Talk to any Simpsons fanatic and they’ll tell you that seasons 3-7 are the golden age of the series. The show was in it’s prime, the characters well written, pop culture references weren’t forced and storylines had yet to be recycled. I’m not one to disagree with this, as I love these seasons of The Simpsons just as much as the next person. However, I don’t feel season 7 is the cut off.
Though not quite up to speed with previous seasons, I’ve always felt that season 8 was also a fantastic run of episodes. Though you can see character changes and a slightly new tone, the quality remained intact for all 25 episodes. Also, Bret Hart had a cameo in “The Old Man and the Lisa”. Does it get any better than that? You’re damn right it does!
To back up my claim, I have selected eight episodes that I believe showcase the wonderful talent that Season 8 embodied. These will be listed from bottom to top, meaning the last episode mentioned is my pick for best episode.
#8- Hurricane Neddy
Some may scoff at this episode, as it was the turning point in making Ned Flanders a one-note religious joke. Others will lambaste it for taking a kind man such as Ned and putting him through a terrible ordeal. There’s also a few folks who hated the fact that Ned broke character and strongly criticized the denizens of Springfield in a cruel manner.
I’m not one of those folks. Though this episode may be the beginning of the end for Ned Flanders, I felt the episode itself was well-done. It showed another side of Homer’s neighbor that we hadn’t seen before and gave us a reason as to why he’s non confrontational. It also helps that I find his tirade against Springfield to be one of the funniest moments in the show’s history.
It doesn’t even bother me that Ned’s house is the only one to be wrecked by the hurricane, as I felt it added another layer to him. Not only did it expand on his back story, but it finally let him vent and grown even more as a character. No matter how cruel it was, his insults to Springfield’s finest were justified.
Best quote:
Ned: “Homer, you are the worst human being I have ever met.
Homer: “Hey, I got off pretty easy!”
#7- The Homer They Fall
The Simpsons seemed to handle sports-themed episodes better than any other show on television. This episode is a great example of that. Not only does it perfectly lampoon boxing and, more importantly, boxing films, it also highlights the friendship between Homer and Moe.
The premise of a boxer who takes a beating and winds up winning matches due to his opponent being tuckered out amuses me greatly. It also reminds me of Mick Foley, which puts a smile on my face. The funniest part is the reveal of Homer’s high tolerance for pain. When he tries to defend Bart against his bully’s fathers’, he takes a thrashing himself. Instead of fighting back, he calmly continues the conversation, all the while having pool cues broken over his head.
Sight gags such as this make this episode memorable. Little touches such as Moe’s office being the ladies restroom (since no woman has come into the bar for years) and the clever montage of Homer training and celebrating his winnings by going to the car wash only help the episode further.
Best quote:
Moe: “You know Lucius Sweet?! He’s one of the biggest names in boxing! He’s exactly as rich and as famous as Don King, and he looks just like him, too!”
#6- The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show
Television programs are known for adding in new characters as the series drags on. Remember Seven from Married… with Children? No? You lucky bastard! The Simpsons isn’t defenseless against this, though they have a better track record. Groundskeeper Willie, Troy McClure and Lionel Hutz are just a few supplemental characters added to the line-up as the show went on (for the record, Troy McClure is my favorite Simpsons character).
Poochie can be added to that list, too. The only difference is he was a one-off character who was used as satire against said supplemental tactic. Due to children not tuning into Itchy & Scratchy anymore, the creators scramble to salvage the ratings. When Bart, Lisa, Milhouse, Nelson & Ralph (I’m sure I’m missing a few) are chosen for a test screening, they discover that the show is perfectly fine, just stale.
In comes Poochie, a new hipster dog who’s voiced by, you guessed it, Homer Simpson (for those who guessed Sideshow Mel, I apologize). The sequences in which Homer voices the character and partners up with June Bellamy (MEEP) are hysterical. His interaction with fans at a press conference is legendary and also produces the best quote.
Best quote:
Doug: “Hi, question for Ms. Bellamy. In episode 2F09, when Itchy plays Scratchy’s skeleton like a xylophone, he strikes that same rib twice in succession yet he produces two clearly different tones. I mean, what are we, to believe that this is some sort of a, a magic xylophone or something? Boy, I really hope somebody got fired for that blunder.”
June Bellamy: “Uh, well, uh…”
Homer: “I’ll field this one. Let me ask you a question. Why would a man whose shirt says “Genius at Work” spend all of his time watching a children’s cartoon show?”
Doug: “I withdraw my question.”
Database: “Excuse me, Mr. Simpson, on the Itchy & Scratchy CD-ROM, is there a way to get out of the dungeon without a wizard’s key?”
Homer: “What the hell are you talking about?”
#5- The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase
Not only were The Simpsons good at satirizing additional characters, but they were successful in cracking wise about spin-off’s, as well. In this episode, Troy McClure (who you may remember from “Son of Sanford & Son”) hosts three shorts that are “intended” to be new spin-off shows from The Simpsons.
Chief Wiggum P.I.- This one is my favorite of the bunch and is a show I would actually watch if put on the air. Chief Wiggum, Ralph and Principal Skinner move to New Orleans (Mrs. Wiggum stayed in Springfield, apparently) and open up their own detective agency. They spend the episode chasing Big Daddy, a crime lord who, thanks to a tongue-in-cheek joke, always fails to foil Wiggum’s plans, yet keeps coming back for more.
The Love-matic Grampa- What I love about this segment is that it takes a feasible show idea, a cartoonized version of Cheers set in Moe’s, and slaps a ridiculous anchor on it. In this case, it’s the soul of Grampa Simpson, who resides in Moe’s love machine and gives him relationship advice. He even follows him to a fancy restaurant and camps out in the bathroom. It may be outlandish, but I’d watch this if it were made, as well.
The Simpsons Family Smile-Time Variety Hour- This is my least favorite of the trio, though it’s still amusing. The Simpsons are given the Brady Bunch Variety Hour treatment, with Lisa being replaced by an older, attractive teenager. They sing songs and partake in sketches. The one in which we see is them as a family of beavers living in a dam with Tim Conway, who’s a skunk. I’m surprised MadTV didn’t steal this bit.
Best quote:
Principal Skinner: “He’s gradually getting away, Chief.”
Chief Wiggum: “Ah, let him go. I have the feeling we’ll meet again, each and every week. Always in more sexy and exciting ways.”
#4- El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer)
I never thought I’d see an episode of The Simpsons that would closely resemble an acid trip, but here we are. The most surprising thing of all is that it’s clever and finds an interesting way of starting said trip. Homer eats one too many hot peppers and begins hallucinating that he’s in a desert. A talking fox is his guardian angel, who informs him that he needs to find his soul mate.
There’s a sweet and tender side to this episode where Homer automatically believes that Marge is his soul mate. As the episode plays out, he feels as if this isn’t the case, which depresses him. It reminded me of the episode, “The Last Temptation of Homer” (season 5), where Homer becomes physically attracted to Mindy, his lovely new co-worker. Instead of giving in and cheating on Marge, he fights the temptation and spends the whole episode trying to overcome this crush due to his love of Marge.
For those that believe that Season 8 lost the family love quality, this and another episode disproves that. This episode also proves that creativity was still intact by this season, as Homer’s hallucinations are vivid and wildly imaginative. They’re also funny, as Homer messes around with his surroundings. He makes the sun rise and fall at will (then subsequently breaks it) and kicks a turtle for moving too slow. Thanks to this, his trek up a flight of stairs is nearly tripled.
Best quote:
Homer: “Oh, well, of course, everything looks bad if you remember it.”
#3- The Springfield Files
The X-Files was red hot in the nineties. Thanks to this, many television shows did their own vision of the series. The Simpsons was no exception, though they got an extra boost over the competition. They nabbed David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson to voice and reprise their characters of Molder and Scully. They make the voyage down to Springfield after Homer believes he’s seen an alien.
For those who haven’t seen the episode, I won’t reveal the ending. I will state that it’s hilarious and a brilliant twist that acts as a precursor to M. Night Shymalan and his twists. By that, I mean it’s ridiculous and you’d believe they were mocking him.
There are a lot of sci-fi gags in the episode, such as Marvin the Martian, Gort, Chewbacca, ALF and Kang/Kodos being alien suspects in a police line-up. There’s a funny gag where Homer is walking through the woods alone and is followed by eerie music, which turns out to be an orchestra bus trip. He then comes across a sign that reads “Die”, only for a tree branch to reveal it actually says, “Diet”, which elicits a larger scream of terror from Homer.
The episode moves at a fast pace and never misses a beat. The pop culture and sci-fi references are a delight, as is Homer going crazy because nobody believes him (outside of Bart). Duchovny and Anderson are a hoot as Mulder and Scully and blend into the show seamlessly.
Best quote:
Homer: “The alien has a sweet, heavenly voice… like Urkel! And he appears every Friday night… like Urkel!”
#2- Homer’s Enemy
This will be a controversial pick, as there are some diehard fans who loathe this episode. They believe it portrays Homer as a selfish lout and that Frank Grimes was too sympathetic a character to go through the torture he does (this same complaint was used for “Hurricane Neddy”). Though I see their point, I don’t agree with their assessment.
For Homer to be a selfish lout, he’d have to purposely annoy Grimes. Contrary to popular belief, he does no such thing. He may get on Frank’s nerves, but that’s only because he’s being himself. There’s never a point in the episode where he goes out of his way to be a jerk to Frank. If anything, he tries his best to be a model employee and friend to the man when he discovers he hates him.
This doesn’t discredit Grimes’ claims. Homer is a dumb slob who gets by on other people’s success and doesn’t entirely deserve the life he has. Frank has struggled his entire life and deserves to be successful. However, it was his fault that Homer got the best of him. Instead of focusing on his foibles, he should have proven himself in his new job and climbed the corporate ladder. Instead, he picks fights with Homer and causes his own downfall.
I don’t want to insinuate that this episode is a psychological one. It’s a funny well-written one that packs some of the most consistent laughs of any episode in Season 8. Despite my last paragraph, Frank Grimes is a great character and adversary to Homer. Even when he’s being “selfish”, Homer only tries his best to impress Frank, which I always found to be admirable.
Best quote:
Frank Grimes: “If this were any other country, you’d have starved to death long ago.”
Bart: “He’s got you there, Dad.”
#1- You Only Move Twice
I’m sure most of you called this episode being number one on my list. After all, it’s one of the most cherished episodes in the fan base, as well as one of the more quotable ones. Just like “El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer)”, it also shows the love that Homer exhibits for his family, as he looks out for their best interests as opposed to his.
It also boasts the best one-off character in the history of the show, Hank Scorpio. Despite being a world villain (akin to a James Bond villain, whom y2joey can assist those in wanting to learn more about the series, by the way), he’s one of the nicest people to ever grace this earth. I don’t care if he’s fictional, I love the guy! He’s an amazing boss who gets along well with all of his employees.
As Homer’s new boss in Cypress Creek, Hank encourages Homer to follow his dreams (which is to own the Dallas Cowboys), gives him a cushy job and actually brings out the hard worker in Homer. Unfortunately, the rest of the Simpsons clan hates Cypress Creek. Marge is bored as her house does all the cleaning for her; Bart is treated as if he’s an idiot from the school board (more so than in Springfield); Lisa is allergic to everything. The only person to enjoy his stay is Homer.
Once again, I won’t ruin the ending for those who haven’t seen the episode. Do know that it’s one of those tender moments that make The Simpsons such a treasure. It won’t make you cry like “Round Springfield” (Season 6) or “Mother Simpson” (Season 7), but it will pull at your heartstrings. Prior to that, the episode will be jagging your funny bone constantly.
Best quote:
Scorpio: “There’s the Hammock Hut. That’s on Third. There’s Hammocks ‘R’ Us. That’s on Third, too. You got Put Your Butt There. That’s on Third. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. Matter of fact they’re all in the same complex. It’s the Hammock Complex, down on Third.”
Homer: “Oh, the Hammock District?”
There you have it! Eight episodes that prove that Season 8 is a part of the golden age of The Simpsons. I haven’t even mentioned other great episodes, such as: “Burns, Baby Burns”; “Mountain of Madness”; “Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment”; “A Milhouse Divided”; “Lisa’s Date with Density”; “Brother from Another Series”; “Grade School Confidential”; “In Marge We Trust”. Add those all up and you’ve got a solid season!