page_title: A Tale of Two Springfields
section_title: Production
hierarchical_section_title: A Tale of Two Springfields / Production
caption_attribution_description: English: Keith Moon, English rock drummer for The Who
context_page_description: "A Tale of Two Springfields" is the second episode of the twelfth season of the American animated sitcom The Simpsons and is the 250th episode of the series overall in both broadcast and production order. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 5, 2000. In the episode, Homer discovers that Springfield has two different area codes and ends up leading a revolt that splits the town in two.
  The episode was written by John Swartzwelder and directed by Shaun Cashman and guest starred the Who. The episode was inspired by Don Payne, based on the area where his mother lived, where one side of town would spread rumors about the other side. Larry Doyle then pitched that the two sides of Springfield would be divided because of a telephone area code. The episode features cultural references to the Who and the Norman Rockwell painting Freedom of Speech, and has received positive reviews from critics.
context_section_description: The episode was pitched by John Frink and Don Payne. The episode was inspired by Don Payne's mother's neighborhood, where one side would spread rumors about the other side. Larry Doyle then pitched that the sides split apart because of different area codes. During production the staff did not want one side to be slobs like Homer Simpson and the other snobs like Mr. Burns, but this ended up happening in the final product. The writers later created a website about what badgers eat.
  The phone from the educational cartoon was voiced by Dan Castellaneta. Pete Townshend did not guest star in the episode as he did not know he would be providing his own voice and assumed someone else would, as in Yellow Submarine. Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle and Pete's brother Paul Townshend provided guest voices in the episode. After a number of calls were made by the show's casting director in Los Angeles to the Who's managers in London, the group agreed to appear on the show. The Who recorded their lines in England, but weighed in on script details. During the production the staff decided to animate Keith Moon in honor of him since he died in 1978 instead of the Who's current drummer Zak Starkey.
caption: Drummer Keith Moon, who died in 1978, is in the Who's line-up in this episode
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