"Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish" was the first episode produced for the season, but "Bart Gets an 'F'" aired first because Bart was popular at the time and the producers had wanted to premiere with a Bart-themed episode.[3] The second season featured a new opening sequence, which was shortened from its original length of roughly 90 seconds. The opening sequence for the first season showed Bart stealing a "Bus Stop" sign; whilst the new sequence featured him skateboarding past several characters who had been introduced during the previous season. Starting with this season, there were three versions of the opening: a full roughly 75-second version, a 45-second version and a 25-second version. This gave the show's editors more leeway.[4] This sequence would remain in use until the show's transfer to high definition midway through the twentieth season.
Daniel Stern as the adult version of Bart ("Three Men and a Comic Book")
Reception
Ratings
Due to the show's success during its abbreviated first season, Fox decided to move The Simpsons from its Sunday night lineup on August 23, 1990. The move came as the still-fledgling network was adding two additional nights of programming to its lineup, one of which was Thursday.[18] Fox placed The Simpsons in the leadoff position of their lineup for their initial Thursday offerings, with the new sitcom Babes and a new Aaron Spelling-produced drama, Beverly Hills 90210, offering competition for the lineups fielded by the other networks including ratings champion NBC.
The Simpsons settled into the 8:00 PM position, which put it in direct competition with the five-time defending #1 show in all of television, The Cosby Show.[19] Many of the producers, including James L. Brooks, were against the move because The Simpsons had been in the top 10 while airing on Sunday and they felt the move would destroy its ratings.[20] All through the summer of 1990, several news outlets published stories about the supposed "Bill vs. Bart" rivalry.[20] At the time, NBC had 208 television stations, while Fox had only 133.[21]
Bart Gets an "F" was the first episode to air against The Cosby Show and averaged an 18.4 Nielsen rating and 29% of the audience. In the weeks ratings, it finished tied for eighth behind The Cosby Show which had an 18.5 rating. However, an estimated 33.6 million viewers watched the episode, making it the number one show in terms of actual viewers that week. At the time, it was the most watched episode in the history of Fox.[22] The next week, "Simpson and Delilah" had a 16.2 rating and 25% share while the Cosby Show managed to maintain its 18.5 rating. However, viewer-wise, The Simpsons won again with 29.9 million viewers.[23]
The next week, "Treehouse of Horror" fell in the ratings, finishing 24th.[24] Ratings wise, new episodes of The Cosby Show beat The Simpsons every time during the second season and The Simpsons eventually fell out of the top 10.[3]
"Three Men and a Comic Book" would boast the only victory over The Cosby Show, finishing 23rd in the weekly ratings while a rerun of Cosby finished 26th.[25] At the end of the season, Cosby averaged as the fifth highest rated show on television while The Simpsons was 38th.[18] It would not be until the seventeenth episode of the third season, "Homer at the Bat," that The Simpsons would beat The Cosby Show in the ratings.[26] The show remained in its Thursday timeslot until the sixth season.[19]
Critical response
The second season of The Simpsons received critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has a 100% approval rating based on 8 critical reviews.[27] On aggregate review website Metacritic, a site which uses a weighted mean score, the season scored a 92/100 based on seven critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[citation needed]
At the 7th annual Television Critics Association Awards, the second season of the show was nominated for "Outstanding Achievement in Comedy" but lost to Murphy Brown.
Bart fails a test and is told he has one more chance to pass it or else he will be held back a year. Bart tries to get the class genius Martin Prince to help him, but after that fails, Bart prays for help. That night, Springfield is hit with a massive blizzard and the school is closed, giving Bart one more day to study. Despite his desperate attempts, Bart fails the test again. While crying, he mentions an obscure historical event and Mrs. Krabappel, noting that he applied practical knowledge, passes him.
Homer discovers a new miracle hair growth formula called Dimoxinil and cheats on some insurance forms so he can buy some. Homer grows hair overnight and is soon given a promotion at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. He gets a new secretary named Karl, who helps him become successful. However, Mr. Burns' assistant Waylon Smithers becomes jealous of all the attention Burns is giving Homer and discovers that Homer had committed insurance fraud on the insurance forms. Smithers tries to fire Homer, but Karl claims he committed the insurance fraud and is fired in Homer's stead. Bart spills Homer's remaining Dimoxinil and Homer loses all his hair. As a result, Homer is demoted back to his old position.
In a Halloween anthology episode, Bart and Lisa tell scary stories.
"Bad Dream House": Bart tells a story where the Simpsons move into a haunted house built on a Native American burial ground. After the house is told off by Marge, it chooses to destroy itself rather than live with the Simpsons.
"Hungry Are the Damned": In Bart's other story, the Simpsons are abducted to be taken to the planet Rigel IV for a feast. Lisa is suspicious of the aliens' intentions, believing that the Simpsons themselves are being cooked. When her trust is misplaced, the offended aliens Kang and Kodos return the family to Earth.
"The Raven": Lisa retells the poem by Edgar Allan Poe, in which Homer appears as the poem's narrator and Bart is the raven.
After Bart catches a three-eyed fish in a river downstream of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, the Plant is inspected and found to have 342 violations, which would cost $56 million to rectify. In order to prevent his Plant from being shut down, Mr. Burns decides to run for Governor. After a hard campaign which sees Burns rise from being universally despised to running neck and neck with incumbent Mary Bailey, it is decided that Burns will have dinner with a random employee the night before the election. Homer is chosen, much to Marge's chagrin. Marge serves the three-eyed fish to Burns for dinner, who cannot eat it and, as a result, loses the election.
Homer fires up the crowd at a Springfield Isotopes game and is chosen to be the team's new mascot. He immediately becomes a popular attraction and the Isotopes start a winning streak. As a result, Homer is promoted to the team in Capital City. The Simpsons move to Capital City, but Homer fails to enthrall the crowd, and returns home.
Ned Flanders invites Homer to his house for a beer. Homer, seeing how nice Ned's house is, becomes jealous, causing Flanders to angrily ask him to leave. Flanders immediately regrets his outburst and tries to make up with Homer, who remains defiant. One day while mini golfing, Bart and Flanders' son Todd decide to enter a tournament. Homer becomes confident that Bart will win and makes a bet with Ned that the father of the boy who does not win will have to mow their neighbor's lawn in their wife's Sunday dress. On the day of the tournament, Bart and Todd make the finals but decide to call it a draw, forcing both Homer and Ned to fulfill the requirements of their bet.
When he is blamed for ruining Thanksgiving, Bart runs away and finds a soup kitchen and some homeless men. Eventually, Bart returns home, intending to apologize but has last minute thoughts and climbs to the roof of the Simpsons house where he hears Lisa sobbing. He apologizes to her, and the family happily enjoys a meal of leftovers.
The Simpsons go to a monster truck rally that features famous daredevil Lance Murdock. Bart immediately becomes enamored and decides he wants to become a daredevil too. Bart's first stunt ends in injury and despite the family and Dr. Hibbert's best efforts, he continues to attempt stunts. Bart decides to jump the Springfield Gorge, but Homer gets wind of his plan and makes Bart promise not to jump it. Bart immediately breaks his promise and goes to jump the gorge anyway, but Homer stops him just in time and finally gets Bart to swear he will stop being a daredevil. Homer accidentally ends up having to jump the gorge himself, failing in the attempt.
Maggie attacks Homer with a mallet, and Marge immediately blames The Itchy & Scratchy Show for turning her violent. Marge forms S.N.U.H. (Springfieldians for Nonviolence, Understanding, and Helping) and campaigns against the show. Eventually she successfully gets the writers to change their ways and make the show less violent. Meanwhile, Michelangelo's David goes on a coast-to-coast tour of the U.S., and the members of S.N.U.H. mobilize to protest it. Marge, however, says she likes the statue and, realizing it is wrong to censor one art form but not another, gives up her protest.
One day, Bart is skateboarding when he is suddenly hit by Mr. Burns's car. An attorney named Lionel Hutz suggests that the Simpsons sue Burns, promising a big cash settlement. Homer agrees, and he and Hutz spend time fabricating Bart's story, taking him to see Dr. Nick Riviera, who has dubious credentials. Marge opposes suing Burns and would be happy with him paying Bart's medical bills and apologizing. Burns eventually finds out about the phony doctor and Marge is called to the witness stand during the trial. She refuses to lie, and her testimony leads to the trial being lost.
The Simpsons go to a new sushi bar, where Homer takes a liking to the food and decides to try fugu, which is poisonous if not cut properly. Homer's fugu is not, and he is taken to the hospital where he is told he has 22 hours to live. Homer makes a list of things he wants to do, and spends his last day making amends with Grampa and talking to his children. Homer accepts his fate, but it turns out he was not poisoned after all, and he vows to live life to its fullest. Homer then continues to live his life as before.
In the first Simpsons flashback episode, Marge tells the story of how she and Homer met in high school in 1974. Marge and Homer meet for the first time during detention and he immediately tries to get Marge to be his date for the prom. She initially agrees, but ends up attending with Artie Ziff. In the end, Marge regrets going with Artie, and reveals that she has fallen in love with Homer.
Homer gets an illegal cable hook up. Despite their enjoyment of the new channels, Lisa becomes suspicious that they are stealing cable. Her suspicions are confirmed by Reverend Lovejoy and Lisa protests by no longer watching television. Meanwhile, Homer invites his friends over to watch a boxing match, but Lisa's protest gets to him. He decides not to watch the fight and cuts the cable.
Selma begs Marge to help her find a husband and she enlists Homer's help. Meanwhile, Bart gets in trouble at school and Homer is brought in to talk to Principal Skinner, who he decides would be perfect for Selma. Homer invites Skinner to dinner, but he falls in love with Patty instead of Selma. Patty and Skinner start dating, much to Selma's unhappiness. Skinner proposes to Patty, but she rejects him because of her bond with Selma.
Grampa confesses that Homer has a half-brother, and Homer immediately tries to track him down. Homer eventually discovers that his half-brother is Herb Powell, the head of a car manufacturer in Detroit. Herb immediately starts to bond with Bart and Lisa and he invites Homer to design his own car. Homer's car design is a disaster, causing Herb to become bankrupt.
Homer becomes fed up with Santa's Little Helper, who continually destroys things. He says he will get rid of him unless he goes to an obedience school. Bart, Lisa and Maggie have grown to love the dog and promise to train him. Santa's Little Helper does poorly there, as Bart is unwilling to use a choke chain. The night before the final exam, Bart and Santa's Little Helper play on Lisa's suggestion, thinking it will be their last few hours together. This bonding breaks down the communication barrier, meaning Santa's Little Helper can now understand Bart's commands, thus passing obedience school much to the family's (except Homer's) happiness. Meanwhile, Lisa has the mumps.
Grampa falls in love with a wealthy woman named Bea Simmons. On Bea's birthday, Grampa tries to celebrate it, but he is dragged away by Homer. Bea dies that night and Grampa blames Homer for causing him to have missed her last moments. After the funeral, Grampa receives her fortune of $106,000. Bea's ghost appears and she tells him to forgive Homer and spend his money on a worthy cause.
After finding some old paintings she did of Ringo Starr, Marge decides to take an art class at Springfield Community College. There, she becomes the top student and wins the college art show. Meanwhile, Mr. Burns needs a painting for the Burns Wing of the Springfield Art Museum, and asks Marge to paint him. At first, she has trouble painting such an evil man, but then decides to paint him naked and frail. Everyone, even Burns, praises Marge's painting. Meanwhile, Homer decides to go on a diet after being stuck on a water slide during a family outing.
When Miss Hoover falls ill with a suspected case of Lyme disease, she is replaced by substitute teacher Mr. Bergstrom. Because of his unorthodox teaching methods, Lisa quickly takes a liking to him. Just as Lisa is about to ask Mr. Bergstrom over to her parents' house for dinner, Miss Hoover returns. Meanwhile, Bart runs for class president against Martin Prince, but loses due to the fact that nobody in the class voted, with the exception of Martin and one of his supporters.
After Homer gets drunk at a party, Marge decides to sign them up for a marriage counseling retreat. Homer finds out the retreat will be held at Catfish Lake and packs his fishing equipment, despite Marge's telling him that all they will be doing is resolving their differences. At the lake the next morning, Homer tries to sneak away to go fishing, but Marge catches him and he takes a walk instead. On the dock, Homer finds an abandoned fishing pole. The pole, with the legendary Catfish named General Sherman on the line, yanks him off the pier into a small rowboat, and onto the lake. Homer catches his fish and when he sees Marge upset, immediately lets it go to prove his love for her.
Bart, Milhouse and Martin Prince pool their money together to buy the first Radioactive Man comic from Comic Book Guy. They discover that they are unable to share the comic and due to their mistrust of each other, end up destroying it.
After Mr. Burns falls ill and desperately needs a blood transfusion, Homer discovers Bart has Burns's rare blood type. Homer urges his son to donate, promising that they will be handsomely rewarded. Having received the blood, however, all Burns does is send the family a card. Enraged, Homer writes an insulting reply, but Marge convinces him at the last minute not to send it, but Bart unknowingly mails it anyway. Mr. Burns becomes furious and demands that Homer be beaten. Smithers calls off the beating, however, on the grounds that this action is no way to thank the man who saved Mr. Burns's life. He convinces Burns to instead buy the family a present.
DVD release
The DVD boxset for season two was released by 20th Century Fox in the United States and Canada on August 6, 2002, eleven years after it had completed broadcast on television. As well as every episode from the season, the DVD release features bonus material including commentaries for every episode. The commentaries were recorded in late 2001.[72]
