A Fish Called Selma

"**A Fish Called Selma**"
"A Fish Called Selma"
The Simpsons episode
Episode no.	Season 7; Episode 19
Directed by	Mark Kirkland
Written by	Jack Barth
Production code	3F15
Original air date	March 24, 1996
Guest appearances
	Phil Hartman as Troy McClure and Fat Tony; Jeff Goldblum as MacArthur Parker
Episode features
Couch gag	The Simpsons are five malfunctioning wind-up dolls who buzz their way to the couch.
Commentary	Bill Oakley; Josh Weinstein; Jeff Goldblum; David Silverman
Episode chronology
← Previous; "The Day the Violence Died"	Next →; "Bart on the Road"
	The Simpsons season 7
	List of episodes

"A Fish Called Selma" is the nineteenth episode of the seventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 24, 1996.^[2] The episode features Troy McClure, who tries to resurrect his acting career and squelch the rumors about his personal life by marrying Selma Bouvier. Show runners Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein were fans of Phil Hartman and wished to produce an episode that focused on his character McClure. Freelance writer Jack Barth wrote the episode, and Mark Kirkland directed it.

Barth's script underwent a substantial rewrite in the show's writing room, including the expansion of the Planet of the Apes musical and addition of the song "Dr. Zaius". The episode ran too long because of the slow pace of Troy and Selma's speech. Consequently, guest star Jeff Goldblum rerecorded his dialogue as MacArthur Parker at a faster speed.

The episode received generally positive reviews, with particular praise given to Hartman's performance and the musical sequence. Entertainment Weekly placed the episode eighth on their list of the top 25 The Simpsons episodes.

^ Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). "A Fish Called Selma". BBC. Archived from the original on December 23, 2003. Retrieved May 9, 2007.
^ Groening, Matt (1997). Richmond, Ray; Coffman, Antonia (eds.). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family (1st ed.). New York: HarperPerennial. ISBN 978-0-06-095252-5. LCCN 98141857. OCLC 37796735. OL 433519M.

[BBC-1] Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). "A Fish Called Selma". BBC. Archived from the original on December 23, 2003. Retrieved May 9, 2007.

[2] Groening, Matt (1997). Richmond, Ray; Coffman, Antonia (eds.). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family (1st ed.). New York: HarperPerennial. ISBN 978-0-06-095252-5. LCCN 98141857. OCLC 37796735. OL 433519M.

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