Production
"Worst Episode Ever" was written by Larry Doyle and directed by Matthew Nastuk. It was first broadcast on the Fox network in the United States on February 4, 2001. The episode was originally called "The Fiver", a reference to a scene in the episode that was eventually removed. The episode title was then changed to "Worst Episode Ever", a title which the staff were amused by. According to Doyle, "Worst Episode Ever" is the first episode in which Comic Book Guy has a major role. Because Comic Book Guy is usually sarcastic and unfriendly, the series' staff found it hard to make the character seem likable. For example, Hank Azaria, who plays Comic Book Guy among other characters in the series, had a difficult time trying to make the character sound sincere. "Comic Book Guy only ever pronounces things sarcastically", Azaria said in the DVD commentary for the episode. "It was hard to find a way to sound believable and have him say sincere things. It took a lot of different takes." Executive producer and former showrunner Mike Scully said, "It's tough when you take a character like Comic Book Guy or Krusty or Moe, to make them suddenly sympathetic and vulnerable. You have to cheat the character a little bit to open them up emotionally a little more."
In a scene in the episode, Ralph is seen entering the adult section of The Android's Dungeon. When he is off screen, Ralph can be heard saying "Everybody's hugging". In the DVD commentary for the episode, Azaria stated that the line is one of his favorite jokes in the series. Originally, Ralph's line would be "She's hungry", but it was eventually removed from the episode. The episode features American actor and makeup artist Tom Savini as himself. Savini accepted the role because he is friends with Dana Gould, a former staff writer on The Simpsons. In the DVD commentary for the episode, Doyle said that Savini was "really fun" when he visited to record his lines. In a scene in the episode, a crow is seen tearing apart an issue of "Biclops". The voice of the crow was recorded from a real crow, even though the staff usually use main cast members Dan Castellaneta and Nancy Cartwright to imitate animal noises. The general officer in the government film called "Secret Nuclear Defense Plan" was voiced by Azaria.
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