The golden age of The Simpsons is chock-full of memorable moments that have since cemented themselves in pop culture. One such moment is the iconic (yes, iconic) musical number “Dr. Zauis,” which comes as part of the Planet of the Apes musical starring Troy McClure. You may remember him from such cinematic classics as “P is for Psycho!” and “The Presidents Neck is Missing.” While you would think that the Dr. Zaius gag was a slam dunk from the start, what with its catchy lyrics and perfect mockery of everything from stage productions to the original Planet of the Apes, writer Josh Weinstein has now revealed how it was the result of not one, not two, but five separate pitches.
Weinstein recently took to social media to reveal some interesting insight into how the Planet of the Apes musical number was created, and how it works a perfect learning tool for aspiring writers.
“Perfect opportunity to repeat this writing tip I learned at the Simpsons: Never shoot down an idea, no matter how crazy or stupid it may sound. Lean into it. It may be nothing OR it becomes the Dr Zaius scene, which is, in fact, the combo of 5 separate “crazy” “stupid” pitches.”
The Planet of the Apes musical (which is briliantly titled Stop the Planet of the Apes: I Want to Get Off!) features in the 1996 episode “A Fish Called Selma” from Season 7, with Weinstein going on to break down all five pitches which led to that catchy chorus and surely McClure’s greatest role of all time. If you don’t count “The Contrabulous Fabtraption of Professor Horatio Hufnagel,” of course.
1) It began with Steve Tompkins pitching “What if we did a musical of Planet of the Apes?” This is either a crazy or a stupid idea or both but we all loved it and we could all feel the potential so I say at least let’s explore this and see if it goes anywhere…
2) I was running room but had never scene movie. But I knew a few key things like statue of liberty “it was earth all along” end, “get your hands off me” line and that there was character named Dr. Zaius. I asked room to verify this than pitched “So you know that Falco song?”
Josh Weinstein Story Is the Perfect Example of How a Classic the Simpsons Joke Evolved
After so much back and forth, someone suggested adding “corny” and “vaudeville style” jokes to the proceedings and, much like the titular apes, things quickly evolved from there…
3) I don’t remember order of following pitches but George Meyer said “Now hear me out on this…” and then pitched since Zaius is a doctor, why don’t we intersperse song with corny/stupid old vaudeville style joke breaks, like the piano gag. We agree to give that a go.
4) Someone pitches since he’s a doctor, have his nurse begin the song with “Oo, help me, Dr. Zaius”. I have no idea if there is even a nurse in the movie but sure, that’s a great way to kick it off.
5) Someone else (sorry I’m not remembering everyone) pitches that this musical number should have a lot of breakdancing moves in it because at the time, that seemed like a trend in a lot of splashy broadway musicals.
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The “Dr. Zaius” musical number is just one of the countless number of celebrated and oft-quoted moments in The Simpsons, and it is truly fascinating to learn how such comedic brilliance emerged from the writer’s room.