The Simpsons have faced many controversies over their decades on the air, but why did the long-running animated comedy veto an apparently hilarious episode that would have spoofed the Church of Scientology? Beginning with the crudely animated Christmas special “Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire” way back in 1989, the anarchic animated sitcom The Simpsons has never been afraid to spoof everything that American television viewers hold near and dear, and the show's range of targets has rarely been constrained by a fear of criticism or reprisal from the institutions they parody.
Although many critics and fans alike claim that the once-potent satirical sting of The Simpsons has long been blunted as the series reaches its thirty-third season, the show was a force to be reckoned with in what many reviewers call its prime, the so-called “Golden Age” of seasons 1-12. During this period, The Simpsons was relevant enough to be criticized by name in a speech from then-president George H W Bush, and the show was daring enough to criticize the president in response during the cold open of their next episode (Bush would later be parodied by an entire episode of The Simpsons spoofing the president, although he was out of the White House by the time that later outing aired).
As such, it will come as no surprise for many fans to learn that during this aforementioned Golden Age The Simpsons almost aired an episode that was openly critical of L Ron Hubbard’s controversial new religious movement/cult/business The Church of Scientology. Titled “Lisa The Scientopteran,” veteran Simpsons writer Bill Oakley called this un-produced episode “a hilarious, fully worked-out story by George Meyer.” From the little that is known of it, the episode would have followed Lisa’s conversion as she became a “Scientopteran,” which, for legal reasons, was definitely not a jab at Scientology, but was clearly intended to mock the growing institution. However, The Simpsons cut the idea (like many others) and never produced this pitch into an episode. The reasons for this are more varied than mere fear of legal reprisal from the notoriously litigious Church of Scientology, with the show's cast and the cultural context of the time also coming into play.
The Missing Scientology Episode’s Story
Not a lot is known about the proposed plot of “Lisa The Scientopteran,” beyond Oakley’s comments assuring fans that the idea was fully fleshed-out as an episode, unlike some vetoed Simpsons pitches. In some cases, such as the proposed Prince cameo that The Simpsons was unable to secure, a pitched episode is a rough outline that is not expanded on until the all-important guest star is booked. Occasionally, rejected episode pitches will be retooled into different outings, such as when a planned Planet Hollywood-parodying cameo-stuffed Simpsons episode that would have guest starred Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Bruce Willis was rewritten when the actors couldn’t clear their schedules and became the season 5 episode "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)".
What is known about the plot of “Lisa The Scientopteran” is that, like later Scientology parodies seen in The Boys and BoJack Horseman, the episode would have seen a major cast member converting to a similar faith, much to the consternation of their co-stars. Lisa would have switched to the Scientology-parodying religion after becoming disillusioned with the family’s Christian faith, an angle that would have allowed the then-fearless Simpsons to spoof organized religions at large, America’s cultural Christianity, and the Church of Scientology specifically all in one fell swoop. As outlined below, some of these Simpsons story elements did make it into later episodes, but spoofing Scientology was never revisited even though abandoning a fully fleshed-out plot was no small undertaking in an era when every episode of The Simpsons routinely went through dozens of rewrites.
Why The Episode Was Never Produced
This Simpsons storyline may have been dropped to avoid offending Bart Simpson’s voice actor Nancy Cartwright, who is a prominent defender of Scientology alongside Invisible Man star Elizabeth Moss, John Travolta, and Mission Impossible series star Tom Cruise. According to Oakley, the writer said the episode was never made to avoid legal ramifications. Interestingly, Oakley avoided even mentioning the specifics of “Lisa The Scientopteran,” saying: “I can't reveal the subject matter here but we never went forward with it because of 1, legal ramifications, and 2, the fact that at least a couple of people on the staff/cast would've felt personally attacked by the episode and we just didn't want to deal with the fallout.“
It’s understandable that The Simpsons writers would balk at the risk of offending Scientology practitioners on staff, as happened when South Park later spoofed Scientology. South Park co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone famously ended up losing cast member Isaac Hayes as a result of their decision to satirize Scientology, so clearly, there was good reason for The Simpsons’ writing room to fret over offending Cartwright. As when, in the wake of South Park’s Episode 200 controversy, The Simpsons responded with a playful “South Park - We'd stand beside you if we weren't so scared” chalkboard gag, the more family-friendly animated comedy has frequently stayed in safer territory than its R-rated competitor.
Why The Simpsons Couldn’t Spoof Scientology
With the likes of The Boys, Bojack Horseman, and South Park spoofing the institution of Scientology, it can be hard for modern viewers to see why the creators of The Simpsons were so worried about litigation. However, the Church of Scientology has only come under mainstream fire in recent years thanks to the likes of Leah Remini’s documentary Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, the HBO documentary Going Clear, Louis Theroux’s look into the institution, My Scientology Movie, and Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master. The Simpsons would have been spoofing the institution much earlier than these mainstream attempts to challenge the Church of Scientology, and as the show has a far larger viewership and cultural influence than the more counterculture shows that have since satirized the Church, The Simpsons would have been more likely to face inevitable legal reprisal.
How “Lisa The Scientopteran” Still Influenced The Simpsons
In the years since the episode was vetoed, the story of the family becoming caught up in a cult was revisited in “The Joy of Sect” (season 9, episode 13) and Lisa converting to another religion when disillusioned with Christianity was revisited in “She of Little Faith” (season 13, episode 6), one of many The Simpsons Christmas specials. Although the latter episode features some still-sharp jabs on the phenomenon of for-profit megachurches, the former is a more pointed parody of cults and the writers have acknowledged the fact that Scientology influenced their depiction of the Movementarians. Perhaps to avoid litigation, the crew were quick to add that Jim Jones and the People’s Temple were also inspirations for this classic The Simpsons outing, ensuring that the show credited its inspiration for the plot to incidents that are uncontested examples of a dangerous cult, rather than only the Church of Scientology.