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Several writers and producers have been named as 'Executive Producer/Showrunner' of The Simpsons over it's near two-decade run, the following is a list of them, in airing season order:

Season 1
The first season was run by Sam Simon, Matt Groening and James L. Brooks. They, as developers of the show were named the show runners, with Sam and Matt being head writers and Jim Brooks overseeing the general production of the series. Sam Simon assembled a writing staff just by enjoying reading George Meyer's Army Man Magazine. Matt and Sam wrote the pilot, however the animation turned out horrible and their pilot episode ending up airing last that season.

Season 2
Season two was still executively produced by the same team, with most or all writers being promoted at least one rank up and Jeff Meyer and David M. Stern being recruited onto the show. This has been said to be the season where the tension and creative differences between Matt Groening and Sam Simon began to build up.

Season 3
The writing staff stayed the same this season, however the origonal duo of showrunners stepped down and based on the two episodes Al Jean and Mike Reiss(who had never run anything before) had produced which held over from season two into season three, the team took over as executive producers. Many fans said that episodes were a little shaky to begin with this season but got increasingly brilliant towards the end of the year.

Season 4
Beggining with two holdover episodes from season three, Mike Reiss and Al Jean ran this season as well, however Jeff Martin, Wallace Wallardosky and Jay Kogen left the writing staff this year, due to the fact that they had been given large and promising development deals from Universal and Disney studios. Thus, Dan McGrath, Conan O'Brien, Bill Oakley, Josh Weinstein and Frank Mula, were recruited onto the team.

Season 5
Jean and Reiss, along with the rest of the origonal writing staff, left this season to develop their own animated series for ABC, cult favourite The Critic, meaning Jim Brooks had to recruit a new showrunner, he picked David Mirkin, who had quite a long and extensive resume. Brooks had first worked with Mirkin on The Tracey Ullman Show, where David had written some sketches. Simon left this season and Brooks and Groening merely stayed as Creative Consultants, despite this fact, Sam Simon still gets payed 13 million dollars a year. Only writers hired in season 4 were still around at this point, them and John Swartzwelder, who Mirkin strongly advised to stay, because he admired his comedy style. Shortly after the season started, Conan left to pursue his career in late night television, replacing David Letterman on Late Night..., causing Mirkin to assemble a whole new staff, Bill Canterbury, Greg Daniels, Jace Richdale, David Richardson, Jonathon Collier, David Sacks and future show runner, Mike Scully. The new writing staff made some fans uneasy, beleiving they could not hold up to the previous staff, however, they held their own.

Season 6
The series was at the peak of its' popularity during its' sixth season, David Mirkin ran the show and fan favourite writers, Brent Forrester and David X. Cohen, joined the staff. Mirkin produced all the episodes this season, except for two, which were done by Mike Reiss and Al Jean, which they made with the staff of The Critic. In one of these two episodes, Round Springfield, Bleedings Gums Murphy dies and in an other, Jay Sherman from The Critic appears in a full-blown crossover, which Matt Groening rejected putting his name on.

Season 7
This year, fan-loved showrunners, Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein, became showrunners, recruiting Bill's wife, Rachel Pulido and two of their favourite writers, Steve Tompkins, said to have contributed more to seasons seven and eight than anyone else and Ian Maxtone-Graham, who is still on the show to-date. Oakley and Weinstein executively produced most of the episodes this season, apart from two holdovers from the previous season and two the Dave Mirkin executively produced in season seven. This is a fan-favourite season and has many rememorable episodes such as, 22 Short Films About Springfield amd Bart Sells His Soul, both written by honourable, Greg Daniels. Also, Richard Appel and Dan Greaney, joined the show this season.

Season 8
Bill and Josh remained showrunners this season, three episodes from season seven held over into this year and Al Jean and Mike Reiss, made a deal with their new bosses, Disney Executives, to produce four Simpsons episodes on the side of working for them, the first two of four aired in this season, The Springfield Files and the rememorable Sharry Bobins episode. Unlike the season before this, Bill and Josh won and Emmy for the episode, Homer's Phobia, which was Ron Hauge's first episode for the show. Donick Cary, Ron Hauge and Ned Goldreyer were employed during this season.

Season 9
This season is completely mixed, every showrunner, apart from the origonal three, executively produced episodes this season. Mike Scully, a writer since season 5, was named show runner/executive producer this year and due to the fact that he could not complete his season in time and did not have enough ideas for fresh episodes, David Mirkin came in to produce two, All Singing, All Dancing and The Joy of Sect. Also, three episodes held over from season eight aired in this season. And the last two Al Jean and Mike Reiss episodes, also aired this season. Most writers hired in season eight were fired by Mike Scully or quit, as he wanted to assemble a writing team of his own. Oakley and Weinstein left the show this season, as showrunners, but were still consulting producers, throughtout all season nine produced episodes, they left to go and develop, Mission Hill, for The WB

Season 10
Season 10 is said by many fans is the season where the show's rate of quality highly declined, Mike Scully has admitted in his second year of showrunning, the series lost a small amount of emotion and may have gotten a fraction wackier. David X. Cohen was Executive Producer for the first quarter of the episodes this season, however left to go and develop Futurama, with Matt Groening. Al Jean returned this season to write episodes of the show.

Season 11
This Emmy Award-Winning series, was third showran by Mike Scully, many writers got high-ranked producer levels this season and two others made it to executive producer, these two writers were, George Meyer and Al Jean.

Season 12
The Simpsons' twelth season was the last executively produced by Mike Scully, a large fraction of the staff left at the end of this season and lots of rememorable and succesful writers were hired.

Season 13
Yet another showrunner was promoted this year, Al Jean, who according to Jim Brooks "Was Right and Ready", many episodes aired as holdovers from season 12 this year and Mike Scully wrote and executively produced one episode this season.

Season 14-19
During Al Jean's new era, many more writers have been named executive producer, under Al's showrunning direction, some of these executive producers include; Carolyn Omine, Ian Maxtone-Graham, John Frink, Matt Selman, Don Payne and many others.

It has been undetermined whether or not the series will get a new showrunner before its' cancelilation or not.

Castle Anthrax is a fictional stone-built 8th century fortress a few days ride from Camelot visited by Sir Galahad the Chaste (Michael Palin) in the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Overview

All residents of the castle were female. The castle was unusually well furnished, containing beds that were both warm and soft, and very very big. It was also distinguished by a grail-shaped beacon that was visible to approaching travellers.

The community comprises "eight score young blondes and brunettes, all between the ages of sixteen and nineteen-and-a-half."

Galahad first meets one of the castle's commanders (Carol Cleveland). When he tells her his name is "Galahad the Chaste", she introduces herself as "Zoot -- just Zoot!" The castle inhabitants' time was, according to Zoot, generally spent bathing, dressing, undressing, and making exciting underwear. Other residents include Midget and Crapper, Zoot's minor companions in the opening scene of Castle Anthrax, and Doctors Piglet and Winston, who have a "basic medical training" but aren't real doctors.

Galahad tells the women that he is there seeking the Holy Grail which he has seen above the castle. Zoot's identical twin sister, Dingo (also Cleveland), then realizes that Zoot has been setting alight their grail-shaped beacon. She explains that the only punishment for setting alight the grail-shaped beacon was that the guilty party is to be tied down on a bed and spanked. The rest of the girls offer to be punished by Galahad, to be followed by "the oral sex".

Sir Galahad is invited to inflict the appropriate penalties, but Sir Lancelot and company burst in to "rescue" him (or rather his chastity), professing the terrible peril he was in. Galahad dutifully volunteers to stay at the castle, explaining, "Look, it's my duty as a knight to sample as much peril as I can", and as he is dragged out of the castle exclaims, "Look, I can tackle this lot single-handed! Honestly, I can cope. I can handle this lot easily. There's only 150 of them!" The women all say, "Yes, let him handle us easily!", "We haven't a chance". As they escape, a visibly disappointed Galahad says to Lancelot, "I bet you're gay"; Lancelot pauses before indignantly replying, "No I'm not".

The humor in this scene is expanded upon when one realizes that, in Arthurian Legend, Sir Galahad is the son of Sir Lancelot.

In reality, most of the many rooms in the castle were the same room, the kitchen in Doune Castle shot from numerous angles. Doune Castle also masqueraded as several other castles in the movie, both exteriors and interiors.

In the musical version of The Holy Grail, Spamalot, Lancelot is indeed gay, as he and the effeminate Prince Herbert get married at Swamp Castle after the prince helps him learn to accept his homosexuality.

Operation Nightfall is a fictional military operation referred to in the Fox television show 24.

The mission took place in Kosovo exactly two years before the events of Day 1. It was the motive behind Season 1 and the base of the terrorist's plot in Season 3.

Beginning November 2006, IDW Publishing issued a 5 part (originally planned to be 6) comic detailing the events of Operation Nightfall.

Operation

The operation, led by Captain Jack Bauer of the US Army's 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (Delta Force), was authorized by Senator David Palmer and organized by NSA agent . Bauer and his team, which also consisted of Special Air Service trained MI6 agent Stephen Saunders, executed a HALO (High-Altitude, Low-Opening) parachute jump into Kosovo to avoid NATO radar, as the operation was in direct violation of NATO parameters.

Once they had made visual confirmation of Victor Drazen, they were to call down "Hammer One" - the codename for the F-18 Hornet that would make the air strike against the Drazen Compound.

Team leader was Jack Bauer. They arrived at the Drazen compound at 0800 hours and completed reconnaissance at 0900 hours. At 1111 hours they spotted an armored car approach the compound and watched the man they assumed to be Victor Drazen enter the house. They called Hammer One who had an ETA of 6 minutes.

After the explosion, Bauer called for them to leave the area when he heard shots and realized their radios were being jammed. Bauer hurried to their position to find Shelton, Gardener and Graham dead. Illjec and Peltz were on their way to the extraction point. Bauer followed them and realised they were being tracked by their radio frequency and attacked. It was too late for the others who were shot and killed by the remainder of Drazen's men who had located them as they called to be picked up. The house was laser-designated, and it was originally thought that Stephen Saunders had gotten too close to the blast and had died as a result, though it was later realized this was not the case (see below). Every member of the Delta Force detachment, with the exception of Captain Bauer, perished in the operation.

The members of the team that were with Jack Bauer were:

* Warrant Officer Dwayne Shelton
* First Sergeant Brice Gardener (Weapons Specialist)
* First Sergeant Haj Illijec (Communications Specialist)
* First Sergeant Gary Graham (Medical Specialist)
* Technical Sergeant Roger Voss (Air Force Special Operations combat controller)
* Master Sergeant Fred Peltzer (Intelligence Specialist)
* Operational Officer Stephen Saunders (MI6 Officer)

Aftermath and Results

During the events depicted in Day 1, Jack, who had since left the military and joined the Los Angeles branch of the Counter Terrorist Unit, discovered that Victor Drazen was alive. When he was captured by Drazen, Jack learned that the building had been occupied by a body double, and that Drazen's real wife and daughter had been inside the building. Bauer then realized that all the attacks of that day amounted to a personal vendetta designed by Victor's sons Andre and Alexis, against Jack Bauer, David Palmer, and even Robert Ellis for the events of Operation Nightfall. The revenge was intended to be "an eye for an eye." This kind of retaliation is also known as "Blowback."

It was also later revealed in Day 3 that Stephen Saunders had actually survived the blast and had been kept captive and tortured by Serbian forces for two years. During this time Saunders underwent a profound change of character. When he finally escaped, he had a vendetta against the United States' foreign policy and blamed the country, as well as Jack Bauer, for what happened to him. This eventually culminated with his acquisition of a new strain of a very deadly virus and attempt to release it which is the main terrorist plot theme throughout Day 3.

Trivia

*In The House Special Subcommittee's Findings at CTU, as reported by Marc Cerasini, several classified details on this Operation were revealed. With some contradictions to Day 3, the entire Delta Team led by Jack Bauer was revealed. Noting how each of these men mostly died from gunshots, it appears that Jack entirely neglected to mention the very existence of Stephen Saunders, perhaps to avoid a confrontation with MI6 should they gain access to the report. However, since the book was released in early 2003, many months before Season 3, it's likely the author had not known about the Stephen Saunders plotline and therefore was not mentioned in the book. The six men killed were:
**Warrant Officer Dwayne Shelton
**First Sergeant Brice Gardener
**First Sergeant Haj Illijec
**First Sergeant Gary Graham
**Master Sergeant Fred Peltzer
**Technical Sergeant Roger Voss (Agent on the side, to be met with at the end of the operation)