The Simpsons in Australia, March to July 1997

Network Ten Broadcasts from March to July

March: We pick up the story part-way through Season Eight with new episodes of The Simpsons, playing at 7:00pm on a Sunday evening, in the company of Season Five repeats at 7:30pm. Despite the complaints of Simpsons fans, Network Ten has resumed its policy of merging the two episodes by removing the intervening credits and opening sequence. The timing is decidedly poor, as nearly every episode in the first half of Season Eight has special music playing over the credits; and at least three episodes couple this with continuing visual action. The Australian consumer loses, yet again. April: New episodes and repeats continue to be paired on Sunday evenings, enlivened by a special, uncut presentation on a certain Wednesday night from 7:30pm. First, Homer poses a well-known pair of F.B.I. agents what they cannot help but call "the worst case we've ever had" in the Simpsons' X-Files take-off. Then, Homer gains a whole extra dimension in the latest instalment of Treehouse of Horror, graduating to a very spectacular 3D! (This is no less impressive for being a repeat.) May: Finally, Ten listens to its viewers, and the Simpsons are shown uncut! Season Eight moves to 7:30pm, while Season Six repeats jump into the 7:00pm timeslot on Sundays. Apparently, though, the cuts don't cease as a result of viewer feedback, but because the remaining new episodes have all managed a PG rating(!) and hence cannot be merged with episodes from earlier seasons, all of which were awarded G ratings. Sigh. June: Uncut, new and repeat episodes continue on Sundays. But in the last week of June, Ten runs out of Mad About You repeats, and The Simpsons return to their old weekday timeslot at 7:00pm, Monday to Friday. Amazingly, the episodes are shown in very nearly the correct order! Ten has almost regained the confidence of its viewers. Incidentally, the technical term for running repeats of a series every day at the same time is 'stripping.' You'll see me struggling to make this into a verb throughout my news and other pages. ;) July: Season Eight concludes on the 13th with chapter VII of the Treehouse of Horror. Season Six maintains its 7:00pm timeslot on Sundays, while Season Seven repeats for the first time at 7:30pm. Meanwhile, weekday repeats move from Season One through to the end of Season Two. Ten continues to get the episode order right!

In March I finally got sick and tired of phoning and writing to Network Ten programming, pleading with them to cease their policy of cutting new episodes of The Simpsons on Sunday evenings. Instead, I tried a different tack: I got connected to Foxtel! I quickly overcame my initial disappointment that they only had rights up to Season Five, when I realised that episodes were being screened uncut, in their entirety (I completely lost it when I first heard Mrs Krabappel say, "She's faking it.") Time to refresh my video collection... Foxtel were nearing the end of Season Four when I tuned in, and well into Season Five by the end of the month. Episodes were shown at 6:00am, then repeated in the evening at 7:00pm, making it easy to check that the right episode would go on the right tape. This is a good time to point out that Foxtel's master screening order is very close to the order episodes were originally broadcast in the US. In fact, judging by their surprising accuracy with Highlander -- The Series (which has a particularly complicated episode order), I suggest that Foxtel's episode order for The Simpsons may well be more correct than the US sequence. April the First featured the April Fool's Day episode from Season Four (of course), before resuming to complete Season Five and start again at the very beginning of Season One. Somewhere in here was also a whole Saturday dedicated to The Simpsons, screening episodes from Seasons Two and Three (unfortunately, I no longer have the screening order). May covered Season Two and part of Season Three. June ended half-way through Season Three, though its second week was dedicated to screening all four of the Hallowe'en episodes then accessible to Foxtel. Furthermore, the Queen's Birthday holiday was the perfect opportunity for another Simpsons marathon, showing episodes all day (7:00am to 7:30pm), from Seasons Four and Five. By the end of July, the sequence was again complete, the end of Season Five having been reached. But August was to hold some new surprises...

When I connected to Foxtel, I never expected to get the opportunity to observe the Simpsons' origins as part of The Tracey Ullman Show. So it came as quite a surprise to see Tracey's name in the Comedy Channel's column in the Foxtel Guide. Always one to capitalise on such an opportunity, I found a suitable tape, readied my remote trigger finger, and set to trying to pick the Simpsons shorts out from all the other sketches. In the process, I compiled a considerable amount of information about each episode of The Tracey Ullman Show, now available to you in my Tracey Ullman Episode Guide. The Tracey Ullman Show has always maintained only an unstable, shifting timeslot, appearing sometimes at 7:30 in the morning, sometimes at 11:30am, or at 5:30pm or 11:00 in the evening. Generally, episodes have been repeated, usually the following day. Interestingly, four or five episodes have not been shown by the Comedy Channel, including two sets of Simpsons shorts. From March to June (and probably earlier), Tracey appeared on our screens every day -- usually two or three times each day. The Comedy Channel's programme reorganisation at the start of July saw Tracey relegated to weekend mornings at 7:30am, and Friday to Sunday at 5:00pm. The decline had begun. Nonetheless, special episodes were shown on the last day of June (the end-of-Season Three "best of" special) and the 11th of July (the interesting Backstage Special from the start of Season Three).

Ten Simpsons in March, April and May, 1997

Date	Time	Episode	Code
Sun 2 Mar 1997	7:00pm	Lisa’s Date with Density	4F01 M
Sun 2 Mar 1997	7:30pm	Lisa vs Malibu Stacey	1F12 RM
Sun 9 Mar 1997	7:00pm	Hurricane Neddy	4F07 M
Sun 9 Mar 1997	7:30pm	Deep Space Homer	1F13 RM
Sun 16 Mar 1997	7:00pm	The Twisted World of Marge Simpson	4F08 M
Sun 16 Mar 1997	7:30pm	Homer Loves Flanders	1F14 RM
Sun 23 Mar 1997	7:00pm	Mountain of Madness	4F10 M
Sun 23 Mar 1997	7:30pm	Bart Gets An Elephant	1F15 RM
Sun 30 Mar 1997	7:00pm	Burns’ Heir	1F16 RM
Sun 30 Mar 1997	7:30pm	Sweet Seymour Skinner’s Baddasssss Song	1F18 RM
Sun 6 Apr 1997	7:00pm	The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show	4F12 M
Sun 6 Apr 1997	7:30pm	Lady Bouvier’s Lover	1F21 RM
Wed 9 Apr 1997	7:30pm	The Springfield Files	3G01
Wed 9 Apr 1997	8:00pm	Treehouse of Horror VI	3F04 R
Sun 13 Apr 1997	7:00pm	Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala-D’oh-cious	3G03 M
Sun 13 Apr 1997	7:30pm	Itchy & Scratchy Land	2F01 RM
Sun 20 Apr 1997	7:00pm	The Brother From Another Series	4F14 M
Sun 20 Apr 1997	7:30pm	The Boy Who Knew Too Much	1F19 RM
Sun 27 Apr 1997	7:00pm	El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Homer	3F24 M
Sun 27 Apr 1997	7:30pm	Secrets of a Successful Marriage	1F20 RM
Sun 4 May 1997	7:00pm	My Sister, My Sitter	4F13 M
Sun 4 May 1997	7:30pm	Lisa’s Rival	1F17 RM
Sun 11 May 1997	7:00pm	Sideshow Bob Roberts	2F02 R
Sun 11 May 1997	7:30pm	Homer vs the Eighteenth Amendment	4F15
Sun 18 May 1997	7:00pm	Bart’s Girlfriend	2F04 R
Sun 18 May 1997	7:30pm	Homer’s Phobia	4F11
Sun 25 May 1997	7:00pm	Lisa on Ice	2F05 R
Sun 25 May 1997	7:30pm	You Only Move Twice	3F23

[August]

[Top]

Date	Time	Episode	Code
Sun 1 Jun 1997	7:00pm	Homer: Bad Man	2F06 R
Sun 1 Jun 1997	7:30pm	Grade School Confidential	4F09
Sun 8 Jun 1997	7:00pm	Grampa vs Sexual Inadequacy	2F07 R
Sun 8 Jun 1997	7:30pm	The Canine Mutiny	4F16
Sun 15 Jun 1997	7:00pm	Fear of Flying	2F08 R
Sun 15 Jun 1997	7:30pm	The Old Man and the Lisa	4F17
Sun 22 Jun 1997	7:00pm	Homer the Great	2F09 R
Sun 22 Jun 1997	7:30pm	In Marge We Trust	4F18
Sun 29 Jun 1997	7:00pm	And Maggie Makes Three	2F10 R
Sun 29 Jun 1997	7:30pm	Homer’s Enemy	4F19
Sun 6 Jul 1997	7:00pm	Bart’s Comet	2F11 R
Sun 6 Jul 1997	7:30pm	The Simpsons Spinoff Showcase	4F20
Sun 13 Jul 1997	7:00pm	Homie the Clown	2F12 R
Sun 13 Jul 1997	7:30pm	Treehouse of Horror VII	4F02
Sun 20 Jul 1997	7:00pm	Bart vs Australia	2F13 R
Sun 20 Jul 1997	7:30pm	Home Sweet Home-Diddily-Dum-Doodily	3F01 R
Sun 27 Jul 1997	7:00pm	Homer vs Patty & Selma	2F14 R
Sun 27 Jul 1997	7:30pm	Bart Sells His Soul	3F02 R

[August]

[Top]

Week Starting		Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri
23/6/97		7G08	7G02	7G03	7G04	7G05
30/6/97		7G06	7G09	7G07	7G11	7G10
7/7/97		7G13	7G12	7G01	7F03	7F02
14/7/97		7F01	7F05	7F08	7F07	7F06
21/7/97		7F09	7F10	7F11	7F12	7F13
28/7/97		7F15	7F16	7F14	7F17	7F18

[August]

[Top]

Date	Episode	Title
Mon 17/3	9F18	Whacking Day
Tue 18/3	9F20	Marge in Chains
Wed 19/3	9F21	Homer’s Barbershop Quartet
Thu 20/3	9F22	Cape Feare
Fri 21/3	9F19	Krusty Gets Kancelled
Sat 22/3	1F02	Homer Goes to College
Sun 23/3	1F01	Rosebud
Mon 24/3	1F04	Treehouse of Horror IV
Tue 25/3	1F03	Marge on the Lam
Wed 26/3	1F05	Bart’s Inner Child
Thu 27/3	1F06	Boy-Scoutz N The Hood
Fri 28/3	1F07	The Last Temptation of Homer
Sat 29/3	1F08	$pringfield
Sun 30/3	1F09	Homer the Vigilante
Mon 31/3	1F11	Bart Gets Famous
Tue 1/4	9F17	So It’s Come to This: A Simpsons Clip Show
Wed 2/4	1F10	Homer and Apu
Thu 3/4	1F12	Lisa vs Malibu Stacey
Fri 4/4	1F13	Deep Space Homer
Sat 5/4	1F14	Homer Loves Flanders
Sun 6/4	1F15	Bart Gets An Elephant
Mon 7/4	1F16	Burns’ Heir
Tue 8/4	1F17	Lisa’s Rival
Wed 9/4	1F18	Sweet Seymour Skinner’s Baddasssss Song
Thu 10/4	1F19	The Boy Who Knew Too Much
Fri 11/4	1F21	Lady Bouvier’s Lover
Sat 12/4	1F22	Bart of Darkness
Sun 13/4	1F20	Secrets of a Successful Marriage
Mon 14/4	7G08	"The Simpsons Christmas Special"
Tue 15/4	7G02	Bart the Genius
Wed 16/4	7G03	Homer’s Odyssey
Thu 17/4	7G04	There’s No Disgrace Like Home
Fri 18/4	7G05	Bart the General
Sat 19/4	7G06	Moaning Lisa
Sun 20/4	7G09	Call of the Simpsons
Mon 21/4	7G07	"The Telltale Head"
Tue 22/4	7G11	Jacques to be Wild
Wed 23/4	7G10	Homer’s Night Out
Thu 24/4	7G13	The Crepes of Wrath
Fri 25/4	7G12	Krusty Gets Busted
Sat 26/4	7G01	Some Enchanted Evening
Sun 27/4	7F03	Bart Gets An F
Mon 28/4	7F02	Simpson and Delilah
Tue 29/4	7F04	"The Simpsons Halloween Special"
Wed 30/4	7F01	Two Cars in Every Garage, Three Eyes on Every Fish

[August]

[Top]

Date	Episode	Title
Thu 1/5	7F05	Dancin’ Homer
Fri 2/5	7F08	Dead Putting Society
Sat 3/5	7F07	Bart vs Thanksgiving
Sun 4/5	7F06	Bart the Daredevil
Mon 5/5	7F09	Itchy & Scratchy & Marge
Tue 6/5	7F10	"Episode 23: Bart Gets Hit By A Car"
Wed 7/5	7F11	One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish
Thu 8/5	7F12	The Way We Was
Fri 9/5	7F13	Homer vs Lisa and the 8th Commandment
Sat 10/5	7F15	Principal Charming
Sun 11/5	7F16	Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?
Mon 12/5	7F14	Bart’s Dog Gets An F
Tue 13/5	7F17	Old Money
Wed 14/5	7F18	Brush with Greatness
Thu 15/5	7F19	Lisa’s Substitute
Fri 16/5	7F20	War Of The Simpsons
Sat 17/5	7F21	Three Men and a Comic Book
Sun 18/5	7F22	Blood Feud
Mon 19/5	7F23	When Flanders Failed
Tue 20/5	7F24	Stark Raving Dad
Wed 21/5	8F01	Mr Lisa Goes To Washington
Thu 22/5	8F03	Bart The Murderer
Fri 23/5	8F04	Homer Defined
Sat 24/5	8F05	Like Father, Like Clown
Sun 25/5	8F02	"The Simpsons Halloween Special II"
Mon 26/5	8F06	Lisa’s Pony
Tue 27/5	8F07	Saturdays of Thunder
Wed 28/5	8F08	Flaming Moe’s
Thu 29/5	8F09	Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk
Fri 30/5	8F10	I Married Marge
Sat 31/5	8F11	Radio Bart

[April]

[August]

[Top]

Date	Episode	Title
Sun 1/6	8F12	Lisa the Greek
Mon 2/6	8F14	Homer Alone
Tue 3/6	8F16	Bart the Lover
Wed 4/6	8F13	Homer at the Bat
Thu 5/6	8F15	Separate Vocations
Fri 6/6	8F17	Dog of Death
Sat 7/6	8F19	Colonel Homer
Sun 8/6	8F20	Black Widower
Mon 9/6	8F21	The Otto Show
Tue 10/6	7F04	"The Simpsons Halloween Special"
Wed 11/6	8F02	"The Simpsons Halloween Special II"
Thu 12/6	9F04	Treehouse of Horror III
Fri 13/6	1F04	Treehouse of Horror IV
Sat 14/6	8F22	Bart’s Friend Falls In Love
Sun 15/6	8F23	Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?
Mon 16/6	8F24	Kamp Krusty
Tue 17/6	8F18	A Streetcar Named Marge
Wed 18/6	9F01	Homer the Heretic
Thu 19/6	9F02	Lisa the Beauty Queen
Fri 20/6	9F03	Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie
Sat 21/6	9F05	Marge Gets a Job
Sun 22/6	9F06	New Kid on the Block
Mon 23/6	9F07	Mr Plow
Tue 24/6	9F08	Lisa’s First Word
Wed 25/6	9F09	Homer’s Triple Bypass
Thu 26/6	9F10	Marge vs the Monorail
Fri 27/6	9F11	Selma’s Choice
Sat 28/6	9F12	Brother from the Same Planet
Sun 29/6	9F13	I Love Lisa
Mon 30/6	9F14	Duffless

[May]

[August]

[Top]

Date	Episode	Title
Tue 1/7	9F15	Last Exit to Springfield
Wed 2/7	9F16	The Front
Thu 3/7	9F17	So It’s Come to This: A Simpsons Clip Show
Fri 4/7	9F18	Whacking Day
Sat 5/7	9F20	Marge in Chains
Sun 6/7	9F21	Homer’s Barbershop Quartet
Mon 7/7	9F22	Cape Feare
Tue 8/7	9F19	Krusty Gets Kancelled
Wed 9/7	1F02	Homer Goes to College
Thu 10/7	1F01	Rosebud
Fri 11/7	1F04	Treehouse of Horror IV
Sat 12/7	1F03	Marge on the Lam
Sun 13/7	1F05	Bart’s Inner Child
Mon 14/7	7G13	The Crepes of Wrath
Tue 15/7	1F06	Boy-Scoutz N The Hood
Wed 16/7	1F07	The Last Temptation of Homer
Thu 17/7	1F08	$pringfield
Fri 18/7	1F09	Homer the Vigilante
Sat 19/7	1F11	Bart Gets Famous
Sun 20/7	1F10	Homer and Apu
Mon 21/7	1F12	Lisa vs Malibu Stacey
Tue 22/7	1F13	Deep Space Homer
Wed 23/7	1F14	Homer Loves Flanders
Thu 24/7	1F15	Bart Gets An Elephant
Fri 25/7	1F16	Burns’ Heir
Sat 26/7	1F17	Lisa’s Rival
Sun 27/7	1F18	Sweet Seymour Skinner’s Baddasssss Song
Mon 28/7	1F19	The Boy Who Knew Too Much
Tue 29/7	1F21	Lady Bouvier’s Lover
Wed 30/7	1F22	Bart of Darkness
Thu 31/7	1F20	Secrets of a Successful Marriage

[June]

[August]

[Top]

Week Starting		Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
9/6/97		4W09	4W03	4W11	4W05	4W11 4W13	4W15	4W16
16/6/97		4W16 4W10	4W11	4W12 4W18	4W13 4W19	4W21 4W20	4W22	4W23
23/6/97		4W23 4W17	5W06 4W24	5W07 4W25	5W08 4W26	4W21 5W02 5W01	5W04	5W05
30/6/97		5W05 4W24 5W76				5W06	5W06 5W07	5W07 5W08
7/7/97						Spec3 5W09	5W09 5W10	5W10 5W11
14/7/97						5W12	5W12 5W13	5W13 5W14
21/7/97						5W15	5W15 5W16	5W16 5W17
28/7/97		No episodes this week.

[August]

[Top]