The Seemingly Never-Ending Story
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"The Seemingly Never-Ending Story" is the thirteenth episode of the seventeenth season of the American animated television series ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 12, 2006. The episode was written by Ian Maxtone-Graham and directed by Raymond S. Persi. In this episode, Lisa tells several stories to Homer after the family gets trapped in a cave. The episode contains many levels of nested storytelling, much like the novel '' The NeverEnding Story'' by
Michael Ende Michael Andreas Helmuth Ende (12 November 1929 – 28 August 1995) was a German writer of fantasy and children's fiction. He is known for his epic fantasy '' The Neverending Story'' (with its 1980s film adaptation and a 1995 animated television ...
, which the title references. The episode received positive reviews, and it won the
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
for Outstanding Animated Program. Maxtone-Graham won the
Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in American cinema and television. Origina ...
for Outstanding Achievement for Writing.


Plot

Visiting a cave,
Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...
tampers with a fragile
stalactite A stalactite (, ; , ) is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves, hot springs, or man-made structures such as bridges and mines. Any material that is soluble and that can be deposited as a colloid, or is in suspension (chemistry ...
, causing the family to fall through the floor and leaving Homer hanging upside down. While
Marge Marge is a feminine given name, a shortened form of Marjorie, Margot or Margaret. Notable Marges include: People * Marge (cartoonist) (1904–1993), pen name of Marjorie Henderson Buell, American cartoonist * Marge Anderson (1932–2013), Ojibwe ...
and
Bart Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area in California. BART serves List of Bay Area Rapid Transit stations, 50 stations along six routes and of track, including eBART, a spur line running t ...
look for an exit,
Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA" * Lisa, stagename of Japanese singer Lisa Komine (born 1978) * Lisa (South Korean singer) (born 1980) * Lisa (Japanese musician, b ...
tells him a story to pass the time. Last week, Lisa encounterd a
bighorn sheep The bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') is a species of Ovis, sheep native to North America. It is named for its large Horn (anatomy), horns. A pair of horns may weigh up to ; the sheep typically weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates th ...
, which chases her. She runs to the nearest shelter, Mr. Burns' house, and they hide in the attic. Lisa finds a photo of Burns working at
Moe's Tavern Springfield is the primary fictional setting of the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' and related media. It is an average-sized, fictional city within an unknown state in the United States. The fictional city's geography, surrounding ...
, and he tells her the story. Burns and
Rich Texan The American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' contains a wide range of minor and supporting characters like co-workers, teachers, students, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, and even animals. The writ ...
were involved in a
scavenger hunt A scavenger hunt is a game in which the organizers prepare a list defining specific items that need to be found, which the participants seek to gather or complete all items on the list, usually without purchasing them. Usually participants work i ...
where the winner receives the loser's possessions. Burns obtained every item except a picture of himself with a smiling child. The Texan won, so Burns began working at Moe's to earn money. He found and read a letter written by Moe describing his treasure. Moe met a newly arrived
Edna Krabappel Edna Krabappel-Flanders ( ) is a fictional character from the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Marcia Wallace. A Fourth grade, 4th-grade teacher, she teaches Bart Simpson's class at Springfield Elementary School. In the The ...
, and they fell in love. Moe planned to leave Springfield with her but had no money. He encountered
Snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...
, an idealistic archaeologist, who intended to donate gold coins to a museum. Moe stole them from Snake, leading him to be a criminal. Before leaving with Moe, Edna stopped by Springfield Elementary School to resign and found Bart seemingly in detention. Edna told Moe that she must stay to help Bart succeed. Moe became depressed and used his coins to play music on the tavern's jukebox. Burns took the coins from the jukebox and bought his possessions back, but the Texan refused to give the power plant back until Burns completed the scavenger hunt. The sheep bursts into the attic, and Burns gets hurt defending Lisa. The sheep had found Lisa's pearl necklace earlier and is returning it. To thank him, Lisa takes a photo of her and Burns together, allowing him to get the plant back. Homer breaks free. He confesses that he saw the Texan hide the coins in the cave and brought the family there to steal them. Suddenly, the Texan arrives, and the coins are found. Moe, Burns, and Snake appear and enter a Mexican standoff. Marge takes the coins and drops them into a chasm, and they thank her for ending their greed. They go out to volunteer as a way of atoning for their sins, while Burns promises to catch up with them after climbing down the chasm to retrieve the coins. The entire episode turns out to be a story told by Bart to
Principal Skinner Principal Seymour Skinner is a recurring fictional character in the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'', who is voiced by Harry Shearer. He is the principal of Springfield Elementary School, which he struggles to control, and is constantly enga ...
, explaining why he did not have time to study for a test. Skinner is unconvinced until he sees Edna kissing Moe outside.


Reception


Viewing figures

The episode earned a 3.5 rating and was watched by 9.71 million viewers, the 38th most-watched show that week.


Critical response

Timothy Sexton of
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said that ''The Seemingly Never-Ending Story'' was "innovative", and "featured the kind of intricate development that you don't get in shows such as ''
Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane (producer), David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting List of Friends episodes, ten seasons. With an ensemble cast ...
'', ''
Will & Grace ''Will & Grace'' is an American television sitcom created by Max Mutchnick and David Kohan. Set in New York City, the show focuses on the friendship between best friends Will Truman (Eric McCormack), a Gay men, gay lawyer, and Grace Adler (Debra ...
'', ''
Ally McBeal ''Ally McBeal'' is an American legal comedy-drama television series created by David E. Kelley that originally aired on Fox from September 8, 1997, to May 20, 2002. It revolves around Calista Flockhart in the title role as a lawyer working ...
'' or ''
Everybody Loves Raymond ''Everybody Loves Raymond'' is an American television sitcom created by Philip Rosenthal that aired on CBS from September 13, 1996, to May 16, 2005, with a total of 210 episodes spanning nine seasons. It was produced by Where's Lunch and Wor ...
''". Sexton noted that each of those series won the Best Comedy Emmy Award in a year that ''The Simpsons'' aired but was not even nominated. Adam Finley of ''
TV Squad Weblogs, Inc. was a blog network that published content on a variety of subjects, including tech news, video games, automobiles, and pop culture. At one point, the network had as many as 90 blogs, although the vast majority of its traffic could b ...
'' liked the layering of stories but thought it felt like a series of stories that could not be an episode on their own. Colin Jacobson of ''DVD Movie Guide'' said the episode "manages a clever approach to the" anthology genre and enjoyed the changes with the characters. On ''Four Finger Discount'', Brendan Dando and Guy Davis liked the episode as long as viewers ignore continuity or logic. In 2015, Erik Adams of ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'' named the episode as one of the 10 best episodes between season 17 and season 25 and called the plots "ambitious". The same year, Jesse Schedeen of ''
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
'' called it one of the top 10 episodes since season 12 and called it "a clever and consistently entertaining episode" similar to the seventh season episode " 22 Short Films About Springfield". In 2019, Bernardo Sim of ''
Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and comic books. It is owned by Valnet, parent of publications including Comic Book Resources, Collider, MovieWeb and XDA Developers. ...
'' called it the best episode of the 17th season. In 2023, Tony Sokol of ''
Den of Geek ''Den of Geek'' is a UK and US-based website covering entertainment with a focus on pop culture. The website also issues a biannual magazine. History ''Den of Geek'' was founded in 2007 by Simon Brew in London. In 2012, DoG Tech LLC licensed ' ...
'' named the episode the third best episode of the 2000s and said it had "enough origin tales to qualify as a hastily buried treasure".


Awards and nominations

At the 58th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, the episode won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour). The episode beat out the ''
South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...
'' episode " Trapped in the Closet", in which
Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962) is an American actor and film producer. Regarded as a Cinema of the United States, Hollywood icon, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Tom Cruise, various accolades, includ ...
and
Scientology Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by the American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It is variously defined as a scam, a Scientology as a business, business, a cult, or a religion. Hubbard initially develo ...
are satirized. Executive producer
Al Jean Alfred Ernest Jean III (born January 9, 1961) is an American screenwriter and producer. Jean is well known for his work on ''The Simpsons''. He was raised near Detroit, Michigan, and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his wri ...
, accepting the award, said: "This is what happens when you don't mock Scientology." At the
34th Annie Awards The ceremony for the 34th Annual Annie Awards, honoring the best in animation in 2006, was held on February 11, 2007, at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, California. The nominations were announced on December 4, 2006. Winners are marked in bold ...
, episode writer Ian Maxtone-Graham won the Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Writing in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Seemingly Never-Ending Story, The The Simpsons season 17 episodes 2006 American television episodes Metafictional television episodes Emmy Award–winning episodes Television episodes written by Ian Maxtone-Graham Television episodes directed by Raymond S. Persi