"It Was A Mistake": The Simpsons Episode So Bad The Show's Creator Disowned It

Summary "The Principal and the Pauper" marked the decline of The Simpsons, and it's an episode that creator Matt Groening no longer acknowledges.

Groening and the team attempted to disown the episode due to nonsensical plot twists and negative impact on the show's reputation.

"The Principal and the Pauper" remains one of the worst in Simpsons history.

The Simpsons has had its fair number of not-so-good episodes, but one, in particular, was so bad that the show’s creator has disowned it. The Simpsons has earned a place in TV and pop culture history as one of the longest-running shows ever, and while it maintains a loyal fanbase, the show’s quality isn’t what it used to be. The Simpsons has gone through many changes since its first seasons in terms of visual style, humor, and narrative, and while it has some great episodes, it also has some that did more harm than good to the show.

The Simpsons has various non-canon episodes that earned that category for different reasons. Some of these are clip shows that don’t fit the general narrative of the show, others are anthology episodes, and others deal with events that can’t be real within the Simpsons’ world or weren’t well-received by the audience. Falling into the latter category is “The Principal and the Pauper”, considered the episode where The Simpsons’ jumped the shark and its decline began, and it’s so bad that not even series’ creator Matt Groening acknowledges it now.

Related I’m Officially Getting Worried About The Simpsons’ Future The Simpsons is one of the longest-running shows on TV. However, several factors mean its future isn't looking bright, which is highly concerning.

Why Matt Groening Doesn't Like The Simpsons' "The Principal & The Pauper" Episode

“The Principal & The Pauper” Is Considered The Beginning Of The Simpsons’ Decline

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The episode takes a drastic turn when a strange man arrives and claims to be the real Seymour Skinner, and he is right.

“The Principal and the Pauper” is the second episode of The Simpsons season 9, and it was written by Ken Keeler and directed by Steven Dean Moore. In it, Seymour Skinner prepares to celebrate his 20th anniversary as the principal of Springfield Elementary School, where a surprise party is thrown for him. Everything goes well at first, but it takes a drastic turn when a strange man arrives and claims to be the real Seymour Skinner. To everyone’s surprise, the man was right, and the one everyone knew as Seymour Skinner was actually Armin Tamzarian, and they had met in the Army.

At the end of the episode, Judge Snyder declares that Tamzarian will be again referred to as Seymour Skinner and the real one is banished.

When Skinner was presumed dead, Tamzarian took the news to Skinner’s mother, who mistook him for her son. Tamzarian allowed it and took over Skinner’s life, fulfilling the latter’s dream of becoming a school principal in Springfield. Tamzarian leaves Springfield and Skinner takes over as principal, but he’s isolated by the town’s residents, who prefer Tamzarian. At the end of the episode, Judge Snyder declares that Tamzarian will be again referred to as Seymour Skinner and the real one is banished, and no one shall ever refer to the real Skinner or his visit, under penalty of torture.

“The Principal and the Pauper” was Ken Keeler’s final Simpsons episode and he considered it one of his best.

“The Principal and the Pauper” was criticized for its nonsensical reveal, more so as Skinner had gone through a lot of character development to be suddenly revealed as an impostor. Speaking to Rolling Stone in 2002, Matt Groening called the episode a “mistake” and mentioned they had a judge say “we’ll never speak of this matter again” and that’s exactly what they did. The Simpsons became a victim of its own popularity and “The Principal and the Pauper” ended up marking the end of the show’s “Golden Age”.

The Simpsons Tried To Disown "The Principal & The Pauper" (But Failed)

“The Principal & The Pauper” Was So Bad It Made Simpsons History

“The Principal and the Pauper” is one of the worst episodes of The Simpsons, and it’s considered a turning point in the series and one from which the show could never recover.

As much as Groening and other members of the production team of “The Principal and the Pauper” have disowned the episode, it had such a negative impact that it made Simpsons history. “The Principal and the Pauper” is one of the worst episodes of The Simpsons, and as mentioned above, it’s considered a turning point in the series and one from which the show could never recover.

The episode has been referenced in others, such as in the clip show episode “Behind the Laughter”, where it was used as an example of the show’s increasingly nonsensical plots, and in “I, (Annoyed Grunt)-Bot” when Lisa calls Skinner “Principal Tamzarian”. The Simpsons might never fully shake off the failure of “The Principal and the Pauper”, and unfortunately, it made history in the worst way possible, to the point where Matt Groening completely disowned it.

Source: Rolling Stone.