A Fish Called Selma

Phil Hartman as Troy McClure and Fat Tony
Jeff Goldblum as MacArthur Parker

"A Fish Called Selma" is the nineteenth episode of The Simpsons' seventh season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 24, 1996. The episode features Troy McClure, who attempts to resurrect his acting career by marrying Selma Bouvier. Show runners Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein were fans of Phil Hartman and wished to produce an episode that focused on his character McClure. Freelance writer Jack Barth wrote the episode, and Mark Kirkland directed it.

Barth's script underwent a substantial rewrite in the show's writing room, including the expansion of the Planet of the Apes musical and addition of the song "Dr. Zaius". The episode ran too long because of the slow pace of Troy and Selma's speech. Consequently, guest star Jeff Goldblum rerecorded his dialogue as MacArthur Parker at a faster speed. The episode received generally positive reviews, with particular praise given to Hartman and the musical. Entertainment Weekly placed the episode eighth on their list of the top 25 The Simpsons episodes.

Chief Wiggum pulls Troy McClure over for dangerous driving. Not wishing to be required to wear his glasses while driving, Troy goes to the DMV to get his license changed to remove the requirement. He offers to take DMV employee Selma Bouvier to dinner if she lets him pass the eye test, to which she agrees. After dinner, photographers notice Troy leaving with Selma and the story hits the news. The next day, Troy's agent, MacArthur Parker, calls and says that he can get work again if he continues seeing Selma. Troy continues to date her and his career begins to recover. On his agent's advice, Troy asks Selma to marry him; she agrees.