The seventeenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons began airing on Sunday, September 11, 2005, and finished airing on Sunday, May 21, 2006. It broke Fox's tradition of pushing its shows' season premieres back to November to accommodate the Major League Baseball games airing on the network during September and October of each year.[1] Season 17 was released on DVD and Blu-ray in Region 1 on December 2, 2014, Region 2 on December 1, 2014, and Region 4 on December 3, 2014.
The season was met with mixed-to-positive reviews. Jeffry Kauffman of Blu-ray.com gave the season 4/5. He said the season was "arguably an incremental step downward" but he still thought "There are still delights galore to be sampled throughout the season,"[3] Shadowlocked gave the season 4/5 stars. Luke Connolly said that the season did a great job at tying things together and praised "Girls Just Want to have Sums" and "We're on the Road to D'ohwhere" as highlights. He concluded by saying "While season 17 shows its age in certain places, its continual pursuit of originality and familiar comedy more than makes up for this, and one cannot help but be impressed."[4] Fanboy Nation's Sean Mukvihill was positive on the season saying "Even though it isn't as a great as it once was, the show still boast some very clever writing and the best voice cast of any animated program in history."[5] Capsule Computers was more critical of the season giving the season 5.5/10 and commented "As a long time fan of the early Simpsons that involved great episodes with hilarious, tightly developed plots, it is hard to stomach what the show has become."[6] Spotlight Report gave the season 3.0/5 criticizing that it wasn't as funny as previous seasons.[7]
When Homer allows Fat Tony to shoot an explicit movie in the Simpson home, angry Marge leaves and meets Caleb Thorn, an attractive marine biologist.[11] Guest star: Alec Baldwin as Caleb Thorn
When Maggie gets chicken pox, Homer tries to capitalize on it by throwing a pox party and inviting parents to infect their children. At the party, Milhouse's parents get back together, but Milhouse feels neglected and Bart helps break them up again.[15]
B.I. Bartificial Intelligence – Bart falls into a coma after trying to jump into the swimming pool at Patty and Selma's apartment complex. With Bart incapacitated, the Simpsons buy a robot son, who proves to be a better son than Bart ever was, leaving the real Bart to befriend a group of traveling robots. Survival of the Fattest – Mr. Burns hunts down Homer and a small collection of male ancillary characters as part of a new reality show called "The World Series of Manslaughter." I've Grown a Costume on Your Face – After she loses a Halloween costume contest, a witch turns the townspeople into their Halloween costumes, and Lisa (who is now Albert Einstein) finds out that Maggie (who is dressed as a witch) is the key to revert the spell.[17] Guest stars: Terry Bradshaw and Dennis Rodman
Realizing that Marge is lonely, Bart decides to spend extra time with her, causing his classmates to call him a mama's boy. Meanwhile, Homer begins exercising and becomes an arm wrestler, with Moe as his coach.[19]
Homer's reaction to Lisa's Father's Day book causes her to develop a disappointment disorder. To get her respect back, Homer dresses up as a mascot known as the Safety Salamander.[21]
Looking for new friends, Marge joins a group of women, whom she gets along with. However, she is conflicted when they plan a heist on Mr. Burns's mansion.[23] Guest Star: Lily Tomlin
Homer brings the whole family along when he is sent to Italy to pick up a new sports car for Mr. Burns. There, he runs into Sideshow Bob and his family.[25] Guest Stars: Maria Grazia Cucinotta and Kelsey Grammer
Marge's rage against the new toll road system leads to the discovery of a frozen mailman and his 40-year-old mail. A letter addressed to Abe Simpson shows that Homer is not his son, and Homer sets out to find his real father.[29] Guest Stars: Michael York, William H. Macy and Joe Frazier
After Bart steals a key from Principal Skinner's office and gets himself into hot water, Marge and Homer send him to a behavior modification camp. Meanwhile, Lisa and Marge have a yard sale.[31]
When Bart accidentally destroys Willie's shack with a game of solid-ice dodgeball, Marge takes in the homeless janitor in a parody of My Fair Lady.[33]
While exploring with his family, Homer causes a cave to crumble and finds himself stuck upside-down on the ceiling. To pass the time, Lisa tells him a story, with many layers of nested storytelling involved.[35]
A monkey holds Bart hostage while under Homer's care, leaving Marge to figure out how to get her son back. Meanwhile, Marge babysits for Rod and Todd Flanders, conflicting with Ned's overly-safe lifestyle.[37] Guest Stars: Susan Sarandon, Antonio Fargas, Dave Thomas and Randy Johnson
Homer's obsession with Lenny's new plasma TV prompts Marge to enter the family in a sweepstakes, and they win a trip to the Fox Studio Lot. Against Marge's wishes, Homer signs them up for a Trading Spouses/Wife Swap-style reality show and is forced to take in a controlling wife, while Marge moves in with a beaten-down husband, Charlie, and his perfect son.[39] Guest Star: Ricky Gervais
Grampa is shunned by the town and nearly commits suicide after foiling Homer's plans to make Springfield home to a professional football franchise. However, he gains a new purpose in life as a matador, while Lisa protests him harming animals.[41] Guest stars: Rob Reiner and Michael Carrington
Homer learns the nuclear power plant is being shut down and outsourced to India, where the new workers worship him as a god. Meanwhile, Patty and Selma kidnap MacGyver, but soon grow annoyed by his antics.[43] Guest Star: Richard Dean Anderson
When the Simpsons' plans for a nice family outing at the Frying Dutchman turn into a dining disaster, the family (and show writers) try to salvage the night by telling three tales of disasters at sea: in "Mayflower Madman," Pilgrims Moe and Homer fight for the hand of Goody Marge while sailing to Plymouth Rock; in "The Whine-Bar Sea," Bart leads a mutiny against Captain Principal Skinner; and in "Watership D'ohn," The Simpsons (and a collection of ancillary characters) re-enact The Poseidon Adventure.[45]
Principal Skinner is replaced by a women's education expert after making a sexist statement about women's math skills during a musical (which was written by a former female Springfield Elementary school student who was a math whiz), who segregates the school by gender. At first, Lisa loves the arrangement, but when she discovers that the girls' classes are more about self-esteem boosting than actual learning, Lisa disguises herself as a boy and attends the boys' classes.[47] Guest Star: Frances McDormand as Melanie Upfoot
Marge goes nuts trying to clean the kitchen in time for a best house contest, but when she inhales the fumes of one too many cleaning solvents, she passes out and bangs her head on a stool. When Marge comes to at the hospital, she is stricken with amnesia, which does not last when she immediately remembers everyone in the family through their quirks—except for Homer. With Marge's memory of Homer erased, Patty and Selma help their sister find a new man.[49] Guest Stars: Sal Bando and Gene Tenace
Reverend Lovejoy is appointed to spread the word of creationism in Springfield after Flanders complains about a new museum display about evolution, leading creationism to be taught in schools—and Lisa to fight back with secret classes about Charles Darwin and his theories of evolution. However, she is quickly arrested and a trial against her is initiated.[51] Guest Stars: Melanie Griffith and Larry Hagman
A first baseman for the Springfield Isotopes calls upon Homer and Marge to help him with his marriage to a stripper/pop singer named Tabitha Vixx, who upstages him with a racy musical number during one of his games.[53] Guest Stars: Mandy Moore and Stacy Keach
Home media
The DVD and Blu-ray box set for season seventeen was released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment in the United States and Canada on Tuesday, December 2, 2014, eight years after it had completed broadcast on television. As well as every episode from the season, the Blu-ray and DVD releases feature bonus material including deleted scenes, animatics, and commentaries for every episode. The box art features Sideshow Bob, and a special limited-edition "embossed head case" package was also released.
This is the only season of The Simpsons to receive a 15 rating in the UK, but this is due to the additional material (the episodes are only a 12 rating).
^Pierce, Scott (May 14, 2005). "Saturday and Sunday on TV". Deseret News (Salt Lake City), at Findarticles.com. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved February 12, 2007.
