The Simpsons: 10 Characters Who Reappeared After Long Absences
3. Dr. Marvin Monroe
Now to a character who many thought was dead - but isn't!
Springfield's resident celebrity counsellor had his starring moment in the Season 1 episode There's No Disgrace Like Home, where he attempts to fix the Simpson family's dysfunctional relationship with electroshock therapy! Somebody should really check this guy's licence.
He would make some more appearances throughout the first few seasons, before eventually being retired because Harry Shearer hated doing his voice, and Matt Groening found him too annoying.
His disappearance is famously recognised in the Season 7 non-canon episode The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular, where Troy McClure announces his death and then brutally describes him as "never popular". We even see his tombstone in the episode where Maude Flanders dies.
But, in a twist that even M. Night Shyamalan wouldn't have seen coming, Dr. Monroe seemingly returns from the grave in Season 15's Diatribe of a Mad Housewife. He is seen buying a copy of Marge's new book, and she even tells him that she thought he was dead. Monroe's response? "I've just been very sick".
Well, that's probably as good an explanation as we're going to get.