Season 20

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Season 20

Season 21 ►

Season 20
Original Run	September 28, 2008 – May 17, 2009
No. of episodes	21
Previous season	19
Next season	21
DVD boxset	The Complete Twentieth Season

The twentieth season began airing on September 28, 2008 with "Sex, Pies, and Idiot Scrapes" and ended on May 17, 2009 with "Coming to Homerica". Al Jean is the showrunner of this season and previous seasons since Season 13. The season had officially been confirmed to air by the network in May 2008. The show is now tied with Gunsmoke as the longest running American primetime television series.

Season 20 Promo Card

Production on the season was delayed because of contract negotiations with the six main voice actors, but was resolved and the actors' salary was raised to $400,000 per episode. The delay in production has caused the planned 22 episodes to be shortened to 20.

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Voice actor Dan Castellaneta is to be credited as a consulting producer for the first time.

The Complete Twentieth Season was released on DVD on January 12, 2010, just a few weeks after the series' 20th anniversary. This is the last season to produce episodes in the original 4:3 ratio, plus also the first season to produce 16:9 widescreen episodes from this season's second half onwards.

Transition to HD

Season 20 also marks the transition to the HD broadcast format. Starting with the episode "Take My Life, Please", more elaborate Opening Sequences were developed that could change from episode to episode. For example, a three-eyed crow flies from left to right at the beginning of this episode, then flies in the opposite direction every other episode. The chalkboard gag for "Take My Life, Please" reads "HDTV is worth every cent".

The Opening Sequence would have even more variations, starting with "Bart Gets a "Z"" in Season 21.

Episodes

Image	#	Original airdate	Prod. Code	Title	Title Reference
	1 - 421	September 28, 2008	KABF17	"Sex, Pies, and Idiot Scrapes"	Sex, Lies, and Videotape
	2 - 422	October 5, 2008	KABF15	"Lost Verizon"	Lost Horizon
	3 - 423	October 19, 2008	KABF14	"Double, Double, Boy in Trouble"	Double, Double, Toil and Trouble
	4 - 424	November 2, 2008	KABF16	"Treehouse of Horror XIX"	N/A
	5 - 425	November 9, 2008	KABF18	"Dangerous Curves"	N/A
	6 - 426	November 16, 2008	KABF19	"Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words"	N/A
	7 - 427	November 30, 2008	KABF20	"Mypods and Boomsticks"	Bedknobs and Broomsticks
	8 - 428	December 7, 2008	KABF21	"The Burns and the Bees"	The Birds and the Bees
	9 - 429	January 25, 2009	KABF22	"Lisa the Drama Queen"	Lisa the Beauty Queen
	10 - 430	February 15, 2009	LABF01	"Take My Life, Please"	Take My Wife, Please
	11 - 431	March 1, 2009	LABF02	"How the Test Was Won"	How the West Was Won
	12 - 432	March 8, 2009	LABF03	"No Loan Again, Naturally"	Alone Again, Natura-Diddily
	13 - 433	March 15, 2009	LABF04	"Gone Maggie Gone"	Gone Baby Gone
	14 - 434	March 22, 2009	LABF11	"In the Name of the Grandfather"	In the Name of the Father
	15 - 435	March 29, 2009	LABF05	"Wedding for Disaster"	Recipes for Disaster
	16 - 436	April 5, 2009	LABF06	"Eeny Teeny Maya, Moe"	Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe
	17 - 437	April 19, 2009	LABF07	"The Good, the Sad and the Drugly"	The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
	18 - 438	April 26, 2009	LABF08	"Father Knows Worst"	Father Knows Best
	19 - 439	May 3, 2009	LABF10	"Waverly Hills, 9-0-2-1-D'oh"	Beverly Hills, 90210
	20 - 440	May 10, 2009	LABF09	"Four Great Women and a Manicure"	Four Weddings and a Funeral
	21 - 441	May 17, 2009	LABF12	"Coming to Homerica"	Coming to America

Trivia

• This is the last season to produce episodes in the original 4:3 fullscreen ratio.
• This is the only season where episodes are produced in 4:3 and 16:9 combined in one season as the next season has all it's episodes in 16:9 widescreen.
• This is the last season to feature the 1990-2009 intro/1990-2009 intro sequence and 1990 intro/1990 intro sequence.
• This is the first season to use the 16:9 widescreen ratio, and the first ever season to use the new intro from 2009 onwards.
• The HD intro features more jokes and more couch gag ideas for years for the show to come.
  • Also during the HD intro this is the only season to feature the TV falling off the wall after when the intro stops playing.
• This is the last season to feature a "Treehouse of Horror" episode to be produced in 4:3 fullscreen ratio.
• This season marks the 20th anniversary of "The Simpsons" as of 2009.
• This is the only season to feature a Christmas segment/episode in a "Treehouse of Horror" episode.
• The first 9 episodes of this season are in the 4:3 ratio while the rest of the 12 are in the 16:9 ratio.
• This is the last season released on DVD