6.1 - The Episode Capsules

The episode capsule is perhaps the ultimate resource file for every episode of The Simpsons outside of the production offices. It contains a summary of the script, reviews, and observations posted to the newsgroup for each episode. For more details, see the Episode Capsule FAQ located at /guides/capfaq.html or check out one of the capsules themselves.

With the exception of the second music video, "Deep Deep Trouble", capsules exist for every episode, short, and music video preceding Season Thirteen.

During 2011 we are kicking off a new effort to resume our publication of episode capsules. Watch this web site, alt.tv.simpsons, our Facebook site or our Twitter feed to catch the latest information on new capsules as they are released!

The originator of the episode capsules is Raymond Chen, who produced most of the capsules through Season Four. James Cherry took over capsule duties from Season Five until midway through Season Seven. Ricardo Lafaurie finished the latter half of Season Seven. Chris Baird, Dave Hall, Scott Simpson and Juha Terho are responsible for the remaining handful of capsules not produced by Raymond Chen, James Cherry, Ricardo Lafaurie, Frederic Briere or Benjamin Robinson.

Jason Saslow has kindly revised and refurbished the first eight season's episode capsules.

6.2 - Lists and Guides

In addition to the L.I.S.A., several other reference works are available, such as cast lists and episode guides. These documents are highly recommended for persons interested in more details on these particular aspects of the show.

NOTE: Certain documents have been neglected for quite some time. They are being edited and worked on, but in the meantime, do not be surprised if you find some documents with information that does not go beyond Season Six or Seven.

Episode Quicklist

To keep down the size of the L.I.S.A., the Episode QuickList will not be listed on this page. Instead, please visit its proper location at /guides/ql.html.

Listed there are the shorts, episodes, and music videos with their production codes for the series. Information on unbroadcasted episodes is preliminary and is subject to change. Brackets indicate working titles.

Episode Guides and Technical Documents:

• Jouni Paakkinen's Episode QuickList  (/guides/ql.html)
• Don Del Grande's Episode Guide  (/guides/)
• Jouni Paakkinen's Writers & Directors List
    (/guides/writers.directors.html)
• Wesley Mead's Cast List  (/guides/castlist.html)
• Guide to The Simpsons from The Tracey Ullman Show
    (/guides/tracey.ullman.html)
• Don Del Grande's Blackboard Punishment Listing
    (/guides/chalkboard.openings.html)
• Don Del Grande's Couch Gags Listing  (/guides/couch.openings.html)
• Don Del Grande's Airdates Listing  (/guides/episode_list.html)
• Don Del Grande's Bart's Prank Calls To Moe's Tavern Guide
    (/guides/moe_calls.html)
• Benjamin Robinson's Episode Capsule FAQ  (/guides/capfaq.html)

Miscellaneous Documents:

• Don Del Grande's Upcoming Episodes Listing
    (/guides/upcoming.html>
• Where is Springfield?  (/guides/springfield.list.html)
• David "Weirdguy" Kendall's Simpsons Geek Code
    (/guides/geekcode.html)
• Joey Berner's The Simpsons Drinking Game
    (/guides/drinking.game.html
• Matt Garvey's Syndication Cuts Guide  /episodes/scg.html
• Jason Hancock's List of Syndication Stations and Air Times
    (/guides/stations.html)
• Bruce Gomes' Simpsons Comics Guide  (/episodes/comics.html)

There are also many other documents available that are not listed here, such as character files, pop culture references, literature, music, fan fiction, information on merchandise, and much more. Please see the List of Lists for more information, or browse the FTP and WWW sites.

6.3 - Internet Resources

Newsgroups:

alt.tv.simpsons                - For general discussion of The Simpsons
de.rec.tv.simpsons             - For German-speaking fans of The Simpsons
uk.media.tv.simpsons           - For fans of The Simpsons in the U.K.
it.fan.simpsons                - For Italian fans of The Simpsons
peru.fans.simpsons             - For fans of The Simpsons in Peru
alt.fan.itchy-n-scratchy       - For fans of Itchy & Scratchy
alt.tv.simpsons.itchy-scratchy - For discussing "The Itchy & Scratchy Show"
alt.binaries.tv.simpsons       - For the posting of Simpsons images
alt.binaries.sounds.cartoons   - For sounds related to the Simpsons
alt.tv.king-of-hill            - For discussing King of the Hill
alt.tv.southpark               - For discussing South Park
alt.tv.futurama                - For discussing Futurama
alt.tv.family-guy              - For discussing Family Guy

World Wide Web:

Commercial pages:
http://www.thesimpsons.com
http://www.harryshearer.com    (Harry Shearer's site)
http://www.thenancyshow.com    (Nancy Cartwright's site)
http://animatedtv.about.com/od/thesimpsons
Open Directory's Simpsons Resources

simpsonsarchive.com has a more comprehensive links list available at /contacts.html.

I heard Fox is shutting down websites. Is this true?

They are, unfortunately, and have been for some time. Beginning in 1996, FOX began shutting down sites containing large amounts of multimedia, such as sound clips and video clips. These are perceived as a violation of intellectual property.

To be fair, FOX itself does not ask that sites be shut down, it only asks for the removal of violating materials. Often what happens is that the services providing the webspace will receive the notification from FOX before the webmaster does and they will delete the account without warning, leaving the webmaster out in the cold. This is especially common with commercial providers like Geocities and Tripod.

FOX does not single out Simpsons sites in particular, either, as many sites devoted to the X-Files, King of the Hill, and Futurama have also received the dreaded "Cease and Desist" letter.

Where can I download Simpsons episodes off the net?

The L.I.S.A. does not endorse the practice of downloading episodes off the internet for legal reasons. Doing so may put The Simpsons Archive, the L.I.S.A., and all of its maintainers and regular contributors at risk of legal action.

FOX has a history of acting aggressively towards internet websites that may infringe on copyrighted materials, such as those that host large archives of multimedia from The Simpsons and other FOX shows.

In the meantime, you can support the show and its hard-working staff by purchasing the video or DVD sets.

Copyright © 2011 by Bruce Gomes (See Sec 7.3)