The Simpsons: 10 Background Characters Who Deserve Their Own Solo Episodes

May 2, 2024, 12:15 p.m.

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The Simpsons: 10 Background Characters Who Deserve Their Own Solo Episodes

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Summary Springfield background characters like Officer Eddie Finnerfield deserve their own solo episodes to explore their backstories.

Characters like Sherri and Terri and The Winfields have been around for 35 years but deserve more development in solo episodes.

Characters like Jasper Beardley and Langdon Alger have unique traits that could be explored in solo episodes to bring back lapsed viewers.

Over the past 35 years, The Simpsons has grown from telling the stories of one Springfield family to a vast exploration of all the town’s beloved and eccentric residents. With many institutions like the Nuclear Power Plant, Springfield Elementary School, and Channel 6 News, there was never a shortage of compelling background characters who acted as the basis of incredible solo episodes. While Mr. Burns, Principal Skinner, and Krusty the Clown developed into three-dimensional characters with their own backstories and histories, many more deserved to step into the spotlight for their own episodes.

The need to give underutilized Springfield residents some time to shine became even more pressing with the release of the Season 35 episode “Cremains of the Day,” which saw Larry the Barfly, a character since Season 1, being sadly killed off The Simpsons. While this was a rare and extreme occurrence, it proved that although the characters in The Simpsons always stayed the same age, they may not be around forever. Considering this, there were several Simpsons background characters who, at last, deserved their own solo episode.

10 Officer Eddie Finnerfield

Officer Eddie Finnerfield first appeared in Season 1, Episode 4, "There's No Disgrace Like Home"

The Springfield Police Department has served as the basis for several episodes of The Simpsons, mostly based around the incompetent Police Chief Wiggum. However, Chief Wiggum was most frequently seen with his trusty sergeant Lou and the rarely explored Officer Eddie Finnerfield. Despite being a character since as far back as Season 1, Eddie’s backstory has been woefully unexplored, and he would be the perfect candidate for a long-awaited solo episode.

Over the years, Eddie has gained a reputation as less competent and quieter than his partner Lou, so now would be the perfect time to flesh out his backstory and give him a much-deserved moment in the spotlight. From the mysteries surrounding his unnamed ex-wife to his suspicious resemblance to Chief Wiggum’s son Ralph, many aspects of Eddie would make great fodder for an incredible episode. The possibility that Eddie was Ralph’s father was even referenced as a brief joke in Season 34’s “Lisa the Boy Scout,” but a reveal of this magnitude deserved an entire episode to be adequately explored.

9 Sherri and Terri

Sherri and Terri first appeared in Season 1, Episode 1, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire"

Despite constantly being around Bart and Lisa, the classmates in The Simpsons have rarely been given enough time to shine, with some exceptions like Milhouse, Ralph, and Nelson. Two underrated characters whose comedic potential was seldom explored were the identical twins Sherri and Terri, who debuted in the very first episode of The Simpsons “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire” way back in Season 1. With a legacy dating back 35 years, it’s shocking how little has been revealed about these strange purple-haired twins.

Over the decades, there have been hints about Sherri and Terri’s backstories, such as them speaking their own twin language and that they may even have a vengeful third triplet. Sherri and Terri were consistently seen berating Bart in Edna Krabbapel’s classroom, but after all this time, it would be great to see more of their lives outside the school in their own episode. They were also responsible for one of The Simpsons’ funniest lines, “I’m so hungry I could eat at Arby's," which highlighted the hilarious potential of a Sherri and Terri-centered episode.

8 The Winfields

The Winfields first appeared in Season 1, Episode 3, "Homer's Odyssey"

The Simpsons has been on the air for 35 years, meaning some characters just seemed to disappear. One major example was Sylvia Winfield and Mr. Winfield. The Winfields were the Simpson's neighbors on Evergreen Terrance, who sometimes lived next door to them or, in other episodes, lived down the street. While the Windfields were around since Season 1’s “Homer’s Odyssey,” they stopped appearing after Season 7’s “Lisa the Iconoclast," and their long overdue reappearance could act as the perfect set-up for a solo episode that harkened back to the golden years of the show.

The Winfields became less prominent in Season 4’s “New Kid on the Block” when Ruth Powers and her teenage daughter moved into their home. Homer speculated that the Winfields had moved to Florida to “run out the clock” although where exactly they went and what they have been up to since has remained a mystery. This mystery could be explored in a long-awaited episode that can finally give viewers some closure surrounding the Simpsons' most elderly neighbors.

7 Herman Hermann

Herman Hermann first appeared in Season 1, Episode 5, "Bart the General"

The one-armed owner of Herman's Military Antiques, Herman Hermann, was first introduced in the Season 2 episode “Bart, the General,” when he teamed up with Bart and Abe Simpson to rally the Springfield children to rise up against Nelson Muntz's bullying tactics. A consistent background character since then, Herman has occasionally had more prominent roles but was never given a proper solo episode to truly explore the complexities of his character. As a participant in many angry mobs and seemingly no stranger to criminal activity, there’s plenty to work with when it comes to Herman’s character.

The true story of how Herman lost his arm has been somewhat of a mystery. Herman told Bart he lost it sticking his hand out of a moving bus, but other times, it was stated it was torn off trying to hail a car from the street. The truth behind Herman’s arm, his links to criminal activity, and his friendship with Abe Simpson would make a truly great solo episode that addressed long-lingering questions in the world of The Simpsons.

6 Leopold

Leopold first appeared in Season 5, Episode 19, "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song"

Springfield Elementary School boasted some of the greatest secondary characters in The Simpsons including Principal Skinner, Superintendent Chalmers, and Edna Krabbapel, but one minor character who deserved to be more thoroughly explored was Leopold. As the intensely frightening Assistant Superintendent, Leopold had a demeanor seemingly influenced by Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry, but instead of a hatred of criminals, he redirected that energy toward the schoolkids he called “little freaks.” With a truly terrifying presence, how Leopold became so sinister would make a great solo episode of The Simpsons.

With a tall, brooding physique and as one of the few Simpsons characters to have eyebrows, Leopold was a truly remembered character who, following his introduction in Season 5, appeared in a minor role in subsequent seasons. With just a few short lines, Leopold has remained an iconic character 30 years since his first appearance. With such a long-lasting legacy, it’s well past due for him to get the solo episode that he deserved.

5 Scott Christian

Scott Christian first appeared in Season 1, Episode 12, "Krusty Gets Busted"

While Channel 6 news anchor and reporter Scott Christian was far less famous than Kent Brockman, he still had a significant role in the early days of The Simpsons before he seemingly dropped off the face of the planet after Season 7. Sadly, Scott was often overshadowed by his more expressive and less monotonous colleague. However, that’s not to say his legacy could not be revived with his own solo episode. While there was some speculation that Scott was deceased (via Simpsons Wiki), as a character voiced by Homer’s voice actor Dan Castellaneta, there’s no reason he can’t return.

Scott’s job as a reporter meant there were many exciting ways to explain his decades-long absence, such as being an investigative journalist deep undercover only to come back and reveal some harsh truths about Springfield in his own solo episode. Scott was mainly seen as a news anchor whenever Brockman was on location, and a rivalry between the two reporters could also act as an exciting idea for an episode. Along with the helicopter reporter, Arnie Pye, there were many ways The Simspons could incorporate Scott and the Channel 6 news team into an episode.

4 Richard, Lewis Clark, and Wendell Borton

Richard, Lewis, and Wendell were all introduced in Season 1

Despite being mainstay cast members since the very beginning, Springfield Elementary School students Richard, Lewis Clark, and Wendell Borton have been mostly relegated to background status. While Milhouse Van Houten managed to break out of his secondary role and become a fully developed character with an entire family history, the same cannot be said for these three woefully underused students. A solo episode that looked at the home lives of characters like Richard, Lewis, and Wendell could add even more depth to Springfield's vast and varied town.

While the background of Bart’s classmates has been hinted at, and Richard, Lewis, and Wendell’s parents have even made brief appearances occasionally, they never felt like fully fleshed-out characters in the way that Ralph Wiggum or Nelson Muntz have. An episode that showcased they had complete and exciting lives outside of the antics of the Simpson family would make for a great episode and prove that, even after 35 years, The Simpsons still had new stories to tell.

3 Jasper Beardley

Jasper Beardley first appeared in Season 1, Episode 3, "Homer's Odyssey"

The World War II veteran Jasper Beardley was responsible for some of the funniest moments in The Simpsons and would be a prime candidate to receive his own episode after so many years. From the memefied “that’s a paddlin’” to the “sidewalks for regular walking, not fancy walking,” despite being painfully underutilized, Jasper became one of the most beloved minor characters in the entire Simpsons universe. A mainstay background character since Season 1, putting Jasper front and center for an episode would be a great way to bring back lapsed Simpsons viewers who haven’t kept up with the most recent seasons.

Over the years, The Simpsons has provided a lot of background information on Jasper that would work really well as the basis for a solo episode. With a longstanding friendship with Abe Simpson, a history as the former reverend of the Springfield church, and a passion for singing that led him to audition for the B-Sharps, Jasper was a man of hidden depth that needed unveiling. A Springfield Retirement Home episode that brought Jasper together with Abe, Hans Moleman, and the Old Jewish Man would be a great way to give him some time in the spotlight.

2 Langdon Alger

Langdon Alger was first mentioned in Season 7, Episode 12, "Bart on the Road"

Some characters in The Simpsons were shrouded in mystery and deserved a chance to step into the limelight with their own episode, and none were more mysterious than Lisa Simpson’s crush, Langdon Alger. As a quiet boy who enjoys puzzles, Lisa told Homer about Langdon after they bonded when she came to work with him at the Nuclear Power Plant in the Season 7 episode “Bart on the Road.” While Lisa has had a few childhood romances that included Ralph Wiggum and Nelson Muntz, Langdon remained an unseen figure in the show.

However, Langdon did pop up in The Simpsons comics, which has opened the door for him to return for a solo episode where his connection with Lisa could be properly explored. In the comics, Langdon asked Lisa out, but it turned out to be a trick to make Lisa’s classmate Janey jealous. The Simpsons TV series could learn a lot from how the comics have returned to older characters and given them the attention they deserved decades after they were first mentioned. Plenty of stories such as this could have formed the basis for great solo episodes with characters like Langdon.

In 2014, Manchester singer-songwriter Jay Clayton released an anti-folk concept album called Following The Lizard Queen from the perspective of Langdon Alger. The album tracked Langdon’s unexpressed infatuation for Lisa Simpson and included songs such as “Choo-Choo-Choose Me” (via Bandcamp).

1 Sam the Barfly

Sam the Barfly first appeared Season 1, Episode 1, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire"

With the heartbreaking death of Larry the Barfly in Season 35 of The Simpsons, one character was noticeably absent, and that was Larry’s longtime associate, Sam the Barfly. This baseball-capped, glasses-wearing patron of Moe’s Tavern was nowhere to be seen in the Larry-centered episode “Cremains of the Day.” As a character whom virtually nothing was known about, Sam the Barfly has so much potential for a solo episode as his story could go anywhere due to so little information about what he does outside of Moe’s being available.

A solo episode that followed up on Larry’s death would be a great way to pay tribute to this longstanding character and explain why Sam did not attend Larry’s funeral. Having first appeared in the pilot episode “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire,” Sam has been a mainstay of The Simpsons since the very beginning and desperately deserved to be the focus of at least one episode. The fact that so many characters in The Simpsons have yet to have their stories told was a testament to just how vast The Simpsons universe has become.

Sources: Simpsons Wiki, Bandcamp