If You Didn't Watch The Simpsons In The 90s, You WILL Fail This Quiz

Created by Matt Groening in the 1980s, The Simpsons is still going strong into 2018 as the longest-running television series of all-time. The popular animated Springfield family has its own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, while the show itself has won 31 Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award. Even in its 29th season, the show is still culturally relevant and producing decent episodes, although it's clearly not as popular as it once was. During the height of The Simpsons in the 1990s, it was as offensive as cartoons could be, while still having important and relevant central themes - and then South Park and Family Guy came along, ultimately thriving off of the model set forth by The Simpsons creators and writers.

Maybe in a decade or two, we'll look back at recent Simpsons episodes and truly appreciate them for what they are, but it seems unlikely that they'll ever be regarded as important as episodes in the series' first decade. Fans of the long-running show who grew up during the 90s can still quote entire episodes, while references from those episodes are littered throughout popular culture. Some fans refuse to even watch beyond season 11 or 12 and if you're one of those people, this quiz is perfect to challenge just how much you know about those seasons.

Question 1

What is the name of the family's dog?

The first ever full-length episode of The Simpsons, titled "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire," lays the groundwork for the characterization of the family. In it, Homer is working extra jobs to save up money for Christmas (money is a constant problem for the family in early seasons) and eventually visits the local dog-racing track in hopes of winning some money. Instead, he returns home with an abandoned greyhound, which is well received by his children. The episode was nominated for two Emmy Awards.

Question 2

What's the name of the series' Halloween episodes?

A staple of the show since season two, The Simpsons' Halloween-themed episodes include three short stories that feature the main characters of the show and often parody popular horror films or other stories in popular culture. The names of the stories include "The Raven," based on the Edgar Allen Poe story of the same name, "King Homer," based on King Kong, and "The Thing and I." The episodes are also characterized by the horror-themed names that appear in the credits.

Question 3

Who are these two aliens?

One of the main trademarks of the Halloween episodes is the appearance of these two aliens. They first appeared in the "Hungary are the Damned" story of the first Treehouse of Horror episode in which they capture the Simpsons and feed them an extensive menu of food for the alleged purpose of eating them, although they deny it and return the Simpsons to earth. They have since appeared in every Treehouse of Horror episode, including one in which one of the aliens claims to be Maggie's real father.

Question 4

Who framed Krusty for a robbery in season one?

Krusty the Clown is the comedic star in the town of Springfield and appears regularly on The Krusty the Clown Show. He has had his share of highs and lows throughout the series, but one of his most dramatic lows was when he was accused of robbing the Kwik-E-Mart. However, Bart refuses to believe Krusty committed the crime and later proves his innocence because the robber used the microwave (Krusty has a pacemaker which would have harmed him) and read magazines (Krusty is illiterate), and had large feet (Krusty has tiny feet in his clown shoes).

Question 5

Who becomes Krusty's new sideshow partner?

While Krusty was briefly in jail serving time for the robbery he did not commit, his show was hosted by Sideshow Bob, who, of course, framed Krusty because he was tired of being on the receiving end of humiliating gags such as being shot out of a cannon. Little was made of the fact Krusty hired someone else to serve as his sideshow partner, but the character continues to be a fixture in Springfield. He communicates via a slide whistle on the show, but speaks in a grandiose Shakespearean accent off-camera.

Question 6

What was the name given to the three-eyed fish found by Bart?

The Springfield Nuclear Power Plant is the source of several stories told in the early seasons of The Simpsons as it is where Homer - and several other prominent secondary characters - works. In one of the earliest episodes of the series, Bart catches a fish that is revealed to have three eyes due to mutations caused by chemicals from the nearby power plant. The fish became a major topic in Mr. Burns' campaign for Governor and ultimately caused him to lose the election.

Question 7

With whom does Bart buy the first ever Radioactive Man comic?

"Three Men and a Comic Book" is regarded as one of the best Simpsons episodes of all-time and is somewhat of an exception as it shows Bart as a friend with a classmate who he later dislikes. In the episode, Bart finds a $100 original copy of the first ever Radioactive Man comic book and convinces two friends to pool their money together and purchase it. Neither character wants to let the comic out of their sight so they agree to spend the night together with it in Bart's treehouse.

Question 8

Which character DOESN'T Selma marry?

Selma Bouvier is Marge Simpson's older sister the twin of Patty Bouvier. Unlike Patty, who is comfortable being alone, Selma is constantly seeking a male companion, especially in the earlier seasons of the series. In fact, she has dated multiple men in Springfield and has been married six times. Not surprisingly, each of her marriages end in divorce before the end of their respective episodes. In recent seasons, she has found comfort as the mother of an adopted Chinese baby.

Question 9

What is the name of Homer's half-brother?

Homer Simpson's half-brother is first seen in season one as the owner of a car company based in Detroit. Happy to have found out he has a long-lost brother, he allowed Homer to design a car, but it was a drastic failure and bankrupt the company. His brother, who is voiced by Danny DeVito, reappeared the following season and stayed in the Simpsons' house, while he attempted to get back on his feet and subsequently invented a baby-speak translator that helped him regain his wealth.

Question 10

Which rival city steals Springfield's lemon tree?

Matt Groening and others involved with The Simpsons have stated they used the name Springfield for the name of the main city in the series as it is one of the most popular town names in the United States; in fact, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, there are 33 towns/cities named Springfield in 25 different states. The name of its rival/neighboring city shares a name with a small city in Tennessee and has the town motto of "Springfield Sucks."

Question 11

Who shot Mr. Burns?

The Simpsons has only had one two-part episode in its history and it included one of the most talked-about cliffhangers of the decade. In an episode in which Mr. Burns attempts to block out the sun, he becomes an even bigger villain than he already is and, at the end of the episode, is shot and collapses on the sundial. The first part of the story was the final episode of season six, while the unexpected reveal took place in the first episode of season seven, meaning fans had an entire summer to theorize on who did it.

Question 12

What did Moe name the drink recipe he stole from Homer?

In this season three episode, Homer is at Moe's and tells him the recipe for a secret cocktail he accidentally created once while trying to get through a vacation slideshow prepared by Patty and Selma. Moe steals the recipe from Homer, renames the drink in his name and begins selling it at his bar to incredible success. The episode parodies Cheers and even includes a cameo from Aerosmith. Moe has an offer of $1 million to sell the drink, but Homer spoils the opportunity by eventually revealing its secret ingredient: cough syrup.

Question 13

What was the name of the country music star Homer managed?

The strength of Homer and Marge's marriage has been tested multiple times throughout 29 seasons of The Simpsons, but it's of particular emphasis in the first decade. Homer's ineptitude is often the reasoning behind the strain on the couple's marriage, but that's not the case in the 20th episode of season three, in which Homer winds up managing a burgeoning country music star who soon after becomes attracted to him and uses this lyric in a song: "I used to play the field, I used to be a roamer. But the season's turning 'round for me now, I finally bagged me a Homer!"

Question 14

Which former SNL cast member voiced Troy McClure?

"Hi, I'm Troy McClure. You may know me from such films as David Versus Super Goliath, Here Comes the Coast Guard, and Look Who's Still Oinking." That was the spiel the show's resident actor would give every time he was asked to appear in a commercial or a promotional video, which he did quite often. And he had plenty of film credits to list; according to Simpsons Wiki, McClure listed 34 feature films and dozens of educational films and TV specials, including "Smoke Yourself Thin, Designated Drivers: The Lifesaving Nerds," and "Get Confident, Stupid!"

Question 15

Which baseball player wasn't part of the Springfield Power Plant team?

"Homer at the Bat" is listed among everyone's favorite Simpsons episodes and with good reason. The episode sees Mr. Burns want to put together an A-list team to compete in an upcoming power plant tournament so he suggests Smithers track down "Shoeless" Joe Jackson and other stars from early in the 20th century. After being informed they're all dead, he tells Smithers to find the best current players, who all agree to come to Springfield to play on the team for a hefty fee. The episode is even enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Question 16

What is the name of Bart's teacher?

If you hadn't been watching The Simpsons in recent years, which seems to be the case for most early fans of the show, you might be unaware that Bart's teacher is actually dead in the series thanks to the real-life death of her voice actor Marcia Wallace. Her passing was confirmed by characters stating they would miss her and Ned, with whom she married, wearing a black armband. That makes two wives of Ned Flanders who have passed away in the show.

Question 17

Who does Lisa replace as goalie in Lisa on Ice?

One thing the writers of The Simpsons know how to do best is find the humor in sports. The baseball episode is among the best; the mini golf competition between Bart and Todd is another all-time great; and the hockey episode "Lisa on Ice" stands out regardless of whether or not you're a fan of the sport. Bart is the top player on his team, but Lisa fills in as a goaltender on a rival team after their current goaltender has his teeth knocked out by a slapshot.

Question 18

Which line made Bart a brief star on the Krusty the Clown show?

Bart and Krusty the Clown appear together in a number of episodes and, for the most part, the plot revolves around Bart and Lisa bailing Krusty out of a troublesome situation, only for Krusty to forget who they even are soon after. In the episode "Bart Gets Famous," however, the young Simpson lands a job as an assistant to Krusty. On one instance, he is asked to play a minor role in a sketch and messes up so badly that Krusty says he'll never ask him to do that again. However, Bart becomes famous for a line he mutters in the sketch.

Question 19

What's the name of plow company Barney creates in response to Homer's Mr. Plow?

This season four episode begins with Homer crashing his car in a blizzard, forcing him to search for a new car. At a car show, Homer is talked into purchasing a snowplow with the belief that he could make payments by plowing driveways. He establishes his own business - Mr. Plow - and it is actually quite successful as he even receives the key to the city, but he begins losing business after Barney purchases an even bigger plow and starts his own snowplowing company.

Question 20

Which Star Trek actor guest starred in the Monorail episode?

"Marge vs. the Monorail" was written by Conan O'Brien and the late night talk show host has since stated it was the best episode he ever produced. Phil Hartman provides the voice of Lyle Lanley, who comes to town with a proposal to build a monorail with the $3 million given by Mr. Burns after being caught dumping nuclear waste in the city park by the Environmental Protection Agency. Homer gets a job as a conductor for the faulty monorail and Marge is joined by this Star Trek actor in an attempt to save him.

Question 21

Why do the power plant workers strike in the Last Exit to Springfield episode?

If you've seen this episode, the answer should be quite easy as it's a line that is repeated by Marge in Homer's head multiple times before a pen is dropped into the crack of his butt, causing him to lose his train of thought. The episode revolves around Mr. Burns disgust with the union at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, of which Homer eventually becomes president. Homer's discussions with Burns humorously lead to the workers of the plant going on a strike.

Question 22

What was the name of the barbershop quartet in which Homer was in?

"Homer's Barbershop Quartet" is a season five retrospective episode in which Homer is explaining to Bart and Lisa the music career he once had when they were younger. The story parallels that of The Beatles and includes Chief Clancy Wiggum being kicked out and replaced with Barney, who is found singing in the bathroom at Moe's Tavern. The group won a Grammy for its debut album Meet The Be Sharps and followed that up with Bigger Than Jesus. Their hit song was titled "Baby on Board."

Question 23

What was the name of Lisa's adult friend who played the saxaphone?

The Simpsons has been around for nearly 30 years and, in that time, the characters of Springfield have, for the most part, remained the same. However, some have been killed off for story purposes or because the voice actor passed away. One of the earliest deaths of a recurring character was a saxophone player with whom Lisa idolized throughout season one. His real name was Murphy Kenneth Hibbert and is actually the brother of Dr. Hibbert, though both men are unaware of the fact.

Question 24

What does Bart name his elephant?

"Where's my elephant" is the line that can be heard over KBBL's programming after Bart visits the station, demanding the elephant he asked for as the winner of the radio contest "KBBL Wants to Give You Something Stupid." The elephant was offered as a gag prize and the contest winner was expected to take $10,000, but instead Bart wanted the elephant. He eventually got it after KBBL management threatened to fire the two DJs at the station if they didn't deliver the elephant.

Question 25

What does Milhouse trade Bart's soul for?

In the season seven episode "Bart Sells his Soul," the eldest Simpsons child does just that - sells his soul to Milhouse for $5. He writes "Bart Simpson's soul" on a piece of paper and hands it to his friend, who has plenty of fun with it and refuses to sell it back to him for less than $50. Bart begins noticing that he feels a void without his "soul" and continues to try and get it back from Milhouse, but it's revealed that the latter had already sold the soul to Comic Book Guy.

Question 26

Which country wants to punish Bart by "booting" him?

The Simpsons family visits this country in season six after Bart makes a collect phone call just to ask if the water drains clockwise in sinks and toilets. The young boy who answers confirms that it does, but Bart asks him to visit his neighbor to make sure their water also drains clockwise, not knowing his closest neighbor is six hours away. The boy's father is enraged and the country even takes issue, indicting Bart for fraud and asking that he be sent to prison.

Question 27

Which class does Homer briefly teach at the adult education center?

The fifth season finale of The Simpsons features Homer and Marge enduring a particular rough patch in their relationship after Homer spills the beans on secrets about his wife in a class he teaches at an adult education center. He is first recommended to take a class at the center, but instead signs up as a teacher. However, despite being confident in his abilities, he quickly realizes he is unable to keep the class engaged and instead starts dishing gossip on his wife.

Question 28

What was the name of the WWII squad of which Grandpa was apart?

"Grandpa" Abraham Simpson is often the butt of the joke among his son and two grandchildren, but he gains an immense amount of respect from Bart in this season seven episode after he tells the story of his World War II squad and their discovery of famous paintings. The group made a pact that the paintings would go to the last surviving member of the squad and, upon the death of Asa Phelps, Grandpa and Mr. Burns are the final two members.

Question 29

What's the name of Kirk Van Houten's demo tape?

Despite the troubles that Marge endures in her marriage to Homer, the Simpsons have remained happily married throughout the duration of the series. However, Homer believed their marriage might be in jeopardy in this season eight episode, "A Milhouse Divided." In it, Milhouse's parents, Kirk and Luann get into a fight at a dinner party hosted by the Simpsons which results in a divorce. Homer eventually files for divorce in an effort to remarry Marge and give her the perfect wedding he couldn't provide the first time.

Question 30

Who takes over for Bart as quarterback of the peewee football team?

There isn't a sport The Simpsons hasn't tackled. Football is particularly mentioned quite often as it's the all-American sport that Homer often misses church to watch on Sunday mornings/afternoons. In this season nine episode, aptly titled "Bart Star" after the famous NFL quarterback of the same name, Homer takes over from Ned Flanders as coach of the local peewee football team and announces Bart as the team's starting quarterback. Bart is terrible and hates it, but Homer refuses to replace his son, forcing Bart to quit the team.

Question 31

What is the name of the secret cult which Homer joins?

This season six episode, titled "Homer the Great," sees Homer curious of all the perks Lenny and Carl have at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. After continually being told, "It's a secret," by Lenny, he follows the pair to a meeting held by the secret society and is eventually allowed to join. However, he is kicked out for destroying their hallowed sacred parchment and forced to drag home the Stone of Shame in the nude, which leads members of the society to discover he has the birthmark of The Chosen One.

Question 32

What does Homer change his name to in a season 10 episode?

In this season 10 episode, Homer seeks to change his name as he is constantly being confused with a character of the same name on a popular show titled Police Cops. At first, Homer enjoys this fact as the character is a cool and suave detective, but he's later rewritten as dull, lazy, and fat, which results in Homer being ridiculed. Homer elects to change his name to something much cooler and stronger, which immediately earns him the friendship of a successful businessman named Trent Steel.

Question 33

What is the name of the character on the Japanese dish soap box that resembles Homer?

In the season eight episode "In Marge We Trust," Marge begins working for the church as the "Listen Lady" after she becomes concerned with Reverend Lovejoy's lack of passion for helping people. However, she soon finds out how annoying it can be to deal with around-the-clock calls from Ned Flanders. That same episode, Homer visits the Springfield dump to get rid of their Christmas tree and finds a box of Japanese dish detergent which has a character on the front who looks eerily similar to himself.

Question 34

What show originally featured The Simpsons as an animated short?

Despite its longevity as a 30-minute show, The Simpsons actually first debuted on a late-night show as an animated short. The characters in the family were the same, but looked drastically different than they do today as animation has improved as has the actual drawing of the characters. They even had slightly different voices. The creators have made fun of those early depictions in recent episodes. The first ever short was aired before and after commercial breaks on this show in 1987.

Question 35

In what year did The Simpsons debut on Fox?

Since its debut on cable television, there have been over 600 episodes of The Simpsons and one full-length feature film. Now in its 29th season, it actually passed Gunsmoke as the longest-running American sitcom back in 2009 and continues to expand upon its record. The show not only details the lives of its main characters - Homer, Marge, Lisa, Bart, and Maggie Simpson - but is regarded for its extensive list of secondary characters who make up the town of Springfield. Those characters were rolled out over the first few seasons.

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