The Simpsons has lasted so long that fans like to divide the series into different eras. Some fans like to pick and choose when the show was at its peak funniest, but even the more modern episodes can still have some hidden gems for viewers to enjoy. After all, every season is bound to have episodes that fans still like.
The Simpsons
- Release Date
- December 17, 1989
- Seasons
- 35
- Studio
- Fox
Often, the show has occasionally made fun of itself, even referencing things fans have been saying about the series over the years, showing the showrunners haven’t forgotten them. These episodes are often experimental, giving viewers something they wouldn’t expect.
Quite often, the series pokes fun at a recent trend and, when done well, it can be fun to watch the show poke fun at it. Even episodes that are clearly written to be more heartfelt, serious, or even scarier than the typical episode. However, this doesn’t mean that these episodes don’t have their own funny or even cathartic moments. Stream The Simpsons on Disney+.
15 “The Sound of Bleeding Gums”
Season 33, Episode 17
“The Sound of Bleeding Gums” has Lisa getting enraged when she sees a Springfield Lottery ad that uses an edited Bleeding Gums Murphy song. Feeling her late idol would never have wanted his work to be used for gambling, she takes her concern to the news, causing her to learn Bleeding Gums Murphy had a son, Monk. Upon learning that Monk isn’t getting compensated any royalties for the song, she wants to find a way to help him.
Over the years, many viewers have taken issue with Lisa’s excessive ideals and the episode pokes fun at these tendencies. Lisa has to learn, while sympathetic, that she cannot save Monk because he doesn’t need to be saved. There’s even some levity in that Lisa somehow didn’t know her idol even had a son.
14 “The Last Barfighter”
Season 32, Episode 22
“The Last Barfighter” starts up when Bart and Milhouse end up on a Spanish-language game/talk show, enabling Bart to win a crystal skull full of tequila. An envious Homer steals the skull while dressed like Indiana Jones, allowing him, Barney, Carl Lenny, and even Moe to try the liquor. Unfortunately, it turns out Moe is part of a secret society of bartenders, who expel him and attack his patrons with a serum that makes them sick when they imbibe, all because the tequila caused Moe to reveal a few secrets.
The story is a parody of the John Wick series, particularly John Wick: Chapter 2 and John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. Ian McShane even appears as a parody of his John Wick character. The fate of the crystal skull is used for the final punchline. Bart, Lisa, and Maggie find it as broken pieces. However, to their horror, it mysteriously repairs itself.
13 “Thanksgiving of Horror”
Season 31, Episode 8
“Thanksgiving of Horror” proves that The Simpsons has a twist on the classic Treehouse of Horror format: instead of three ghastly tales for Halloween, audiences are treated to three spooky Thanksgiving stories. In the first, the Simpsons are reimagined as turkeys trying to survive on the Thanksgiving that started it all. In the second story, Marge gets jealous of an A.I. kitchen helper doppelgänger in a tale straight out of Black Mirror. The third segment has the children of Springfield face off against a gelatinous threat in a futuristic Thanksgiving in space.
While the idea of a spooky Thanksgiving trilogy sounds ridiculous on paper, the episode actually holds up in execution. The fact that the segments have genuinely scary moments has caused fans to praise it as scarier and more original than some of the more modern Halloween episodes.
The dark elements also allow for black comedy and cathartic moments, like A.I. Marge triumphing over her human counterpart and ruining the Thanksgiving dinner she tried to take credit for. The turkey segment also proves the Simpsons can be funny even without dialogue.
12 “Pixelated and Afraid”
Season 33, Episode 12
“Pixelated and Afraid” starts off with Lisa worried that her parents are in a rut, comparing them to the romantic couples she sees in classic movies. She then prods them to take a romantic getaway. The story takes a turn, however, when the two get stranded in the middle of nowhere with no means of communication, with everyone thinking they’re just at an isolated retreat. The two have to brave the forces of nature together until they can somehow find help.
The episode, while starting as a parody of Naked and Afraid, admittedly takes its story more seriously than other episodes, ultimately dedicated to the strength of Homer and Marge’s love. The love story still has its share of funny moments, notably actually having both Homer and Marge realize neither of them wants to go to the retreat early on. In one notable scene, Homer and Marge also receive equal censorship when they lose their clothes in the woods.
11 ‘Write Off This Episode”
Season 34, Episode 19
‘Write Off This Episode” has Marge and Lisa team up to start a charity, the Lisa M. Simpson Foundation, which provides special clothes-cleaning bags to the “unhoused.” However, after an encounter with Bernice Hibbert, Marge starts to get caught up in the glitz and glamour of spreading awareness. In time, Lisa and Marge have a fallout. While the Lisa M. Simpson Foundation grows in power and status, Marge realizes it’s doing more harm and good, allowing mother and daughter to reconcile as the headquarters gets turned into a shelter.
The episode pokes fun at people and organizations for excessively spreading awareness, often at the expense of the good it could actually do. One of the highlights of the episode is Bernice Hibbert’s lavish song-and-dance number, “Peak Awareness,” promoting the virtues of celebrities, gala events, and promotions that eventually drive everyone “sick” of supposed causes. Futurama fans may also enjoy hearing Dawnn Lewis, the voice of LaBarbara, get a chance to sing.
10 “The Way of the Dog”
Season 31, Episode 22
“The Way of the Dog” is an episode set around Christmas revealing the origins of the family’s dog, Santa’s Little Helper, who, as his name suggests, became part of the family as a Christmas present. In fact, the episode takes a deeper look at his backstory, with Santa’s Little Helper hoping to reunite with his long-lost mother.
The episode is especially perfect for dog lovers. In one particular scene, Santa’s Little Helper’s original cruel owner gets slapped by all the characters. Homer even holds up Maggie so she can get a slap in. He even offers a character a chance to throw a drink in his face, and she takes him up on his offer.
As the premise suggests, there are also a few heartwarming moments throughout the story, from Bart sleeping outside to keep Santa’s Little Helper to the happy ending, where mother and son are ultimately reunited.
9 “Carl Carlson Rides Again”
Season 34, Episode 14
“Carl Carlson Rides Again” is an episode that explores the history of Homer’s co-worker, Carl Carlson. An old belt buckle and a new love interest, Naima, get Carl looking into his heritage. He learns that he comes from a family of cowboys, with his father being a prize-winning bullfighter. Towards the end, Carl even takes up bull riding in honor of his family.
“The Saga of Carl” had previously looked at Carl’s adoptive family, the Carlsons of Iceland, but other parts of Carl’s origins were still shrouded in mystery. The story blends romance with hard-truth comedy: when Carl takes up bull riding for the first time, he ends up injured, but Naima shows she cares about donating some of her blood to him. She also gets a memorable line, when Carl claims bull riding is in his blood, she quickly retorts that’s not how blood works.
8 “Bart The Bad Guy”
Season 31, Episode 14
“Bart The Bad Guy” is an episode meant for fans of superhero movies and the genre at large. When an actor from a superhero movie visits Milhouse in the hospital, Bart, who gets mistaken for his injured friend, gets access to his laptop, allowing him to see an upcoming superhero movie before its official release. Bart then gains control of the town with his new power of spoiling the next big thing coming to theaters. It might just take a virtual reality simulation where his beloved characters are real to convince Bart to let the fans be.
The story pokes fun at the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with some notable Marvel figures appearing in the episode, like Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige as a Thanos parody. The episode pokes fun at both Marvel and The Simpsons‘ new owners, Disney, complete with a menacing rendition of “When You Wish Upon a Star.” Of course, with all the focus on trendy movies and spoilers, the story saves the best joke for last: the movie gets spoiled anyway immediately after the first screening.
7 “Bartless”
Season 34, Episode 15
“Bartless” opens up with Bart cheering up a timid little girl by making up a silly story for her. When his teacher commends Homer and Marge for Bart’s good deed, after scolding him when they assumed the worst, they begin to wonder if they’ve been too hard on him over the years. This causes them to imagine a world of what their lives would be like if Bart was never born.
The story itself is about how we all need a little chaos, and maybe a good sense of humor, in our lives. Homer, Marge, Lisa, and Maggie seem to be much more well-off without him, but they still have problems in their lives. When an amnesiac Bart comes into their lives and causes destruction, they realize how they do need him in spite of it.
That said, it’s also funny seeing how different the characters would be without Bart, from Principal Skinner dating beauty queens to Bart’s famous catchphrase now being, “I’m Bart… um, something. Who the hell are you?” Even the happy ending leads into the final joke. Homer tells Bart he finally realizes he likes him, causing the insulted kid to point out he just figured that out.
6 “Not It”
Season 34, Episode 5
“Not It” is another twist on the series’ famous Halloween specials. For once, an entire episode is dedicated to a single parody, instead of it being divided into three parts, coming out right before the more traditional “Treehouse of Horror XXXIII.” Krusty the Clown takes center stage as the evil Krusto in a parody of It. Homer, Carl, Marge, Moe, and Comic Book Guy form the Losers Club in the hopes of hunting the evil clown down.
Years later, as adults, the gang doesn’t quite resemble the characters fans know and love. For starters, Marge ended up marrying Comic Book Guy instead of Homer, after the former took credit for one of the latter’s love poems.
With a story revolving around an evil clown, Krusto’s evil powers make use of his humor, like him harnessing the power of forced laughter. Of course, this hasn’t stopped him from still scaring viewers, either. Even fan art of Krusto submitted for the episode, that played over the credits, has been known to spook viewers. Some jokes poke fun at the alternate versions of the characters, with Lisa and Bart, now Marge and Comic Book Guy’s children Bert and Lizzie, switching personalities.
5 “Gone Boy”
Season 29, Episode 9
“Gone Boy” is The Simpsons‘ answer to Gone Girl, with Bart finding himself trapped in an underground bunker in the woods. The search party ends up getting a surprising ally. When Sideshow Bob learns a few missteps in the woods ended up doing in his hated rival, he vows to find the boy, if only so he can be responsible when Bart actually kicks the bucket.
Despite the premise, the episode manages to balance it with levity. When Marge is seen mourning her lost son, Bart is able to call her on an old phone to assure her he’s alright, even if it blows up before he can reveal his location. When Milhouse, who learns where Bart is, seemingly betrays him to manipulate a mourning Lisa, he is quickly caught by Sideshow Bob to help him find Bart.
Of course, there’s still some dark humor. When Bart finds a phone, his immediate reaction is to make a prank call at Moe’s. For his part, even Sideshow Bob seems to agree with a joke Bart makes about Cirque du Soleil.
4 “A Springfield Summer Christmas for Christmas”
Season 32, Episode 10
“A Springfield Summer Christmas for Christmas” pokes fun at the Christmas TV rom-coms that have become trendy over the years, particularly the offerings of Hallmark. Mary Tannenbaum is a “Heartmark” executive who gets assigned to work on their latest Christmas movie, despite hating Christmas movies, with her resume lined up with cozy mysteries.
While staying at the Simpsons’ home, Mary finds herself acting out the tropes of a typical holiday movie, with Principal Skinner as the charming local who wins her heart over her financially successful fiancé.
The episode takes on all the tropes of a typical Christmas rom-com, starting with the movie getting film over the summer. Most notably, even Principal Skinner gets confused why Mary would consider leaving her charming fiancé for him, telling her to go back to him. Despite the jokes, it’s made clear that Marge is a devoted fan of such films and will defend them in the end.
3 “A Serious Flanders”
Season 33, Episode 6 & 7
“A Serious Flanders” is a rare two-parter from the series, serving as a parody of prestige television shows. Ned finds thousands of dollars while collecting trash in the park and donates it to a local orphanage. A dangerous debt collector and his underlings, however, are on Ned’s trail, with the debt collector having a history with Ned’s grandfather. Soon, Homer is mistaken for Ned and captured.
The story isn’t part of the main show’s canon, allowing for some dark comedy without any consequences. Various characters are even killed off, though this has no lasting impact on other episodes.
As mentioned, the story pays homage to the prestige series. It being a two-parter is even a reflection of the slow pace of such shows. Various actors known for appearing in prestige shows, like Brian Cox from Succession and Jessica Paré from Mad Men guest starred on the two-parter.
2 “Treehouse of Horror XXXIII”
Season 34, Episode 6
“Treehouse of Horror XXXIII” is a Simpsons Halloween special with three new spooky stories, with books being a recurring theme. The first is a parody of The Babadook, in which a storybook monster targets Maggie, even taking over Marge to get her. The second is a parody of Death Note, in which Lisa teams up with a deadly shinigami. The third story is a parody of Westworld, revolving around a theme park filled with multiple robot copies of The Simpsons characters, with a Homer robot becoming self-aware.
The most well-known of the three stories is the second, “Death Tome,” which is not just an homage to Death Note, it was literally animated with help from DR Movie, which worked on animation for the original Death Note anime. It also has some of the episode’s funniest moments, from Marge actually being Homer got drunk, which is treated as a salaryman’s obligation, to Lisa lamenting turning into a shinigami herself at the end, as well as finding comfort in how her new form will come in handy with bullies.
The third and final story, revolving around a Simpsons-themed amusement park, naturally pokes fun at many classic Simpsons stories and memes over the years. The story also pokes fun at other animated Fox shows, complete with a guest appearance from Linda Belcher from Bob’s Burgers.
1 “Lisa the Boy Scout”
Season 34, Episode 3
“Lisa the Boy Scout” is set up to tell a story about Lisa joining Bart’s scout troupe to his chagrin. However, the episode is broken up by a pair of masked vigilantes who want to expose secrets about the show. Viewers are treated to a variety of deleted scenes revealing surprising, albeit rejected, revelations about the familiar Simpsons characters, from Martin being an undercover cop to Lisa secretly eating meat.
The episode was clearly made with fans in mind, with some of the deleted scenes acknowledging various fan theories, like Officer Eddie being Ralph Wiggum’s real father. The ending even pokes fun at the show itself, revealing that Homer and Marge had another fight that tested their marriage and somehow patched things up while the viewers weren’t looking.
Of course, the episode actually opens up with Lisa joining the Boy Scouts, and not some random event leading up to it, should already give it away that the episode was going to have some big twist.
