The Simpsons season 17

Main cast • Dan Castellaneta as Homer Simpson, Snowball II, Groundskeeper Willie, Santa's Little Helper, Krusty the Clown, Kodos, Barney Gumble, Blue-Haired Lawyer, Mayor Quimby, Sideshow Mel, Hans Moleman, Grampa Simpson, Rich Texan, Squeaky-Voiced Teen, Rabbi Krustofsky, Mr. Teeny, Itchy, Gil Gunderson, Benjamin and various others • Julie Kavner as Marge Simpson, Selma Bouvier, and Patty Bouvier • Nancy Cartwright as Bart Simpson, Nelson Muntz, Ralph Wiggum, Kearney Zzyzwicz, Todd Flanders, Database and various others • Yeardley Smith as Lisa Simpson • Hank Azaria as Johnny Tightlips, Moe Szyslak, Carl Carlson, Dr. Nick Riviera, Chief Wiggum, Lou, Kirk Van Houten, Wiseguy, Comic Book Guy, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Old Jewish Man, Disco Stu, Professor Frink, Superintendent Chalmers, Cletus Spuckler, Drederick Tatum, Luigi Risotto, Snake, State Comptroller Atkins, Coach Krupt, Bumblebee Man, Doug, Sea Captain, Duffman and various others • Harry Shearer as Lenny Leonard, Mr. Burns, Waylon Smithers, Ned Flanders, Kent Brockman, Eddie, Scratchy, Reverend Lovejoy, Dr. Hibbert, Kang, Principal Skinner, Dr. J. Loren Pryor, Otto Mann, Dewey Largo, Rainier Wolfcastle, Jasper Beardsley, Judge Snyder and various others Supporting cast • Pamela Hayden as Milhouse Van Houten, Jimbo Jones, Janey Powell, Rod Flanders and various others • Tress MacNeille as Agnes Skinner, Dolph Shapiro, Brandine Spuckler, Miss Springfield, Martha Quimby, Bernice Hibbert, Cookie Kwan, Crazy Cat Lady, Myra, Brunella Pommelhorst, Lindsey Naegle, Booberella and various others • Karl Wiedergott as additional characters • Maggie Roswell as Luann Van Houten, Helen Lovejoy, Maude Flanders, Elizabeth Hoover and various others • Russi Taylor as Martin Prince, Sherri, Terri and various others Special guests Guest stars for the season included. • Marcia Wallace as Edna Krabappel (5 episodes) • Alec Baldwin as Caleb Thorn ("The Bonfire of the Manatees") • Dennis Rodman as himself ("Treehouse of Horror XVI") • Terry Bradshaw as himself ("Treehouse of Horror XVI") • Lily Tomlin as Tammy ("The Last of the Red Hat Mamas") • Kelsey Grammer as Sideshow Bob ("The Italian Bob") • Maria Grazia Cucinotta as Francesca ("The Italian Bob") • Joe Frazier as himself ("Homer's Paternity Coot") • William H. Macy as himself ("Homer's Paternity Coot") • Michael York as Mason Fairbanks ("Homer's Paternity Coot") • Antonio Fargas as Huggy Bear ("Bart Has Two Mommies") • Randy Johnson as himself ("Bart Has Two Mommies") • Susan Sarandon as herself ("Bart Has Two Mommies") • Dave Thomas as Bob Hope ("Bart Has Two Mommies") • Ricky Gervais as Charles Heathbar ("Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife") • Christoph Maria Herbst as Charles Heathbar (in German version) • Rob Reiner as Himself ("Million Dollar Abie") • Richard Dean Anderson as Himself ("Kiss Kiss, Bang Bangalore") • Frances McDormand as Melanie Upfoot ("Girls Just Want to Have Sums") • Sal Bando as himself ("Regarding Margie") • Gene Tenace as himself ("Regarding Margie") • Melanie Griffith as herself ("The Monkey Suit") • Larry Hagman as Wallace Brady ("The Monkey Suit") • Mandy Moore as Tabitha Vixx ("Marge and Homer Turn a Couple Play") • Stacy Keach as Howard K. Duff ("Marge and Homer Turn a Couple Play") ==Episodes==

{{#invoke:Episode table|main ==Production==

By April 2005, the series was renewed for a seventeenth season. Al Jean remained showrunner, with this being his fifth year in the position since he started it in season 13, while the season was produced by Gracie Films and 20th Century Fox Television. David Silverman was the supervising director of animation. New writers included Patric Verrone (previously a writer for The Critic, Futurama, and then-current president of the Writers Guild of America, Western Division), Daniel Chun, and Stephanie Gillis. The season featured an episode from guest writer and guest star Ricky Gervais. During this season, there were no episodes that aired during the month of October. Seven hold-over episodes from the season 16 (GABF) production line aired as part of this season. One of these episodes, "The Girl Who Slept Too Little", was intended to air as the season 16 finale on May 15, 2005, but after "The Father, the Son, and the Holy Guest Star", an episode satirizing the Catholic Church, was postponed due to Pope John Paul II's death, it was moved into this season. By March 2006, the series had been renewed for an eighteenth and nineteenth season. ==Reception==

Reviews The season was met with mixed-to-positive reviews. Jeffry Kauffman of Blu-ray.com gave the season 4/5. He said the season was "arguably an incremental step downward" but he still thought "There are still delights galore to be sampled throughout the season," Shadowlocked gave the season 4/5 stars. Luke Connolly said that the season did a great job at tying things together and praised "Girls Just Want to have Sums" and "We're on the Road to D'ohwhere" as highlights. He concluded by saying "While season 17 shows its age in certain places, its continual pursuit of originality and familiar comedy more than makes up for this, and one cannot help but be impressed." Fanboy Nation's Sean Mukvihill was positive on the season saying "Even though it isn't as a great as it once was, the show still boast some very clever writing and the best voice cast of any animated program in history." Capsule Computers was more critical of the season giving the season 5.5/10 and commented "As a long time fan of the early Simpsons that involved great episodes with hilarious, tightly developed plots, it is hard to stomach what the show has become." Spotlight Report gave the season 3.0/5 criticizing that it wasn't as funny as previous seasons. Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide said that the season "overcomes the weaker seasons and becomes a fairly entertaining collection of episodes" and concluded that "The Blu-ray offers very good picture quality, good audio, and bonus features. Fans will enjoy season 17." Ron Cerabona of The Sydney Morning Herald found the season enjoyable and offered plenty of laughs, saying, "It may be past its peak and occasionally show signs of repetition and despair, but this long-running animated series remains one of the funniest and most entertaining programs on television." John Schwarz of Bubbleblabber gave it an eight out of ten praising the DVD's content and the episode commentary, saying "In any case, hearing Matt Groening rave about The Simpsons, even after all this time, is a gem in itself, and should not be missed by die-hard Simpsons fans." Awards "The Seemingly Never-Ending Story" won an Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program, the first Simpsons episode to win since season 14's "Three Gays of the Condo" and the ninth time in the history of the show. Kelsey Grammer received the Emmy for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for "The Italian Bob". At the 59th Writers Guild of America Awards, John Frink won the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Animation for his script for "The Italian Bob". The writers for "Simpsons Christmas Stories", "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bangalore", and "Girls Just Want to Have Sums" were nominated for the same award. The writers for "The Girl Who Slept Too Little" and "See Homer Run" were nominated for the same award at the 58th Writers Guild of America Awards. At the 34th Annie Awards, Ian Maxtone-Graham won the Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Writing in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production for his script for "The Seemingly Never-Ending Story". At the 16th Environmental Media Awards, "The Bonfire of the Manatees" won the award for Television Episodic Comedy. Nielsen ratings The show ranked 56th in the seasonal ratings tied with Invasion, ''America's Funniest Home Videos, and The Amazing Race'' with a viewership 9.2 million viewers and an 18–49 Nielsen Rating of 4.4/11. ==Home media==

The DVD and Blu-ray box set for season seventeen was released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment in the United States and Canada on Tuesday, December 2, 2014, eight years after it had completed broadcast on television. As well as every episode from the season, the Blu-ray and DVD releases feature bonus material including deleted scenes, animatics, and commentaries for every episode. The box art features Sideshow Bob, and a special limited-edition "embossed head case" package was also released. This is the only season of The Simpsons to receive a 15 rating in the UK, but this is due to the additional material (the episodes are only a 12 rating). ==References==