QUICK SYNOPSIS

At his 20th anniversary celebration as school principal, Principal Skinner is discovered to be an imposter of the real Seymour Skinner.

POINTLESS GUEST STAR(S)

Martin Sheen plays the real Seymour Skinner, but since this is still early Zombie Simpsons we’re not often gratuitous with the pointless guest star appearances. Martin Sheen playing an actual character is more than ok.

WHY THIS EPISODE SUCKS

I was three days away from turning 10 years old when “The Principal and the Pauper” first aired, so I wasn’t nearly as traumatized as teenage or adult hardcore Simpsons nerds. All you ever hear is how much this episode was the clear turning point for the tone of the show, but it’s unlikely that anyone actually knew that before a couple more seasons were under its belt.

It’s been a long, long, loooong time since I’ve watched this episode, but compared to the trash pile that the show has become, “The Principal and the Pauper” is a masterpiece. If you want my honest opinion, it’s really not that bad. Sure, they threw out eight years of established Principal Skinner characterization in favor of a cheap plot, but the jokes around it aren’t entirely awful:

Groundskeeper Willie: “It’s my 20th year, too!”
Superintendent Chalmers: “…the teachers lounge is for teachers, Willie.”

Homer: “Ooooh, a fresh batch of America balls!”

Ralph: “When I grow up, I want to be a principal or a caterpillar!”

Skinner: “Up yours, children!”

The episode’s biggest crime is the shitty ending. After 15 minutes of feeling betrayed, the townsfolk suddenly determine that the new Seymour Skinner is an asshat. So they tie him up to a train and send him out of town. THAT smacks entirely of a hard and fast departure out of the Golden Age, and it’s a stark contrast with “The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson” and its ending with a real resolution. Don’t worry, friends! There are plenty more shitty endings in Season 9 where that came from!

IMDb TRIVIA FUNHOUSE!

In a 2001 interview, Harry Shearer, the voice of Principal Skinner, recalled that after reading the script, he told the writers, “That’s so wrong. You’re taking something that an audience has built eight years or nine years of investment in and just tossed it in the trash can for no good reason, for a story we’ve done before with other characters. It’s so arbitrary and gratuitous, and it’s disrespectful to the audience.” In a later interview, Shearer added, “Now, the writers refuse to talk about it. They realize it was a horrible mistake. They never mention it. It’s like they’re punishing the audience for paying attention.”
Woo, Harry Shearer! You go, gurl. Once in a while the voice cast speaks out about the direction the writers are taking their characters, but one has to remember that the voice cast don’t own these characters. They’re not writing them, they’re just making them talk. Gotta hand it to Harry Shearer for speaking out, but he and five other people have had the cushiest job in the world for 35 years now and you have to take his grumblings with a grain of salt. I suppose, over time, even Harry Shearer got tired of fighting the rapid tailspin that The Simpsons was uncontrollably caught in and he decided to just enjoy his $85 million.

Matt Groening admitted that this is one of his least favorite episodes, calling it “a mistake”.
Yeah, right. Go fuck yourself, Groening. 600+ episodes of shitty television and this one is the mistake. The guy who used to be a “don’t trust anyone over thirty” too cool for school aggressive counter-culture crank got excited when Lady Gaga agreed to do his show. Eat all of my shit, sir.

This was the last episode written by Ken Keeler, who also pitched the idea.
For the record, Ken Keeler wrote two of the worst classic era Simpsons episodes, both from Season 8: the one where Homer hallucinates after eating spicy peppers, and the Spin-Off Showcase. HOWEVER, Keeler did write the George Bush episode, which makes up for this one in spades. Keeler’s much better at Futurama, having written, among others, the one where they visit the (tourist trap) moon, and the one where the aliens want to watch the last episode of knockoff Ally McBeal. You’re all right, Keeler. Sometimes.

Although it aired during the show’s ninth season, it was a holdover from season eight..
Elements of the decline could be spotted in Season 8 anyway, but like I said before: make “The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson” the Season 8 finale and everything would have been great. Hell, make it the SERIES finale! We literally didn’t need anymore Simpsons after that anyway.

FINAL GRADE
C+