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In particular when watching the show on television it is never evident what episode starts playing. Is the episode title displayed at any point during the intro or credits?

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    @ZipZapJ How is the question off topic? It's no-research but it's not off topic to ask questions about the opening credits of a show.
    – Catija
    Feb 1, 2018 at 22:19
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    It often helps if you explain what you've tried in the question. Many shows don't actually note the episode title anywhere.
    – Catija
    Feb 1, 2018 at 22:28
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    Most shows don't display the episode's title.
    – BCdotWEB
    Feb 1, 2018 at 22:28
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    @KevinFegan I wonder, though, why some people have to make the common fact of some questions being on-topic and others not, a personal issue and insinuate that close-voters just want to ruin other people's days. Frankly, that attitude is not helpful at all and highly problematic. You don't agree the question is off-topic? Fine, you don't have to (and many others don't either). But please don't come with resentful talk like that about people who do and genuinely try to moderate this site.
    – Napoleon Wilson
    Feb 9, 2018 at 21:41
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    I know the question mentions watching it on TV. If you watch the DVDs with subtitles, it displays the name in the subtitle text in the opening sequence
    – Guy S
    Mar 10, 2018 at 3:08

2 Answers 2

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It doesn't... usually.

In the vast majority of Simpsons episodes, the title is never shown on-screen. It is contained within the TV listings, so if you press the Info button on your digital remote, it will display the episode title along with a short synopsis. Each episode's closing credits also lists the episode's production code.

There are, however, a few exceptions to the rule, the primary ones being the annual Treehouse of Horror episodes: each one has its own title card, and a title card for each individual segment. Episodes that parody other shows - such as "Behind The Laughter", a parody of VH1's "Behind The Music" - also tend to have title cards based on whatever it is they're parodying.

The Simpsons Wiki has a full list of episodes that have title cards, as well as screenshots of said title cards, and notes that out of over 600 episodes:

The only canon episodes with on-screen titles are "The Telltale Head", "Bart Gets Hit by a Car", "22 Short Films About Springfield", "The Book Job", "Homerland", "Barthood" and "The Great Phatsby: Part One".

The latter four, like "Behind The Laughter", appear to use their title cards for parody purposes.

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  • Would you accept merging my answer to yours as I have information and a screenshot and production codes? movies.stackexchange.com/a/85367/61567
    – user598527
    Feb 2, 2018 at 14:51
  • I found a full list of every episode with a title card and have updated my answer to cite it.
    – F1Krazy
    Feb 2, 2018 at 19:28
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    It may be worth noting that the closing credits (which may be actually or effectively cut short or dropped by the network/station) always include the episode's production code near the end.
    – RDFozz
    Mar 9, 2018 at 21:44
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Like most shows, The Simpsons did not typically show the titles to any of their episodes on TV itself, with a handful of exceptions including the annual Treehouse of Horror episodes. If you wanted to know the episode titles in the pre-internet era, you had to look it up on a TV guide.

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