Simpson Safari
Encyclopedia
"Simpson Safari" is the seventeenth episode of The Simpsons
' twelfth season
. It first aired on the Fox network
in the United States
on April 1, 2001. When the Simpsons run out of food thanks to a bag boy strike, the family finds an old box of Animal Crackers in their attic. In the box is a golden cracker that was part of a contest conducted by the owners of Animal Crackers. Finding out that anyone that found the golden cracker would win a trip to Africa, Homer shows it to the company's owners, who explain that the contest ended several years ago. When he is injured by one of the box's sharp corners however, the family is given a free trip to Africa as compensation.
Although "Simpson Safari" was written by John Swartzwelder
, the idea for the episode was pitched by former staff writer Larry Doyle. The episode was directed by Mark Kirkland
, who had been to Africa as an adolescent. Because of his visit there, Kirkland attempted to make the episode look as authentic as possible, even though the Simpsons trip to Africa was "all over the place" geographically. The episode features Frank Welker
as all the animals in Africa. In its original broadcast, the episode was seen by approximately 7.7 million viewers, finishing in 42nd place in the ratings the week it aired. Following its broadcast, the episode received mixed reviews from critics. The episode was also nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series
in 2001, which it ultimately lost.
, Bart, and Lisa go grocery shopping. Homer and many others mistreat the bag boys at the grocery store, and every bag boy in Springfield
goes on strike. Presumably and strangely having no ability to shop without bag boys to pack their bags, they are unable to buy more food. Homer thus goes on a search for food when it runs out, and Santa's Little Helper
finds a box of animal crackers which is more than 30 years old. Homer bites into a giraffe
, but he does not know that it is made of solid gold, which indicates Homer has won a trip to Africa
. The makers of the animal crackers originally refuse to honor the prize, but when Homer is injured by the sharp corner of the box, they reconsider, to avoid a lawsuit.
The family lands in Tanzania
. When the family is in Africa, they experience such sights as the Masai Mara
, Ngorongoro Crater
, Olduvai Gorge
, Mount Kilimanjaro
, and meet with a group of Maasai tribesmen. During a vigorous tribal dance
, Homer manages to enrage a hippo
. It chases after the family, who escape on a raft going down a raging river. After surviving the plunge over Victoria Falls
, the family stumble upon a Chimpanzee
sanctuary maintained by the scientist Dr. Joan Bushwell (a parody of Jane Goodall
). She claims to be researching the animals behavior when a group of poachers arrive to take the chimps. The Simpsons try to hold the poachers but eventually they break into the sanctuary. The poachers are revealed to be members of Greenpeace
, who prove that Dr. Bushwell is actually a chimp slave master, exploiting their labor at a nearby diamond
mine. Worried that the Simpsons will report her to the authorities, Dr. Bushwell offers everyone diamonds as a bribe. The Simpsons leave Africa, and return to Springfield with the diamonds offered to them by Dr. Bushwell. On the plane, it is revealed that their former tour guide, Kitenge, is now president of the country, with the former president now the Simpsons' flight attendant
.
, whose employees went on strike at the time the episode was written. The idea to have the Simpsons visit Africa was pitched by former staff writer Larry Doyle. Former staff writer John Swartzwelder
was then assigned to write the first draft of the episode's script. Because of his involvement with the episode, "Simpson Safari" contains several "classic" Swarzwelder-type jokes, according to staff writer Matt Selman
. Examples on these include the cover of the Animal Cracker box and Homer and Dr. Joan Bushwell's discussion about the smell of feces in the doctor's hut. After Swarzwelder wrote the first draft, the writing staff rewrote the script. When writing the episode, the writers deliberately included factual errors to annoy viewers who wanted the series to seem realistic. Commenting on the episode, Selman said "It's kind of a combination of really nice, observational designs and then just [...] things that are deliberately wrong. To anger people who care about things being real."
Mark Kirkland
, who had visited Africa before, served as the director for "Simpson Safari". When he was sixteen years old, Kirkland spent six weeks in Kenya
with a film crew that was making a documentary film called A Visit to a Chief's Son. When he first read the script, he found that the episode was "all over the place" geographically. "It would be like in the United States, saying: 'I walked out of Grand Central Station and then I turned left and was standing on the south rim of the Grand Canyon.' The locations are just all over the place" he said in the episode's DVD commentary. Still, Kirkland strove to make the episode look as realistic as possible by drawing influence from his experience in Kenya. For example, the steering column on Kitenge's Land Rover
is placed on the right side of the car. At one point in the episode, the Simpsons visit the Maasai people, a Nilotic ethnic group
of semi-nomadic people located in Kenya and northern Tanzania
. The way that some of the Maasai people in the episode are dancing is also true to a traditional dance performed by Maasai people in real life, and although the drinking of cow blood is faithful to the Maasai people's culture, the use of lip plate
s and neck ring
s are not. "That was kind of fun for me to try to make this stuff [...] as crazy as the story is, [to] make it realistic", Kirkland commented on directing the episode.
In a scene in the episode, the Simpsons are floating down a river on a shield. At one point, the family is seen by two Africans, who speak in a foreign language. Although the language that the two Africans speak is made up, the song that Kitenge sings when driving the Simpsons ("Wé-Wé" by Angélique Kidjo
) was a popular song in Africa. In order to make it sound accurate, Hank Azaria
, who portrays Kitenge in the episode, was taught to sing the song phonetically by a professor in Swahili
in the University of California, Los Angeles
. Dr. Joan Bushwell, the "Jane Goodall
-type" character in the episode, was portrayed by American voice actress Tress MacNeille
, who also voices Lindsey Naegle among other characters in the series. All animals' noises (except for Santa's Little Helper, who is voiced by main cast member Dan Castellaneta
) were done by American voice actor Frank Welker
.
, translating to approximately 7.7 million viewers. The episode finished in 42nd place in the ratings for the week of March 26-April 1, 2001, tying with an episode of the television newsmagazine
Dateline NBC
. Later that year, the episode was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award
in the category of Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore)
. It ultimately lost to an episode of the science fiction series Star Trek: Voyager
. Since its broadcast, the episode has been released twice on home video. On May 23, 2005, it was released along with the season 10
episode "Thirty Minutes over Tokyo
", the season 13
episode "Blame It On Lisa
" and the season 15
episode "The Regina Monologues
" as part of a DVD
set called Simpsons Around The World In 80 D'ohs. On August 18, 2009, the episode was released as part of a DVD
set called The Simpsons: The Complete Twelfth Season. Mike Scully, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Matt Selman, Tim Long, Yeardley Smith, Mark Kirkland and Michael Marcantel participated in the audio commentary for the episode.
Former The Simpsons showrunner Mike Reiss
stated, at an April 2007 talk in Bristol, Connecticut
, that "Simpson Safari" is one of two of the show's episodes that he dislikes. Following its home video release, "Simpson Safari" received mixed reviews from critics. In his review of The Simpsons: The Complete Twelfth Season, Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide described the episode as "lousy". While he admitted that he found a couple of scenes funny, he argued that the episode over relied on broad gags and "never threatens to become inspired or amusing". He concluded by describing the episode as "disappointing". Writing for Bullz-Eye.com, Will Harris gave the episode a negative review as well. He argued that the premise was "ridiculous", and that the episode "remind[s] longtime fans that the show's days of complete comedic perfection are behind them." On the other hand, DVD Verdict
's Mac McEntire was entertained by the episode. Although he mostly enjoy episodes that are "down-to-Earth" and emphasize on the Simpson family, McEntire wrote that the "less realistic, more over-the-top crazy" episodes like "Simpson Safari" comprises the season's best episodes. DVD Talk
's Jason Bailey wrote that "Simpson Safari" makes use of one of his favorite story elements that he called a "wandering storyline". "Their habit of using the first act as a red herring, only semi-connected to the rest of the show, is ingenious and hilarious", he wrote. "'Simpsons Safari,' for example, begins with an extended bit about a bagboy strike, which leads the family to desperate culinary measures, which then leads Homer to a box of animal crackers in the attic, which then leads to the discovery of a prize inside the box for the safari trip that encompasses the rest of the episode. They'd been doing this kind of thing for years, but it still plays".
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
The Simpsons (season 12)
The Simpsons 12th season began on Wednesday, November 1, 2000 with "Treehouse of Horror XI".The season contains four hold over episodes from the season 11 production line. The show runner for the twelfth production was Mike Scully. The season features three episodes that were produced for the...
. It first aired on the Fox network
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on April 1, 2001. When the Simpsons run out of food thanks to a bag boy strike, the family finds an old box of Animal Crackers in their attic. In the box is a golden cracker that was part of a contest conducted by the owners of Animal Crackers. Finding out that anyone that found the golden cracker would win a trip to Africa, Homer shows it to the company's owners, who explain that the contest ended several years ago. When he is injured by one of the box's sharp corners however, the family is given a free trip to Africa as compensation.
Although "Simpson Safari" was written by John Swartzwelder
John Swartzwelder
John Swartzwelder is an American comedy writer and novelist, best known for his work on the animated television series The Simpsons, as well as a number of novels. He is credited with writing the largest number of Simpsons episodes by a large margin...
, the idea for the episode was pitched by former staff writer Larry Doyle. The episode was directed by Mark Kirkland
Mark Kirkland
Mark Kirkland is an American director. He has directed 69 episodes, from 1990-present, of The Simpsons, more than any other person.-Career:...
, who had been to Africa as an adolescent. Because of his visit there, Kirkland attempted to make the episode look as authentic as possible, even though the Simpsons trip to Africa was "all over the place" geographically. The episode features Frank Welker
Frank Welker
Franklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:...
as all the animals in Africa. In its original broadcast, the episode was seen by approximately 7.7 million viewers, finishing in 42nd place in the ratings the week it aired. Following its broadcast, the episode received mixed reviews from critics. The episode was also nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series
This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series.-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:-Total Awards:* CBS - 10* ABC - 7* NBC - 6* FOX - 3* Syndicated - 3* Discovery Channel - 2...
in 2001, which it ultimately lost.
Plot
While Marge takes Maggie to the hospital after Maggie swallowed an issue of Time magazine whole, HomerHomer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
, Bart, and Lisa go grocery shopping. Homer and many others mistreat the bag boys at the grocery store, and every bag boy in Springfield
Springfield (The Simpsons)
Springfield is the fictional town in which the American animated sitcom The Simpsons is set. A mid-sized town in an undetermined state of the United States, Springfield acts as a complete universe in which characters can explore the issues faced by modern society. The geography of the town and its...
goes on strike. Presumably and strangely having no ability to shop without bag boys to pack their bags, they are unable to buy more food. Homer thus goes on a search for food when it runs out, and Santa's Little Helper
Santa's Little Helper
Santa's Little Helper is a recurring character in the American animated television series The Simpsons. He is the pet greyhound of the Simpson family. The dog was introduced in the first episode of the show, the 1989 Christmas special "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", in which his owner abandons...
finds a box of animal crackers which is more than 30 years old. Homer bites into a giraffe
Giraffe
The giraffe is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all extant land-living animal species, and the largest ruminant...
, but he does not know that it is made of solid gold, which indicates Homer has won a trip to Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. The makers of the animal crackers originally refuse to honor the prize, but when Homer is injured by the sharp corner of the box, they reconsider, to avoid a lawsuit.
The family lands in Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
. When the family is in Africa, they experience such sights as the Masai Mara
Masai Mara
The Maasai Mara National Reserve is a large game reserve in south-western Kenya, which is effectively the northern continuation of the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania...
, Ngorongoro Crater
Ngorongoro Conservation Area
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area is a conservation area and a UNESCO World Heritage Site situated west of Arusha in the Crater Highlands area of Tanzania. The conservation area is administered by the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority, an arm of the Tanzanian government, and its boundaries...
, Olduvai Gorge
Olduvai Gorge
The Olduvai Gorge is a steep-sided ravine in the Great Rift Valley that stretches through eastern Africa. It is in the eastern Serengeti Plains in northern Tanzania and is about long. It is located 45 km from the Laetoli archaeological site...
, Mount Kilimanjaro
Mount Kilimanjaro
Kilimanjaro, with its three volcanic cones, Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira, is a dormant volcano in Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania and the highest mountain in Africa at above sea level .-Geology:...
, and meet with a group of Maasai tribesmen. During a vigorous tribal dance
African dance
African dance refers mainly to the dance of Sub-Saharan Africa, and more appropriately African dances because of the many cultural differences in musical and movement styles...
, Homer manages to enrage a hippo
Hippopotamus
The hippopotamus , or hippo, from the ancient Greek for "river horse" , is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae After the elephant and rhinoceros, the hippopotamus is the third largest land mammal and the heaviest...
. It chases after the family, who escape on a raft going down a raging river. After surviving the plunge over Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls
The Victoria Falls or Mosi-oa-Tunya is a waterfall located in southern Africa on the Zambezi River between the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe.-Introduction:...
, the family stumble upon a Chimpanzee
Chimpanzee
Chimpanzee, sometimes colloquially chimp, is the common name for the two extant species of ape in the genus Pan. The Congo River forms the boundary between the native habitat of the two species:...
sanctuary maintained by the scientist Dr. Joan Bushwell (a parody of Jane Goodall
Jane Goodall
Dame Jane Morris Goodall, DBE , is a British primatologist, ethologist, anthropologist, and UN Messenger of Peace. Considered to be the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees, Goodall is best known for her 45-year study of social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National...
). She claims to be researching the animals behavior when a group of poachers arrive to take the chimps. The Simpsons try to hold the poachers but eventually they break into the sanctuary. The poachers are revealed to be members of Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
, who prove that Dr. Bushwell is actually a chimp slave master, exploiting their labor at a nearby diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
mine. Worried that the Simpsons will report her to the authorities, Dr. Bushwell offers everyone diamonds as a bribe. The Simpsons leave Africa, and return to Springfield with the diamonds offered to them by Dr. Bushwell. On the plane, it is revealed that their former tour guide, Kitenge, is now president of the country, with the former president now the Simpsons' flight attendant
Flight attendant
Flight attendants or cabin crew are members of an aircrew employed by airlines primarily to ensure the safety and comfort of passengers aboard commercial flights, on select business jet aircraft, and on some military aircraft.-History:The role of a flight attendant derives from that of similar...
.
Production
"Simpson Safari"'s setpiece shows some of Springfield's citizens mistreating the bag boys in a grocery store, prompting the bag boys to go on strike. The sequence was inspired by an Albertsons store in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, whose employees went on strike at the time the episode was written. The idea to have the Simpsons visit Africa was pitched by former staff writer Larry Doyle. Former staff writer John Swartzwelder
John Swartzwelder
John Swartzwelder is an American comedy writer and novelist, best known for his work on the animated television series The Simpsons, as well as a number of novels. He is credited with writing the largest number of Simpsons episodes by a large margin...
was then assigned to write the first draft of the episode's script. Because of his involvement with the episode, "Simpson Safari" contains several "classic" Swarzwelder-type jokes, according to staff writer Matt Selman
Matt Selman
Matthew "Matt" Selman is an American writer and producer. Selman grew up in Massachusetts, attended the University of Pennsylvania and was editor-in-chief of student magazine 34th Street Magazine. After considering a career in journalism, he decided to try and became a television writer...
. Examples on these include the cover of the Animal Cracker box and Homer and Dr. Joan Bushwell's discussion about the smell of feces in the doctor's hut. After Swarzwelder wrote the first draft, the writing staff rewrote the script. When writing the episode, the writers deliberately included factual errors to annoy viewers who wanted the series to seem realistic. Commenting on the episode, Selman said "It's kind of a combination of really nice, observational designs and then just [...] things that are deliberately wrong. To anger people who care about things being real."
Mark Kirkland
Mark Kirkland
Mark Kirkland is an American director. He has directed 69 episodes, from 1990-present, of The Simpsons, more than any other person.-Career:...
, who had visited Africa before, served as the director for "Simpson Safari". When he was sixteen years old, Kirkland spent six weeks in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
with a film crew that was making a documentary film called A Visit to a Chief's Son. When he first read the script, he found that the episode was "all over the place" geographically. "It would be like in the United States, saying: 'I walked out of Grand Central Station and then I turned left and was standing on the south rim of the Grand Canyon.' The locations are just all over the place" he said in the episode's DVD commentary. Still, Kirkland strove to make the episode look as realistic as possible by drawing influence from his experience in Kenya. For example, the steering column on Kitenge's Land Rover
Land Rover
Land Rover is a British car manufacturer with its headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire, United Kingdom which specialises in four-wheel-drive vehicles. It is owned by the Indian company Tata Motors, forming part of their Jaguar Land Rover group...
is placed on the right side of the car. At one point in the episode, the Simpsons visit the Maasai people, a Nilotic ethnic group
Ethnic group
An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...
of semi-nomadic people located in Kenya and northern Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
. The way that some of the Maasai people in the episode are dancing is also true to a traditional dance performed by Maasai people in real life, and although the drinking of cow blood is faithful to the Maasai people's culture, the use of lip plate
Lip plate
A lip plate, also known as a lip plug or lip disc, is a form of body modification. Increasingly larger discs are inserted into a pierced hole in either the upper or lower lip, or both, thereby stretching it...
s and neck ring
Neck ring
Neck rings are formed with one or more spiral metal coils of many turns worn as an ornament around the neck of an individual. In a few African and Asian cultures neck rings are worn usually to create the appearance that the neck has been stretched. Padaung women of the Kayan people begin to wear...
s are not. "That was kind of fun for me to try to make this stuff [...] as crazy as the story is, [to] make it realistic", Kirkland commented on directing the episode.
In a scene in the episode, the Simpsons are floating down a river on a shield. At one point, the family is seen by two Africans, who speak in a foreign language. Although the language that the two Africans speak is made up, the song that Kitenge sings when driving the Simpsons ("Wé-Wé" by Angélique Kidjo
Angélique Kidjo
Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo, commonly known as Angélique Kidjo is a Grammy Award–winning Beninoise singer-songwriter and activist, noted for her diverse musical influences and creative music videos. Time Magazine has called her "Africa's premier diva". The BBC has...
) was a popular song in Africa. In order to make it sound accurate, Hank Azaria
Hank Azaria
Henry Albert "Hank" Azaria is an American film, television and stage actor, director, voice actor, and comedian. He is noted for being one of the principal voice actors on the animated television series The Simpsons , on which he performs the voices of Moe Szyslak, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Chief...
, who portrays Kitenge in the episode, was taught to sing the song phonetically by a professor in Swahili
Swahili language
Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...
in the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
. Dr. Joan Bushwell, the "Jane Goodall
Jane Goodall
Dame Jane Morris Goodall, DBE , is a British primatologist, ethologist, anthropologist, and UN Messenger of Peace. Considered to be the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees, Goodall is best known for her 45-year study of social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National...
-type" character in the episode, was portrayed by American voice actress Tress MacNeille
Tress MacNeille
Tress MacNeille is an American voice actress best known for providing various voices on the animated series The Simpsons, Futurama, Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Disney's House of Mouse, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Rugrats, All Grown Up!, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, and Dave the...
, who also voices Lindsey Naegle among other characters in the series. All animals' noises (except for Santa's Little Helper, who is voiced by main cast member Dan Castellaneta
Dan Castellaneta
Daniel Louis "Dan" Castellaneta is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Noted for his long-running role as Homer Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, he voices many other characters on The Simpsons, including Abraham "Grampa" Simpson, Barney Gumble,...
) were done by American voice actor Frank Welker
Frank Welker
Franklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:...
.
Release and reception
In its original American broadcast on April 1, 2001, "Simpson Safari" received a 7.5 rating, according to Nielsen Media ResearchNielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre films and newspapers...
, translating to approximately 7.7 million viewers. The episode finished in 42nd place in the ratings for the week of March 26-April 1, 2001, tying with an episode of the television newsmagazine
Newsmagazine
A news magazine is a typed, printed, and published piece of paper, magazine or a radio or television program, usually weekly, featuring articles or segments on current events...
Dateline NBC
Dateline NBC
Dateline NBC, or Dateline, is a U.S. weekly television newsmagazine broadcast by NBC. It previously was NBC's flagship news magazine, but now focuses on true crime stories. It airs Friday at 9 p.m. EST and after football season on Sunday at 7 p.m. EST.-History:Dateline is historically notable for...
. Later that year, the episode was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...
in the category of Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore)
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series
This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series.-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:-Total Awards:* CBS - 10* ABC - 7* NBC - 6* FOX - 3* Syndicated - 3* Discovery Channel - 2...
. It ultimately lost to an episode of the science fiction series Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. Set in the 24th century from the year 2371 through 2378, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager, which becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant 70,000 light-years from Earth while...
. Since its broadcast, the episode has been released twice on home video. On May 23, 2005, it was released along with the season 10
The Simpsons (season 10)
The tenth season of the animated television series The Simpsons was originally broadcast on the Fox network in the United States between August 23, 1998 and May 16, 1999. It contains twenty-three episodes, starting with "Lard of the Dance". The Simpsons revolves around a working class family that...
episode "Thirty Minutes over Tokyo
Thirty Minutes over Tokyo
"Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo" is the twenty-third episode and season finale of The Simpsons tenth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 16, 1999. In the episode, after being robbed by Snake Jailbird, the Simpsons visit a money-saving seminar, where they learn ways to...
", the season 13
The Simpsons (season 13)
The Simpsons thirteenth season originally aired on the Fox network between November 6, 2001 and May 22, 2002 and consists of 22 episodes. The show runner for the thirteenth production season was Al Jean who executive-produced 17 episodes...
episode "Blame It On Lisa
Blame It on Lisa
"Blame It on Lisa" is the fifteenth episode of The Simpsons thirteenth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 31, 2002. In the episode, the family goes to Brazil in search of a Brazilian orphan named Ronaldo whom Lisa has been sponsoring...
" and the season 15
The Simpsons (season 15)
The Simpsons 15th season began on Sunday, November 2, 2003 with "Treehouse of Horror XIV".The season contains five hold-over episodes from the season 14 production line...
episode "The Regina Monologues
The Regina Monologues
"The Regina Monologues" is the fourth episode of The Simpsons fifteenth season, and originally aired November 23, 2003 in the United States. It was written by John Swartzwelder, and directed by Mark Kirkland. The episode sees the Simpson family travel to the United Kingdom on holiday. There, they...
" as part of a DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
set called Simpsons Around The World In 80 D'ohs. On August 18, 2009, the episode was released as part of a DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
set called The Simpsons: The Complete Twelfth Season. Mike Scully, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Matt Selman, Tim Long, Yeardley Smith, Mark Kirkland and Michael Marcantel participated in the audio commentary for the episode.
Former The Simpsons showrunner Mike Reiss
Mike Reiss
Michael "Mike" Reiss is an American television comedy writer. He served as a show-runner, writer and producer for the animated series The Simpsons and co-created the animated series The Critic...
stated, at an April 2007 talk in Bristol, Connecticut
Bristol, Connecticut
Bristol is a suburban city located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States southwest of Hartford. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 61,353. Bristol is primarily known as the home of ESPN, whose central studios are in the city. Bristol is also home to...
, that "Simpson Safari" is one of two of the show's episodes that he dislikes. Following its home video release, "Simpson Safari" received mixed reviews from critics. In his review of The Simpsons: The Complete Twelfth Season, Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide described the episode as "lousy". While he admitted that he found a couple of scenes funny, he argued that the episode over relied on broad gags and "never threatens to become inspired or amusing". He concluded by describing the episode as "disappointing". Writing for Bullz-Eye.com, Will Harris gave the episode a negative review as well. He argued that the premise was "ridiculous", and that the episode "remind[s] longtime fans that the show's days of complete comedic perfection are behind them." On the other hand, DVD Verdict
DVD Verdict
DVD Verdict is a judicial themed website for DVD reviews. The site was founded in 1999. Current editor in chief is Michael Stailey, who also reviews for Rotten Tomatoes...
's Mac McEntire was entertained by the episode. Although he mostly enjoy episodes that are "down-to-Earth" and emphasize on the Simpson family, McEntire wrote that the "less realistic, more over-the-top crazy" episodes like "Simpson Safari" comprises the season's best episodes. DVD Talk
DVD Talk
DVD Talk is a website for DVD enthusiasts founded in January 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman when DVDs and DVD players were first beginning to hit the market.The site started as an online forum, an email newsletter, and a page of DVD news and reviews...
's Jason Bailey wrote that "Simpson Safari" makes use of one of his favorite story elements that he called a "wandering storyline". "Their habit of using the first act as a red herring, only semi-connected to the rest of the show, is ingenious and hilarious", he wrote. "'Simpsons Safari,' for example, begins with an extended bit about a bagboy strike, which leads the family to desperate culinary measures, which then leads Homer to a box of animal crackers in the attic, which then leads to the discovery of a prize inside the box for the safari trip that encompasses the rest of the episode. They'd been doing this kind of thing for years, but it still plays".
External links
- "Simpson Safari" at The Simpsons.com