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Season 1
Season 2
Season 3


The 2nd season began on October 11, 1990, with the first episode, "Bart Gets an "F"" and ended on July 11, 1991, with "Blood Feud." Matt Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon were the show runners of the season, as they were for the first season.

While "Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish" was the first episode produced for the season, "Bart Gets an "F"" became the season premiere as Bart was the series' breakout character at the time and the producers wanted to debut with an episode centering on him.

The second season had two Emmy nominations, both of them for "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment." The episode also won the Emmy award for Outstanding Animated Program and was nominated for "Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or a Special," which it did not win.

All 22 episodes of Season 2, including extras such as optional commentaries of all the episodes, were released on DVD on August 6, 2002, in Region 1; July 8, 2002, in Region 2; and September 2002 in Region 4.

This is the first season to finally include Treehouse of Horror, as well as the first season to have 20 episodes. This is also the first season to have its episodes air in October.

Episodes[]

Picture # Original title (top)
Alternate title (bottom)
Original airdate Directed by Written by Prod. code
7F03 14 - 1 "Bart Gets an "F"" October 11, 1990 David Silverman David M. Stern 7F03

Bart is continually failing tests and is warned that if he fails an upcoming history exam, he will be held back to repeat the fourth grade. Not wanting to be held back, Bart enlists the help of Martin Prince, the class brain, to study for the history test, in exchange for Bart teaching Martin how to be cool.

Simpson and Delilah 15 - 2 "Simpson and Delilah" October 18, 1990 Rich Moore Jon Vitti 7F02

Homer learns of a new hair growth formula, called Dimoxinil, and is eager to try it as he has come to resent being bald. Unable to afford the Dimoxinil, Homer cheats on his medical insurance forms to obtain it. The forumula works, and a no-longer-bald Homer is promoted to executive and gets a male secretary named Karl.

Treehouse of horror 16 - 3

"Treehouse of Horror" "The Simpsons Halloween Special 1"

October 25, 1990 Wes Archer, Rich Moore and David Silverman Jay Kogen & Wallace Wolodarsky 7F04

Opening Sequence: Marge warns viewers that the following episode is unsuitable for children, and recommends that they can't be allowed to watch it.

Prologue: Bart and Lisa are in the treehouse telling stories, while Homer eavesdrops on them after trick-or-treating.

Bad Dream House: The Simpsons move to a new house, and discover that the house is alive and evil and wants to get rid of them.

Hungry are the Damned: The Simpsons are abducted by aliens (including Kang and Kodos in their first appearance) who say that they're taking the family to their home planet for a feast. When the family are well-treated (for example, being served sumptuous meals), Lisa becomes suspicious of the aliens' motives.

The Raven: A retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's classic poem, The Raven, narrated by James Earl Jones (who had guest voices in all three story segments).

Closing Sequence: The children sleep soundly, but Homer is so scared that he's still wide awake, and laments that he hates Halloween.

Blinky caught 17 - 4 "Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish" November 1, 1990 Wes Archer Sam Simon & John Swartzwelder 7F01
Bart catches a three-eyed fish in the river near Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. When the fish story is featured prominently in the local news, the plant is inspected and then fined millions of dollars for its many safety violations. Infuriated, Mr. Burns decides to run for governor so he can do away with the regulations that are costing him so much money.
Dancin' Homer 18 - 5 "Dancin' Homer" November 8, 1990 Mark Kirkland Ken Levine & David Isaacs 7F05
Homer becomes the mascot of the Springfield Isotopes after his spontaneous dancing to "Baby Elephant Walk" enthralls the crowd and inspires the team to a winning streak. His popularity draws the attention of the team's owner and leads to him being promoted to Capital City to back up that team's mascot, the Capital City Goofball.
7F08 19 - 6 "Dead Putting Society" November 15, 1990 Rich Moore Jeff Martin 7F08

Bart and Todd Flanders compete in a miniature golf tournament, which brings out the competitive sides of their fathers and leads them to have a bet on the tournament: The father of "the boy who doesn't win" must mow the other one's lawn while wearing his wife's Sunday dress.

Bart vs. Thanksgiving (Promo Picture) 20 - 7 "Bart vs. Thanksgiving" November 22, 1990 David Silverman George Meyer 7F07

After Bart destroys the centerpiece that Lisa had made for Thanksgiving, Marge demands that he apologize to Lisa. Bart refuses and runs away from home, taking Santa's Little Helper with him.

Daredevil bart 21 - 8 "Bart the Daredevil" December 6, 1990 Wes Archer Jay Kogen & Wallace Wolodarsky 7F06

Bart sees a daredevil stunt by Captain Lance Murdock and is inspired to become a daredevil himself. After succeeding in several minor stunts, Bart pridefully announces that he plans to jump Springfield Gorge on his skateboard.

55473 22 - 9 "Itchy & Scratchy & Marge" December 20, 1990 David Silverman John Swartzwelder 7F09

When Maggie copies things she sees in Itchy & Scratchy cartoons and injures Homer, Marge begins a protest against the show's producers. A citizens' group called S.N.U.H. (Springfieldians for Nonviolence, Understanding and Helping) quickly forms, and the producers comply with Marge's demands and remove the violence from Itchy & Scratchy.

Bart Gets Hit by a Car (Promo Picture) 23 - 10 "Bart Gets Hit by a Car" January 10, 1991 Mark Kirkland John Swartzwelder 7F10

Bart is run over (accidentally) by Mr. Burns in his car. At the instigation of dodgy lawyer Lionel Hutz and with some help from Dr. Nick Riviera, Homer exaggerates Bart's injuries and brings a suit against Burns for a million dollars. The episode marks the first appearances of Lionel Hutz (voiced by Phil Hartman in his first guest appearance), Dr. Nick, Burns' Blue-Haired Lawyer, and Lunchlady Doris.

One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish (Promo Picture) 24 - 11 "One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish" January 24, 1991 Wes Archer Nell Scovell 7F11

Lisa encourages the family to try a new Sushi restaurant in Springfield, and Homer, to his surprise, finds that he likes it. Wanting to try everything on the menu, he insists on ordering Fugu, and ends up getting it from a cook who is not trained in its preparation. Homer then learns that he may have been poisoned, and if that is so, he has 24 hours to live.

Young Marge and Homer 25 - 12 "The Way We Was" January 31, 1991 David Silverman Al Jean, Mike Reiss & Sam Simon 7F12

Homer and Marge tell the kids the story of how they met in high school—in detention, after Homer was caught smoking in the boys' bathroom and Marge burned a bra in a feminist rally on school grounds. Smitten with Marge, Homer pretended to be a French student to spend time with her, and asked her to the prom.

Comm7 26 - 13 "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment" February 7, 1991 Rich Moore Steve Pepoon 7F13

Homer gets an illegal free cable hook-up and enjoys the programs, but Lisa is concerned that Homer will go to Hell for violating the 8th Commandment: "Thou shalt not steal." Bart, for his part, takes advantage of the situation and charges his friends admission to watch an adult entertainment channel.

Principal Charming 27 - 14 "Principal Charming" February 14, 1991 Mark Kirkland David M. Stern 7F15

Selma is looking for a husband and asks Marge to help her find one; Marge in turn asks Homer to help. Homer thinks that Principal Skinner is a good prospect and plans Skinner for a setup with Selma. However, when Homer arranges for them to meet, Skinner falls for Patty instead, to everyone's chagrin.

Oh Brother, Where Art Thou (Promo Picture) 28 - 15 "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" February 21, 1991 Wes Archer Jeff Martin 7F16

Grampa has a mild heart attack. Confronted with his own mortality, he reveals to Homer that he has an older half-brother named Herb Powell. Homer searches for Herb, finds him in Detroit, and takes the family to visit him. It turns out that Herb is rich and owns a successful car company. Concerned about foreign competition, Herb invites Homer to design a car for the average American.

55480 29 - 16 "Bart's Dog Gets an F"

March 7, 1991

Jim Reardon Jon Vitti 7F14

Santa's Little Helper goes on a bad-dog binge, destroying prized possessions and generally making a nuisance of himself. The family plans to enroll their pet in obedience school, but he does poorly. The night before the end of the class, Homer threatens to get rid of Santa's Little Helper if he doesn't pass.

Old money -00196
30 - 17 "Old Money" March 28, 1991 David Silverman Jay Kogen & Wallace Wolodarsky 7F17

Grampa falls in love with Bea Simmons, a fellow resident of Springfield Retirement Castle. They make plans for Bea's birthday, but it falls on the same day as the monthly outing with the family. Homer doesn't believe Grampa's protests that he has a date, and drags Grampa along to Discount Lion Safari. A mistake by Homer gets them stuck in the park overnight, and Grampa returns to the rest home the next day to find that Bea died while he was out with the family.

Brush with Greatness (Promo Picture) 31 - 18 "Brush with Greatness" April 11, 1991 Jim Reardon Brian K. Roberts 7F18

Marge rekindles her old interest in art and joins a class at the community college. She wins the college art show, and is commissioned to paint a portrait of Mr. Burns, with the condition that he be portrayed as a "beautiful man." Meanwhile, Homer attempts to try and lose weight after getting stuck in a water slide pipe.

Lisa's Substitute (Promo Picture) 32 - 19 "Lisa's Substitute" April 25, 1991 Rich Moore Jon Vitti 7F19

Lisa's teacher Miss Hoover becomes ill and has a substitute, Mr. Bergstrom. Lisa enjoys his teaching methods and quickly develops a crush on him. Meanwhile, Bart runs for class president against Martin Prince and proves to be a very popular candidate.

The War of the Simpsons (Promo Picture) 33 - 20 "The War of the Simpsons" May 2, 1991 Mark Kirkland John Swartzwelder 7F20

Homer gets drunk at a dinner party and makes an oaf of himself. Furious, Marge signs them up for a marriage counseling retreat. However, the retreat is being held at a lake that's a famous fishing spot, and Homer gets in trouble when he skips the counseling sessions to go fishing.

Three Men and a Comic Book 34 - 21 "Three Men and a Comic Book" May 9, 1991 Wes Archer Jeff Martin 7F21

Bart becomes obsessed with buying the Radioactive Man #1 comic book, but does not have enough money for it, even after doing chores around the neighborhood. He, Milhouse and Martin pool their money and buy the comic together.

7F22 35 - 22 "Blood Feud" July 11, 1991 David Silverman George Meyer 7F22

Mr. Burns is gravely ill and needs a blood transfusion, and Bart is the only compatible donor. Homer encourages Bart to donate, anticipating getting a big reward from Burns in exchange for saving his life. When Bart gives his blood and no reward comes (only a thank-you card), Homer gets angry and writes a nasty letter to Burns. Marge intervenes and talks Homer out of mailing the letter. However, Bart, not perceiving that Homer had second thoughts, discovers and mails the letter. Chaos ensues as Homer and Bart try to retrieve the letter before Burns receives it.

Introductions[]

Characters introduced[]

Locations introduced[]

Vehicles introduced[]

Trivia[]

  • This is pretty much the season that made The Simpsons into what it is today (Minus a few kill-offs and changes in character personalities). Here are the following reasons why:
  • This season's production code is 7Fxx.
  • This is the first season to use the 1990-2009 title sequence, as the title sequence in the previous season had slight, but noticeable differences between this version. This sequence was used for almost 20 years, all the way up until Season 20, when it was reanimated and advanced to be updated to the new 16:9 widescreen TV format.
  • This is the 1st season to update the overall art style of the show a little bit. There are more vibrant and appropriate colors (Like the sky becoming brighter, as well as the color of the school changing from a lavender-gray to a tangerine or orange color), and the characters animation is more crispier and refined than Season 1's animation.
  • This is the last season of the show where all episodes were not holdovers from the previous season. Beginning the next season, some episodes (Usually the first row/batch of episodes) are holdovers, like the last 2 episodes of this season in production-code order.
  • This is also the last season to feature James L. Brooks, Matt Groening & Sam Simon as the show's showrunners. Other people would become the showrunners after they step down from that job or role, which would start off beginning with the very next season.

DVD Release[]

The Complete Second Season
Set Details Special Features
  • 22 episodes
  • 4-disc set
  • 1.33:1 aspect ratio
  • Languages:
    • English (Dolby Digital 5.1, with subtitles)
    • French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
    • Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, with subtitles)
    • Optional commentaries for all 22 episodes
    • An early interview with James L. Brooks and Matt Groening
    • Bart at the American Music Awards (with commentary)
    • The Simpsons presenting at the Emmy Awards
    • "Do the Bartman" music video (director's cut with commentary)
    • "Deep, Deep Trouble" music video (with commentary)
    • Featurette: "Creation of an Episode"
    • Foreign language clips
    • Butterfinger commercials
    • Gallery (Barbara Bush letters, animation, magazine covers)
    • Early sketches
Release Dates
Region 1 Region 2 Region 4
August 6, 2002 July 8, 2002 September 2002
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