Christmas special entitled "Simpsons Roasting On An Open Fire."
From amiable drunk Barney Gumble to lovably dumb patriarch Homer, a lot of The Simpsons’ biggest building blocks were present from that shaky first outing onwards. However, one thing that was missing from this early, more cynical incarnation of The Simpsons was the deservedly iconic pace and variety of comedy that came along in the show’s Golden Age. Heralded by the standout installment "Homer At the Bat," the Golden Age of The Simpsons saw the series increase its scope, ambition, absurdity, and satirical sharpness, resulting in classic installments such as "Last Exit to Springfield," "Lemon of Troy," and the Scorsese-spoofing "Cape Feare."
However, as beloved as the Golden Age of The Simpsons is among fans, it’s not hard to uncover moments where the surreal ambition of the writer’s room led them to get carried away. A lot of Simpsons outings from this era feature absurd tangents and wildly silly story detours, but most of the show’s emotional impact comes from the action remaining — at least a tiny bit — grounded in something like reality. The Simpsons may live in a heightened world but some things are too crazy for Springfield, like the local bumbling cop turning out to be a secret alien invader. Believe it or not, the first draft of "The Springfield Files" (the classic X-Files crossover wherein Homer thinks he has encountered an extraterrestrial, prompting the arrival of Mulder and Scully in Springfield), revealed that Chief Wiggum was a three-eyed extraterrestrial, unbeknownst to all of Springfield.
Recently uncovered by a Simpsons fan Twitter dedicated to deep-diving into the original scripts of the series, this gag would have seen the episode’s action wrap up similarly — the alien revealed to be a drugged-up Monty Burns, Jimbo left without Pearl Jam tickets, and everything returns to relative normality — but, the last moments of the episode would have seen Simpsons fan-favorite Chief Wiggum remove his trademark hat, revealing a third eye, and smugly note that no one caught him, only to then immediately become worried that he had accidentally outed himself.
It’s a surreal scene straight out of the original Twilight Zone, and such a fitting comic beat that it’s hard to see why it was cut — unless the writers of The Simpsons felt it was a touch too absurd even for a show so silly. It’s not clear why this Simpsons gag was lost between script and screen, but it certainly would help explain how Chief Wiggum’s son Ralph died in a much later (non-Treehouse of Horror) Simpsons outing, only to return to the show unscathed a week later. Unfortunately, this "Springfield Files" joke was lost to time, but a similarly zany last line (“keep watching the… skis?”) took its place in the final draft and provided sci-fi legend Leonard Nimoy a chance for a second unforgettable Simpsons cameo appearance.