"The Joy of Sect" is the thirteenth episode of The Simpsons' ninth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 8, 1998. In the episode, a cult called the "Movementarians" takes over Springfield, and Homer and the rest of the Simpson family become members. Homer and Bart are initially introduced to a pair of young Movementarian recruiters in an airport. Homer becomes brainwashed, and moves his family into the cult compound. David Mirkin (pictured) had the initial idea for the episode, Steve O'Donnell was the lead writer, and Steven Dean Moore directed. The writers drew on many groups to develop the Movementarians, but were principally influenced by Scientology, Heaven's Gate, the Unification Church and Peoples Temple. The episode was later analyzed from religious, philosophical and psychological perspectives, and books on The Simpsons compared the Movementarians to many of the same groups that the writers had drawn influences from. The show contains many references to popular culture, including the title reference to The Joy of Sex and a gag involving Rover from the television program The Prisoner. USA Today and The A.V. Club featured "The Joy of Sect" in lists of important episodes of The Simpsons.

• ... that although Blizzard's franchise Overwatch is centered around video games, its lore is mainly told through animated shorts, comics, and novels?
• ... that the French animated film The Summit of the Gods is based on a Japanese manga series?
• ... that Encanto's Isabela Madrigal was animated to be aware that she is "always on stage"?
• ... that Paul Dini was a writer for both the animated television series Batman: The Animated Series and the video game series Batman: Arkham?
• ... that Raoul Servais invented a new technique for combining animation and live action for his short film Harpya?
• ... that the 1937 Fleischer Studios strike in New York City was the first major labor strike in the animation industry?

Josh Weinstein (born May 5, 1966) is an American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animated comedy series The Simpsons. Weinstein and Bill Oakley became best friends and writing partners at St. Albans High School; Weinstein then attended Stanford University and was editor-in-chief of the Stanford Chaparral. He worked on several short-term media projects, including writing for the variety show Sunday Best, but was then unemployed for a long period. Weinstein and Oakley eventually penned a spec script for Seinfeld, after which they wrote "Marge Gets a Job", an episode of The Simpsons. Subsequently, the two were hired to write for the show on a permanent basis in 1992. After they left The Simpsons, Oakley and Weinstein created Mission Hill. The show was plagued by promotional issues and was swiftly canceled. The two wrote several unsuccessful TV pilots, and were due to serve as showrunners on Sit Down, Shut Up in 2009. Oakley left the project over a contract dispute, but Weinstein remained until it was canceled.

The episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants, an American animated television series created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg (pictured) for Nickelodeon. Since its debut on May 1, 1999, 268 episodes of the series have been broadcast; its ninth season premiered on July 21, 2012. The series is set in the fictional underwater city of Bikini Bottom, and centers on the adventures of SpongeBob SquarePants (Tom Kenny), an over-optimistic sea sponge that annoys other characters. Many of the ideas for the show originated in an unpublished, educational comic book titled The Intertidal Zone, which Hillenburg created in 1984. He began developing SpongeBob SquarePants into a television series in 1996 upon the cancellation of Rocko's Modern Life. SpongeBob SquarePants has been noted for its appeal towards different age groups. During the second season, it became Nickelodeon's No. 2 children's program, after Rugrats. Nearly 40 percent of its audience of 2.2 million were aged 18 to 34. In season three, SpongeBob SquarePants passed Rugrats and earned the title of being the highest rated children's show on cable.

• ...that the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Chill of the Night!" has characters voiced by people from Batman: The Animated Series?
• ...that "We Belong Together" won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, but was not nominated for Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media?
• ...that the 1940 cartoon Ants in the Plants, about an ant colony that defends itself against an anteater, was called a war allegory that possibly referred to France's Maginot Line?

Events

• 2000 – A sister channel of Cartoon Network, Boomerang launches in the United States. (logo pictured)

Films released

• 1922 – Felix Makes Good (United States)
• 1924 – Alice's Spooky Adventure (United States)
• 1924 – Felix Finds Out (United States)
• 1926 – Scents and Nonsense (United States)
• 1928 – Comicalamities (United States)
• 1938 – Moth and the Flame (United States)
• 1939 – Chicken Jitters (United States)
• 1950 – Strife with Father (United States)
• 1961 – Birds of a Father (United States)
• 1962 – Landing Stripling (United States)
• 1977 – Therapeutic Pink (United States)
• 2011 – Hop (United States)

Television series and specials

• 1966 – The Flintstones, an American animated television series finishes airing on ABC

Births

• 1929 – Payut Ngaokrachang, Thai animator (d. 2010)
• 1957 – Andreas Deja, Polish-American animator