In an alternate reality,The Simpsons'Lionel Hutz would've had his very own scene in one of the series' best episodes. Except he got cut.

Our favourite television lawyer (sorry Jack McCoy, Ally McBeal, et al) played by the late Phil Hartman, would've made an appearance in "22 Short Films About Springfield" — if the show's writers kept it at the second draft, which had 20 stories.

That's according to a script posted by one of the show's writers, Josh Weinstein, via Twitter on Sunday.

Tweet may have been deleted

The script would've had Hutz hitting on Maude Flanders and Mrs. Bouvier (Marge's mother), who turn out to be in the jury room while in the midst of a trial.

While only a draft, it doesn't sound like it'd hold a candle to the crisp comedy of the "Skinner and the Superintendent" scene, which is arguably one of the show's finest pieces of writing.

Weinstein has been posting excerpts of cut drafts from The Simpsonson Twitter recently.

Turns out Maggie's second canonical word would've been spaghetti (the first, for those playing at home, is "daddy".)

Tweet may have been deleted

And that Principal Skinner would've had two brothers, which in an ideal world, would have stopped the creation of that rather awful Armin Tamzarian episode.

Tweet may have been deleted

(h/t Junkee)