8 Ways Test Audiences Changed TV Shows
5. Conventions And Colleges Love A Richard Simmons Joke Too Much To Lose It - The Simpsons
Shifting gears slightly, here we have a show that was well into its fifth season when a particular joke was scrapped due to it being seen as a bit of a dud, in all honesty.
The sequence in question came during The Simpsons episode titled "Burns' Heir", an entry that saw Bart getting adopted by Homer's boss Mr. Burns. After the Simpsons patriarch attempts to convince his son to give up his new life and return home, Homer is chased away by a robot version of American fitness personality Richard Simmons - all while the robot blasts out "Shake that Booty" by The Sunshine Band.
With this joke not consistently producing laughs at table reads, it was initially left on the scrap heap. But then something odd happened. After the episode was shown to various colleges and conventions with the scene left intact, these crowds erupted with laughter upon witnessing robo-Simmons gyrate and explode outside of Burn's mansion.
It was so well received that the minds behind the show opted to include it in the Season 5 DVD and Season 7's "138th Episode Spectacular" clip episode later down the line.