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{{Infobox Simpsons episode
| image = The Springfield Files.jpeg
| caption = Promotional artwork for the episode featuring [[Fox Mulder|Mulder]] (right) and [[Dana Scully|Scully]] (left) along with Homer.
| season = 8
| episode = 10
| director = [[Steven Dean Moore]]
| writer = [[Reid Harrison]]
| production = 3F25<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.animationconnection.com/view/5065-homer-simpson-drinking-at-moes |title=The Simpson Files" Production Cel |work=[[20th Century Animation]]|publisher=Animation Connection.com |access-date=January 12, 2023}}</ref> 3G01
| airdate = {{Start date|1997|01|12}}
| guests = * [[Leonard Nimoy]] as himself
* [[David Duchovny]] as [[Fox Mulder]]
* [[Gillian Anderson]] as [[Dana Scully]]
| blackboard = "The truth is not out there"<ref name="book">{{cite book |last=Groening |first=Matt |author-link=Matt Groening |editor1-first=Ray |editor1-last=Richmond |editor1-link=Ray Richmond |editor2-first=Antonia |editor2-last=Coffman |title=[[The Simpsons episode guides#The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family|The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family]] |edition=1st |year=1997 |location=New York |publisher=[[HarperPerennial]] |lccn=98141857 |ol=433519M |oclc=37796735 |isbn=978-0-06-095252-5 |page=[https://archive.org/details/simpsonscomplete00groe/page/222 222] |ref={{harvid|Richmond & Coffman|1997}} }}</ref>
| couch_gag = The Simpsons fly into the living room and onto the couch on [[jet packs]].<ref name="BBC">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/simpsons/episodeguide/season8/page10.shtml |title=The Springfield Files |access-date=March 27, 2007 |author1=Martyn, Warren |author2=Wood, Adrian |year=2000 |publisher=BBC}}</ref>
| commentary = [[Matt Groening]] [[Al Jean]] [[Mike Reiss]] Reid Harrison Steven Dean Moore [[David Silverman (animator)|David Silverman]]
| prev = [[El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer)]]
| next = [[The Twisted World of Marge Simpson]]
}}
"'''The Springfield Files'''" is the tenth episode of the [[The Simpsons season 8|eighth season]] of the American animated television series ''[[The Simpsons]]''. It originally aired on the [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox network]] in the United States on January 12, 1997.<ref name="book"/> In the episode, [[Homer Simpson|Homer]] believes he has discovered an alien in [[Springfield (The Simpsons)|Springfield]]. It was written by [[Reid Harrison]] and directed by [[Steven Dean Moore]]. [[Leonard Nimoy]] guest stars as himself and [[David Duchovny]] and [[Gillian Anderson]] guest star as agents [[Fox Mulder]] and [[Dana Scully]], their respective characters on ''[[The X-Files]]''.<ref name="book"/> The episode serves as a [[Fictional crossover#Television series|crossover]] with ''The X-Files'' and features numerous references to the series. The story came from former showrunners [[Al Jean]] and [[Mike Reiss]], who returned to produce this episode while under contract with [[The Walt Disney Company]]. It received positive reviews from critics; Jean and Reiss won an [[Annie Award]] for producing it.

==Plot==
In a [[framing story]], [[Leonard Nimoy]] is hosting a program about [[alien encounter]]s, and begins the episode by talking about an "encounter" that occurred in [[Springfield (The Simpsons)|Springfield]].

[[Homer Simpson|Homer]] tells [[Lenny and Carl]] that they should sneak out of work early and start drinking beer. Homer puts in an old tape of them working into the security camera. That night at [[Moe Szyslak|Moe's]], after drinking over ten beers, a drunken Homer is forced to walk home after taking a breathalyzer test, but takes a wrong path and ends up in the woods. In a clearing, he encounters a glowing, thin-boned figure with wide open eyes. Although it tells him, "Don't be afraid," Homer panics and runs home screaming.

The rest of the [[Simpson family|family]] do not believe Homer's story, and his attempts to report his sighting of the figure (which he identifies as an [[extraterrestrials in fiction|alien]]) to the police are dismissed by [[Chief Wiggum]]. Agents [[Fox Mulder]] and [[Dana Scully]] of the [[FBI]] hear of the sighting and go to investigate. After receiving no results from their psychological tests of him, Homer fails to provide any proof that he actually saw an alien. Homer is ridiculed by most of the neighborhood; even [[Marge Simpson|Marge]] refuses to believe in his claims, but [[Bart Simpson|Bart]] admits that he believes Homer. The next Friday night, the pair camp out in the forest. The mysterious figure arrives and promises peace, but Homer scares it away when he accidentally steps on their campfire and screams in pain. Bart captures the entire incident on tape.

Nimoy bids the audience goodnight. He is then reminded that the show still has ten minutes left by an off-screen [[List of recurring The Simpsons characters#Squeaky-Voiced Teen|Squeaky-Voiced Teen]], at which point he runs to his car and leaves. The Squeaky-Voiced Teen takes over narrating duties.

Following the successful capture of the figure's existence, Homer and Bart present it to the media. Everyone in town finally believes Homer, even knocking on his door and asking Homer questions. During a church lecture, [[Reverend Lovejoy]] gets emotional talking about the character [[E.T.]] Meanwhile, [[Lisa Simpson|Lisa]] maintains that there must be a logical explanation for it. Friday comes again and everyone (including Nimoy) goes to the forest. The figure appears, promising love, but the townspeople begin to riot, and charge at it. Lisa and [[Waylon Smithers|Smithers]] stop them just in time, showing that the "alien" is actually [[Montgomery Burns|Mr. Burns]]. Smithers explains that Burns receives longevity treatment once a week in order to cheat death; this includes intense [[chiropractic]], administering [[eye drops]] and [[painkiller]]s, as well as a vocal cord scraping. The ordeal leaves Burns in a state of disorientation, and with a soft, high-pitched voice. Back to his normal self, Burns reveals that his "healthy" green glow is due to many years of working in his nuclear plant (which has also left him [[erectile dysfunction|impotent]]). After threatening to bring "fear, famine [and] pestilence" instead of peace and love to the people of Springfield, he is given another [[booster dose|booster]] injection from [[Dr. Nick]]. Reverting to his "alien" self, he begins to sing "[[Good Morning Starshine]]", with the entire crowd, including Nimoy, and a returned Mulder and Scully (who is wearing a "Homer is a dope" t-shirt), joining in.

The Squeaky-Voiced Teen closes the episode by reminding the viewers to "keep watching the [[skis]]... uh, skies."

==Production==
[[File:Chris Carter (July 2008).jpg|thumb|[[Chris Carter (screenwriter)|Chris Carter]], creator of ''[[The X-Files]]'', called it an "honor" for his show to be satirized in the episode.]]
The episode was produced by [[Al Jean]] and [[Mike Reiss]], who had served as [[showrunners]] of seasons [[The Simpsons season 3|three]] and [[The Simpsons season 4|four]]. They returned to the show to produce this and several other episodes while under contract with [[The Walt Disney Company]].<ref name="calif">{{cite video |people=Jean, Al |date=2006 |title=The Simpsons season 8 DVD commentary for the episode "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> The episode was written by [[Reid Harrison]] and directed by [[Steven Dean Moore]].<ref name="book"/> It had one of the longest episode gaps between its conception to the time it was finished.<ref name=Jean>{{cite video |people=Jean, Al |date=2006 |title=The Simpsons The Complete Eighth Season DVD commentary for the episode "The Springfield Files" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> The idea was first conceived at a story retreat. Jean found a copy of ''[[TV Guide]]'' while in the bathroom, with ''[[The X-Files]]'' on the cover. Feeling a crossover would be a good idea, he came back into the room, told Reiss his idea, and the pair pitched it.<ref name=Jean/> None of the other staff wanted to do it, so Reiss and Jean decided to do it themselves.<ref name=Jean/> Before the episode was produced, the script was sent to [[Chris Carter (screenwriter)|Chris Carter]], the creator of ''The X-Files'', who said that it was an "honor" to be satirized by ''The Simpsons''.<ref name=Jean/><ref>Ayers, Mike [https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-SEB-93218 When Mulder and Scully Went to Springfield: An Oral History of the ‘Simpsons’-’X-Files’ Crossover] ''Wall Street Journal''. January 22, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2022.</ref> Jean was worried that the episode was not funny, as at the table reading there were only a few of the writers present and as such, the script got no laughs at all.<ref name=Jean/> It took a long time to come up with an ending, and an explanation for the alien. Originally, it was just going to be left as a mystery.<ref name=Reiss/> Mulder and Scully's office was designed to be exactly the same as the one used in ''The X-Files''.<ref name=Moore>{{cite video |people=Moore, Steve |date=2006 |title=The Simpsons The Complete Eighth Season DVD commentary for the episode "The Springfield Files" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> After it had been finished, Fox sent the episode out for a critical review, which was "really great".<ref name=Reiss>{{cite video |people=Reiss, Mike |date=2006 |title=The Simpsons The Complete Eighth Season DVD commentary for the episode "The Springfield Files" |medium=DVD |publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> The scene with the "Homer is a dope" T-shirts originally had an extra line: "I told you, we're sold out!", thus filling in the plot error in the actual episode in which Homer asks for some T-shirts, despite just being told that they were sold out.<ref name=Moore/> The scene after Homer's first encounter with the alien, in which he runs through a field writing "Yahhh!" in the grass, was written by [[David M. Stern]], and added in after the original read-through.<ref name=Jean/>

==Cultural references==
* The Nimoy segments are a send-up of the paranormal documentary series ''[[In Search of... (TV series)|In Search of...]]'', which Nimoy hosted.<ref name=Brown>{{cite web |url=http://www.csicop.org/si/show/skeptical_simpsons_episode_spoofs_aliens_pseudoscience |title=Skeptical 'Simpsons' episode spoofs aliens, pseudoscience – animated television series – News and Comment |access-date=March 27, 2007 |author=Brown, Mike |publisher=Skeptical Inquirer |archive-date=September 12, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120912131911/http://www.csicop.org/si/show/skeptical_simpsons_episode_spoofs_aliens_pseudoscience |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* In addition to the appearances of Mulder and Scully, the episode features several other references to ''The X-Files''.
** Mulder's FBI badge has a picture of himself only wearing a [[speedo]]; this is a reference to a scene in ''[[The X-Files]]'' episode "[[Duane Barry]]", in which Duchovny wore just a speedo.<ref name=Jean/>
** In the scene where Scully gives Homer a lie detector test, [[The Smoking Man]] is in the background.<ref name="BBC"/><ref name=Moore/>
** When Homer sees the alien, ''The X-Files'' theme is played.
* The [[Budweiser Frogs]] appear in the swamp, chanting their names, "Bud... Weis... Er." They are then eaten by an alligator who growls "[[Coors Brewing Company|Coors]]!".<ref name=Jean/>
* [[J. Edgar Hoover]] is wearing a dress in the photo in the X-files office, a reference to his transvestism.
* The scales in the breathalyzer test Homer takes are Tipsy, Soused, Stinkin' and [[Boris Yeltsin]].
* Homer's suggestion that he and Bart fake an alien encounter and sell it to the Fox network is an allusion to the ''[[Alien Autopsy (1995 film)|Alien Autopsy]]'' hoax.<ref name="Brown"/>
* As Homer recounts his experience to Chief Wiggum, he recalls the alien having a sweet, heavenly voice and appearing every Friday night "like [[Urkel]]", from the ABC/CBS sitcom ''[[Family Matters]]''.<ref name=Jean/>
There are also numerous film references.
[[File:Alf&Marvin.png|200px|right|thumb|The FBI line-up, described by Al Jean as the "most illegal shot" in the history of the show, as the writers did not get permission to use any of the characters (excluding their own Kang/Kodos).<ref name=Reiss/><ref name=Reiss2>{{cite book |title=Springfield Confidential: Jokes, Secrets, and Outright Lies from a Lifetime Writing for The Simpsons |last=Reiss |first=Mike |author-link=Mike Reiss |chapter=Four Episodes That Changed The World (Kinda) |page=154 |year=2018 |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |location=New York City}}</ref>]]
* [[Marvin the Martian]], [[Gort (The Day the Earth Stood Still)|Gort]], [[Chewbacca]], [[ALF (character)|ALF]], and either [[Kang and Kodos|Kang or Kodos]] comprise the FBI line-up.<ref name="BBC"/>
* The narration sequences are based on the 1959 [[Ed Wood]] film ''[[Plan 9 from Outer Space]]''.<ref name="Moore" />
* The music played by the Springfield Philharmonic comes from the 1960 [[Alfred Hitchcock]] film ''[[Psycho (1960 film)|Psycho]]''.<ref name=Jean/>
* In one chapter title, the phrase "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" being printed out ''ad infinitum'' is a reference to the 1980 film ''[[The Shining (film)|The Shining]]''.<ref name="book"/>
* [[list of recurring The Simpsons characters#Dewey Largo|Mr. Largo]] conducts five of his students in playing the famous five-note tones from ''[[Close Encounters of the Third Kind]]''.<ref name="book"/>
* [[list of recurring The Simpsons characters#Jimbo Jones|Jimbo Jones]] is seen displaying a sign that reads "Alien dude: Need two tickets to [[Pearl Jam]]", a reference to ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind''.<ref name="book"/>
* Milhouse plays a ''Kevin Costner's Waterworld'' arcade game, in which he needs to insert forty quarters for each credit played (losing his first credit after taking a few steps), a reference to the budget overrun on [[Kevin Costner]]'s 1995 film ''[[Waterworld]]''.<ref name="book"/>
* Homer explains that he got the idea of looping security camera footage from "a movie about a bus that had to ''speed'' around the city, keeping its ''speed'' over 50, and if its ''speed'' dropped, it would explode". Although this is a reference to the 1994 action film ''[[Speed (1994 film)|Speed]]'', Homer mistakenly believes the film is called ''The Bus That Couldn't Slow Down''.
* The [[Squeaky-Voiced Teen]]'s ending comment to "Keep watching the skis... uh, skies," is a reference to the final line of dialogue from the 1951 film ''[[The Thing from Another World]]''.

==Reception==
In its original broadcast, "The Springfield Files" finished 26th in ratings for the week of January 6–12, 1997, with a [[Nielsen ratings|Nielsen rating]] of 11.7, equivalent to approximately 11.3 million viewing households. It was the third-highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, following ''[[The X-Files]]'' and the series premiere of ''[[King of the Hill]]'', which aired immediately after the episode.<ref>{{cite news |title=Newsmagazines show ratings muscle |work=Sun-Sentinel |agency=Associated Press |page=4E |date=January 16, 1997}}</ref> On the original airing of the episode, Fox played an audio promition with ''King of the Hill'''s main character [[Hank Hill]] talking over the credits, naming a list of things which will never be seen on his show. This was not official audio for the episode.<ref>"King of the Hill" Fox premiere night promos. [[YouTube]] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6p0vq-3OvQ]</ref>

Al Jean and Mike Reiss won the [[Annie Award]] for Best Individual Achievement: Producing in a TV Production for their work on the episode.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://annieawards.org/25thwinners.html |title=Legacy: 25th Annual Annie Award Nominees and Winners (1997) |access-date=December 5, 2008 |publisher=Annie Awards |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080512011007/http://annieawards.org/25thwinners.html |archive-date=May 12, 2008 }}</ref>

The authors of the book ''I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide'', Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, said that it was "a very clever episode, with the line-up one of the best visual gags in ages".<ref name="BBC"/>

''[[Skeptical Inquirer]]'' reviewed the episode positively, stating that "It's rare that a popular, prime-time network television show turns out to be a "slam dunk" for skeptics."<ref name="Brown"/> Critic Chris Knight speculated that if ''The X-Files'' is one day forgotten, those who see this episode will probably still appreciate the scene with ALF, Chewbacca, and Marvin the Martian.<ref>Chris Knight, "Keeping the spring in Springfield: The Simpsons still going strong in Season Eight", ''[[National Post]]'', August 19, 2006, pg. TO.26.</ref>

''[[IGN]]'' ranked Leonard Nimoy's performance in this episode, and "[[Marge vs. the Monorail]]", as the 11th-best guest appearance in the show's history.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2010/01/04/top-25-simpsons-guest-appearances |title=Top 25 Simpsons Guest Appearances |access-date=January 22, 2022 |author1=Goldman, Eric |author2=Iverson, Dan |author3=Zoromski, Brian |date=4 January 2010 |publisher=IGN}}</ref> ''[[Total Film]]''{{'}}s Nathan Ditum ranked Duchovny and Anderson's performances as the fourth-best guest appearances in the show's history.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.gamesradar.com/the-20-best-simpsons-movie-star-guest-spots/ |title=The 20 Best Simpsons Movie-Star Guest Spots |last=Ditum |first=Nathan |date=March 29, 2009 |work=[[Total Film]]|publisher=GamesRadar|access-date=January 22, 2022}}</ref>

In 2017, British site ''[[Digital Spy]]'' ranked it 15th on their list of "The 29 all-time greatest ''Simpsons'' episodes ever",<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a808377/best-simpsons-episodes-of-all-time/|title=The 29 all-time greatest Simpsons episodes ever, in order of hilaritude|website=[[Digital Spy]] |date=September 24, 2017}}</ref> while in 2019 Australian publication [[Junkee]] placed it seventh on their list of the 30 best episodes of ''The Simpsons''. In 2021, ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' also placed it seventh on their list of the 30 best episodes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/lists/simpsons-best-episodes/|title=The 30 Best 'Simpsons' Episodes, Ranked|first=Marisa|last=Roffman|date=December 8, 2021}}</ref> It is currently the 11th highest rated episode of ''The Simpsons'' on [[IMDb]], with a 9.0 rating.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Taylor |first=Jay Carter |date=2022-06-01 |title=The 10 Best 'Simpsons' Episodes Of All Time, According to IMDb |url=https://collider.com/best-simpsons-episodes-according-to-imdb/ |access-date=2023-02-05 |website=Collider |language=en}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote|The_Simpsons/Season_8#The_Springfield_Files|"The Springfield Files"}}
{{portal|The Simpsons}}
*{{snpp capsule|3G01}}
*{{IMDb episode|0701263}}

{{The Simpsons episodes|8}}
{{X-Files}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Springfield Files, The}}
[[Category:1997 American television episodes]]
[[Category:Crossover animation]]
[[Category:Crossover television]]
[[Category:The Simpsons season 8 episodes]]
[[Category:The X-Files (franchise)]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Boris Yeltsin]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Leonard Nimoy]]
[[Category:Television episodes directed by Steven Dean Moore]]

The Springfield Files - Revision history

imported>Wikibenboy94: /* Cultural references */