The Episode Capsule FAQ

Perhaps more so than with other series, The Simpsons rewards attentive viewing. After a new episode of The Simpsons airs, fans of the show (the ones with Internet access, anyway) flood the alt.tv.simpsons newsgroup with lists of all the subtle jokes they caught. It's not unusual to see a show that first aired years ago, and still catch something that hadn't been noticed before.

An episode capsule puts all this information in one handy place, listing as many DYNs, freeze-frame jokes, and references as we viewers can find. In addition, the capsules also have short reviews of each show, so you can see what people thought of them at the time they aired. But wait, that's not all! You also get a detailed plot summary, complete with quotes from the show that you can use to impress your friends and business acquaintances.

On the Web, /episodes.html is the source for episode capsules. At this site, you'll find a list of every short and full-length episode of The Simpsons. Episodes with capsules will have a link to that capsule -- just follow the link to read it. For example, to see the capsule for My Sister, My Sitter, click on the production code number to the left of the episode title. So far, we have capsules for each short and full-length episode up to the eighth season. Portions of the ninth, tenth, and eleventh seasons are also complete.

Finally, new episode capsules get posted from time to time on Usenet's alt.tv.simpsons newsgroup. I don't re-post old ones there, though. If you want them, you'll have to use the WWW path mentioned above.

We were so busy trying to find out which state Springfield was in that we lost track of the time.

Oh, fine, here's a serious answer. The main "unofficial" Simpson site, simpsonsarchive.com, underwent a thorough revamping during the show's eighth season. The site's spiffier and user-friendlier now, but the redo took time away from capsule production. At the same time, the previous compiler, Frederic Briere, developed a tool that allows us to produce capsules more quickly and (more important) with better quality control. Of course, no new capsules were written while the tool was being developed, but now we can get them out faster.

We are slowly getting a handle on the backlog. Hari Wierny has volunteered to look after the long-neglected ninth season capsules. Benjamin Robinson is working on the tenth and eleventh seasons. Andrew Gill is working to update the older capsules from the show's early days. Each new capsule takes from two to three weeks (or more) to produce, so it will take a while to do everything, but it will get done. So relax: We haven't stopped making them or been kidnapped by Fox lawyers or anything.

Slowly. [giggle]

First, Fox airs a new episode. Then, people across North America either post their capsule contributions to the alt.tv.simpsons newsgroup, to the nohomers.net thread for the episode, or e-mail them to the capsule address at simpsonsarchive.com. (For more on this, see the next question.) I take these responses and filter out duplicate entries, assign credit to the people who spotted a particular joke first, and just generally get everyone's observations ready for prime time. Using Frederic Briere's capsule tool, I write up the capsules in a markup language format that looks like this:

.PC 4F16
.TI The Canine Mutiny
.WR Ron Hauge
.DI Dom Polcino
.RV A, 20-Aug-1998
.AI 13-Apr-97
.RA 8.1, 43 / 118  {ol}
.IN contrib: "coreppl.txt"
.

.se tvguide

.li None submitted.
.li [If you use these summaries to determine if you found the right
capsule, here's a TV Guide-like synopsis:  After using his credit card
to buy another dog, Bart must choose between his new wonder-pooch and
the bumbling but loyal Santa's Little Helper. -- Ed.]

.se opening

.he blackboard
.li A fire drill does not demand a fire {hl}

.he couch
.li Grampa is sleeping on the foldout sofa, and only manages to utter a
"huh?" before the family folds back the sofa over him.  They sit, as if
nothing happened.  Recycled from [4F10]

This is run through the capsule "compiler" to produce the final output:

The Canine Mutiny                                   Written by Ron Hauge
                                                 Directed by Dom Polcino
========================================================================
Production code: 4F16                 Original Airdate on FOX: 13-Apr-97
Capsule revision A, 31-Aug-1998
========================================================================
> "TV Guide" Synopsis
========================================================================
   None submitted.

   [If you use these summaries to determine if you found the right
    capsule, here's a TV Guide-like synopsis:  After using his credit
    card to buy another dog, Bart must choose between his new wonder-
    pooch and the bumbling but loyal Santa's Little Helper. -- Ed.]

========================================================================
> Title sequence
========================================================================
Blackboard:     A fire drill does not demand a fire  {hl}

Couch:          Grampa is sleeping on the foldout sofa, and only manages
                to utter a "huh?" before the family folds back the sofa
                over him.  They sit, as if nothing happened.  Recycled
                from [4F10]

The quote and summary section is created separately, and then dropped into the neatly formatted compiler output. Voila -- a new episode capsule. In total, the whole thing takes between six and nine hours, spread out over a few weeks.

As mentioned earlier, an episode capsule is really a collection of comments and observations made about the episode by fans. If people stopped commenting, there would essentially be no episode capsule. The best way to help is to keep pointing out the jokes that other people might have missed. Post them to the Simpsons newsgroup, or e-mail them to capsules@simpsonsarchive.com.

Note that, for the backlog of older episodes, we already have plenty of material, so you should probably concentrate on the new episodes that Fox broadcasts. Of course, if a capsule comes out, and you notice something missing, you can e-mail us at capsules@simpsonsarchive.com. That is also the address you should use if you wish to send us submissions for the old capsules ("old" means "first season or so" here).

Before you contribute anything, it would be a good idea to read the Capsule Submission Guidelines.

Fire an e-mail to capsules@simpsonsarchive.com. It may be some time before the update is actually made, however, since we are concentrating on putting new capsule material onto the Archive.

Episode titles tend to come from nohomers.net, which in turn come from various sources, including Twitter tweets from the show's writers.

Production codes (those oddball little numbers, like 1F22) aren't nearly as mysterious. They are a unique "serial number" for each episode. The code appears in the credits, on the screen with the copyright information. If you're watching a show made after 1997 or so, get out your magnifying glass; Fox went to the split screen credit format that year, making the writing really tiny.

Here's a quick rundown on how episode capsules are organized.

Header

Shows what the episode is called, who wrote and directed it, and when it aired on Fox (in the United States), among other things. The header also indicates when the capsule was made, and what revision you are looking at.

TV Guide Synopsis

One- or two-sentence summary of what the episode is about. We use the actual "TV Guide" summary (either American or Canadian, or both), if it's available.

Title Sequence

Lists the blackboard and couch gags, and the variation on Lisa's solo. (If they apply. Some shows have shortened introductions that omit one or more of these elements.)

Did You Notice

Jokes and things that are quirky or not immediately obvious. This is sometimes called the "DYN" section.

Voice Credits

Who did what voice.

Movie (and other) references

Lists the movies, television shows and other targets of the writers' satire.

Previous episode references

A broad category listing situations when someone refers to something from a past episode, or when an unusual character reappears, or for a situation that recurs.

Freeze frame fun

This section lists things that you usually need to pause your VCR to see. It also lists funny signs, even if you can see them without pausing.

Animation, continuity, and other goofs

Well, nobody's perfect. This section lists the slip-ups that inevitably occur.

Reviews

Provides brief reviews of the episode.

Comments and other observations

This is for background information and detailed discussion on someone or something mentioned only briefly in the episode, or for lists that don't really fit anywhere else in the capsule.

Quotes and Scene Summary

Plot description and funny quotations from the show. The ratio of summary to quotation differs, depending on who wrote that episode's transcription.

Contributors

In some sections, I credit people with little sets of initials. For example, "jac" instead of "James A. Cherry." This section shows which names go with which initials.

Legal Mumbo Jumbo

Copyright and dedication information.

The Capsule Submission Guide has more information, if you'd like to read about it.

For recurring characters, one can just look up the voice actors' name in the Cast List or even in previous episode capsules. The one-shot characters are a little harder -- after all, most of the voice actors are hired specifically for their ability to disguise their voice. Trying to compare the "unknown" characters voice with characters we know about can help; if a character sounds similar to, say, Abe we can guess that Dan Castellaneta did the voice. If someone submits a guess as to who voiced whom, we'll sometimes use that. Uncertain voice matches are flagged with a question mark.

For the shows that I (Benjamin Robinson) personally transcribe, I tape the shows on my VCR, then make an audio tape recording of each and transcribe it onto a computer. I try to quote funny or important dialog directly, and summarize the more visually-oriented action scenes. The quotes should "stand on their own," making sense even if you don't have the surrounding summary. It takes me three to four hours per show.

For the shows that other people transcribe, you'll have to ask them. My understanding is that they use a technique like the one I just described.

For two reasons. First, for consistency -- the previous compilers did them that way, so we do too. Secondly, for quote file purposes. For people who maintain Simpsons quote files, it's necessary to identify where each individual quotation comes from. Including the name makes their task easier.

They are category markers. Here's what they mean:

  - Drawing errors, either in the background, or for one frame.
    ("The power plant has an extra cooling tower in the intro shot")

  = Animation errors, that happen over several frames.
    ("The watch Homer wears appears out of nowhere")

  + Continuity errors
    ("Bart wasn't twenty-five years old before")

  * Script errors (i.e., things that can't happen.)
    ("Lisa cannot fly unaided")

  c Closed Captioning errors
    ("Burns said, 'You're fired,' but the caption read, 'You're hired'")

The capsules the previous and current compilers have written are copyrighted works. You may keep the capsules for your personal use and you may e-mail them to your friends, but you may not redistribute them in a public forum without obtaining prior permission from me. So, for example, if you want to make them available on your BBS, you must ask The Simpsons Archive first.

As well, please give us credit for them; do not remove the trailer. We've spent a lot of time working on them -- would you be happy if someone else took credit for your work? Not likely!

Ah, you must be referring to The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family. I like to think of the two as being complementary.

The book's strengths:

• It's convenient. Most people don't have a full-time connection to the internet, so looking something up from simpsonsarchive.com entails turning your computer on, connecting with your ISP, and navigating to the capsule you want. Opening a book is easier.

• It's available to people who don't have computers. These people are deprived enough already, so why deny them information about TV's best show?

• It has pictures, although small ones, from the show.

simpsonsarchive.com's strengths:

• It's more comprehensive. The average capsule is fifteen pages long when rendered in a single-spaced 10-point courier font. Even allowing for the fact that a publisher can probably squeeze that down to ten or so pages, a complete set of capsules would be about 2,000 pages long. That's nine times longer than the Guide.

• It's updated dynamically. simpsonsarchive.com can add new capsules as new episodes air, and can update old capsules with new information. A book publisher can't do that.

• It's free. (Provided you already have a computer with Internet access.)

In the end, both resources are pretty handy to have around.

In the absence of hard evidence to the contrary, it's best to give the Guide's authors the benefit of the doubt. Remember that they see the same episodes we do. There are only so many ways to point out that Homer said, "Mmmm ... something," so even for two sets of people working independently, there's bound to be some overlap.

(And technically, that's not a question.)

The capsules have become a team effort now so there are actually several answers to that question. The capsule team is:

• Andrew Gill -- Updating the early capsules (like the ones from the first season) to "modern" standards.

• Benjamin Robinson -- Coordinates the effort among the other capsule staffers, and tenth-season (and newer) capsule compilation.

• Hari Wierny -- Ninth-season (and newer) capsule compilation.

You can reach all of these people through capsules@simpsonsarchive.com. (We also have "real" ISP addresses, but those might eventually become outdated. The addresses listed here should work for as long as we're associated with the capsule project.)

Why I'm doing this is a trickier to answer. (Especially since I can only speak for myself, and not for Andrew or Hari.) I'm not getting paid for this, it's just Internet volunteerism in action. I "discovered" the capsules three years ago, carefully squirreling them away on my hard drive and then reading them one by one. The capsule project is one of the neatest things I've seen, and I like giving back to something that has given me this enjoyment over the years.

Besides, Fr?d?ric Bri?re (the previous maintainer) asked me nicely.

Yes. In Sideshow Bob Roberts (2F02), he says Sideshow Bob's ultraconservative policies conflict with his "choice of lifestyle". In Who Shot Mr. Burns, Part II (2F20), he says he tried to march in the St. Patrick's Day parade, a reference to the Irish gay people who tried to march in it a few years ago. And, according to the alt.tv.simpsons LISA/FAQ, producer David Silverman has said outright that yes, he's gay.