The tenth season of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons aired on Fox between August 23, 1998, and May 16, 1999. It contains 23 episodes, starting with "Lard of the Dance". The Simpsons is a satire of a middle-class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie. Set in the fictional city of Springfield, the show lampoons American culture, society, television, and many aspects of the human condition.
The showrunner for the tenth season was Mike Scully. Before production began, a salary dispute between the main cast members of The Simpsons and Fox arose. However, it was soon settled and the actors' salaries were raised to $125,000 per episode. In addition to the large Simpsons cast, many guest stars appeared in season ten, including Phil Hartman in his last appearance due to his death months earlier in May 1998.
Season ten won an Annie Award for "Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Television Program". It ranked twenty-fifth in the season ratings with an average of 13.5 million viewers per episode. Along with season nine, season ten has been cited by several critics as the transition between the series' classic era and its decline in quality. The tenth season DVD boxset was released in the United States and Canada on August 7, 2007. It is available in two different packagings.
Production The tenth season was the second during which Mike Scully served as showrunner (he had previously run the ninth season), with the season being produced by Gracie Films and 20th Century Fox Television. As showrunner and executive producer, Scully headed the writing staff and oversaw all aspects of the show's production. However, as he told UltimateTV in January 1999, he did not "make any decisions without the staff's input. We have great staffs in all the departments from animation to writing. So I don't want to make it sound like a dictatorship." Scully was popular with the staff members, many of whom have praised his organization and management skills. Writer Tom Martin has said that he was "quite possibly the best boss I've ever worked for" and "a great manager of people". Scully's aim while running The Simpsons was to "not wreck the show". In addition to his role as showrunner during the tenth season, he co-wrote the episode "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday".
In 1999, there were around sixteen staff writers working on The Simpsons. Many of them had written for the show for several years, including John Swartzwelder and George Meyer. The third episode of the tenth season, "Bart the Mother", was the last full-length episode written by David S. Cohen, a longtime writer on the show. He left to team up with The Simpsons creator Matt Groening to develop Futurama, a series on which he served as executive producer and head writer. The tenth season marked the full-time return of staff member Al Jean, who had departed from the show after the fourth season to create the animated series The Critic. Between seasons four and ten, he had only worked periodically on the show, writing four episodes.
The main cast of the season consisted of Dan Castellaneta (Homer Simpson, Grampa Simpson, Krusty the Clown, among others), Julie Kavner (Marge Simpson), Nancy Cartwright (Bart Simpson, Ralph Wiggum, Nelson Muntz), Yeardley Smith (Lisa Simpson), Hank Azaria (Moe Szyslak, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Chief Wiggum, among others) and Harry Shearer (Ned Flanders, Mr. Burns, Principal Skinner, among others). Up until the production of season ten in 1998, these six main voice actors were paid $30,000 per episode. In 1998, a salary dispute between them and the Fox Broadcasting Company (which airs The Simpsons) arose, with the actors threatening to go on a strike. Fox went as far as preparing for casting of new voices, but an agreement was soon made and the actors' salaries were raised to $125,000 per episode. Groening expressed his sympathy for the cast members in an issue of Mother Jones a while after the salary dispute had been settled. He told the magazine: "They are incredibly talented, and they deserve a chance to be as rich and miserable as anyone else in Hollywood. It looked for a while there like we might not have a show, because everyone was holding firm on all sides. That's still my attitude: Hold out for as much money as you can get, but do make the deal."
Other cast members of the season included Pamela Hayden (Milhouse Van Houten, among others), Tress MacNeille (Agnes Skinner, among others), Maggie Roswell (Helen Lovejoy, Maude Flanders, among others), Russi Taylor (Martin Prince), and Karl Wiedergott. Season ten also featured a large number of guest stars, including Phil Hartman in his final appearance on the show in the episode "Bart the Mother" that originally aired on September 27, 1998. Hartman was shot dead by his wife four months before the episode aired and it was dedicated to his memory. Rather than replacing Hartman with a new voice actor, the production staff retired two of his recurring characters, Troy McClure and Lionel Hutz, from the show. Hutz and McClure still appear in various Simpsons comics.
Voice cast & characters
This is the last season to feature the character Troy McClure, voiced by Phil Hartman. Following Hartman's death on May 28, 1998, McClure was retired along with Hartman's other recurring character Lionel Hutz; his final speaking role as McClure was in the third episode "Bart the Mother", which aired four months after his death. The episode was dedicated to Hartman.
Main cast Dan Castellaneta as Homer Simpson, Krusty the Clown, Groundskeeper Willie, Bill, Grampa Simpson, Mayor Quimby, Barney Gumble, Itchy, Poochie, Kodos, Sideshow Mel, Louie, Captain Lance Murdock, Gil Gunderson, Snake, Rich Texan, Santa's Little Helper, Hans Moleman and various others Julie Kavner as Marge Simpson, Patty Bouvier, Selma Bouvier and various others Nancy Cartwright as Bart Simpson, Ralph Wiggum, Nelson Muntz, Database, Rod Flanders, Todd Flanders, Lewis Clark, Kearney Zzyzwicz and various others Yeardley Smith as Lisa Simpson Hank Azaria as Apu, Luigi Risotto, Moe Szyslak, Professor Frink, Snake, Chief Wiggum, Dr. Nick Riviera, Lou, Carl Carlson, Comic Book Guy, Kirk Van Houten, Superintendent Chalmers, Legs, Cletus Spuckler, Drederick Tatum, Pyro, Captain McCallister, Bumblebee Man, State Comptroller Atkins, Doug, Old Jewish Man and various others Harry Shearer as Principal Skinner, Marty, Lenny Leonard, Ned Flanders, Kent Brockman, Reverend Lovejoy, Jasper Beardsley, Mr. Burns, Waylon Smithers, Scratchy, Dr. Hibbert, Kang, Maggie Simpson, Sanjay Nahasapeemapetilon, Eddie, Otto Mann, Judge Snyder, Rainier Wolfcastle and various others
Recurring Pamela Hayden as Milhouse Van Houten, Wendell Borton, Lewis Clark, Rod Flanders, Ginger Flanders, Sarah Wiggum, Jimbo Jones and various others Tress MacNeille as Agnes Skinner, Mona Simpson, Amber Simpson, Mrs. Muntz, Jimbo Jones, Bernice Hibbert, Lindsey Naegle and various others Maggie Roswell as Miss Hoover, Maude Flanders, Helen Lovejoy, Luann Van Houten, Ruth Powers and various others Russi Taylor as Sherri and Terri, Allison Taylor, Janey Powell, Martin Prince, Billy and Uter Zorker Karl Wiedergott as Ned Flanders (Homer to the Max) and additional characters
Guest stars
Marcia Wallace as Edna Krabappel (9 episodes) Lisa Kudrow as Alex Whitney ("Lard of the Dance") William Daniels as KITT ("The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace") Phil Hartman as Troy McClure ("Bart the Mother") Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger ("Treehouse of Horror IX") Ed McMahon as himself ("Treehouse of Horror IX") Jerry Springer as himself ("Treehouse of Horror IX") Regis Philbin as himself ("Treehouse of Horror IX", live-action sequence) Kathie Lee Gifford as herself ("Treehouse of Horror IX", live-action sequence) Alec Baldwin as himself ("When You Dish Upon a Star") Kim Basinger as herself ("When You Dish Upon a Star") Ron Howard as himself ("When You Dish Upon a Star") Brian Grazer as himself ("When You Dish Upon a Star") Yo La Tengo perform the end theme in "D'oh-in' in the Wind" George Carlin as Munchie ("D'oh-in' in the Wind") Martin Mull as Seth ("D'oh-in' in the Wind") Mark Hamill as himself and Leavelle ("Mayored to the Mob") Joe Mantegna as Fat Tony ("Mayored to the Mob") Dick Tufeld as Lost in Space Robot ("Mayored to the Mob") The Moody Blues as themselves ("Viva Ned Flanders") Cyndi Lauper as herself ("Wild Barts Can't Be Broken") Troy Aikman as himself ("Sunday, Cruddy Sunday") Rosey Grier as himself ("Sunday, Cruddy Sunday") John Madden as himself ("Sunday, Cruddy Sunday") Dan Marino as himself ("Sunday, Cruddy Sunday") Rupert Murdoch as himself ("Sunday, Cruddy Sunday") Dolly Parton as herself ("Sunday, Cruddy Sunday") Pat Summerall as himself ("Sunday, Cruddy Sunday") Fred Willard as Wally Kogen ("Sunday, Cruddy Sunday") Ed Begley Jr. as himself ("Homer to the Max") Jan Hooks as Manjula Nahasapeemapetilon ("I'm with Cupid") Elton John as himself ("I'm with Cupid") John Kassir as Possum ("Marge Simpson in: 'Screaming Yellow Honkers') Hank Williams Jr. as Canyonero singer ("Marge Simpson in: 'Screaming Yellow Honkers') Isabella Rossellini as Astrid Weller ("Mom and Pop Art") Jasper Johns as himself ("Mom and Pop Art") Jack LaLanne as himself ("The Old Man and the 'C' Student") Michael McKean as Jerry Rude ("Monty Can't Buy Me Love") Stephen Hawking as himself ("They Saved Lisa's Brain") George Takei as Wink ("Thirty Minutes over Tokyo") Denice Kumagai as Japanese Mother ("Thirty Minutes over Tokyo") Karen Maruyama as Japanese Stewardess ("Thirty Minutes over Tokyo") Gedde Watanabe as Japanese Father and Waiter ("Thirty Minutes over Tokyo") Keone Young as Sumo Wrestler ("Thirty Minutes over Tokyo")
Release Broadcast and ratings The tenth season of The Simpsons was originally broadcast in the United States on the Fox network between August 23, 1998, and May 16, 1999. Although "Lard of the Dance" aired on August 23 (billed as a "summer original") to increase ratings for the early premieres of That '70s Show by serving as a lead-in, "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace" (airing on September 20, 1998) was the official premiere of the tenth season. The season aired in the 8:00 p.m. time slot on Sundays. It ranked twenty-fifth (tied with Dharma & Greg) in the ratings for the 1998–1999 television season with an average of 13.5 million viewers per episode, dropping twelve percent in number of average viewers from the last season. The Simpsons was Fox's third-highest-rated show of the television season, following The X-Files (ranked twelfth) and Ally McBeal (ranked twentieth).
Critical reception