Springfield of Dreams: 150 Best ‘Simpsons’ Episodes

140. ‘Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire’

Season: 1
The first full Simpsons episode to air on TV begins at a Springfield Elementary Christmas pageant. Bart gets a tattoo, and the laser-removal costs the family Christmas money. Homer tries earning cash as a mall Santa, fails, tries at the racetrack, fails. Then father and son save Christmas with a pet dog, Santa’s Little Helper.
Best Visual Gag: Bart’s unfinished “Mother” tattoo. “Moth” forever.
Best Line: “Aside from the fact that [Homer] has the same frailties as all human beings, he’s the only father I have. Therefore he is my model of manhood, and my estimation of him will govern the prospects of my adult relationships. So I hope you bear in mind that any knock at him is a knock at me, and I am far too young to defend myself against such onslaughts.” “Mmhmm. Go watch your cartoon show, dear.”

139. ‘Simpsons Bible Stories’

Season: 10
A “Treehouse of Horror” –style anthology episode, in which a warm Sunday puts everyone in church to sleep, and the Simpsons dream their own versions of Genesis, Exodus, and David vs. Goliath. The episode famously ends with the Simpsons going to Hell, to the tune of AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell.”
Best Visual Gag: The Simpsons‘ version of the Garden of Eden: Bacon peels off pigs, Ned is God, and Homer, wearing only a tiny leaf, belly flops onto a rock.
Best Line: “Man, captivity blows.”

138. ‘Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Three Times’

Season: 18
A triptych of revenge tales: Homer in 19th-century France, gunning for Moe after the bartender has Monsieur Simpson imprisoned for treason and steals Marge; Milhouse enlisting his fellow nerds and going after bullies involving a stop-hitting-yourself ray gun (one setting: “Genital Hospital”); and a Batman-ish tale in which Bart becomes — what else? — Bartman.
Best Visual Gag: The cardboard cut-out of Hitler in the school library: “Before I was a Nazi Leader, I was a Nazi Reader.”
Best Line: “I sentence you to life!” “You moron, I’m already alive.” “In prison!!!”

137. ‘Treehouse of Horror’

Season: 2
The first “Treehouse of Horror” episode set the tone for all the rest: Three quirky spoofs of timeworn horror and sci-fi stories. “Bad Dream House” plays up The Amityville Horror and “Hungry Are the Damned” shows The Simpsons’ take on the short story and Twilight Zone episode To Serve Man. But the most memorable is Homer star role in “The Raven” (narrated by James Earl Jones) – the bird for which just happened to be particularly annoying to Homer: Bart.
Best Visual Gag: The reveal that the aliens’ book was not How to Cook Humans but How to Cook for Forty Humans, in a twist on the cookbook To Serve Man.
Best Line: “Quoth the Raven… ” “Eat my shorts.”

136. ‘How I Spent My Strummer Vacation’

Season: 14
Homer’s got no money for beer, causing him to seek other ways of altering his mind. His unhappy state lands him in The Rolling Stones’ Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp, where he meets a slew of rock stars. Not ready for camp to end, Homer tries stealing the show at a Springfield concert; he eventually gives up the rock & roll lifestyle for his family.
Best Visual Gag: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Lenny Kravitz, Elvis Costello, Tom Petty, and Brian Setzer chase Homer around in a giant devil head. (And then Homer drops his kids off at school with the devil head.)
Best Line: “Now, a guitar has many, many nicknames — an ax, a gitbox … well, I guess that’s it. Anyway, we’re gonna start with the fundamentals: playing a burning guitar with your teeth.”

135. ‘Treehouse of Horror VIII’

Season: 9
More Halloween-igans: Homer’s navigates a mutant-ridden apocalypse (“The HΩmega Man”). Bart reenacts The Fly and invents “CatDog” a year before CatDog premieres (“Fly vs. Fly”). Springfield gets the Salem Witch Trials treatment and accidentally invents Halloween and the concept of trick-or-treating.
Best Visual Gag: If it’s not Puritan Springfield as a whole, it’s the sight of Marge as a green, broomstick-riding witch.
Best Line: “Doesn’t the Bible say ‘Judge not, lest ye be judged?'” “The Bible says a lot of things — shove ‘er!”

134. ‘Moe Baby Blues’

Season: 14
Moe realizes how alone he is in the world and accidentally saves Maggie right before committing suicide. They become buddies. Maggie winds up in an Italian-American-Mexican standoff with the Mob, because why not?
Best Line: “Sorry, Moe. You can either walk out with dignity or I can push you down this muddy hill.” “I’d prefer that you push me, seein’ how I’m desperate for any human contact.”
Best Visual Gag: The episode-ending montage of Homer BFF-ing it up with Moe’s ham (yes, his ham) to the tune of Queen’s “You’re My Best Friend.”

133. ‘Husbands and Knives’

Season: 19
A new comic book shop, Coolsville, opens in Springfield, run by a man with the voice of Jack Black. Marge opens a gym and becomes super successful; Homer gets gastric bypass and cosmetic surgery (hence the episode’s title) and, weirdest of all, a full head of hair.
Best Visual Gag: Alan Moore, Art Spiegelman, and Daniel Clowes (all voiced by themselves) reveal their superpowered, shirtless alter egos — the League of Extraordinary Freelancers — and beat up a rampaging Comic Book Guy.
Best Line: “We’re gonna be rich! We can finally start a family!” “We have a family.” “A better one!”

132. ‘Sideshow Bob’s Last Gleaming’

Season: 7
For once, Sideshow Bob turns his attention from attempting to kill Bart Simpson to trying to take down television as a whole. Once he busts out of the joint, he steals an atom bomb and orders all television stations destroyed. But that doesn’t stop Krusty, who finds an emergency broadcast transmitter. The clever part of the episode, though, is how it’s all a takedown of TV on TV.
Best Visual Gag: A sign that says, “Duff and the Air Force: 50 Years of Flying High.”
Best Line: “I’m aware of the irony of appearing on TV in order to decry it. So don’t bother pointing that out.”

131. ‘There’s No Disgrace Like Home ‘

Season: 1
The Simpsons attend a company picnic at Mr. Burns’s estate, where their dysfunctionality accentuates itself. Homer pawns the TV and cashes in the kids’ college fund to attempt family therapy with Dr. Marvin Monroe. It’s a rough early episode, though you can see tiny hints of what the show would eventually become.
Best Visual Gag: All five Simpsons electro-shocking each other into oblivion.
Best Line: “Okay now, look. My boss is gonna be at this picnic, so I want you to show your father some love and/or respect.” “I’m picking respect.”