What started with the following of a dysfunctional, working-class family slowly became a show about a town filled with hilarious four fingered characters. Over the past 25 years, The Simpsons has been a critical part in pop culture, going beyond just a television show to movie, comic book series, albums, video games, toys, and apparel.
Last year FX’s sister channel FXX announced that they had obtained the syndication rights of all seasons of The Simpsons. The humongous deal was then sweetened by the announcement that they would be airing a 12 day marathon featuring all 552 episodes being played in chronological order. Airing from Aug. 21 to Sept. 1, the marathon featured 277 hours of the show and the movie played in between the seasons it was originally released in theaters. The marathon had a strong following with over 25 million viewers over the 12 days and the channel received a 542 percent increase in viewers. Towards the end of the marathon, FXX announced that they would continue to feature The Simpsons 24 hours worth of The Simpsons every week.
1. “Last Exit to Springfield”
Season 4, Episode 17, 1993. Who could have thought an episode focusing on the struggles of union work negotiations and obtaining dental care would be considered by many to be the best Simpsons episode and even one of the best episodes in television of all time. When Lisa discovers that she needs braces and Mr. Burns decidedly takes away dental plans from the Union, Homer becomes President of the Nuclear Plant’s union to get it back. From the opening McBain movie sequence to the final facedown between Homer and Mr. Burns, the episode is stocked with jokes. The episode is flawless in representing The Simpsons during their prime years and its ability to continuously make relevant and surreal representations of real-world situations.
2. “Cape Feare”
Season 5, Episode 2, 1993. Sideshow Bob is one of the most prominent recurring characters of The Simpsons as the often evil genius planning revenge towards Bart for landing him in jail and ruining his career. Voiced by Kelsey Grammer, Sideshow Bob has appeared in 14 episodes throughout the seasons. As a parody of the movie Cape Fear, the episode sees Sideshow Bob being released from prison and from the very moment of his release, he attempts to kill Bart. Containing a prolonged gag of Sideshow Bob consistently stepping on rakes and ending with Bart’s final request before being killed to have Sideshow Bob perform the entirety of an opera, the episode shows its excellent use of guest voice actors and how prominently guest characters can carry their own episodes.
3. “You Only Move Twice”
Season 8, Episode 2, 1996. The Simpsons have traveled to many countries and states over the years but during “You Only Move Twice’s” original airing it really looked like The Simpsons were actually setting a new beginning when they moved to Cypress Creek. When Homer is offered a new, high paying job at Globex Corporation, the family says goodbye to Springfield and all of its residents. Homer quickly gets well along with his new boss and ends up loving his job, but what Homer doesn’t realize is his boss is a supervillian. Consistently being one of the cleverest episodes of the series, “You Only Move Twice” is an excellent representation of how Springfield will always be the home of The Simpsons.
4. “Deep Space Homer”
Season 5, Episode 15, 1994. Into its fifth season and nearing one hundred episodes, “Deep Space Homer” is a prominent example of just how great The Simpsons was at continuously coming up with great storylines. When NASA realizes that their ratings have gotten worse, they decide to fix it by sending an average Joe, or Homer, into space. Featuring Buzz Aldrin and references to 2001: A Space Odyssey, it is now featured in the International Space Station. The episode shows that even when the show carries an outlandish plot, it can still land a perfect landing in terms of greatness.
5.“Marge v.s. the Monorail”
Season 4, Episode 12, 1993. Before Conan O’Brien got his own late night show, he wrote for The Simpsons from 1991 to 1993. Considered to be his own baby, “Marge v.s. the Monorail” contains one of the highest ratios of laughs per minute. When the city was looking to fix itself up, a fast, talking man convinces Springfield to build a monorail that ends up being extremely unsafe. Containing a musical number, the excellent performance of Phil Hartman as the con Lyle Lanley, and Leonard Nimoy as himself, it is considered by many to the pivotal episode of the series.
-Dan Vruno