The Simpsons
Once Upon a Time in Springfield
TV Flash files “Once Upon a Time in Springfield” as hour 451 of 802 in the TV Flash guide — The Simpsons (1989–present) on Fox, season 21, episode 10, aired 2010-01-10, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S21E10: listed hour 451 of 802 in the The Simpsons guide, hour 10 of 23 in season 21. It aired 2010-01-10 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Thursdays with Abie” (S21E09). Next is “Million Dollar Maybe” (S21E11). Broadcast log — titles and dates, not a plot bible.
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
In the landmark 450th episode of THE SIMPSONS, Krusty is approached by two network executives who want to bring on female co-star Princess Penelope to increase the show's female demographic. The onstage and behind-the-scenes rapport between Krusty and Princess Penelope grows, and before long, Krusty asks for his co-star's hand in marriage. Meanwhile, when Mr. Burns puts a stop to the free donuts at the plant to cut costs, Homer, Lenny and Carl decide to meet with a headhunter who specializes in nuclear workers and opens their eyes to opportunities free of draconian donut-cutting measures.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Once Upon a Time in Springfield sit in the The Simpsons guide?
S21E10 is listed hour 451 of 802 — hour 10 of 23 in season 21, season 21 episode 10.
When did The Simpsons S21E10 air?
Once Upon a Time in Springfield aired 2010-01-10 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Where should I start if I am not watching all 800 episodes?
Start with the 1989 Christmas premiere, then a handful of golden-age hours from seasons four through eight. Treat the rest as a library, not a novel.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Watch it as a living joke encyclopedia, not a series you owe from pilot to present. The early years still teach how American satire learned to reset weekly; the later catalog is optional weather. You already speak Springfield. This is how the grammar got written.
The first image is a couch, and then it is not. The Simpsons treats the opening gag as a weekly contract: we will reset the living room, and we will still find a new joke about the country that owns it. Fox put a yellow family on Sunday nights in 1989 after the Tracey Ullman shorts, and the half-hour that followed did not merely popularize adult animation. It installed a shared vocabulary. People who stopped watching still speak Springfield.
Filed against
- Dan Castellaneta as Homer Simpson
Dan Castellaneta voices Homer Simpson — the yellow everyman who turned “D’oh!” into a global punctuation mark. Decades of The Simpsons mean his throat is half of American cartoon history. TV Flash tips the doughnut to the man behind the…
- Julie Kavner as Marge Simpson
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- Nancy Cartwright as Bart Simpson
Nancy Cartwright’s Bart Simpson is Springfield’s weekly reset in a kid’s voice — the prank as American satire’s engine since Fox put a yellow family on Sunday nights in 1989. The Simpsons is a joke encyclopedia still adding pages; she is…
- Yeardley Smith as Lisa Simpson
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- Hank Azaria as Moe / Chief Wiggum
Hank Azaria voices Moe and Chief Wiggum on The Simpsons — Springfield as a living joke encyclopedia, bar and badge as two dialects in Fox's yellow reference language. TV Flash files him as the show's vocal furniture: the early years still…
- Harry Shearer as Mr. Burns / Ned Flanders
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