This is a very good episode and many consider this one of the best episodes from the golden era and season 5. I wish I could put this higher but I just couldn't after looking at what's ahead.
The story begins with an employee award ceremony to which Homer's ecstatic about because he thinks he'll finally win a worker of the week award. Mr Burns then gives the award to an inanimate carbon rod (This is a great running joke for the episode). After Bart draws on Homer's head (Causing the family to laugh at him) Homer goes to watch TV until they show a launch by NASA to which Homer orders Bart to unplug the TV. After we find out that NASA is in danger of losing funds due to low ratings, they decide to find a lowly blue collar slob to try to appeal to the viewers. Right before they search, Homer calls NASA and admits he's a blue collar slob who's sick of them. Later NASA goes to pick up Homer who lies and tells them it was Barney who crank called them, so NASA decides to knock them both out and take them back. Later, NASA introduces Barney and Homer as new astronauts at a press conference. After Homer imitates Charlton Heston in Planet of the Apes, we find out that only 1 can make it and Barney is not allowed alcohol during the training. After a dinner scene with the family, we see that sober Barney is very athletic and focused. After some training, we see that the winner will be going with Buzz Aldrin and Race Banyon. Later, we find out that Barney won but he freaks out after drinking non-alcoholic champagne making Homer the winner by default. After an I&S cartoon about space, we see Homer and the crew prepare to board the shuttle (Ok Buzz and Race prepare, Homer tries to back out). After a pep talk from Marge, Homer decides to continue with the launch and the launch goes as scheduled with ratings at their highest in a long time. While in space, Homer pops open a bag of chips and in the process of eating them, he releases the ants by breaking the case they're in. After our James Taylor cameo, we see a live feed with the ants floating around which makes Kent Brockman think they're giant ants who are bent on world domination. The ants then destroy the navigation system and Taylor suggests using the vacuum of space to get them out. After they get sucked out Homer almost gets sucked out as well but instead breaks the hatch and this causes Race to try to kill Homer, but Homer tries to defend himself with a carbon rod which gets stuck and becomes the new hatch for the door. After they successfully reenter Earth's atmosphere, the rod gets all the credit making Homer mad again. The family though shows more respect for Homer as Bart decides to homage 2001: A Space Odyssey.
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| MMMM... Floating chip *Drool* |
Why it's here: This episode is great. This probably has some of the funniest jokes in the show's history, the writing is fantastic, the jokes are great and this is just a very memorable episode.
19. Bart of Darkness (Season 6 Episode 1)
Anytime this show does a successful homage to Alfred Hitchcock, I will enjoy it. This particular Rear Window homage though is probably one of the best homages I've seen in this show.
The story begins with Homer and Bart chilling out in the fridge to beat the heat, Marge and Lisa come in as well and the fridge motor overloads. The kids stay indoors but are fooled twice by the idea of ice cream until Otto comes up to their house with the "pool-mobile". After having a good time, the pool-mobile leaves and Lisa and Bart decide they need to bug Homer to get a pool of their own (For anyone who's read my other reviews, this is another example of them being true kids). After the Simpsons buy and build their pool (But first a metal barn) everyone comes over to swim in the pool.As Bart tries to show off to everyone there, he falls from the treehouse and breaks his leg (Nelson says ha-ha). Bart is given a cast but is unable to swim for the rest of the summer. Without Bart, Lisa becomes popular because it becomes her pool exclusively for the other kids. After Lisa thinks about comforting Bart, she sees people in the pool trying to get her attention so she goes back to them (A little ashamed that she's leaving Bart by himself). Bart then gets himself back to his room where he sees Lisa and the kids have Lisa imitate Esther Williams. After Bart enjoys and I&S cartoon, Krusty leaves for the Summer and shows reruns of "Classic Krusty" to Bart's dismay. The next morning we find out that Homer hasn't been putting chlorine in the pool and when he finally does, he overdoes it. After Marge tells Lisa to hang out with Bart, she finds him playing with "Risk" pieces in the dark as she tells Bart that she's so happy that she's popular and it's the greatest thing to ever happen to her. Lisa decides to give Bart her telescope as Bart shoos her away. After a scene where the police try to spy on Homer and Marge skinny dipping in their pool, Bart looks through his telescope and is unimpressed by what's going on in Springfield (Including L.B. Jeffries from Rear Window, funny). As Bart puts the telescope away, he hears a woman screaming and decides to find out where it's coming from. Turns out it's coming from the Flanders residence and Bart is in disbelief that anything bad happened their until he sees Ned bury something in the backyard and talk like Ned. The next day, Bart sees Rod and Todd ask Ned where Maude is and he tells them that they'll be joining Maude with God. Later we see that Lisa has allowed the popularity to get to her head and she tells her brain to beat it. However after Martin gets his own pool, the kids leave her pool and she gets trapped at the bottom (And patronized by her brain while trying to think of a way out). Bart then tries to convince his family that Ned murdered Maude but they don't believe him. Later, Lisa apologizes to Bart for ignoring him while he was hurt and Bart asks for her to sneak into Ned's house for clues (Which she refuses until Bart pulls out his awful script to read). As Lisa is searching for clues Bart notices Ned gets back home and he does his best Jeffries impression (Say, the girlfriend in Rear Window was named Lisa as well. That is a hilarious coincidence). Bart decides to save Lisa by limping over to Flanders as he gets a lot of stuff stuck to his cast. As Ned comes upstairs Lisa scrambles to get into the attic and hide. Ned then goes into the attic with an axe and singing "Mary Had a Little Lamb" as eerily as possible. As it seems that Ned's about to kill Lisa, Bart and Lisa scream and Ned puts the axe away and then faints. Ned explains that he killed Maude's plant and Maude was at Bible Camp (And he screams like a girl). We end with Martin's pool being destroyed as Martin sings some Frank Sinatra.
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| Sorry Bart I was out swimming, where are we in the plot? |
Why it's here: This is an amazing episode, the plot is genius, the writing is fantastic and the jokes are great and memorable. Above all, this is a great homage to Rear Window.
#18 When Flanders Failed (Season 3 Episode 3)
Homer has always been an Asshole to Flanders, but in this episode we see that no matter what Homer says to Flanders, he doesn't really want any harm to happen to Flanders.
The story begins with Ned inviting Homer to his BBQ but Homer says no behind Ned's back. Marge tells Homer to give Ned a chance but he is adamant to the idea which upsets Marge and Lisa. While the family's at the BBQ, Homer's home being miserable but hoping to guilt his family by not being fed... moving on. Homer decides to go to the BBQ after smelling the food. At the table, Ned reveals he's left handed and has decided to quit his job as a pharmacist to open up a store exclusively for south paws (Fun trivia fact for game night: Ned was in pharmaceuticals before he opened the Leftorium). Ned asks for Homer's opinion but after breaking the turkey bone, Homer wishes for Ned's store to go out of business and ruin him. After Homer gets some poetic justice against him, Marge encourages Bart to do something (And lampshades that millions are watching their show instead of getting exercise), when conveniently a commercial for karate appears and they agree on karate. After Homer drops Bart off for his lesson, he goes into the Leftorium where he sees that it's not getting much business (Just like my blog, but you know...) Bart becomes uninterested in karate after finding out that he needs to read before learning karate itself. Bart decides to spend his time playing games at the arcade instead where he plays "Touch of Death". At dinner, Homer talks about the lack of success the Leftorium is having while Bart tells everyone he learned "The Touch of Death" and attempts to demonstrate on Lisa. After Homer picks Bart up from "karate" (Bart tells Homer he learned the Mortal Kombat "Finish Him") Homer goes by to see that Flanders is still not getting any business. At Moe's Homer mocks Flanders and almost tells his friends about the store but decides he'd rather see Flanders fail. After a callback to a Tracy Ullman joke, Homer goes to complain to Mr. Burns about the apples. Burns then has trouble with a can opener and Homer yet again decides not to tell anyone about the Leftorium. When Homer gets back home, he see Ned selling all his stuff to try to pay the bills, and Homer being Homer decides to exploit Ned and buy a lot for only $75. Marge and Lisa scold Homer for buying it all for so little, but it doesn't affect Homer or Bart. Later Homer finds out that Ned's being audited by the Springfield Collection Agency. Homer almost tells the auditor about the Leftorium but doesn't after hearing he's being audited on Thursday. After Homer drops off Bart for "karate" he sees Ned closing down the Leftorium and he has the expression of "What have I done?" on his face (See genuine remorse). The next day, Lisa has Bart fight for her sax from the bullies but is hung from a basketball hoop by his underwear. Later, Homer goes to return the stuff to Ned but finds out that the Flanders are living in their car. Homer apologizes to Ned and he tells Ned to open the store the next day so that Homer can call everyone and tell them to get to the Leftorium. The next morning, we see the leftorium is booming with business as Ned is saved and then we have Homer homage the ending to It's a Wonderful Life.
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| Oh no, I only wanted a horrible plague against him not bankruptcy |
Why it's here: This is a very heartwarming episode We find out that Homer may hate Ned but he'd never wish anything this bad against him and he has a true heart. The writing is excellent, the plot ends up just as it should and the jokes are great and just where they are needed.
17. Lisa's Sax (Season 9, Episode 3)
Many people really don't like Lisa, but if you couldn't tell by now, I do like her. This is one of her stronger episodes as we go into the depths of how Lisa got her signature saxophone.
After Homer and Marge reenact the opening to All in the Family, we see that Bart and Homer are irritated by Lisa playing her sax while they're trying to watch TV. Homer sends Bart up to stop her playing but it leads to Bart accidentally throwing her sax out the window and into the street where it gets mangled by everything. After Lisa brings her sax in, we see her crying with her piece of bronze in her arms (I'm reluctant to call it a sax anymore due to all the damage it took). After Lisa explains that it's more the memory of her sax rather than the sax itself, Homer goes into flashback mode to tell the story of how Lisa got her sax (And how Bart's first week of school went). We then see Kindergarten Bart and Toddler Lisa as their 1950's Peanut versions (I'll only say this once; they are adorable). As it turns out, Bart was an enthusiastic little kid who enjoyed school (Not by the end of the episode though) and Lisa was developing into the MENSA member we all know. After an assembly for the Kindergartners introducing them to the staff (And Jimbo) we see that Bart is given the most belittling teacher ever. After Bart has his first bad day, he walks up to his room without talking to Marge. After Homer thinks story over, Lisa reminds him to tell the story of her sax. After Lisa gets irritated about how Homer didn't finish her story and instead went to Bart, she asks Marge who starts off immediately with Bart. After more belittling by his teacher, Bart shows Marge a picture he drew indicating he's sad at school. When Marge goes to show Homer the drawing, Homer at first ignores it but then screams and is afraid after looking at it. After they take Bart to see Dr. T (Er I mean Dr. Hibbert with a Mr. T hairstyle) Homer and Marge go to see the school psychologist who tells Homer and Marge that Bart needs to conform and not be an individual. He then takes a shining to Lisa who completes a puzzle and suggests to Homer and Marge they nurture her gifted abilities so that she can reach her full potential. At the private pre-school it turns out it's too expensive so Marge and Homer decide against it (Yeah, I don't believe in private school until high school where colleges actually give a damn). Back in the present we find out that 5 years later Bart is still miserable in school and Lisa's gifts are still going to waste. Back in flashback, we see that there's a massive heat wave, Marge then tells Homer that they should involve Lisa in the arts. Homer doesn't want to be involved in the arts and Marge realizes that the only way they could afford something for Lisa is to dip into the AC fund. Homer says no but does promise not to buy an AC unit until they find out what they're going to do with Lisa. After Homer steals Ned's AC unit, we see Bart get depressed from all the negative reinforcement from his teacher. But it turns out that Bart's funny and he becomes the class clown, this gets Skinner's attention which causes Bart to tell Skinner to eat his shorts. Afterwards we see Homer with Lisa at Moe's where Homer proclaims he's getting his new AC unit. After they leave, Lisa walks across the street to King Toot's where Homer sees her eying up the instruments and decides to go in to buy one. Lisa picks the sax which costs $200, Homer then decides to get it for her after deciding her daughter is more important than AC. Homer than gets an inscription on the sax reading: "To Lisa, Never forget your daddy loves D'oh!" After the story we find out that Homer has another $200 in the AC fund and Lisa tries not to guilt Homer until Homer realizes that the sax wont play and Lisa gets sadder over that. During another heat wave we see that Homer did the right thing and bought Lisa a new sax that reads: "To Lisa, may your new saxophone bring you years of D'oh!" We end appropriately with a montage of Lisa playing her sax.
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| Now to start my million dollar career as a blues player |
Why it's here: This is a very well written episode about something that is iconic to the show. The plot is great, the jokes are great and the writing of a story within a story works for this episode.
16. Kamp Krusty (Season 4 Episode 1)
If you can believe it, this was originally supposed to be the first Simpson Movie. And with a script like this, I would have paid good money to see it 3 or more times in theater.
The story begins with Bart having a dream about getting good grades and helping to burn the school down. At the breakfast table, we see that Homer promised the kids that if they got C averages they go to Kamp Krusty (Because poor literacy is: KEWL). After we see Bart's locker is essentially a lost jungle village, we see that Lisa got a B+ in conduct which causes her to have a minor spazz out against Ms. Hoover (This is how you show Lisa upset about a grade writers. GET IT THROUGH YOUR HEADS!) After Mrs. Krabappel gives Bart his report cards with D-'s, everyone in school counts down the last 5 seconds of school and then mobs their way out. On the bus, Bart shows Lisa his "report card" to which Lisa laughs at Bart forging A+'s. When Bart takes the report card to Homer, he immediately sees it as a fake but decides to allow Bart to Kamp Krusty anyways. After Dr. Hibbert patronizes Lisa for wanting shots, we see that Marge gets sad that it's their last family dinner for 6 weeks. After the bus for Kamp Krusty leaves, all the parents celebrate right on the spot (My parents did that all the time). When they get to Kamp Krusty, we find out that Krusty isn't there but Mr. Black will be their head counselor along with Jimbo, Dolph, and Kearney. After seeing Homer and Marge enjoy not having the kids around, we see that the cabins are worse than the outhouses you find deep in the woods. After Krusty heads off to Wimbledon, we get a couple of scenes illustrating what a crap-shack the camp really is. After a song (Meant to pad this out, I kid you not) we see that the campers are being fed crap while the authoritative figures are smoking cigars and showing down on a grand feast. Marge sends a letter to the kids saying how they're doing great and Homer's getting in shape. However Kearney reads the letter and eats the cookies that came with it. Lisa decides to respond with a letter asking for Marge and Homer to save them. Being as unaware as possible, Marge and Homer thinks Lisa is just homesick and doesn't really want to leave. Later, Mr. Black tries to pass Barney in clown makeup off as Krusty but Bart refuses to accept it and leads an upheaval against Mr. Black and the bullies. After taking over the camp, Bart renames it to Camp Bart (Upsetting Lisa because he was supposed to name it Camp Freedom). After Krusty gets the news, we see Homer and Marge watch a news report about Kamp Krusty and after finding out that Bart was the leader of the uprising Homer gains the weight he lost and loses his additional hair. When Krusty goes in to try to calm Bart down, Bart calls BS and has the kids check to see if he's wearing a wire and only to reveal 3 individual marks that proves he's Krusty. Krusty apologizes for selling out to the camp and makes it up to them by taking them to Tijuana.
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| I own this place Mother^&#*& |
Why it's here: This is a very funny, very well written episode. The plot is great, the writing is great and the inclusion of Lord of the Flies plot was just the icing on the cake.
15. Lisa's Substitute (Season 2 Episode 19)
This is a great episode about Lisa getting something she wants, and then has it taken away. This is a sad running theme throughout the show.
The story begins with the 2nd grad acting up because Ms. Hoover isn't there. It turns out that Ms. Hoover has Lyme disease and cannot teach class, forcing Skinner to until the substitute arrives. After Bart traumatizes the class with a home video of Snowball giving birth, we see the substitute teacher Mr. Bergstrom come in dressed up like a cowboy. Mr. Bergstrom is probably my favorite character that I'd like to see make another appearance if they could get good writers back, unfortunately those odds are low. Lisa immediately bonds with the teacher after she gets 2 out of 3 things wrong with his costume (He asked them to point them out) and she's given his cowboy hat. Meanwhile, Mrs. Krabappel announces that they will be electing a class president, Bart and Martin become the two candidates and Mrs. K detests the idea of Bart running. Mr. Berstrom, starts singing a song and finds an insulting drawing of him that was on Lisa's desk. After Lisa denies drawing it Mr. Bergstrom praises the drawing and Lisa gets a similar drawing but of her. After Mr. Bergstrom reads a passage from Charlotte's Web (Which makes Lisa cry) we see Mr. Bergstrom find out more about each kid by what they're good at, Lisa doesn't want to tell him so Bergstrom says she owes him something special. After school we see Mrs. K play the role of Mrs. Robinson and Bergstrom being Dustin Hoffman tells her no, much to Lisa's happiness. Later Mr. Bergstrom applauds Lisa after she plays her sax out on the schoolyard. Lisa then talks to Marge about how Mr. Bergstrom makes her feel special and Marge says Homer makes her feel that way too (I'm going to have 911 on standby). After Homer and Bart mock Mr. Bergstrom for crying while reading a sad passage, Mr. Bergstrom pulls Lisa aside to ask if she's been cheating on her homework, to which Lisa says no repeatedly. During a debate, Bart wins the class by being popular and nothing else. After Homer motivates Bart, Bart decides to try harder and he campaigns like mad to win. Lisa and Mr. Bergstrom look on at Bart as Lisa insults his tactics while Bergstrom tells Lisa she'll miss Bart when he leaves. Later Marge asks Homer to take Lisa to the museum, Homer doesn't want to go but is guilted into doing it. While at the museum, Homer finds out that Lisa thinks of Mr. Bergstrom as more of a father figure than Homer, but he just scoffs it off. Lisa complains that Homer ruined her one chance to get to know Mr. Bergstrom out of school. Marge suggests that they have him over for dinner, when Lisa goes to ask him, it turns out that Ms. Hoover got better and Mr. Bergstrom left. After Lisa runs out of class crying because he left too early, we see Mrs. K try to convince the class to vote for Martin and leaves the poll box open for recess. As Lisa tries to find him, she finds out he's leaving for another job. As Bart is celebrating his victory, he finds out nobody voted for him and he loses to Martin 2-0. As Lisa confronts Mr. Bergstrom at the train station he gives her some comforting words and leaves her with a sheet of paper reading: "You are Lisa Simpson". Back at home, Homer is sad because Bart didn't win and then Lisa lashes out against Homer for not caring about her and she runs up to her room. Marge tells Homer to go up to her room and apologize, after an emotional conversation, Homer apologizes for not being a good father and Lisa apologizes for calling him a baboon. Homer then goes to Bart and comforts him that being class president is not that great (I hate the writers of season 20). Homer then helps Maggie get her pacifier back as he goes to Marge to finish the night as a good husband as well.
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| Can you come back Mr. Bergstrom, I need you again |
Why it's here: This is a very heartwarming episode, you cannot tell me that you felt sad for Lisa when Mr. Bergstrom took that train and left her there. The writing is amazing, the plot is great and the jokes are fantastic, all and all, this was a great episode.
14. My Sister, My Sitter (Season 8 Episode 17)
Who hasn't had a little sister who they hate and would never listen to even if she were in charge. The constant battle that is Bart Vs Lisa always gives great material.
The story begins with Marge and Homer seeing the renovations to Springfield docks and deciding that they want to go their on opening night. Meanwhile, Lisa and Janey are in Lisa's room reading the "Babysitter Twins" where Lisa admits she likes the responsibilities that come with babysitting. That Sunday, Lisa has Lovejoy tell everyone that she will babysit for fairly cheap. Lisa's a little depressed that nobody wants her while Marge tells her that adults don't want 8-year olds watching their kids, they want teens. Ned then comes over and asks Homer to watch over Rod and Todd but Homer says no, Lisa says she'll do it as Ned agrees. As Lisa goes to babysit them, she finds out that they are pansies who don't like to play games and freak out over moths and ladybugs. Lisa tucks them into bed and Ned thanks Lisa for her work and decides to tell others about her. After we see Lisa doing babysitting jobs for Wiggum and Hibbert, we see Homer and Marge get ready to go to the docks as they reveal that Lisa will be the babysitter, much to Bart's anger. Homer and Marge drive to the dock almost hitting a few people and parking in the most inconvenient place possible. As Lisa tries to feed Bart, he acts up and eventually gives Maggie coffee ice cream which causes Maggie to be hyper. After we see some nice buildings on the docks, Lisa tries to get Maggie down and Bart starts crank calling some people to get Lisa in trouble. After Lisa tries to get Bart to go to bed, all the people Bart called come to the house and Lisa tells them all to leave because Bart tricked them. After Lisa and Bart get into a war of attrition to get Bart to go to bed, Bart accidentally falls backwards down the steps and Lisa feels terrible about it. After Bart wakes up we find out that Bart's right elbow was dislocated and Bart decides to use that to get Lisa in trouble with Homer and Marge. We then see Homer get embarrassed while getting trapped in a water fountain. After trying to make it worse, Bart passes out and Lisa tries to call the hospital but is denied because of Bart's prank calls. Lisa thinks about calling Dr. Hibbert but decides against it because then Marge and Homer will find out, she instead decides to go to Dr. Nick. After putting Bart in a wheelbarrow and Maggie in a cage, she finds out that it'll take too long if she wait and decides to walk to the hospital instead. After Wiggum get's Lisa's attention, Lisa notices that Bart fell out of the wheelbarrow and is rolling down the hill. Lisa chases him and finds out it's right near the docks. Everyone in town then sees Lisa with the wheelbarrow as Dr. Hibbert diagnoses Bart with a dislocated elbow caused by falling down the stairs and bad babysitting. The next morning, Bart apologizes to Lisa for ruining her as she decided to give up the business. She decides to go back in though after Hibbert and Flanders both ask her to babysit their kids.
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| Let's see if I drop Bart off at the gorge, nobody will ever find him |
Why it's here: This is a great Bart-Lisa episode, the writing for this one is fantastic, it really captures Bart's bad attitude and his loving side as well. The plot is great and the jokes are very good.
13. Lisa's Pony (Season 3 Episode 8)
The writers will occasionally take an idea from one episode and make an entire episode out of it (Bart creating a soapbox derby car). This is a story that is fully fleshed out and is great.
The story begins with an homage to 2001: A Space Odyssey showing Homer as a dumb ape. Lisa then calls Homer asking him to go get her a new saxophone reed. Homer tells her he'll get one As Homer goes to King Toot's to get a reed, he decides he has enough time to down a beer at Moe's. After Homer finishes his beer, he sees the store is closed and goes back to Moe's to complain about the owner of the store (Who just happens to be sitting next to him). After some more from the talent show (Including Bart's impressions) Homer begs the man to open the store and he says no until Moe tells him to open it because he owes him. Lisa begins to worry that Homer wont be there with the reed and Marge tries to comfort her until she realizes that Homer's probably drinking. After Homer finally figures out he needs a saxophone reed, he gets it but is too late as Lisa stinks it up at the talent show (I question why Bleeding Gums Murphy doesn't go to bat for her, but whatever). Homer tries to make it up to her by buying her ice cream, but Lisa's to mad at Homer to forgive him now. Homer then watches tapes of Lisa as a baby and realizes he's never been a good father to her, Marge suggests that Homer spends time with Lisa, and Homer tries it. After failing to bond with Lisa Homer decides for a quick fix and just buy her a pony (Yeah I know it's a bad lesson, but as the creators have said "I always do the opposite of whatever Homer does"). Marge tries to prevent Homer from doing it but he does it anyways. After finding out what ponies cost, Homer goes to the power plant to get a loan which Mr. Burns puts high interest on it. After Homer brings the pony home, he puts it in Lisa's bed as the recreate the scene from The Godfather. Lisa thanks Homer for the pony and she loves him again. After Lisa shows off her new pony, Lisa tells Homer to take the pony to a stable to be kept. After a scene where Lisa expresses more love for Homer, we find out that the expenses are too much and Homer decides to take a second job at the Kwik-E-Mart. There are some scenes in between of Lisa with her pony and Homer working, but they aren't too important so moving on. We then see Homer come back and explain his plan to Marge, this doesn't work as Homer immediately falls asleep from exhaustion. After seeing a scene of Lisa and her pony, we see Apu find Homer sleeping on the job and he berates him for it. After a dream sequence, Homer goes to work and the staff decides to recycle old clips. As Homer's preparing to go to work at the Kwik-E-Mart, Marge reveals to Lisa that Homer's been working two jobs to keep the pony. Lisa then decides her father's wellbeing is better than her owning a pony and she gives it back to the stables. Lisa then goes to Homer and tells him she loves one big dumb animal more than the pony. Homer quits and gives Lisa a piggyback ride back home.
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| Don't worry, one day you'll own a pony for real |
Why it's here: This is a very heartwarming episode that has a bad moral at first but makes it up with a great ending. The plot is unoriginal bu masterfully executed, the writing is tremendous and the jokes are great.
12. Brother From Another Series (Season 8 Episode 16)
Sideshow Bob is so good that the writers decided to give him his brother from Fraiser. Yet again, Sideshow Bob episodes are awesome, but this isn't even the best Sideshow Bob episode.
The story begins with the family watching Krusty the Clown do a show in prison. Krusty then stumbles upon Sideshow Bob, Sideshow Bob gives his obligatory backstory andthe fact he's tried to kill Bart which causes Bart to run out screaming. Bart tells his family that he's afraid that Bob will get out and kill him. We then cut to Bob leading a sermon to which Lovejoy praises him. Lovejoy tells Bob he recommended Bob for the work release program, Bob thinks that nobody will hire him and then we are introduced to Bob's brother Cecil (Played by David-Hyde Pierce, Kelsey Grammer's brother on Fraiser). After a funny conversation between the two (The Mars joke is a classic to me) Cecil accepts what Bob has done in the past and accepts him as a changed man. As Bob gets released, there's an angry mob who wants Bob to go back in. Sideshow Bob then convinces them all he's changed but Bart is adamant to the idea he's changed and tells Quimby that he's still evil. The writers decide to make it blatantly obvious that they are ripping off Fraiser and we cut to the inside of Cecil's apartment. After Cecil pours a glass of wine for Bob, Bart prays to God to strike down SS Bob to which Homer and Marge tell Bart he shouldn't do that. As Bob and Cecil are having dinner, we find out that Cecil is a hydrological and hydrodynamical engineer and he blames Bob for ruining his chance to be Krusty's sidekick. After a flashback of Cecil's audition as Sideshow Cecil, we find out that Cecil's going to be building a hydroelectric dam on the Springfield River and Bob's going to be a construction supervisor. After Bob spots Bart across the river, we see Bart disrupt a date between Mrs. Krabappel and SS Bob which upsets Bob and makes Bart even more paranoid of Bob. We then see Bob complain about the workers he's been given and how Bart wont leave him alone (And make an eerie statement). Bart gets Lisa to go search through Bob's trash as Bob catches them and returns them to Homer and Marge. Lisa tries to convince Bart that SS Bob has changed but Bart decides to check his construction trailer with Lisa for clues. While in the trailer, Bart finds a lot of money embezzled as Bob breaks into his office. After he spots them, they run into the dam and run away from Bob a la Scooby-Doo. When Bob finally catches him he admits he doesn't know where the money came from and Cecil was in charge of the materials. In a twist, Cecil comes in with a gun and dynamite and admits he plans on destroying the dam and embezzle $15 million. Cecil then says that people wont suspect him because Bob's been working there and unofficially he's doing this to get back at Bob for stealing his dream. As Cecil escapes, Bob mocks Lisa for saying it's hopeless to escape and he clogs a turbine so they can escape. Bart is reluctant but decides to trust Bob for once. After escaping, Bob and Lisa go up to the dynamite to defuse it. After Cecil goes over his checklist, Bart jumps on Cecil and Cecil then accidentally throws his money off the cliff. After Lisa points out to Bob what Bart and Cecil are doing, Cecil grabs Bart and throws him off the cliff. SS Bob uses the dynamite as a rope and swings across to grab Bart. Cecil then grabs the plunger to kill them but Bob cuts the wire and they fall until Bob lands on a pipe (On his crotch, guess there won't be any Bob juniors running around...). After Bob jokes about killing Bart, the police come to arrest Cecil and Bob even though Bob's innocent. The dam then collapses and a tidal wave hits Springfield. Bob then tries to prove his innocence but sounds like a madman and they are taken to prison where Bob fights off Cecil for the top bunk.
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| We're too civilized to be in this world Cecil. Where's my monocle Cecil? |
Why it's here: Sideshow Bob is always great, this is a great example of Bob's character and the plot is genius. The writing is great and the jokes are on Sideshow Bob level. This episode rose to the occasion, but still, there is ONE Sideshow Bob episode that's better.
11. I Love Lisa (Season 4 Episode 15)
You know you're in for some good episodes when you see this episode at #11. This episode is on almost everyone's top 10 and for good reason, it's great.
The story begins with everyone celebrating Valentines Day in their own ways. Homer forgets to get Marge a Valentines day present as we see him doing his normal routine to get to the car to get something for Marge from the Kwik-E-Mart. After buying a box of chocolates for $100, we see Lisa's class is about to exchange valentines as we see Ralph is up to his "special" behavior and the class laughs at him. Skinner then scolds the person (Bart) who made fake heart candy with bad messages on them as he has a Vietnam flashback similar to Apocalypse Now. After everyone exchanges valentines, we see that Ralph didn't get a single valentine, felling sorry for him, Lisa readdresses a valentine and gives it to Ralph. Ralph thinks she got it just for him and he feels much better. After a scene where Bart makes a prank with a cow heart, we see Ralph walk Lisa home and he talks about the valentine on the way there. After an I&S cartoon, Krusty announces his 29th anniversary show and tickets are exclusive. Lisa tells Marge that she's afraid that Ralph thinks she likes him for the valentine even though she gave it out of pity. Marge tells Lisa to tell Ralph that she's not ready to "like him" yet. Lisa then tells Ralph that as we then see Ralph at home where we find out that he's Clancy Wiggum's son. Clancy tells Ralph to be persistent about pursuing Lisa. After we see another promo for Krusty's anniversary show, we see Ralph come to try to see Lisa as she tells Homer to make up an excuse. Homer gets Ralph to tar his roof for Ralph to win Lisa's love. During auditions for the President's day pageant, we see Ms. Hoover pick Lisa as Mrs. Washington and Ralph for George Washington because Clancy is blackmailing Ms. Hoover. Lisa detests the idea of being with Ralph in the play as she gets a package from Ralph. The package contains a Malibu Stacy convertible with tickets to Krusty's anniversary show in the trunk. After the ride over, we see the anniversary show as he shows some clips of him with some very famous people. Krusty then picks Ralph as Lisa embarrasses him by telling Ralph that she never liked him and the valentine was only out of pity. Lisa then feels bad after Bart shows her the recording. After Clancy tries to intimidate Homer for what Lisa did, we see Lisa and the school prepare for the pageant as Ralph comes in to prepare. After some other scenes, we see Ralph burn the valentine and play one of the best George Washington an 8 year can play. After the pageant, Lisa gives Ralph a new card saying they should be friends and all is well.
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| I think we should see other people Ralph |
Why it's here: This is a great episode during season 4 and it stand the test of time as one of the greatest episodes of the show. The plot is great, the writing is fantastic and this show is very memorable among the fans.
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