35 Years Ago, The Simpsons Debuted Its Best Side Character Ever (Who Sadly Can Never Return)

35 years ago, on January 10, 1991, The Simpsons introduced one character who would end of being the best standout guest character we’d ever get to see in the series’ history, Lionel Hutz. Voiced by the late, legendary Phil Hartman, Hutz made many appearances over the course of The Simpsons’ early seasons to great effect. But following the actor’s death, Hutz (along with Hartman’s other characters) have since been retired from the animated series because no other actor could ever follow in Hartman’s footsteps.

Lionel Hutz Debuted in The Simpsons 35 Years Ago

35 years ago, The Simpsons debuted “Bart Gets Hit By a Car” as the tenth episode in the animated series’ second season. Much like the title of the episode suggests, Bart is hit by a car and it turns out to be Mr. Burns’ vehicle. Though Bart himself is relatively fine, Burns’ refusal to help with any of the medical bills sparks an entire court case. This is where Lionel Hutz comes in as after making his appearance at Bart’s hospital room hungry to take on such a fruitful case, and he’s immediately shifty and hilariously phonies up Bart to have heavier sustained injuries than he actually has.

This episode in particular actually gives us two more side characters that we’ll see in future appearances. Hutz takes Bart to Dr. Nick Riviera for a phony, trumped up take on his injuries. And during the case, Burns is represented by the Blue Haired Lawyer (who never does get an official name), and soon enough it all falls apart when Homer’s drive to get the million dollars from Burns makes Marge uncomfortable. She ends up revealing that Dr. Riviera was a phony, and this gives Burns the edge in the case he needs to win it.

Lionel Hutz was much different in this initial debut than he was in future appearances. He would continue to sporadically show up in future episodes where the Simpsons needed a lawyer, but then his guest spots continued to evolve. He was a much more incompetent lawyer in future appearances than just his crooked nature here, and became much more ridiculous in terms of what his life was like and what kind of jobs he would take on in order to make a quick buck. But there was also some sort of con artistry involved in those careers.