The Simpsons: 10 Real Unaired Pitches (And What They Could Have Been About)

4. Homer Vs. Dr. Hibbert On The Issue of Race

For all the satirical takes on American culture and modern society the show has done, The Simpsons have never really tackled race - not the greatest source of comedy - in a big way. Writer Greg Daniels reportedly pitched a story exploring the concept of race in Springfield several times. If you exclude minor recurring characters such as Cookie Kwan, Bleeding Gums Murphy, Apu's wife Manjula and his cousin Sanjay, there aren't many main black or Asian characters. Of the multi-national characters in the show, it could be argued that they fit into racial stereotypes: Groundskeeper Willie (angry Scot), Fat Tony (Italian mobster) and Krusty The Clown (self-loathing Jewish comedian) are all examples that spring to mind. Homer deals with Apu, Carl and Dr Hibbert more than any other character so it seems apt that he would feature strongly in this pitch. A new black family, possibly from another country, could move to Evergreen Terrace and Homer would disagree with their lifestyle and how they have come here. Dr Hibbert could challenge Homer's views on race and multi-cultural beliefs, pointing out how all the characters in the town have contributed to the ever changing culture of America and how his black friends are more intelligent than he thinks (Nahasapeemapetilon, Hibbert and Carlson all have PHDs from university.) Before long, the two are clashing in a variety of ways over the pros and cons of each culture. At the end of the episode, with the help of the town, Homer comes to realise how wrong his views have been and he embraces all of his friends like never before. The episode could work but it needs sharp writing and on point jokes that makes it feel balanced. It would be a difficult topic to broach, particularly this far into The Simpsons' run - the episode was mooted for featuring in season seven during the show's peak for writing, jokes and great episodes. In the audio commentary for "Bart Sells His Soul", Oakley mentions that the idea was nixed because it was decided "The Simpsons may not be the right forum to deal with racism." Daniels doesn't seem to remember the story at all when Oakley brings it up. This suggests that the idea never got further than the initial pitch and it might be for the best.