The Simpsons episode
"The Principal and the Pauper"
Episode no.	180
Prod. code	4F23
Orig. airdate	September 28, 1997
Show runner(s)	Bill Oakley & Josh Weinstein
Written by	Ken Keeler
Directed by	Steven Dean Moore
Couch gag	The family dresses up in spacesuits, and the couch blasts off like a rocket.
Guest star(s)	Martin Sheen as Sgt. Seymour Skinner
DVD commentary	Bill Oakley Josh Weinstein Ken Keeler Steven Dean Moore
Season 9 September 21, 1997 – May 17, 1998
The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson The Principal and the Pauper Lisa's Sax Treehouse of Horror VIII The Cartridge Family Bart Star The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons Lisa the Skeptic Realty Bites Miracle on Evergreen Terrace All Singing, All Dancing Bart Carny The Joy of Sect Das Bus The Last Temptation of Krust Dumbbell Indemnity Lisa the Simpson This Little Wiggy Simpson Tide The Trouble with Trillions Girly Edition Trash of the Titans King of the Hill Lost Our Lisa Natural Born Kissers
List of all The Simpsons episodes

"The Principal and the Pauper" is the second episode of The Simpsons' ninth season. The episode first aired on September 28, 1997. Simpsons redirects here. ... Image File history File links The_Simpsons_4F23. ... September 28 is the 271st day of the year (272nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Bill Oakley (born in 1966) is an American televison writer, best known for his work on The Simpsons. ... This article is about The Simpsons writer Josh Weinstein. ... The Simpsons writing staff in season 13, including current show runner Al Jean (fourth from left in middle row) and previous show runners Mike Scully (first from left in back row), David Mirkin (sixth from left in back row), and Mike Reiss (fourth from left in back row). ... Keeler at the 2003 Writers Guild Awards, after winning in the animation category. ... The three people are caricatures of (left to right) Rich Moore, Wes Archer and David Silverman[1] The following is a list of directors who have worked on the Fox animated television series The Simpsons. ... Steven Dean Moore is an animation director who has helmed about 30 episodes of The Simpsons. ... The couch gag is a running visual joke in the opening credits of the animated television series The Simpsons. ... (left to right) Elvis Costello, Tom Petty, Keith Richards, Homer, Mick Jagger, Lenny Kravitz and Brian Setzer guest starred in the heavily promoted season 14 episode How I Spent My Strummer Vacation. This is a list of guest stars who appeared on The Simpsons. ... Martin Sheen (né Ramón Estévez) (born August 3, 1940) is a three-time Emmy-winning and Golden Globe Award-winning Spanish American actor and perhaps best known for his role as Captain Willard in the film Apocalypse Now and, most recently, as President Josiah Bartlet on the acclaimed... Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organisations around the world. ... Principal Seymour Skinner (born in Capitol City, 1953, as Armin Tamzarian) is a fictional character on the animated sitcom The Simpsons, voiced by Harry Shearer. ... The Simpsons DVD season boxsets have been released since 2001 in different regions all over the world. ... Bill Oakley (born in 1966) is an American televison writer, best known for his work on The Simpsons. ... This article is about The Simpsons writer Josh Weinstein. ... Keeler at the 2003 Writers Guild Awards, after winning in the animation category. ... Steven Dean Moore is an animation director who has helmed about 30 episodes of The Simpsons. ... The Simpsons 9th season (September 1997 - May 1998) began on Sunday, September 21, 1997 with The City of New York vs. ... September 21 is the 264th day of the year (265th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 137th day of the year (138th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... The City of New York vs. ... Lisas Sax is the third episode of the ninth season of The Simpsons, which explains how she got her saxophone. ... Treehouse of Horror VIII is the fourth episode of The Simpsons ninth season, as well as the eighth Halloween episode. ... The Cartridge Family is the fifth episode of The Simpsons ninth season. ... Bart Star is the sixth episode of the ninth season of The Simpsons. ... The Two Mrs. ... Lisa the Skeptic is the eighth episode of The Simpsons ninth season, first aired on November 23, 1997. ... Realty Bites is the ninth episode of the ninth season of The Simpsons. ... Miracle on Evergreen Terrace is the 10th episode of The Simpsons ninth season. ... All Singing, All Dancing is the eleventh episode of The Simpsons ninth season. ... Bart Carny is the twelfth episode of the ninth season of the The Simpsons. ... The Joy of Sect is the thirteenth episode of The Simpsons ninth season. ... Das Bus is the 14th episode of the ninth season of The Simpsons, and a parody of the book and film Lord of the Flies. ... The Last Temptation of Krust is the fifteenth episode of The Simpsons ninth season. ... Dumbbell Indemnity is an episode of The Simpsons ninth season. ... Lisa the Simpson is the seventeenth episode of The Simpsons ninth season. ... This Little Wiggy is the eighteenth episode of the ninth season of The Simpsons. ... Simpson Tide is the nineteenth episode of The Simpsons ninth season. ... The Trouble with Trillions is the 20th episode of the ninth season of The Simpsons. ... Girly Edition is the 21st episode of the ninth season of The Simpsons // Spoiler warning: After Groundskeeper Willie confiscates his skateboard, Bart decides to get back at him by filling up his shack with a tankerfull of creamed corn as he sleeps. ... Trash of the Titans is the Emmy Award-winning twenty-second episode of The Simpsons ninth season and the 200th overall. ... King of the Hill (not to be confused with the animated series of the same name), is the 23rd episode of The Simpsons ninth season. ... Lost Our Lisa is the twenty-fourth episode of the ninth season of The Simpsons. ... Natural Born Kissers is the last episode of the ninth season of The Simpsons, and is especially notable for its risque subject matter. ... The following is an episode list for the Fox animated television series The Simpsons. ... Simpsons redirects here. ... The following is an episode list for the Fox animated television series The Simpsons. ... September 28 is the 271st day of the year (272nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Plot

Seymour Skinner is about to celebrate his 20th anniversary as school principal, and it goes smoothly until a man comes in who says his name is Seymour Skinner and that Agnes Skinner is his mother. Principal Skinner admits he is not the real Seymour Skinner, and is only an impostor. He admits that his real name is Armin Tamzarian and tells his story. He was originally a punk until he stole an old woman's purse and hit a judge. The judge gave him three choices: apologize, join the army, or jail. Armin chose the army while not knowing that the country was in the middle of the Vietnam War. He met the real Sergeant Seymour Skinner and warmed up to him as a friend. Skinner showed Armin his mother's picture in a locket and said that his dream was to be an elementary school principal. Seymour eventually ran a clearing just as someone bombed the place, causing Armin to take the news of Seymour's death to his mother. He couldn't do it, however, and instead assumed the identity of Seymour Skinner. Principal Seymour Skinner (born in Capitol City, 1953, as Armin Tamzarian) is a fictional character on the animated sitcom The Simpsons, voiced by Harry Shearer. ... Agnes Skinner (voiced by Tress MacNeille) is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons, and Principal Seymour Skinners mother, with whom he still lives. ... Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000...

Now that the real Skinner has turned up alive, he still wants to fulfill his dream, and argues that since someone pretending to be Seymour Skinner had been doing the job of school principal, the real one ought to be even better at it (It is unclear if the real Skinner actually possessed any qualifications for the position prior to being stationed in Vietnam.). He gets the job, but it soon turns out that Springfield prefers Tamzarian over the real Skinner. Tamzarian, however, had left Springfield and gone to Capitol City on his old motorcycle. Marge devises a plan to get Tamzarian back to Springfield, and she heads off for Capital City with Homer, Lisa, Edna Krabappel, Agnes Skinner, Grampa, Bart, Maggie and for some reason, Jasper Beardley. After Agnes orders Armin to return home, Homer convinces Mayor Quimby and all the other citizens to allow Armin to stay. However, Sergeant Skinner refuses to give up his dignity just because they like some other guy better. Homer comes up with a way of letting Skinner keep his dignity and let Armin Tamzarian get his old job back. The plan is to give Sergeant Skinner a "dignified" parade which actually serves to run him out of town, tied to a chair on a freight train car. Tamzarian returns to being Principal Skinner through an order by Judge Snyder, saying that no one will mention "Tamzarian" again under penalty of torture. Springfield is the fictional American city in which the animated American sitcom The Simpsons is set. ... Capitol City may refer to: A capital is the principal city or town associated with its government. ... A variety of parked motorcycles A motorcycle or motorbike is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle powered by an engine. ... Edna Krabappel is a fictional character featured in The Simpsons, voiced by Marcia Wallace. ... Jasper Beardley is a fictional character from the animated television series The Simpsons. ... An electric container freight train Freight wagons filled with limestone await unloading, at sidings in Rugby, England An SP freight train west of Chicago in 1992. ... This page provides information on characters on The Simpsons who do not have their own articles. ... Torture is defined by the United Nations Convention Against Torture as any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he...

Trivia

• This episode is referenced by Lisa in the episode "I, D'oh-Bot", when Lisa refers to her principal as "Principal Tamzarian".
• Armin is a German name, although the name Armen is a very common Armenian name. Tamzarian also appears to be an Armenian. In the DVD Commentary, it's stated that Armin Tamzarian is actually the name of an insurance adjuster that helped Ken Keeler before he started writing the episode. Mr. Tamzarian is now an attorney.
• A clip from this show was used in Behind the Laughter as an example of the show's increasingly "gimmicky and non-sensical plots". Many Simpsons fans, especially on the Internet, hate this episode for this reason. This could be considered the show's first "throwaway episode" (not counting the Treehouse of Horror specials).
• According to the DVD commentary, Ken Keeler states that the episode reflected the fans on the Internet who attacked the show, (i.e. a community that cannot accept any change and would prefer an illusion to the truth). Keeler and director Steve Moore have both said that this episode is a favorite of theirs, although Matt Groening stated on the intro commentary that this episode was one of his least favorites.
• In a 2001 interview with the Dallas Observer, Harry Shearer explained that after reading the script, he said to producer Ken Keeler "That's so wrong. You're taking something that an audience has built eight years or nine years of investment in and just tossed it in the trash can for no good reason, for a story we've done before with other characters. It's so arbitrary and gratuitous, and it's disrespectful to the audience."^[1]

Lisa Marie Simpson is a character in the animated television series The Simpsons, voiced by Yeardley Smith. ... I, (Annoyed Grunt)-Bot, best known as I, Doh-Bot, is the ninth episode of The Simpsons fifteenth season, first airing on January 11, 2004. ... Behind the Laughter is an Emmy winning episode from the eleventh season of The Simpsons. ... This article refers to the first Treehouse of Horror episode. ... The Dallas Observer is a free weekly newspaper distributed around the Dallas, Texas area. ... Keeler at the 2003 Writers Guild Awards, after winning in the animation category. ...

Cultural references

• The title of the episode is a reference to the title of the book The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain.
• Although many people believe this episode is based on the story of Martin Guerre, according to writer Ken Keeler on the DVD commentary he in fact based his story on the Tichborne Case.
• The bridge scene with flashing explosions is like the picture Apocalypse Now. That film starred Martin Sheen, this episode's guest star.
• The song sung by the Springfield Elementary Chorus in tribute to Skinner is a parody of the theme song of Flipper.

The Prince and the Pauper is an 1882 book by Mark Twain that represents his first attempt at historical fiction. ... Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 — April 21, 1910),[1] better known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American humorist, satirist, writer, and lecturer. ... Title page of Arrest Memorable, an account of the case written by one of the trial judges in 1560 and published in 1565 For other uses, see Martin Guerre (disambiguation). ... A major selling point of DVD video is that its storage capacity allows for a wide variety of extra features in addition to the feature film itself. ... Tichborne Claimant was the 19th-century case of Arthur Orton (1834–1898), an impostor who claimed to be missing heir Sir Roger Tichborne (1829–1854). ... Apocalypse Now is a 1979 American drama film set during the Vietnam War. ... Martin Sheen (né Ramón Estévez) (born August 3, 1940) is a three-time Emmy-winning and Golden Globe Award-winning Spanish American actor and perhaps best known for his role as Captain Willard in the film Apocalypse Now and, most recently, as President Josiah Bartlet on the acclaimed... Flipper was a television series that ran from 1964 till 1967 on NBC. A television adaptation or spin-off from the 1963 movie Flipper, the show focused on widowed, young Everglades National Park ranger Porter Ricks (Brian Kelly, 1932-2005, playing the role Chuck Connors played in the film), his...

References

1. ^ http://www.eastbayexpress.com/2001-04-27/culture/shearer-delight

External links

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