Bat" as the first episode of the era.^[20] Bill Oakley has described the season as "the best season of any TV show of all time", pinpointing its success to the fact that "a lot of the stories were pretty grounded, but they took a couple of crazy leaps out into space with like, 'Homer at the Bat'", stating that he and Josh Weinstein used the season as a model when they were The Simpsons' showrunners for seasons 7 and 8.^[21] John Swartzwelder considered the season to be the best one during his time on the show saying, "By Season 3 we had learned how to grind out first-class 'Simpsons' episodes with surprising regularity, we had developed a big cast of characters to work with, we hadn't even come close to running out of story lines, and the staff hadn't been worn down by overwork yet. Season 3 was a fun year to be in the 'Simpsons' writers' room, and I think it shows in the work."^[22]

Awards

1992 was The Simpsons' most successful year at the Primetime Emmy Awards, with the series receiving six Emmys, all for "Outstanding Voice-Over Performance", a category which, at the time, was juried rather than competitive. The recipients were: Nancy Cartwright as Bart Simpson in "Separate Vocations"; Dan Castellaneta as Homer Simpson in "Lisa's Pony"; Julie Kavner as Marge Simpson in "I Married Marge"; Jackie Mason as Rabbi Hyman Krustofski in "Like Father, Like Clown"; Yeardley Smith as Lisa Simpson in "Lisa the Greek"; and Marcia Wallace as Edna Krabappel in "Bart the Lover".^[23] Mason is the only irregular guest star from the show to win an Emmy.^[24] The series received three other Emmy nominations: for "Outstanding Animated Program" with the episode "Radio Bart"; for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore)" (Alf Clausen) and "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or a Special" (Brad Brock, Peter Cole, Anthony D'Amico, Gary Gegan), both for the episode "Treehouse of Horror II".^[23]

The series also won an Annie Award for Best Animated Television Production,^[25] an Environmental Media Award nomination for "Best Television Episodic Comedy" for the episode "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington",^[26] and a People's Choice Award nomination for "Favorite Series Among Young People".^[27]

At the 8th annual Television Critics Association Awards, the third season of the show was nominated for 'Outstanding Achievement in Comedy,' losing to "Seinfeld". Additionally, it was nominated for 'Program of the Year' but lost to Northern Exposure.

Episodes

See also: List of The Simpsons episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code	U.S. viewers (millions)
36	1	"Stark Raving Dad"	Rich Moore	Al Jean & Mike Reiss	September 19, 1991 (1991-09-19)	7F24	22.9^[29]
Homer's sanity is called into question when he arrives at work wearing a pink shirt. After Bart takes Homer's mental stability test for him, Homer is committed to a mental hospital where he meets a big, hulking bald man who says his name is Michael Jackson. Meanwhile, Lisa is depressed over her upcoming eighth birthday, but is very happy in the end to receive a song that is written specially for her birthday. Note: In the wake of renewed sexual abuse allegations against guest star Michael Jackson, this episode was removed from syndication in March 2019 and was banned from circulation, and is the only episode of the series not available for streaming on Disney+, and the post-2019 reprints of season 3 DVD set.^[28]
37	2	"Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington"	Wes Archer	George Meyer	September 26, 1991 (1991-09-26)	8F01	20.2^[30]
While reading a copy of Reading Digest, Homer finds an entry form for an essay contest for which Lisa signs up. When she wins the contest, she and the family travel to Washington, D.C. where the finals are to be held. Here, Lisa bears witness to the seedy underbelly of politics and becomes bitterly disappointed after learning of a bribery scandal involving Springfield's state congressman. In her final essay, she disdains and condemns the government system, which leads to the arrest of the corrupt congressman. While she fails to win the contest, her faith in government is restored.
38	3	"When Flanders Failed"	Jim Reardon	Jon Vitti	October 3, 1991 (1991-10-03)	7F23	22.8^[31]
Homer makes a wish for Ned Flanders to be a financial failure. The wish comes to life when Flanders's store catering to left-handed people goes out of business, causing the Flanders family to end up financially in trouble. When finding out that Ned's house is to be repossessed, Homer feels guilty and decides to help by telling all the left-handed population of Springfield about the Leftorium and calling in a few favors from his friends. This helps Ned keep the store and get his house back. Meanwhile, Bart goes to the Japanese bartender Akira and takes karate lessons, but quits after he discovers that it is not as interesting as he had expected it to be.
39	4	"Bart the Murderer"	Rich Moore	John Swartzwelder	October 10, 1991 (1991-10-10)	8F03	20.8^[32]
After suffering from bad luck, Bart stumbles upon the "Legitimate Businessman's Social Club" Mafia bar where the leader, Fat Tony, hires him to work as their permanent bartender. However, when Principal Skinner ends up missing for nearly a week, Bart is immediately blamed for murdering him, causing Bart to get sent to court. As Bart is about to get convicted, the principal shows up which leads to Bart being cleared of all the charges.
40	5	"Homer Defined"	Mark Kirkland	Howard Gewirtz	October 17, 1991 (1991-10-17)	8F04	20.6^[33]
Homer accidentally saves the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant and is ashamed when people mistake him for a hero. When another impending meltdown threatens the Shelbyville plant, he is asked to perform his heroic deeds once again. He is lucky again, but this time he is derided as a lucky imbecile, even more so than he was hailed as a hero. Meanwhile, Milhouse's mom forbids him to be friends with Bart as she feels he is a bad influence on him.
41	6	"Like Father, Like Clown"	Jeffrey Lynch & Brad Bird	Jay Kogen & Wallace Wolodarsky	October 24, 1991 (1991-10-24)	8F05	20.2^[34]
When Krusty comes over to the Simpsons' house for dinner, he reveals to them that he is of Jewish heritage, and that his father, Rabbi Krustofski kicked him out for pursuing a career in comedy, and not a successful career as a rabbi. Krusty starts to fall apart and Bart and Lisa decide to contact the rabbi and convince him to forgive Krusty. The rabbi at first refuses to see Krusty again, but Bart convinces him to do so, and the two reconcile.
42	7	"Treehouse of Horror II"	Jim Reardon	Al Jean & Mike Reiss	October 31, 1991 (1991-10-31)	8F02	20.0^[35]
				Jeff Martin & George Meyer
				Sam Simon & John Swartzwelder
When Homer, Bart, and Lisa eat a ton of candy, the three begin having various nightmares. In Lisa's nightmare ("The Monkey's Paw"), the Simpsons visit Morocco and find a monkey's paw that makes all their wishes come true – with dire consequences. Homer eventually gives the paw to Ned, who improves his home. In Bart's nightmare ("The Bart Zone"), the town of Springfield must think happy thoughts or suffer the powers of Bart's twisted imagination. Dr. Marvin Monroe prescribes that Homer should spend quality time together. As this happens, Bart wakes from his dream, horrified. In Homer's nightmare ("If I Only Had a Brain"), Mr. Burns transplants Homer's brain into a robot to create a super-efficient worker. The robot remains as incompetent and inefficient as regular Homer, and Burns restores Homer's brain to his body. Homer wakes after Burns is accidentally crushed by the robot, and finds Burns' head is grafted on his shoulder.
43	8	"Lisa's Pony"	Carlos Baeza	Al Jean & Mike Reiss	November 7, 1991 (1991-11-07)	8F06	23.0^[36]
When Lisa requires a new saxophone reed for her talent recital, she asks Homer, who immediately promises to buy her one. Although Homer breaks his promise, he makes up for it by giving Lisa the one thing she had always wanted, a pony named Princess. With a new pony in the house, Homer struggles with two jobs to cover the cost. Lisa, upon seeing what Homer must go through to pay for the pony, decides to sell it.
44	9	"Saturdays of Thunder"	Jim Reardon	Ken Levine & David Isaacs	November 14, 1991 (1991-11-14)	8F07	24.7^[37]
After taking a fatherhood quiz, Homer realizes that he knows nothing about Bart, and in the result, strives to be a better father after learning that Bart is one of the racers in the Soapbox Derby. Their entry is not very good, so Bart decides to drive Martin Prince's much nicer racer. Homer is at first devastated, but decides that he must be a good father and support Bart. Bart later goes on to win the race.
45	10	"Flaming Moe's"	Rich Moore & Alan Smart	Robert Cohen	November 21, 1991 (1991-11-21)	8F08	23.9^[38]
One night at Moe's Tavern, Homer tells Moe Szyslak of a secret alcoholic cocktail made with cough syrup and fire that he calls "Flaming Homer". When Moe tries Homer's recipe in the bar, he finds it boosts his business and patronage, so Moe steals the recipe from Homer. Later, Moe is about to sell the recipe for $1 million but Homer comes and divulges the secret ingredient, only to find out that Moe was planning to split the million with him.
46	11	"Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk"	Mark Kirkland	Jon Vitti	December 5, 1991 (1991-12-05)	8F09	21.1^[39]
The stock in the Nuclear Plant skyrockets amid rumors of a takeover meaning that all the workers get rich, except for Homer who has sold his stockholding for a mere $25 and fears that he will lose his job. The rumors prove true as two German businessmen buy the plant from Mr. Burns for $100 million and fire Homer for incompetence. Mr. Burns decides to buy the plant back when he discovers that his former employees no longer fear him.
47	12	"I Married Marge"	Jeffrey Lynch	Jeff Martin	December 26, 1991 (1991-12-26)	8F10	21.9^[40]
After worrying that she may yet again be pregnant, Marge drives to Dr. Hibbert's office. While anxiously waiting, Homer begins to tell Bart, Lisa, and Maggie about how he and Marge got married at a quickie wedding chapel, and how he attempted to prove to Marge's sisters that he can provide for their upcoming child.
48	13	"Radio Bart"	Carlos Baeza	Jon Vitti	January 9, 1992 (1992-01-09)	8F11	24.2^[41]
When Bart's birthday party turns into a disaster, he uses a radio transmitter microphone Homer gave him to play pranks on other citizens. He decides to throw a radio down an old well and tricks the town into thinking a little boy is stuck in it. At first he is successful, but Lisa reminds him that he left a "property of Bart Simpson" label on the radio and goes to retrieve it. Bart becomes trapped in the well and the town gets angry and decide to leave him there. Homer later gets fed up with the townspeople's ignorance and frantically tries to rescue him. He digs a hole near the well, which helps the townspeople realise the error of their ways and offer help.
49	14	"Lisa the Greek"	Rich Moore	Jay Kogen & Wallace Wolodarsky	January 23, 1992 (1992-01-23)	8F12	23.2^[42]
Homer begins to bond with Lisa after learning her unique and convenient ability to pick winning American football teams. However, Homer secretly takes advantage of Lisa's ability, using it to gamble money off Moe. When Homer selfishly chooses going bowling with Barney instead of going on a mountain hike with Lisa, Lisa finds out Homer had only been using her for gambling, and refuses to speak to him until he fully understands her.
50	15	"Homer Alone"	Mark Kirkland	David M. Stern	February 6, 1992 (1992-02-06)	8F14	23.7^[43]
The family's dependence on Marge causes her to suffer a nervous breakdown during her early morning errands, and she decides to go to a spa resort to calm down. Homer, meanwhile, has to care for the troublesome Maggie while Bart and Lisa spend their time with their spinster aunts, Patty and Selma. The entire family realizes how much they need Marge to take care of things, and everybody is happy when she eventually returns from the spa.
51	16	"Bart the Lover"	Carlos Baeza	Jon Vitti	February 13, 1992 (1992-02-13)	8F16	20.5^[44]
When a yo-yo craze sweeps over Springfield Elementary School, Bart's errant yo-yo happens to break a fish tank, killing the class goldfish. Edna Krabappel sentences Bart to a month of detention. Bart decides to write phony love letters to her under the guise of a man who responded to her personal ad. Meanwhile, Homer tries to cut back on swearing after Flanders complains that Todd is picking up on the foul language.
52	17	"Homer at the Bat"	Jim Reardon	John Swartzwelder	February 20, 1992 (1992-02-20)	8F13	24.6^[45]
The Springfield Nuclear Power Plant softball team proves to be a huge success with Homer as their official star player. But after Mr. Burns makes a bet with Shelbyville Nuclear Power Plant owner Aristotle Amadopolis, he hires nine professional baseball players to fill out the team. However, eight of those ringers fall victim to separate misfortunes, and Burns is forced to turn to his regular employees, who win the game.
53	18	"Separate Vocations"	Jeffrey Lynch	George Meyer	February 27, 1992 (1992-02-27)	8F15	23.7^[46]
The school makes the students take an aptitude test, and it ends up suggesting Bart become a policeman and Lisa become a homemaker instead of a professional jazz musician. While Lisa becomes a troublemaker, Bart improves his grades and behavior and is chosen to be Principal Skinner's newest hall monitor.
54	19	"Dog of Death"	Jim Reardon	John Swartzwelder	March 12, 1992 (1992-03-12)	8F17	23.4^[47]
Santa's Little Helper falls ill and the family must make budget cuts in order to pay for his operation. Although his own life is saved, the family begins getting angry with him for losing out on their favorite things so he runs away. Santa's Little Helper ends up in the possession of Mr. Burns, who trains him to become a vicious attack dog. Bart stumbles across the new Santa's Little Helper and is attacked, but Santa's Little Helper recognizes Bart and decides to stop the attack.
55	20	"Colonel Homer"	Mark Kirkland	Matt Groening	March 26, 1992 (1992-03-26)	8F19	25.5^[48]
After his behavior at the movie theater embarrasses Marge, she and Homer have a large argument, causing him to head to a redneck bar where he meets a beautiful barmaid named Lurleen Lumpkin with a talent for singing. Homer becomes her manager and does everything he can to make Lurleen famous, but it takes a very long time for him to notice Lurleen has fallen in love with him. With Marge already upset and thinking Homer's the one with the roving eyes, it is time for him to decide on his romantic future.
56	21	"Black Widower"	David Silverman	Story by : Thomas Chastain & Sam Simon Teleplay by : Jon Vitti	April 9, 1992 (1992-04-09)	8F20	17.3^[49]
Selma reveals that she has a new boyfriend that she met through the prison pen-pal program, Sideshow Bob. Bart is immediately suspicious of Bob, but Bob does everything he can to romance Selma and prove he's changed. After Selma and Bob are married, Bob reveals that he plans to kill Selma, but he is stopped by Bart.
57	22	"The Otto Show"	Wes Archer	Jeff Martin	April 23, 1992 (1992-04-23)	8F21	17.5^[50]
Otto crashes the school bus, and it is later discovered that he never actually owned a real driver's license, prompting the authorities to fire him. Otto then moves in with the Simpsons after he has been evicted, and attempts to teach Bart to learn to play the guitar, though with difficulty. But it's the way he enrages Homer that might provide an inadvertent return ticket to his beloved bus-driving job.
58	23	"Bart's Friend Falls in Love"	Jim Reardon	Jay Kogen & Wallace Wolodarsky	May 7, 1992 (1992-05-07)	8F22	19.5^[51]
Milhouse falls in love with the new girl, Samantha Stankey, jeopardizing Bart and Milhouse's friendship. Bart eventually calls Samantha's father and lets him know what is happening. Her father takes her away, which leads to Bart and Millhouse having a fight. Meanwhile, Homer orders a subliminal cassette tape to help him lose weight, but is sent one that helps him increase his vocabulary after the weight-loss tapes were sold out.
59	24	"Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?"	Rich Moore	John Swartzwelder	August 27, 1992 (1992-08-27)	8F23	17.2^[52]
When the radiation from the Nuclear Power Plant causes Homer to become infertile, he is awarded a complete $2,000 compensation. Meanwhile, Homer's half-brother, Herb, now living on the streets, returns with a plan on how to regain his name, wealth, and life back and reluctantly turns to Homer for help. Herb asks for Homer's $2,000 so he can develop a new product that will translate baby gibberish into speech.

DVD release

The DVD box set for season three was released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment in the United States and Canada on August 26, 2003, eleven years after it had completed broadcast on television. As well as every episode from the season, the DVD release features bonus material including commentaries for every episode. The commentaries were recorded in early 2003.^[53] Prints produced after 2019 no longer include the episode "Stark Raving Dad" due to allegations of child sexual assault against guest star Michael Jackson.^[54]

The Complete Third Season
Set details^[55]^[56]			Special features^[55]^[56]
24 episodes (before 2019), 23 episodes (after 2019) 4-disc set 1.33:1 aspect ratio AUDIO English 5.1 Dolby Digital Spanish 2.0 Dolby Surround French 2.0 Dolby Surround SUBTITLES English SDH Spanish			Optional commentaries for all 24 episodes, plus four easter egg commentaries featuring either Al Jean or Mike Reiss Trivia tracks for "Colonel Homer" Storyboards Commercials Easter egg audio outtakes Multi Language Featurette Treehouse of Horror II Czech 2.0 Polish 2.0 Clip from the 1991 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade featuring a balloon of Bart Jukebox Feature (11 songs) Previously unseen promo footage of Colonel Homer
Release dates
Region 1	Region 2	Region 4
August 26, 2003	October 6, 2003	October 22, 2003

References

1. Jean, Al & Reiss, Mike. (2003). Commentary for "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington", in The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
2. Richmond & Coffman 1997, pp. 92–93.
3. Lynch, Jeffrey. (2003). Commentary for "Like Father, Like Clown", in The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
4. Oakley, Bill & Weinstein, Josh. (2006). Easter egg Commentary for "Lisa the Simpson", in The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
5. Oakley, Bill (October 25, 2005). "Ask Bill and Josh Q&A Thread – Post #24". NoHomers.net. Retrieved March 4, 2008.
6. Brooks, James L. (2003). Commentary for "Stark Raving Dad", in The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
7. Reiss, Mike. (2003). Easter Egg Commentary for "Stark Raving Dad", in The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
8. Jean, Al (2003). The Simpsons season 3 DVD commentary for the episode "Homer at the Bat" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
9. Brooks, James L. (2004). "Bush vs. Simpsons", in The Simpsons: The Complete Fourth Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
10. Turner 2004, pp. 230–231.
11. Ortved, John (July 5, 2007). "Simpson Family Values". Vanity Fair. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
12. Reiss, Mike (2003). The Simpsons season 3 DVD commentary for the episode "Homer at the Bat" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
13. Reiss, Mike. (2003). Commentary for "Homer Defined", in The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
14. Kirkland, Mark (2004). The Simpsons The Complete Fourth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Kamp Krusty" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
15. Bernstein, Sharon (January 21, 1992). "'The Simpsons' Producer Changes Animation Firms". Los Angeles Times. p. 18. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
16. "The best Simpsons episodes, Nos. 11-15". Entertainment Weekly. February 2, 2003. Retrieved November 1, 2017. "The best Simpsons episodes, Nos. 16-20". Entertainment Weekly. February 2, 2003. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
17. "The Simpsons". Rotten Tomatoes.
18. Goldman, Eric; Iverson, Dan; Zoromski, Brian. . IGN. Archived from the original on June 22, 2007. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
19. Goldman, Eric; Dan Iverson, Brian Zoromski (September 8, 2006). . IGN. Archived from the original on September 28, 2008. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
20. Turner 2004, p. 39.
21. Fox, Jesse David (July 13, 2017). "An Oral History of The Simpsons' Classic Planet of the Apes Musical". vulture.com. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
22. Sacks, Mike (May 2, 2021). "John Swartzwelder, Sage of "The Simpsons"". The New Yorker. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
23. . Emmys.org. Archived from the original on February 15, 2009. Retrieved April 27, 2008.
24. Castellaneta, Dan (2003). Commentary for the episode "Like Father, Like Clown". The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
25. . Annie Awards. Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved April 27, 2008.
26. "'Dinosaurs', 'Trials' up for environmental nods". Daily Variety. August 6, 1992.
27. "Roberts, Costner among nominees for 18th People's Choice Awards". The Pantagraph. Associated Press. February 6, 1992.
28. Marsh, Sarah (March 8, 2019). "Simpsons producers withdraw Michael Jackson episode". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
29. Eugene Sloan (September 25, 1991). "New faces try to save 'One Life to Live'". Life. USA Today. p. 03.D.
30. Brian Donlon (October 2, 1991). "'Roseanne' comes out on top". Life. USA Today. p. 03.D.
31. Brian Donlon (October 9, 1991). "Cable pulls network's plug". Life. USA Today. p. 03.D.
32. Brian Donlon (October 16, 1991). "Hearings score a win for NBC". Life. USA Today. p. 03.D.
33. Brian Donlon (October 23, 1991). "CBS bats one out of the park". Life. USA Today. p. 03.D.
34. Brian Donlon (October 30, 1991). "Close Series wins big for CBS". Life. USA Today. p. 03.D.
35. Brian Donlon (November 6, 1991). "Ratings contest narrows". Life. USA Today. p. 03.D.
36. Brian Donlon (November 13, 1991). "NBC's hurricane windfall". Life. USA Today. p. 03.D.
37. Brian Donlon (November 20, 1991). "'60 Minutes' clocks a 3rd win". Life. USA Today. p. 03.D.
38. Brian Donlon (November 27, 1991). "CBS scores a strong win". Life. USA Today. p. 03.D.
39. Brian Donlon (December 11, 1991). "Football a winner for NBC". Life. USA Today. p. 03.D.
40. Brian Donlon, Graham Jefferson & Matt Roush (December 31, 1991). "'Cheers' stays open; cartoons all day". Life. USA Today. p. 03.D.
41. "Pigskin plays in to CBS win". Life. USA Today. January 15, 1992. p. 03.D.
42. Brian Donlon (January 29, 1992). "NBC's horror tale surprise". Life. USA Today. p. 03.D.
43. Brian Donlon (February 13, 1992). "CBS mines Olympic gold". Life. USA Today. p. 03.D.
44. Brian Donlon (February 21, 1992). "CBS wins, but ABC gets silver". Life. USA Today. p. 03.D.
45. Brian Donlon (February 26, 1992). "CBS' all-around Olympic win". Life. USA Today. p. 03.D.
46. Brian Donlon (March 4, 1992). "Last-place Fox is rising fast". Life. USA Today. p. 03.D.
47. "Hit comedies lift ABC". Life. USA Today. March 18, 1992. p. 03.D.
48. Brian Donlon (April 1, 1992). "'Room' in the top 10 for ABC". Life. USA Today. p. 03.D.
49. Donna Gable (April 15, 1992). "CBS' historic jump". Life. USA Today. p. 03.D.
50. Donna Gable (April 29, 1992). "ABC wins with news, goodbyes". Life. USA Today. p. 03.D.
51. Brian Donlon (May 13, 1992). "Finales put NBC in first". Life. USA Today. p. 03.D.
52. Donna Gable (September 2, 1992). "Storm blows in CBS' favor". Life. USA Today. p. 03.D.
53. The Simpsons Archive: Simpsons DVD News Archive – Season 3 (The Springfield Times)
54. Ferguson, LaToya (November 14, 2019). "Disney+ Is Missing the Michael Jackson Episode of 'The Simpsons'". IndieWire. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
55. . TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved March 14, 2008.
56. . The Simpsons Shop. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved March 14, 2008.

Further reading

• Groening, Matt (1997). Richmond, Ray; Coffman, Antonia (eds.). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family (1st ed.). New York: HarperPerennial. ISBN 978-0-06-095252-5. LCCN 98141857. OCLC 37796735. OL 433519M.
• Turner, Chris (2004). Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation. Foreword by Douglas Coupland. (1st ed.). Toronto: Random House Canada. ISBN 978-0-679-31318-2. OCLC 55682258.

External links

 

Wikiquote has quotations related to The Simpsons' season 3.

•  The Simpsons portal

• Season 3 at the BBC