The Tracey Ullman Show (1987)
The Tracey Ullman Show is an American television variety show, hosted by British-born comedian and onetime pop singer Tracey Ullman. It debuted on April 5, 1987 as the Fox network's second primetime series after Married... with Children, and ran until May 26, 1990. The show is produced by Gracie Films and 20th Century Fox Television. The show blended sketch comedy shorts with many musical numbers, featuring choreography by Paula Abdul. The show also produced The Simpsons shorts before it spun off into its own show, which was also produced by Gracie Films and 20th Century Fox Television.
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Episode 1 - Backstage Special
Release Date: 1988-10-30Hour long special featuring a look behind the scenes, past sketches and a sneak preview for the third season.
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Episode 2 - 5W10
Release Date: 1988-11-069 MINUTES AND 52 SECONDS OVER TOKYO; Angel and Marty Tish are to make an appearance on a Japanese sing and dance show when living memories of Marty's service in Japan comes to meet him. OUR DINNER AT TROY'S; Sara and Greg Downey have dinner at a popular New York restaurant which turns out not all it's cracked to be. When Greg complains about his food being undercooked, they have a first-hand look at the teenage, but egotistical, chief Troy, who responds by having them thrown out of the restaurant. SHUT UP SIMPSONS; Bart, Lisa, Homer and Grandpa fight over their personal problems that they never seem to solve.
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Episode 3 - 5W11
Release Date: 1988-11-13TELL AND KISS; Sandra Decker has her biography of her romantic escapes published which are full of lies in which an old flame, former actor Rolland DeEggo (special guest star Caesar Romero), pays a visit to rekindle the flame. THE BIG WHEEL; Flashy Latina dancer Blanca Valaday (Tracey Ullman) and ruthless businessman Hugh Jater (Sam McMurray) are two winning lottery contestants who both expect to win the $20 millon jackpot. THE SHELL GAME; Bart tries to hide cookies from Marge and Homer by playing the game of ""guess which shell it's under.""
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Episode 4 - 5W12
Release Date: 1988-11-20TO MASSEUR WITH LOVE; For her birthday gift, Kay Clark is given a free body masseuse with sexy bodybuilder Burke. CONJUGAL VISIT; Arthur (Dan Castellaneta) visits an Atlanta prison for women to see his sex-starved, mail-order wife, Ann Marie (Tracey Ullman), for the first time. THE BART SIMPSON SHOW; Tired of watching the violent cartoon 'Itchy and Scratchy,' Bart takes out the TV and puts his own show.
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Episode 5 - 5W13
Release Date: 1988-11-27GINNY VS. ROZ; Attending the wake of her father at her parents co-op in Miami, Ginny meets her older sister Roz (Julie Kavner), and finds that the two still have lots of hostility between them. STARS ARE OURS; Greg and Sara watch the stars one night to determine their lifestyle status. DANCE STUDIO; After breaking into a dance studio, a burglar (Joe Malone) tries to convince a policewoman (Julie Kavner) that he teaches dance lessons at night by showing her how to tango. PUNCHING BAG; Bart, Lisa and even Marge use a punching bag with Homer's face on it to take out their frustrations.
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Episode 6 - 5W14
Release Date: 1988-12-18SANTA BABY; Meg invites Tina over at her house for Christmas Eve while Tina takes an interest in the new Santa (Joe Malone) at the post office. NEW YEAR'S EVE; Elaine, Rosalie, and Darla, (Tracey Ullman, Julie Kavner and Anna Levine) are three desperate, lonely women who go all out to get dates for themselves for a New Year's Eve party. SIMPSON XMAS; Bart recites his own version of ""Night Before Christmas"" theme while waiting to open his presents.
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Episode 7 - 5W16
Release Date: 1989-01-08FRANCESCA'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY: THE FINAL CHAPTER; A retropsective episode featuring past sketches involving Francesca McDowell who sits in her bedroom writing her autobiography.
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Episode 8 - 5W17
Release Date: 1989-01-15KAY BABYSITS; Kay is forced by her ruthless boss Mr. Leroy (Dan Castellaneta), to look after his spoiled 10-year old daughter Missy, for the day at the office. CHECK, PLEASE; Three men (Dan Castellaneta, Sam McMurray and Joe Malone) wait and wait to see who will pay the bill for lunch at a fancy, private golf club restaurant. THE KRUSTY THE CLOWN SHOW; Bart, Lisa and Maggie go on the popular children's show, and Bart naturally causes trouble, this time on-air.
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Episode 9 - 5W18
Release Date: 1989-01-29FRANCESCA'S TASK; Lazy Francesca is faced with writing a major term paper for school, and is apprehensive about William helping her. THE NUCLEAR FAMILY; At a family owned nuclear power plant, chairman Allen Gardener Dan Castellaneta) tells his supervisor mother (Tracey Ullman) that he has decided to let her go off the work force. BART THE HERO; Bart single-handingly captures a burglar robbing a candy store and trades the reward money for candy.
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Episode 10 - 5W19
Release Date: 1989-02-05SPECIAL SKILLS; CEO Renee Lawton (Anna Levine), decides to let yuppie finalists Leonard (Dan Castellaneta), Zizi (Tracey Ullman), and Patricia (Janeen Rae Heller) compete with each other to see what special skills they have in order to enter the company. FLESH AND DESIRE; William makes himself a midnight snack of a meatloaf sandwich which makes vegetarian Dave angry. HEAVEN; In orbit around Earth, astronaut Chuck (Dan Castellaneta) and cosmonaut Anna (Tracey Ullman), together in the space shuttle, discover passion for each other but they are prevented by the cameras watching them. BART'S LITTLE FANTASY; Bart tells Lisa and Maggie of his vision of where they are the parents, and Homer and Marge are the children.
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Episode 11 - 5W20
Release Date: 1989-02-12FRANCESCA: A PHYSICAL EDUCATION; After Francesca is reprimanded by Dave and William for mouthing off to her stern gym instructor Miss Belts (special guest star Betty Thomas), she must overcome her radical ideals to partake and win the girls high school volleyball game. SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME; Dr. Gibson meets with Kay Clark for the first time at the building where she works to talk about her loneliness and of being unable to find a special someone. SCARY MOVIE; Bart, Lisa, and Maggie go to the movie theater to see a scary Sci-Fi/Horror movie.
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Episode 12 - 5W21
Release Date: 1989-02-19THE SUBWAY; A breakdown on a New York subway traps dozens of people together in one car that include: Greg Downey (Dan Castellaneta), a Broadway dancer (Joe Malone), a pizza deliveryman (Sam McMurray), a Boy Scout leader, a hysterical woman (Anna Levine), a smug rich lady (Anne DeSavo), a drunk, and a local black woman (Tracey Ullman) who tries to calm everyone down. I DO, I WILL; Newlyweds Gary and Joanie Sours (Sam McMurray and Tracey Ullman) think about their future on the morning after their wedding in the bridal suite. HOME HYPNOTISM; Homer tries to control the wild Bart, Lisa and Maggie with hypnotism, but it only turns the kids into mindless zombies.
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Episode 13 - 5W22
Release Date: 1989-02-26ROCK ON THE BLOCK; Ian Miles (special guest star Tim Curry) is a past-his-prime rock star who does some soul searching to simplify his life on the day all his personal items will be put up for auction by auctioneer Jacqueline Andrews (Tracey Ullman). THE HEIGHT OF FRIENDSHIP; Two New York City window washers (Dan Castellaneta and Sam McMurray) fight with each other on the side of a building after one of them accuses the other of sleeping with his wife. THE ORANGE BADGE OF COURAGE; Sara and Greg are captured by a rival team during a wargames simulation outing in California. SHOPLIFTING; Bart is arrested for shoplifting and tries to wisecrack himself out of it.
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Episode 14 - 5W23
Release Date: 1989-03-12GOODBYE, BUTCHIE; Summer Storm's favorite dog dies and she asks her ex-husband Jerry (Sam McMurray) to keep her company while her other friends Keith and Freddy plan to cheer her up. THE HANDOUT; Three executive prize winners (Dan Castellaneta, Tracey Ullman and Anna Levine), walking home from an awards dinner, confront a bum in the street looking for a handout. TEAMIES; Three athletic women race walkers (Tracey Ullman, Anna Levine and Fay Burns) in training must face the fact that only one of them will be competing in the coming race. ECHO CANYON; The Simpsons visit Echo Canyon to listen to their echoes.
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Episode 15 - 5W24
Release Date: 1989-03-19OCCUPIED; On a airplane to Australia, Kiki Howard-Smith, devastated by the knowledge of her husband leaving her, meets Antonio Gianelli (Dan Castellaneta), a wealthy Italian businessman who takes an interest in her. MR. RIGHT; Millie and Jack (Anna Levine and Dan Castellaneta) visit their crazy friend Bonnie (Tracey Ullman), who claims that she has met Mr. Right: a ventriloquist's dummy named Lenny. BATHTIME; Bart takes a bath and floods the bathroom after leaving the water on.
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Episode 16 - 5W25
Release Date: 1989-03-26STRESS MANAGEMENT; Sara and Greg attend a class where a professional stress management woman (Julie Kavner) gives group therapy about how to confront stress. RUDY VISITS OMI; Rudy (Dan Castellaneta) visits his frail grandmother, Omi (Tracey Ullman), in a nursing home and tries to make her talk after she has had several strokes. BRICK HOUSE; Lingerie shop owners Candy and Chesty (Julie Kavner and Tracey Ullman) try to show a shy, naive woman (Anna Levine) the fashions of the place. BART'S NIGHTMARE; After Bart eats a whole batch of cookies, he passes out and ventures into a dreamscape where everyone confronts him with his guilt.
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Episode 17 - 5W26
Release Date: 1989-04-09KAY: TRAPPED; A restropsective episode featuring flashbacks in Kay Clark's life when she's trapped in an elevator with an attractive businessman (Joe Malone).
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Episode 18 - 5W27
Release Date: 1989-04-16TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, KAY; Kay must decide if she wants to tell Mrs. Leroy (Julie Kavner) about her husband's philandering after she catches him in the act with the delivery girl. SWEET DREAMS; Now two months married, Gary and Joanie talk one night about their marital status after she thinks that he may be losing interest in her. PUMPING IRONY; Sara and Greg Downey hire a fitness instructor (special guest star Jake Steinfield) to keep them in shape, while lazy Greg disavows the routine. BART OF THE JUNGLE; Bart, Lisa and Maggie take all of Homer's neckties and play jungle in their back yard.
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Episode 19 - 5W28
Release Date: 1989-04-23MAID SERVICE; Maria (Tracey Ullman), an overweight Mexican maid for a smug, wealthy family, realizes that the lady of the house Mrs. Brenna (Anna Levine), has some compassion for her after all. CODE OF SILENCE; In London, Patty (Tracey Ullman) tries to get her old boyfriend Dennis (Sam McMurray), a palace guard, to break the code of silence to talk to her after she breaks up with her other boyfriend Vic (Dan Castellaneta). CLOWNS D'AMORE; Circus clowns Scott and Linda (Dan Castellaneta and Tracey Ullman), meet for the first time without their makeup on to go out on a date. FAMILY THERAPY; The Simpsons visit a family therapist to discuss their problems and end up taking their anger on the therapist.
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Episode 20 - 5W29
Release Date: 1989-04-30THE WAVE GIRLS; Dreana (Tracey Ullman), a 15-year San Diego Wave Girl veteran, meets with owner Mr. Big (Sam McMurray) to try to convince him to let her continue being a part of the Wave Girls after her final night. THE CURE; Dr. Gibson can't bring himself to let go of Meril (Julie Kavner), a long-time patient of his after he tells her that she is cured of her troubles. D.U.I.; After Brenda is pulled over by two Palm Springs motorcycle cops (Joe Malone and Julie Kavner), she must do odd dance steps to prove that she was not Driving Under the Influence. MAGGIE IN PEARL: CHAPTER ONE; While Marge and Homer go out shopping, Maggie gets out of her crib to chase after her rubber ball and is in pearl when she falls into a sewer and floats down to a waterfall...
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Episode 21 - 5W30
Release Date: 1989-05-07ALL ABOUT TAMMY LEE; Tammy Lee Didawick (Tracey Ullman) is the personal assistant to Dee Dee Pernell (Julie Kavner), a drunken, washed up, country-western singer who plans to go on a tour despite her drinking problem. When Dee Dee passes out, the crafty Tammy Lee plots to take her place in the spotlight at her first country-western concert. MAGGIE IN PEARL: THE THRILLING CONCLUSION; Maggie gets away from the waterfall and by grabbing some helium balloons, she floats back to her crib unharmed and excited about her adventure.
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Episode 22 - 5W15
Release Date: 1989-05-14PSYCHIATRIC HOUR; Zizi, Stacy, and June (Tracey Ullman, Ann DeSavo and Andrea Martin) are three unsure-of-themselves women who meet at a psychiatrists office to talk of their life problems unaware who the psychiatrist is. SUMMER GOES SHOPPING; Summer Storm is caught while instinctively trying to steal dog food and spends the time talking to the store clerk (Dan Castellaneta) of her life problems. WHO NOW, BROWN COW?; A unhappily married couple (Tracey Ullman and Joe Malone) are in a cow suit rehearsing to find the perfect dance steps before their appearance at a carnival. TV SIMPSONS; After Bart's kite gets caught on the TV antenna, Homer goes on the roof to get TV picture working again.
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Episode 23 - The Best of... (1 hour)
Release Date: 1989-05-21One hour highlight special. Featured sketches: ""D.U.I."", ""Mr. Right"", ""Family Therapy"" (Simpsons short), ""9 Minutes and 52 Seconds Over Tokyo"", ""Conjugal Visit"", ""Special Skills""