The Springfield Files

"The Springfield Files"
The Simpsons episode
Promotional artwork for the episode featuring Mulder (right) and Scully (left) along with Homer.
Episode no.Season 8
Episode 10
Directed bySteven Dean Moore
Written byReid Harrison
Production codes3F25[1]
3G01
Original air dateJanuary 12, 1997 (1997-01-12)
Guest appearances
Leonard Nimoy as himself
Gillian Anderson as Dana Scully
David Duchovny as Fox Mulder
Episode features
Chalkboard gag"The truth is not out there"[2]
Couch gagThe Simpsons fly into the living room and onto the couch on jet packs.[3]
CommentaryMatt Groening
Al Jean
Mike Reiss
Reid Harrison
Steven Dean Moore
David Silverman
Episode chronology
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"El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer)"
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"The Twisted World of Marge Simpson"
The Simpsons season 8
List of episodes

"The Springfield Files" is the tenth episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 12, 1997.[2] In the episode, Homer believes he has discovered an alien in 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.[2] The episode serves as a 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.

  1. ^ "The Simpson Files" Production Cel". 20th Century Animation. Animation Connection.com. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Groening, Matt (1997). Richmond, Ray; Coffman, Antonia (eds.). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family (1st ed.). New York: HarperPerennial. p. 222. ISBN 978-0-06-095252-5. LCCN 98141857. OCLC 37796735. OL 433519M.
  3. ^ Martyn, Warren; Wood, Adrian (2000). "The Springfield Files". BBC. Retrieved March 27, 2007.