Doh! Do you love The Simpsons? Me too! Well, the first twelve seasons, give or take. And judging by the responses when asked, “What is the best Simpsons Episode of all time?” Those are the best seasons. So here are the top ten fan-voted picks for best Simpsons episodes. Also, The Simpsons are streaming on Disney+.
10. Mr. Plow S4, Episode 9
After totaling his car in a snowstorm, a salesman talks Homer into getting a snowplow and making payments by snowing people's driveways. Homer starts his Mr. Plow business, which booms with Lisa's advertising help. He even receives the key to the city in recognition of his service to the community.
However, Barney decides to start his business and steals Homer's customers. Mayor Quimby also takes the key back and gives it to Barney. Out of revenge, Homer tricks Barney into plowing a non-existent driveway on Widow's Peak. Meanwhile, Homer begins plowing driveways again until he learns Barney is stuck in an avalanche.
His guilt leads him to save his friend, and they agree to work as a team. Alleging, “Not even God can stop us now!” But God melts the snow quickly, putting them both out of business and resulting in Homer's plow being repossessed.
9. Lemon of Troy S6, Episode 24
After Marge catches Bart writing his name in wet cement, she lectures him about taking pride in his town. Bart concurs but is bothered by the taunting and rivalry from Shelbyvillians. Grampa explains this rivalry to Bart and his friends under a lemon tree. However, the next day, the lemon tree is gone. Shelbyville stole it and is keeping it at an impound lot.
Bart and his friends plan to get it back with the help of their dads. Employing the Trojan Horse tactic, Bart parks the RV outside a hospital, so it is impounded to the lot. They sneak out to grab the tree at night, but the lot catches them. They escape and enjoy lemonade while Shelbyville returns to drinking turnip juice with their cousins. “Wait a minute. There's a lemon behind that rock!”
8. A Fish Called Selma S7, Episode 19
When Troy McClure is pulled over due to not wearing his corrective lenses, he meets Selma Bouvier at the DMV. Hoping to pass the eye test and not need glasses, he flirts with her and invites her to dinner. Once out, paparazzi swarm them, and Troy continues dating Selma hoping it will boost a career comeback and stop weird rumors of him sleeping with fish.
The night before their wedding, Troy admits to Homer that it's a sham marriage to further his career. When Marge and Patty confront her, she calls them jealous. Ultimately, Troy admits it to Selma but offers her a deal saying, “You could be the envy of every other sham wife in town.” Finally, when Troy wants to bring a baby into the world to secure a part in the new McBain movie, she bows out of the marriage.
7. Homer vs. The Eighteenth Amendment. S8, Episode 18
During a Saint Patrick's Day celebration, Bart accidentally gets drunk, and much of the town calls for prohibition. It prompts Moe to disguise his bar as a pet shop. Alcohol continues to flow in Springfield due to the mob and the bribery of the local law enforcers. However, after a group of prohibitionists discovered an intoxicated Chief Wiggum at Moe's speakeasy, he was replaced by Rex Banner.
Banner buries all of the alcohol in a mass grave at the city dump and blockades the city entrance. Homer figures out how to bootleg alcohol into Moes. However, after it runs out, he makes the alcohol and is known as the Beer Baron.
When Homer agrees to allow Wiggum to bring him in so he can return as Chief, plans go awry. “Rex Banner: Listen, rummy, I'm gonna say it plain and simple. Where'd you pinch the hooch? Is some blind tiger jerking suds on the side?”
6. Lisa on Ice S6, Episode 8
Lisa received her first failing grade in Gym. As a result, she must play in a sports program outside of school to raise her grade. After attempting several sports and not being good at them, her self-esteem suffers, and she worries about failing.
However, while watching Bart play at his ice hockey, Lisa blocks a puck, and Apu is excited to find his new goalie. Eventually, Lisa and Bart play against each other and demonstrate an act of sibling love. Also, Homer invites Lisa to sit in the front seat when it's usually Bart.
“Lisa: That's very nice, Dad, but it's wrong for you to reward violent, competitive behavior. However, I will sit up front with you if it's a fatherly gesture of love. Homer: Okay, hon. (Lisa gets into the car) Sucker! Competitive violence! That's why you're here!”
5. Two Bad Neighbors S7, Episode 13
George H. W. Bush, the 41st President of the United States, moves across the street from the Simpsons. In a Dennis the Menace style telling, Bart annoys Bush, but Barbara likes him. Unfortunately, Bart's shenanigans inadvertently destroy his home with an outdoor motor that also shreds Bush's memoir.
So President Bush spanks Bart. After informing Homer, the two seek revenge. Ultimately, Bush and Homer brawl in a swarm of locusts Homer meant to release at Bush's. “Homer: First, Bush invades my home turf. Then he takes my pals. Then he makes fun of the way I talk — probably. Now he steals my right to raise a disobedient, smart-alecky son! Well, that's it!”
4. Homer's Enemy S8, Episode 23
Frank Grimes, or Grimey as he liked to be called, is hired at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. Despite Homer's many attempts to befriend him, Grimes is annoyed and angry by Homer's laziness and incompetence. So he decides to make Homer his enemy and expose his flaws through public humiliation.
Grimey tricks him into entering a kid contest for building a nuclear plant. However, it backfires when Homer wins the contest, and no one cares that he isn't a kid. Finally, Grimes goes off the deep end and accidentally kills himself by touching high-voltage wires without safety gloves. “Grimes: But i-it was a contest for children! Lenny: Yeah, and Homer beat their brains out.”
3. King-Size Homer S7, Episode 7
Homer despises the new exercise program at the nuclear plant and decides to attain a weight of 300 pounds so that he can claim a disability and work at home. Bart has no problem helping Homer pack on the weight. However, Lisa is concerned for his health, and Marge admits she's losing physical attraction to him.
Homer realizes he can do his job by using a drinking bird to press the Y key to indicate “yes” on the keyboard for him. So he goes to the theatre. After being mocked for his weight and unable to find a seat he can sit in, Homer returns home to discover the bird has fallen over.
And a nuclear meltdown is imminent unless the system shuts down manually. Homer saves the day, and Burns promises to help him lose weight. However, he ultimately pays for his Liposuction. “And I think it's ironic that, for once, Dad's butt prevented the spread of toxic gas.” – Bart.
2. Last Exit to Springfield! S4, Episode 17
Lisa needs braces immediately following the plant workers giving up their dental plan for a beer keg. Homer is elected the new union president, and the employees strike. Poor Lisa is forced to wear atrocious headgear versus insured invisible braces and battles low self-esteem.
Mr. Burns sends hired goons to grab Homer and bring him in for negotiations. However, Homer misinterprets Mr. Burns's hints about bribing him as sexual innuendos before stating, “I'm not into backdoor shenanigans,” and walking out. Eventually, Burns shuts off the power, and the strikers continue to sing.
Finally, in a Grinch-like showing, Burns agrees to the dental plan if Homer resigns as union president and Lisa gets her invisible braces. “Lenny: So long dental plan! Marge: Lisa needs braces.”
1. You Only Move Twice S8, Episode 2
Homer is offered a job in Cypress Creek and moves his family there. His new boss, Hank Scorpio, is a friendly supervillain, but Homer is oblivious to that reality. The Simpsons all have individual storylines. Lisa is allergic to the surrounding nature. Bart goes into a remedial class, “Leg-Up Program.”
Marge starts drinking wine daily because her house is self-cleaning and the garden is self-watering. Despite the friendliness and cleanliness of the community, the Simpsons want to return to Springfield, to Homer's dismay. “Homer: I can't buy that. Only management guys with big salaries like me can afford that. Guys like me! I'm a guy like me!”
What do you think? Did Reddit get this right, or is a major contender missing from this list? Also, check out the top fifty Simpsons episodes ranked by IMDb.
This article was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.
