Iconic The Simpsons scene could have been very different if problem hadn't occurred

Daily Mirror

5 days ago

An all-time great joke from The Simpsons could have been very different, with showrunner and writer Bill Oakley sharing what the original end to the moment was meant to be
An iconic scene in hit animated comedy series The Simpsons was meant to be very different, but one thing changed it. The legendary programme has been running since December 1989 and shows no signs of stopping, although fans would be the first to admit the quality has dropped off since the glory days.
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Even then, the show receives millions of views on each broadcast. Former writers for The Simpsons have since shared some behind the scenes bits and pieces, with one writer sharing a different ending was planned for an all-time great moment. Costs behind the scenes led to the joke being rewritten, and the scene is arguably better off without the original plan.
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Former showrunner and Simpsons writer Bill Oakley confirmed the show's use of the Iron Butterfly song, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, was because of song pricing.
Another song had been in mind for the Season 7, Episode 4 release, Bart Sells His Soul, but the first choice was simply too expensive to warrant using.
The hilarious scene where Bart Simpson switches the church organ music to the Iron Butterfly song was originally meant to feature a classic song from British rock band Led Zeppelin.
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Clearing the song would have been too expensive, and so the team opted for Iron Butterfly.
Taking to X, Oakley wrote: "It was originally 'Stairway to Heaven' by Led Zeppelin but the music was too expensive so we had to go with this more obscure track."
Fans believe the scene is better with the Iron Butterfly track and say it fits the moment perfectly. One user wrote: "Much better with Iron Butterfly."
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Another added: "This ended up being much better for comedy purposes." A third wrote: "This was the better choice. The song name is still biblical but not as obvious and the fact the real song is 17 minutes makes it way funnier than an 8 minute one.
"Also for the longest time, I thought the song was called In the Garden of Eden until I looked it up."
Other users have credited The Simpsons with keeping the Iron Butterfly song in popular culture. One user suggested: "I feel like I grew up thinking this song was more popular than it was because of this scene specifically."
Another shared: "I never knew it was a real song until this moment." A third user suggested it added new depths to Bart Simpson, with many fans praising the writers for the last-minute switch.
One fan wrote: "The fact that Bart seems so cultured in Rock Music to orchestrate such a stunt in the first place." Another added: "I think the alternative was for the best because having it be a 17 minute song makes the prank more hilarious."