Behind the Laughter
In the episode, a parody of the VH1 series Behind the Music, the Simpsons are portrayed as actors on a sitcom, and their dramatic inner turmoil and struggles are detailed.
The episode was directed by Mark Kirkland and written by Tim Long, George Meyer, Mike Scully and Matt Selman.
In addition, composer Alf Clausen won an Annie Award for "Outstanding Individual Achievement for Music in an Animated Television Production".
It begins with the Simpson family history and how they got into show business: believing that families depicted in the numerous TV shows they watch together bear no resemblance to their comparative dysfunctionalism, Homer writes and directs an inadequate video "pilot" that fails to attract the attention of the major networks except for Fox, as its president happens to be Marge's hairdresser.
After much fine-tuning and on-set mishaps produce many of the show's running gags, The Simpsons' resounding ratings and merchandising success makes the family extraordinarily wealthy; having moved out of their house on Evergreen Terrace to live in MC Hammer's former mansion, "Hammertime" (renamed "Homertime"), they expand their scope by working with David Geffen on a series of Grammy-winning, "mega-platinum" novelty albums.
Problems begin to arise as the Simpsons' fame grows: they become reckless spendthrifts, alternating between buying their colleagues extravagant gifts and paying them to perform embarrassing acts for their amusement.
As tensions mount in the family, the show's writing and production team resort to gimmicky, nonsensical plots and shameless guest star appearances to maintain ratings.
The members pursue independent endeavors: Homer becomes a character actor in stage productions such as Rent II: Condo Fever; Bart replaces Lorenzo Lamas as the star of the syndicated action show Renegade; Marge creates a nightclub act performing Bob Marley's song "I Shot the Sheriff"; and Lisa writes Where Are My Residuals?, a tell-all book about her negative experiences from working on the show, such as Homer's spiking of her cereal with anti-growth hormones.
[5][6] Although not credited, Scully has noted writers Tom Gammill and Max Pross for making significant contributions to the episode.
[4][5] In an interview with Entertainment Weekly regarding the renewal of the show in season 23, showrunner Al Jean discusses what episodes that have previously aired might serve well as a series finale.
"[8] The episode contains many references and allusions to Behind the Music, and one line the staff thought was humorous was pulled straight from the actual series.
