The 5 Most Unexpected Cameos in the Season 36 Premiere of ‘The Simpsons’
In its 36th season premiere, The Simpsons employed a brilliant meta gimmick, giving audiences a taste of what an A.I.-generated series finale of the show would look like. On one level, it worked as a surface-level parody of hackneyed television finales. On the other, it gave The Simpsons a way to dramatize the central question that’s been on every fan’s mind for at least two decades: Shouldn’t the show just end already?
The fact that “Bart’s Birthday” was able to address this meta concern in a way that felt new and inventive, while also not venturing too far outside the realm of what we've come to expect from an episode of The Simpsons, is a testament to the show’s current writing staff.
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The 22-minute run time was absolutely jam-packed full of familiar characters, many of whom haven’t been seen on the show in years. Some of the more unexpected deep-cut cameos include…
That Guy With the Big Hand
Remember the nuclear plant employee with the giant hand? He showed up for one throwaway joke in “The Last Temptation of Homer”:
And he later appeared briefly in “Simpson Tide,” finally revealing the story behind his freakishly large appendage.
But after that… nothing. That is until last night. Apparently he’s been working at the plant this whole time, and is present when Mr. Burns graphically melts to death.
Also: shout out to Zutroy, the “American as apple pie” plant employee, who’s in the same scene.
The Real Seymour Skinner
Somewhat controversially, in Season Nine’s “The Principal and the Pauper,” the real Sgt. Seymour Skinner returns and exposes imposter Armin Tamzarian — but then everybody agreed to never mention it again “under penalty of torture.”
Writer Michael Price told our own Brian VanHooker, that he figured fans would “go crazy” for the moment in “Bart’s Birthday” in which Sgt. Skinner returns home to his mother, who proclaims: “My real son is home.”
Poor Armin.
Thomas Pynchon
Legendary author Thomas Pynchon has guest starred on The Simpsons a few times now. Famously, Pynchon is such a fan that he refused to say a line calling Homer a fat-ass, claiming that “Homer is my hero. I can’t speak ill of him.”
It was a welcome surprise to see (but not hear) him at the faux black-tie screening hosted by Conan O’Brien. Pynchon, complete with his paper-bag question mark mask, can be seen rubbing noses with other stars such as Tom Hanks and Mr. T.
John Waters
One of the celebrity audience members at the Dolby-Mucinex, seated next to former WNBA star Lisa Leslie, is John Waters — at least we think it’s John Waters. He’s dressed like his character John from “Homer’s Phobia,” but has aged like the real life Waters. In any case, this marks the first time he’s appeared on the show in any form since 1997.
Pretty Much Everyone at Bart’s Birthday Party
Bart’s climactic birthday party is chock-full of Simpsons characters that we haven’t seen in quite a while — some of whom get singled out, like Hank Scorpio, Unky Herb and the late Frank Grimes, but there are far more cameos to spot, if you have a pause button and way too much time on your hands.
There’s Lisa’s old teacher Mr. Bergstrom, the owner of La Maison Derrière, Mr. Burns’ estranged son Larry, Malibu Stacy creator Stacy Lovell and unhoused animation pioneer Chester J. Lampwick, just to name a few. Plus, SpiderPig and Homer’s Coyote Spirit guide.
Not surprisingly, there were no references whatsoever to Leon Kompowsky.
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