“We'll Never Speak of This Matter Again”. Matt Groening Named This Episode of The Simpsons a “Mistake” and Disowned It

As a long-time fan of The Simpsons, I can vividly remember the shockwave that swept through our community when “The Principal & The Pauper” aired back in 1997. It was a twist so mind-boggling, it felt like the very foundations of Springfield were crumbling beneath our eyes. But just as quickly as the revelation came, it was swiftly retracted, leaving us fans scratching our heads and wondering what could have been.


The long-running series “The Simpsons” has reached its 35th year and shows no signs of wrapping up, according to producer Al Jean. Despite a mix of great and not-so-great episodes throughout its run, there’s one in particular that the creators would rather brush under the rug. It’s not just them who feel this way, as some longtime fans see it as the end of the show’s “golden era”.

We’re discussing the episode titled “The Principal & The Pauper“, which is the second installment of season 9. In this episode, it was unveiled that Director Skinner had been posing as Seymour Skinner, a man he encountered in the military. The truth emerged when the genuine Seymour Skinner made his way back to Springfield.

Back in 2002, during an interview with Rolling Stone, I fondly remember that Matt Groening, the genius behind The Simpsons, shared a confession about one particular episode. He admitted that he felt it was a misstep and himself and his team opted to shelve the concept permanently, vowing never to revisit it on screen again. Interestingly enough, the episode still made its way onto our TV screens, but the enigma of fake Skinner was never revisited in future episodes.

On our program, we sometimes stumble, but we own up to our errors. In one instance, we exposed Principal Skinner as an imposter. However, upon completion of the episode, we came to understand that it was a misstep. Consequently, a judge declared, “This topic shall never be mentioned again.” And since then, it hasn’t been.

After the genuine Skinner was expelled from Springfield and the imposter was legally confirmed as the sole Skinner, there were no more mentions of the fake one in the series. In essence, this incident seems to have been erased from the world of The Simpsons, as it had no bearing on subsequent events within the show. The creators appear to have abandoned the concept entirely, opting not to explore it any further. Matt Groening explicitly denied any involvement with The Principal & The Pauper.

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2024-10-14 13:01