The Simpsons: 10 Episodes Probably Made Out Of Spite
1. The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show
The fourteenth episode of season eight of The Simpsons saw the show overtake The Flintstones’s episode count to become the longest running animated series on television. It was a perfectly timed affair as, in the lead up to the season, Fox had expressed some concerns about the show’s shelf-life and longevity. A suggestion was pitched to add a new main character to the show to shake up the formula... an idea that the writer’s room laughed off.
Parodying Fox’s real life worries, The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show sees the popularity of Bart and Lisa’s favourite cat and mouse duo waning. Much like Fox had suggested to the Simpsons writers, the fictional heads behind Itchy & Scratchy propose the idea of adding a new character to freshen things up. Naturally, Poochie’s over-the-top persona and position as the “shiny new thing” is poorly received and kids just want the thing they loved back.
The episode turned Fox’s request into a one of the show's best outings. Many jokes from it are still remembered fondly today, taking aim at the fickleness and sometimes obsessive nature of television viewers.
And hey, Fox can’t say the writers didn’t do as they asked. The episode also features an unexplained older son of the Simpson family Roy, played totally straight for extra laughs as the main story unfolds around them.