Jeff Albertson
"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."