The Five Pitches That Led To The Planet Of The Apes Musical

Season 7 of “The Simpsons” is likely one of the greatest seasons of tv ever aired. Not solely was the present was nonetheless in its “golden age” and delivering traditional gag after traditional gag on the time, however season 7 can be noteworthy for holding a few of the finest Milhouse episodes within the present’s historical past, together with the good “Summer time of 4ft. 2,” through which the extent of sheer emotional abuse Milhouse endures stays probably the most hilariously darkish working jokes the present ever tried.

What’s extra, season 7 gave us “A Fish known as Selma,” through which washed up actor Troy McClure marries Marge’s sister as a part of his comeback try. On his approach again to stardom, McClure stars within the ridiculous musical “Cease the Planet of the Apes, I Need to Get Off!” which contains a huge musical quantity named after the character Dr. Zaius from the unique film. By itself, this scene may arguably make “A Fish known as Selma” one among the best ever “Simpsons” episodes. Even now, the show is still referencing what remains its greatest musical moment ever — maybe except the Monorail music.

With “Cease the Planet of the Apes,” within the area of two minutes the present managed to parody the 1968 “Planet of the Apes” film, the Austrian artist Falco’s pop hit, “Rock Me Amadeus,” the 1961 musical “Cease the World, I Need to Get Off!,” and the concept of musicals on the whole, with the unctuous performances of the musical’s forged sending up the worst impulses of musical theater. There’s even a bit the place an ape breakdances, which, because it occurs, was one among a number of zany pitches thrown out after showrunners Invoice Oakley and Josh Weinstein determined to lean into their writers’ wildest concepts.

The first draft of the “Fish called Selma” script didn’t even feature the “Planet of the Apes” musical. The present’s writers merely knew they wanted Troy McClure to have a giant comeback, however as soon as the musical thought got here up, it set off a sequence response within the writers room which noticed 5 “loopy” pitches coalesce into this second of satirical genius.

Invoice Oakley and Josh Weinstein had been with “The Simpsons” for the reason that third season, however stepped as much as showrunners for the seventh season, bringing with them a substantial quantity of writing expertise and knowledge. As Weinstein defined in a thread on Twitter/X, among the best writing suggestions he ever obtained was to at all times lean into outlandish concepts, or, as he put it, “By no means shoot down an thought, regardless of how loopy or silly it might sound. Lean into it. It could be nothing OR it turns into the Dr Zaius scene.”

As the previous showrunner defined, each author on the present contributed to the completed musical, with every pitch inspiring the subsequent. Weinstein went on to disclose that the “Cease the Planet of the Apes” scene was really the “combo of 5 separate ‘loopy’ ‘silly’ pitches,” which he and Oakley entertained to see the place they’d lead.

In keeping with Josh Weinstein, the entire “Cease the Planet of the Apes” thought started with author Steve Tompkins pitching, “What if we did a musical of ‘Planet of the Apes?,'” with Weinstein commenting, “That is both a loopy or a silly thought or each however all of us liked it and we may all really feel the potential so I say a minimum of let’s discover this and see if it goes anyplace.” In fact, it did go someplace, with Tompkins’ thought prompting his fellow writers to see how ridiculous they might make this specific parody.

With Weinstein by no means having seen the unique 1968 “Planet of the Apes” — a film that needed more makeup artists than Hollywood could provide — he requested the writers’ room to confirm a couple of key information in regards to the film earlier than pitching his personal thought: “So you recognize that Falco music?” This was the genesis of the “Rock Me Amadeus.” Thus, the “Dr. Zaius” music was born. However that was only the start.

The third pitch got here from veteran “Simpsons” author George Meyer, who instructed “interspers[ing] [the] music with corny/silly previous vaudeville type joke breaks, just like the piano gag.” The piano gag refers to Troy McClure asking midway by means of the music whether or not he can nonetheless play piano, to which Dr. Zaius replies, “In fact you possibly can,” just for McClure to sing, “Effectively, I could not earlier than.” An upright is then wheeled on-stage and the actor performs a quick interlude earlier than the music resumes. That each one got here from Meyer.

With the principle thought cemented and with some hilarious additions from George Meyer and Josh Weinstein, “Cease the Planet of the Apes” was beginning to come collectively. However by this level the pitch machine was in movement, and different writers started throwing out equally ridiculous but hilarious concepts. The fourth of those got here within the type of Dr. Zauis being accompanied by a nurse. “Somebody pitches since he is a health care provider, have his nurse start the music with, ‘Oo, assist me, Dr. Zaius’,” wrote Weinstein on his Twitter/X thread. “I do not know if there may be even a nurse within the film however certain, that is a good way to kick it off.”

Lastly, the previous showrunner recalled one other author, whose title he is since forgotten, pitching the concept for the large “Dr. Zaius” musical quantity to incorporate “numerous breakdancing strikes.” Why? As a result of, as Weinstein put it, “On the time, that appeared like a development in numerous splashy Broadway musicals.” This was the fifth and remaining essential pitch that fashioned the “Cease the Planet of the Apes” parody. However there have been nonetheless a couple of honorable mentions that Weinstein included on his thread.

In “A Fish Referred to as Selma,” we reduce from the “Dr. Zaius” efficiency to the climax of the musical itself, throughout which Troy McClure sings “I hate each ape I see, from Chimpan-A to Chimpanzee,” which stays one of many most interesting traces in “Simpsons” musical historical past — maybe within the present’s historical past total. Josh Weinstein recalled how that individual addition actually took issues to a different degree within the writers’ room. “Someplace in the course of this entire course of,” wrote Weinstein, “[author and ‘Futurama’ showrunner] David Cohen pitched the ‘Chimpan-A to Chimpanzee’ line which was one of many uncommon/solely occasions we really knew immediately {that a} line would grow to be a traditional. His pitch kicked everybody’s pitches to a brand new greater degree.” In keeping with Weinstein, Cohen’s contribution was the purpose at which everybody within the room knew they needed to observe by means of on the “loopy” and “silly” concepts they’d been throwing round.

Whereas the pitches on the time could effectively have been “silly,” the enduring enchantment of “Cease the Planet of the Apes” speaks to how seemingly senseless concepts can really imply much more than they could appear. The musical in “A Fish known as Selma” stays one of many most interesting parodies in “Simpsons” historical past, and one have a look at the feedback underneath Weinstein’s thread must be sufficient to persuade you that this ridiculous thought for a musical was much more than a “silly” thought. It stays a fan-favorite second in a sequence that is stuffed with a few of the greatest moments in TV historical past.

For Weinstein, the entire thing merely validated his thought of embracing seemingly ridiculous concepts. The author completed his thread with, “If in case you have an thought and proper after it involves you, you’ve got a sense ‘there’s one thing particular there,’ lean into it. The worst that may occur is you waste a couple of minutes or hours. One of the best? One thing that speaks to a complete bunch of individuals and makes them blissful.”