The ENTIRE Story of The Simpson in 90 Minutes

Way back in 1989, a show with a unique blend of satire, humor, and heart hit our screens. A show that became the subtext of society. A show that is still the benchmark for all cartoons. And that show is, for a solid decade, *The Simpsons*.

*The Simpsons* became the gold standard of television, hitting home run after home run. So today, we're going to take a tour of the golden years of *The Simpsons*, recapping all those fan favorites. There are a few more recent episodes that we'll be covering—two that have gone under the radar and capture some of that old *Simpsons* magic. Just a little disclaimer: there were over 768 episodes of *The Simpsons*, so apologies if we skip over your favorite.

But before we get into it, let me give you guys some context. I know that you know this already, but we've got to go over it. The Simpsons centers around the lives of a family of five: Homer, a lovable oaf of a father and husband who stumbles through life; Marge, a sweet, kind, caring mother and wife who tries her best to keep her family together; Bart, a fourth-grade brat and a rebel without a cause who loves everything mischievous; Lisa, the perfect middle child, sensitive and sweet, with more brainpower than her entire family put together; and last but not least, Maggie, or little baby Simpson. To many, she might seem harmless, but as we'll find out, when it comes to Maggie, there's more than meets the eye. Along with a cast of countless memorable characters, these five try to tackle day-to-day life in their home, the city of Springfield. There's plenty more to learn along the way, but those are the bare basics. So let's get into it. Here we go!

The first episode of the series was actually a Christmas special. The episode, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire," opens with Homer hastily driving the famous pink family sedan with Marge and Maggie through a snow-covered street because they're late for Bart and Lisa's Christmas pageant at Springfield Elementary School. Homer and Marge make it just in time, stumbling through a full audience to find their seats, where they sit down just in time to see Principal Seymour Skinner introduce Lisa's second-grade class. The kids do a presentation of different Santas from around the world. Lisa, dressed as the Santa of the South Seas, begins her dance, where she performs stunts with lit torches, throwing them up, down, and around, leaving the audience of parents in a combination of shock and horror. I mean, she's a kid playing with fire! Skinner eventually introduces Bart's fourth-grade class, where their part of the pageant is singing Christmas carols. The Christmas classic "Jingle Bells" is sung first, and when the chorus hits, Bart pipes up with his own version of the song: "Jingle Bells, Batman Smells, Robin Laden" [Music]...egging on, causing an irate Principal Skinner to drag Bart from the pageant performance and showering the Simpson family with shame as Homer and Marge get disapproving looks from the rest of the parents.

Back at 742 Evergreen Terrace, the family sits and does their Christmas chores. Marge writes cards to friends and family; an annoyed Homer gets out decorations. "Marge, where's the extension cord, for heaven's sakes?" "Homer, it's in the utility drawer." And the kids write their Christmas wish list for Santa. I don't think Bart is going to be on the nice list this year, or any year for that matter. An argument over Bart's wish list, which includes a tattoo, breaks out, but it gets interrupted by a phone call from Patty, one of Marge's sisters. Homer hands the phone to Marge, where Patty discusses Christmasy plans with her sister while criticizing Homer as a husband. Because, if we didn't know, Patty and Marge's other sister, Selma, hate Homer. Which is a bit harsh, I know, but you know it's Homer. I don't really blame them. Sorry, I'm just a big kid and I love Christmas so much. Marge then takes the kids to the Springfield Mall for some Christmas shopping, and Bart sneaks into a tattoo parlor and gets a tattoo of a heart with "Mother" on it, thinking that because it's dedicated to his mom, she will love it. Marge manages to show up to stop him, but she's too late, so she takes him to a dermatologist, using other Christmas savings to have it removed in the hope that Homer's Christmas bonus from his job will cover the Christmas cost. Homer's job is at the Springfield Power Plant, where he works as—well, to give him his full title—the nuclear safety inspector of Sector 7G. I think if my town's safety relied on Homer Simpson, I'd be packing my bags! Charles Montgomery Burns, or to everybody else, Mr. Burns, is Homer's super-rich, borderline-evil boss who announces that there will be no Christmas bonuses this year—"Workers, there will be no Christmas bonuses!" Homer hides this bad news from the family and pretends everything is fine, heading out to buy some cheap gifts. Sure. Shortly after, at Moe's Tavern, Homer's favorite drinking spot, he chats with his longtime friend Barney Gumble, who's dressed as Santa. He tells Barney about his financial troubles, so Barney suggests Homer work as a mall Santa to pay his way. When Christmas Eve rolls around, Homer takes Barney's advice and ends up working as Santa. He goes through the training needed and ends up in the mall with kids sitting on his lap. Meanwhile, Bart and Milhouse—Bart's best friend—are also in the mall, and they spot Santa. Milhouse dares Bart to yank off Santa's beard, and Bart agrees, so he jumps in line and finally gets his turn on Santa's lap, not realizing that Santa is really his dad. Bart yanks off his beard and is shocked to find his dad under the costume. Homer explains the situation to Bart, who understands and feels terrible about the whole thing. Together, they go to pick up his check, where Homer is surprised to find his net pay is only $13. He was supposed to be getting $100! A depressed Homer sits down to figure out what to do with the $13, but an excited Barney tells him he's going to the Springfield Downs, a dog racing track, to place a bet with his earnings and invites Homer to join him because a dog named Whirlwind will 100% win.

Back at home, Selma, Abe (or Grandpa Simpson, who's Homer's dad), Marge, Maggie, and Lisa wait for Homer and Bart to come home to start getting into the Christmas spirit. Back at the dog track, the PA system says a dog named Santa's Little Helper will be replacing Sir Galahad in the fourth race. Barney thinks the announcement is a sign and asks Homer to bet on Santa's Little Helper instead, even though the odds are 99 to 1. This means the dog's chances of winning are very slim—so slim that if the dog does win, they're going to walk away with $1300. Santa's Little Helper finished last, defeated. Bart and Homer head back to their car when they see Santa's Little Helper getting sold by his owner. The dog runs and leaps into Homer's arms, and Bart asks if they can keep the dog. "He's a loser, he's pathetic, he's a Simpson!" Back at the Simpsons' home, a sad-looking Homer arrives and starts to confess about not receiving his Christmas bonus and apologizes for the lack of presents, admitting that he's a failure. However, Bart interrupts him by introducing the family to Santa's Little Helper. Marge forgives Homer, and he realizes that in the end, he's done a good job providing a Christmas gift for the family.

The next episode, "Moaning Lisa," starts with a sad and tired-looking Lisa staring at herself in the bathroom mirror while Homer impatiently pounds on the door, wanting to take his turn. Then, in the kitchen, as Homer searches frantically for his keys before heading to work, while wearily eating her breakfast, Lisa finds her dad's keys and hands them to him. Marge, meanwhile, has made cupcakes for the family, but Lisa doesn't want them and instead gives them to her dad and brother instead before moping off to school. "Take mine; a simple cupcake will bring me no pleasure." Throughout the day, Lisa's lack of effort is evident in band practice, during a food fight at lunch, and in class. If you didn't know, Lisa not loving her time in school is a big problem. After school, Marge shows Homer a note from school about Lisa. The note is a progress report from Principal Skinner informing Homer and Marge that Lisa was too sad to play dodgeball at school. Homer tries to discover the cause of Lisa's sadness, and she confides in him that she wonders if the world would be any different if she didn't exist. Homer can't really come up with an answer, so heads back downstairs only to return moments later to yell at Lisa for her loud saxophone, which makes her cry. Talk about making things worse! "Come on, Lisa!" Lisa agrees to just practice playing the notes without blowing into the saxophone. After Homer leaves, Lisa hears a saxophone playing off in the distance outside her window and decides to leave the house to find the source. She walks through town at nighttime and discovers a man playing a saxophone alone on a bridge overpass. The man is none other than Bleeding Gums Murphy. They talk about their love of music, and they begin to play the blues together. Murphy then tells Lisa he plays at a club called the Jazzhole. When a worried Marge, after realizing that Lisa is gone, shows up to bring her home. "Jazzhole" is an interesting name, by the way. The next day, as Marge takes Lisa to band practice, she advises Lisa to smile and keep her true feelings inside so she can fit in with the other kids, suggesting that this is the way to become happy again. Marge drops Lisa in front of the school and watches as Lisa fake smiles and interacts with the other kids. To Marge's horror, she sees some boys make fun of Lisa while she just fake smiles through it. Realizing how bad her advice is, Marge quickly makes a tire-squealing U-turn, snatches Lisa, and then drives off in the car. Marge apologizes to Lisa, telling her it's okay to be sad, that she should always be herself no matter what, promising that she will always have family around to help her. This heartfelt advice produces a genuine smile from Lisa. The two head home, where Marge then tells the family that Lisa has a fun idea for a family night of entertainment: the Jazzhole, where the family listens to Bleeding Gums Murphy play a blues song written by Lisa.

Time for a very important episode: "Krusty Gets Busted." The story begins with Bart and Lisa eagerly watching the Krusty the Clown show, their favorite TV program. Krusty is a beloved children's entertainer in Springfield, and Bart idolizes him. However, things take a drastic turn when Krusty is arrested for robbing the Quicky Mart, with security camera footage showing Krusty committing the crime. "Like to see a slideshow starring my wife's sisters, or as I call them, the gruesome twosome!" Homer, who was a witness to the robbery, testifies against Krusty, leading to the clown's conviction. The evidence against Krusty seems overwhelming: he's clearly seen on the security tape, he was found with stolen goods, and even his pacemaker scar matches the thief's. This news shocks Springfield, and Krusty's reputation is ruined. Meanwhile, Sideshow Bob—Krusty's assistant—yeah, uh, you're going to want to remember him—takes over the show and reforms it with an educational focus, quickly gaining popularity. Despite all the evidence, Bart refuses to believe that his hero could commit such a crime and teams up with Lisa to investigate. They visit the Quicky Mart and speak to Apu Nahasapeemapetilon—they visit the Quicky Mart and speak to Apu Nahasapeemapetilon—the store's owner, who provides additional details about the robbery. Bart and Lisa begin to notice inconsistencies in the case against Krusty, such as Krusty's known illiteracy and his prohibition from eating solid food due to his diet. These clues lead them to suspect that Krusty was framed. "Bart, I'm starting to think you're right—Krusty was framed. Did he have any enemies?" "I don't know…" Their investigation brings them to Sideshow Bob, who seems overly eager to see Krusty remain in jail. Bart and Lisa eventually discover that Bob set up Krusty to take the fall for the robbery so he could take over the show. They present their findings to the police, and the true story comes to light. Sideshow Bob staged the robbery and disguised himself as Krusty in order to frame him. In a dramatic reveal on live television, Bart and Lisa exposed Sideshow Bob's plot. Bob is arrested, and Krusty is exonerated, much to the relief and joy of his fans. Krusty tearfully thanks Bart and Lisa for their dedication and loyalty, reinstating his show and resuming his place as Springfield's favorite clown. Krusty, back on TV, celebrates his return and expresses his gratitude to Bart and Lisa, while the bitter Sideshow Bob vows revenge as he's taken away. "Don't you dare think that that's the last that we've seen from Sideshow Bob. He might just be coming back."

The episode "Simpson and Delilah" begins with Homer watching TV with the family when a new commercial for a hair restorer called "Deoil" appears. The announcer even brands it as a miracle breakthrough for bald people. Curious and hopeful over restoring his chrome dome, he visits a doctor who sells Deoil but learns that it costs $1,000. "Great, great, great…how much? How much? How much? $1,000? 1,000 bucks!" which he can't really afford. Barney, one of his friends from work, suggests that Homer use the company's health plan to pay for the medication by filling out the medical insurance forms creatively. So he buys and applies the restorer to his head, and the next day, Homer wakes up with a full head of hair, running through the streets of Springfield, overwhelmingly happy at the results. "Good morning, everybody! Good morning, Springfield!" Then, at work, Mr. Burns is surveying the security monitors to find someone for an executive promotion, and upon seeing Homer with hair—thinking he's more dynamic and resourceful—he decides to choose him for the job. Now that he's a big boy executive, Homer looks for a good secretary, but all the applicants are just flirting women who make him very uncomfortable. That is, until Carl applies. *The Simpsons* is famous for having super memorable one-off characters; when it comes to Carl, he might be the best of the bunch. Anyway, back to the episode. Carl's interview with Homer starts on shaky ground. He accuses Homer of not belonging in an executive setting, that he's a fraud, that he's wasting everyone's time—or that's the body language and attitude he's showing everyone else at the power plant. "You don't belong here, huh? You don't belong here!" Carl offers advice to Homer that he should hold himself with far more respect, starting with a change of clothes. This inspiration instills a new get-up-and-go in Homer, who hires Carl and asks for help with his workplace wardrobe. And from there on out, Carl becomes Homer's handyman. He even arranges roses and a singing telegram when Homer forgets his and Marge's wedding anniversary. That is a worker who goes above and beyond! At the power plant's board meeting, Homer suggests improving low productivity and decreasing the record-high worker accident rate by giving people more tartar sauce with their fish sticks every Tuesday. Mr. Burns approves Homer's proposal, and accidents decrease while productivity increases. However, Smithers—Mr. Burns's assistant—notices that the decrease in accidents matches the number Homer caused last month, and the productivity increase matches the one that occurred the last time Homer went on vacation. Despite this, Mr. Burns is impressed with Homer's efforts and gives him the key to the executive washroom. Smithers, growing jealous of Mr. Burns's joy regarding Homer's work, reaches his breaking point. Mr. Burns asks Homer to towel off his hand, bypassing Smithers's job. Taking matters into his own hands, Smithers checks the plant's files and discovers Homer's creatively filled-out medical insurance form, where Homer charged Deoil to the company's health plan. Shortly after, Mr. Burns asks Homer to give a speech to the executives, and as Homer discusses the speech with Carl, Smithers confronts Homer about the insurance fraud, ready to fire him on the spot. However, Carl convinces Smithers that the entire scheme was his idea, leading to Carl being fired instead of Homer. Carl politely says his goodbyes to Homer. "Bye, Carl. I'm going to miss you." "Bye, Mr. Simpson." Who now has to worry about the big speech without his secretary's help. When he gets home, he finds Bart using the Deoil bottle, splashing the formula on his face to grow a beard. Homer's anger at seeing Bart handling this formula scares him, and it causes him to spill the hair restorer. The next day, without the formula, Homer loses all of his hair before the big speech due to stress, but he still heads to work, where he's surprised to find Carl, who's written a series of note cards to help Homer with his speech. Homer tells Carl that without his hair, he won't be taken seriously. Carl refuses to listen to his former boss's self-pity and fires an energizing pep talk to him, letting Homer know that it wasn't the hair that came up with the tartar suggestion, or the hair that received the washroom key, or dried Burns's hands—it was Homer Simpson. I think we could all use some Carl in our lives. Inspired by this, Homer presents his speech about economizing the power plant, and despite giving a brilliant talk about the Japanese art of self-management that could save the plant a lot of money, it flops because none of the other executives are willing to take a bald man seriously. By the end of the speech, the entire audience has walked out, and Homer is summoned to Mr. Burns's office. Burns voices his displeasure over the failed meeting, but rather than firing Homer, he shows him a scrapbook from his youth when he had blonde, curly hair and was considered attractive until his senior year of college when he became bald as a chicken. Burns admits that he sympathizes with Homer about the sting of male pattern baldness and acknowledges that the failed meeting wasn't Homer's fault, as the people only took his hair for so… Burns decides to cut Homer some slack by giving him his old job back as safety inspector. Despite being grateful to Burns, Homer is still upset, worried that Marge won't love him now that he's hairless and frustrated at losing his chance to escape his dead-end job in Sector 7G. But Marge, being Marge, reassures him that hair doesn't matter—she loves him just the same. Okay, the next episode on our list is the debut of the Treehouse of Horror series. For those of you that don't know, this is basically *The Simpsons*' twist on a Halloween special, where they parody famous horror films and scary stories from throughout the ages in three mini-episodes. The first of which is called "Bad Dream House." It begins with the Simpsons moving into a new home that they purchased at an unbelievably good price. Lisa and Marge are scared that an evil presence is lurking in the house, though Homer insists there's nothing to worry about, despite a vortex appearing in the kitchen. Bart is then strangled by a lamp cord as the house threatens the family, even hurling Homer up to the ceiling. When everyone tries to settle into sleep, the house takes possession of Homer and the children, causing the four of them to grab various weapons to harm each other. "They are all against me! They all must die!" But Marge manages to stop them. The family then discovers an ancient Indian burial ground in the cellar, which they realize is the cause of all the supernatural activity. Suddenly, the house threatens that them living in there will only end up with their doom! This outrages Marge, prompting her to yell at the house to show up and show some manners. After a few moments, hurt by Marge's words, the house agrees. "I wouldn't want to get on Marge's bad side either. I get it." They call the real estate agent, who explains that he must have told them at least a hundred times the house was haunted, and there's nothing he can do to fix it. Marge explains that since they're living in the house, they will have to accept it. But upon hearing that the Simpsons plan to stay, the home self-destructs, sending the Simpsons family back to Springfield.

The next mini-episode is called "Hungry Are the Damned," and begins with the Simpsons family enjoying an outdoor barbecue in their backyard when an alien spaceship suddenly appears and abducts them. Now on the ship, they meet Kang, Kodos, and Sarak the Preparer, who treat the family extremely well, providing them with countless amounts of food to hold them over until the Great Feast at Rial 4. "These are hard to make; they're a very advanced race." After the family is weighed on a giant scale and the aliens—or to give them their species name, Regalian—frequently make references to food, Lisa becomes suspicious and starts questioning the aliens' true motives. One night, she wanders around the spaceship and enters the alien's kitchen, where she sees Sarak preparing something to give the humans the perfect flavor. Once he leaves the room, Lisa grabs a book titled "How to Cook Humans," runs to her family, and accuses the Regalian of fattening them up to eat them. However, it turns out that Lisa didn't see the full title of the book, which is actually "How to Cook for 40 Humans." It's a harmless cookbook; it's just a little dusty. The Regalian feel sad, disappointed, and angry at the family.

For suspecting them, and as punishment, they return The Simpsons to Earth before leaving. Kang and Cotos explained that the family could have lived in luxury, but because of their inability to trust, they will now have to live as not Gods, but normal human beings. As the aliens depart, Lisa laments that the regalians were right, acknowledging that The Simpsons family were the true monsters after all.

The final segment of the first ever Treehouse of Horror is a retelling of the Edgar Allan Poe poem called The Raven. I really love this; honestly, it made a huge impact on me when I was a kid. It opens with Homer reading a book to forget his lost lover, which is, of course, Marge. When he hears a knock on the door, but finds no one there, the knocking continues, and he discovers that a raven, which looks a lot like Bart, is tapping at the window. When he opens the window, the raven flies into the room, perches above the door, and says, "Eat my shorts." The Raven repeatedly says, "Eat my shorts," "Tell me what thy lordly name is," "On the nice pluton chore," "Qu-," "The Raven," "Eat my short," driving the narrator to madness. In his frenzy, he tries to catch the Raven, destroying his room in the process. By the end, the narrator lies in the center of the room, surrounded by books, helplessly looking at the Raven, who cruelly laughs at him—sounds exactly like something that Bart would actually do. Raven or not, well, we had a small detour into the scary; now it's time to resume normal Simpsons programming with the episode "Lisa's Substitute."

Lisa's teacher, Miss Hoover, believes she has Lyme disease and is replaced by substitute teacher Mr. Bergstrom, whose unorthodox teaching methods quickly endear him to Lisa, sparking a crush. Meanwhile, Bart's class is prepared to elect a class president, with Mrs. Krabappel nominating Martin, the class nerd. "He's traumatizing the children as usual," I agree with you, Martin. "Bart, shut that off and take your seat immediately!" While Sherry and Terry, the Troublesome Twins, nominated Bart. Marge suggests to Homer that he spend more time with Lisa at a museum, but he prefers helping Bart with his campaign. Marge insists, and Homer reluctantly agrees to go. At the museum, Lisa runs into Mr. Bergstrom and feels embarrassed by Homer's ignorance. Sensing the gap in Lisa's relationship with her father, Mr. Bergstrom takes Homer aside, suggesting he be more of a positive role model, pointing out that Homer's neglect of his daughter—but you can tell, right? She looks around and sees everybody else's dad with a good education, youthful looks, and a clean credit record and thinks, "Why me?" After venting to Marge about Homer ruining her chance to know Bergstrom outside the classroom, Lisa's allowed to invite him to family dinner. "Mr. Bergstrom, if you're not doing anything this Friday—" "No, Mr. Bergstrom, do you like pork chops?" "Oh, no, of course you wouldn't," only to be shattered when she finds Miss Hoover has returned and Mr. Bergstrom is gone. She rushes to his apartment but discovers he's left for another job. Desperate, she races to the train station, confesses she will be lost without him, and he writes her a note telling her that what he's written will comfort her whenever she feels alone and can't rely on anyone. The note reads: "You are Lisa Simpson." Because, in his eyes, as long as she knows who she is and what she's capable of, she'll never need anything else. Meanwhile, despite Martin's victory in the election seeming inevitable due to his popular campaigning, none of the children in his class, including Bart, actually vote, resulting in Martin's victory with just two votes—his own and his best friend Wendell's.

Back at Evergreen Terrace, Lisa is still devastated by the departure of Mr. Bergstrom, so she decides to take her grief out on Homer, calling him a baboon. "You hear that, Marge? She called me a baboon—the stupidest, ugliest, smelliest ape of them all!" Marge tries to tell Homer that his daughter is hurting and needs him, sparking him to go to a room where he finds her sobbing. Homer explains that he doesn't really know what to say because he's never lost anybody that he loves; that he's sorry he can't help more. He then lovingly mimics a monkey, cheering her up and leading to a heartfelt hug where Lisa apologizes for calling him a baboon. "I'm sorry I called you a baboon, Dad." "Think nothing of it." Homer leaves Lisa to find Bart still upset over the election result. Homer cheers him up by reminding him that being class president would have been extra work with little reward. A happy Homer returns to bed, telling Marge that when it comes to being a dad, he's on a roll.

The next episode starts with Grandpa Simpson suffering a mild heart attack, prompting him to confess a long-hidden secret: Homer is a half-brother. As Grandpa explains, before marrying Homer's mother, he had met a carnival floozy, and they had a son who he left at the Shelbyville orphanage. Determined to find his half-brother, Homer and his family go to the orphanage and discover that Abe's son was adopted by a couple named Mr. and Mrs. Powell. Herbert Powell, who looks just like Homer except with more hair and a little less gut, is the head of the Powell Motors car company, which is in danger of being taken over by Japanese businessmen due to poor management. Although very rich, Herb is unhappy, not knowing who he is and where he comes from, so when he hears about a potential half-brother, he invites the entire Simpsons family to his mansion in Detroit. Herb thinks that Homer, being an average American, is the perfect person to design a new car for his company, which has been losing business to foreign car manufacturers. Herb introduces Homer to his company's design team, who soon use his lack of vehicle knowledge to try and design their perfect vehicle. "I want you to help me design a car—a car for all the Homer Simpsons out there." Back in the hospital, Grandpa's told by Homer about Herb's wealth and business. This makes his dad realize just how big of a failure Homer is, and he begs him not to embarrass or humiliate Herb. "A millionaire—no, I kept the wrong one." Herb tries to help Homer in the designing of a new car as he feels that Homer is not being forceful enough with his ideas. This inspires Homer, who returns to the designers and begins demanding weird items like bubble domes, fins, and several horns. "Lukara, sir, the—the car has a beverage holder." "Hello, hello, Einstein! It's a place to put my drink!" Well, Homer becomes more of a businessman; Herb spends time with Marge and the kids, becoming more of a family man like Homer, because for all the money and success, Herb couldn't buy that true family. Herb then gets a call from his lead engineer asking him to come to Powell Motors at once. The engineer voices concerns about Homer because he's causing trouble, not listening to anyone with engineering experience. They tell Herb that there's no way anything Homer suggested could ever work, but Herb insists that they listen to his brother as he is, after all, the average American. At the unveiling of the "Homer," which is what Homer called his car, Herb is horrified to discover that the car is a monstrosity and cost a whopping $82,000 to build. "I mean, look at that thing!" Herb's American Dream becomes an American Nightmare as his lifetime of work crashes around him. His company ends up being taken over by a Japanese motor company; his mansion has to be sold, and he has to leave Detroit in a matter of days. His life has been turned upside down by a half-brother he now wishes that he never met. "Of course, I'd have been better off; as far as I'm concerned, I have no brother."

Season 3's opener, "Stark Raving Dad," is an episode that all of you Simpsons fans will easily remember, but sadly, in 2019, the episode was completely removed from all Simpsons media due to its connection with Michael Jackson, who voices Leon Kompowsky, a patient at a psychiatric hospital named New Bedum Rest Home for the Emotionally Interesting. He crosses paths with Homer after he's driven to insanity by Bart, who causes all of Homer's shirts to be dyed pink, making him a laughingstock at work. Because of this, Homer is evaluated and also placed in New Bedum Rest Home, where his roommate is Leon. The only problem is Leon is convinced that he's Michael Jackson, despite being double the size and completely bald. Leon befriends Bart after phoning The Simpsons house to let them know about Homer, and since Leon is only there voluntarily, Homer asks if he'll go and check on his family in his absence. The only problem is Bart thinks that it really is Michael Jackson, causing a frenzy in Springfield when he blabs about it to anybody who will listen. But in the background, a special occasion is being forgotten about: Lisa's birthday. Between her dad going crazy and now her brother taking the shine off her big day, who talks about MJ? Lisa's big 10th birthday is on the back burner. The town sees Leon and obviously walks away disappointed, while Lisa writes Bart a letter to say she's disowning him. Leon overhears this and talks to Bart about making things right and devises a plan. Together, they're going to write and perform a song for Lisa, creatively titled "Happy Birthday, Lisa." The song is a hit with Lisa, and she forgives Bart right on the spot. Leon admits after his performance that he's not the King of Pop but a bricklayer from New Jersey who deals with severe anger issues by impersonating Michael Jackson. "I suppose that's uh, one way through therapy."

The next episode, "Flaming Moe's," opens with Moe's Tavern, Springfield's uh, finest drinking establishment. Anyway, it's facing financial difficulties, and when Moe runs out of beer, Homer shares a drink recipe accidentally created one night called "The Flaming Homer." Homer explains that after Patty and Selma forced The Simpsons family to watch slides from their recent vacation, he couldn't find a beer, so he decided to mix together the remnants of various liquors from nearly empty bottles, inadvertently including a bottle of Crusty brand cough syrup. When Patty's cigarette ashes fell into the drink and set it on fire, Homer discovered that the flames significantly enhanced the flavor. After trying the drink, Moe steals Homer's idea, renames it, and begins serving the Flaming Moe's as his own creation. Moe sees his business boom, and his tavern soon becomes one of the trendiest nightspots in Springfield, even becoming Aerosmith's official hangout. Homer becomes angry with Moe and vows never to return to the tavern, subsequently becoming obsessed with Moe and his betrayal. Meanwhile, a man from an establishment named Tipsy McStagger's—yeah, that's right, a guy whose whole life is booze is called Tipsy McStagger's—anyway, this guy attempts to buy the recipe from Moe, and after Moe turns him down, Tipsy steals some of the drink and sends it off to the lab to be analyzed. Tipsy returns again, and this time offers Moe $1 million for the recipe, but a greedy Moe once again declines, but it's warned that the company has nearly figured out the recipe except for one ingredient: the cough syrup. After a waitress hired by Moe discovers that Moe stole the recipe from Homer—"This is what this man's saying—true? Well, it's hard to say; he may have come up with the recipe, but I came up with the idea of charging $6.95 for it"—she convinces him to sell the drink and give half the money to Homer. Moe is about to accept the deal when a seemingly insane Homer appears in the rafters cackling madly. Despite Moe's attempt to stop him, Homer reveals to everyone in the bar that the secret ingredient is cough syrup. With the secret revealed, the man from Tipsy McStagger's tears up the check and leaves the tavern, leaving Moe's dream of being a rich man in the world of alcohol in tatters. Within days, nearly all the restaurants in Springfield are serving Flaming Moe's, and Moe's business significantly declines. Homer visits and finds that Moe isn't angry with him; heck, Moe even serves Homer a Flaming Homer on the house as an apology for stealing his idea, and he tells Homer that some things are just too good to be kept a secret.

The episode "Camp Krusty" begins on the final day of school where Bart, with a long line of Fs on his report card, manages to convince Miss Krabappel to change the Fs to As. Then, along with his fellow students, faculty, and staff, all armed with crowbars, hammers, chainsaws, flamethrowers, assault rifles, and a wrecking ball piloted by Bart, to the tune of Alice Cooper's song "Schools Out," tear down Springfield Elementary School. "That's crazy!" Suddenly, Homer wakes him up, revealing it was just a dream—a very crazy dream, though. It really is the last day of school. Bart and Lisa are excited about spending the summer at Camp Krusty, but Homer has said Bart can only go if he gets at least a C average on his report card at school. Bart finds that Mrs. Krabappel has given him a D-minus in each subject due to his slacking off, and unlike his dream, she won't change the grades. On the bus ride home, Bart uses a marker to change each grade to straight A-pluses, but both Lisa and surprisingly Homer see through his little trick. While Lisa laughs about it, Homer scolds Bart for not faking realistic grades but decides to let Bart go to Camp Krusty anyway. "Oh, Dad, you are the best father a boy could ever have," partly because he doesn't want Bart hanging around the house all summer. Can you blame him? Almost all the kids of Springfield head to Camp Krusty to the delights of their parents, but upon arrival, the camp director, Mr. Black, announces that Krusty won't be around for a few weeks; that the bullies Jimbo, Dolph, and Kearney will be serving as camp counselors and enforcing order. The campers soon discover that the cabins are decrepit and rat-infested, upsetting Lisa. Bart remains confident, pointing to the Krusty-brand approval sticker on the cabin, believing Krusty approved the conditions, but Krusty is shown approving various pieces of shoddy merchandise, so it doesn't really count for much. The situation at the camp continues to deteriorate as the kids are forced to roast pine cones instead of marshmallows, the lake is too dangerous to swim in, the boats are in bad shape, and they're fed nothing but Krusty-brand imitation gruel. Mr. Black and the bullies, meanwhile, enjoy luxury in their lake house. With the kids gone, Homer and Marge enjoy a wonderful summer together. So basically, the only people not enjoying themselves are the Camp Krusty campers. Marge sends a letter to Camp Krusty, but Kearney steals her jelly bean cookies intended for the kids and insults Marge's baking, prompting Lisa to write back describing the camp's horrors and begging her parents to come get them. But Marge and Homer dismiss it, thinking they're just homesick. At camp curfew, the kids, tired, dirty, and worn out, are gathered when Mr. Black announces that Krusty has arrived. A fatigued Bart excitedly tells the others, only to find that it is just local drunk Barney Gumble dressed as Krusty. Recognizing the impostor, Bart leads a revolt. "I thought you said you broke their spirits." "We did. You broke nothing. Let's get them to the hydrofoil!" Driving Mr. Black and the bullies away, destroying the camp, freeing the obese kids who stuff their faces with gruel, and raising a flag saying "Camp Bart." Homer and Marge are interrupted by news of the revolt, and as they watch the live broadcast on TV due to the camp's crisis, Krusty is called back from Wimbledon and comes to apologize to the kids. Bart asks how he could allow his name on the camp, and Krusty confesses that a dump truck full of money convinced him. "It makes sense why Bart looks up to him." Bart describes the nightmare conditions, and Krusty, horrified, promises to make it up to them by spending the remaining two weeks of camp time at the happiest place on Earth: Tijuana.

On a very cold Sunday morning during a blizzard, Marge tries to get Homer out of bed as she gathers the family to go to church, but Homer refuses and goes back to his warm bed after ripping his pants. After sleeping extra late, he finally gets up and enjoys having the house all to himself by cranking up the heat, dancing in his underwear, making his patented Space Age out-of-the-world moon waffles, winning a radio trivia contest, watching a boring debate on TV that gets interrupted by an action-packed football game, and finding a penny under the couch—all of which makes it his new best day of his life, next to marrying Marge, of course, and an unspecified time where he happily ran around a fountain of beer from an overturned tanker truck. "All right, I mean, I get it." Meanwhile, Marge, the kids, and the rest of the congregation shiver through the service and a rambling sermon, only to find themselves trapped at the end because the door is frozen shut. "The door is frozen shut, and it's the only way out." They finally get home, cold and exhausted, and Homer tells Marge he's had the best day of his life, all thanks to skipping church. Marge can't believe that Homer's joy at neglecting his faith and tries to tell the children that Homer's just joking, but Homer says he means it, declares he's no longer going to church. Marge, still mad at Homer, listens to him as he gives her his reasons, such as, "What if we pick the wrong religion? Every week we're just making God madder and madder." Marge still comes to terms with Homer's new outlook on life and prays to God, asking to talk some sense into Homer. Later that night, Homer falls asleep and has a dream where God appears to him. Initially angry with Homer, God eventually calms down, and Homer asks him what's the big deal about going to church when he's not a bad person and can worship in his own way. He tells God that he works hard and he loves his kids, so why should he spend half his Sunday hearing about how he's going to hell? God sees Homer's point and actually agrees, which snaps Homer back to the land of the living, where Marge, Reverend Lovejoy, and the Flanders family all fail in trying to win Homer back to Christianity. The next Sunday morning, Marge tells Homer not to make her choose between him and God. She asks him once more to go to church with her and the kids, but he declines, so an annoyed Marge heads to church as Homer, once again at home, smokes a cigar and reads Playboy magazines. He eventually falls asleep, and the lighted cigar ignites the magazine, quickly engulfing the whole house in flames. "Turn down the heat; that's better!" Homer wakes up to find the house ablaze. He panics and succumbs to the thick smoke, collapsing. Apu spots the blaze and takes up his duties as part of Springfield's volunteer fire department, while Ned Flanders tries to rescue Homer. After the fire department extinguishes the blaze, Homer fears that God was showing vengeance, but Reverend Lovejoy points out that God was actually working in the hearts of Homer's friends, despite their different faiths. Homer apologizes to those he was rude to and thanks them for saving his life when they could have let him burn. "I mean, yeah, but well, you didn't have to say it like that." A kind-hearted Lovejoy then convinces Homer to give church another try, to which he agrees.

The Simpsons continues in our next episode, "Mr. Plow," where a blizzard hits Springfield. A worried Marge calls Homer at Moe's Tavern and tells him to come home right away, so a panicked Homer rushes to get home before the blizzard sets in, but in doing so, he manages to wreck both family cars by rear-ending Marge's car in the driveway. "Well, I got him as good as he got me, don't—" After the insurance company pays the claim, Homer begins searching for a new car, hitchhiking to a used car lot outside of town, only to find that they only sell Eastern European imports from the former USSR. Homer then takes the kids to a car show to find a new car where the family explores various exhibits showcasing the history of car companies and famous cars throughout the years. Bart finds a large quantity of stolen cash in the glove compartment of Bonnie and Clyde's death car, and Lisa notices that one of the crash test dummies in a demonstration video for a German car company is actually a real person. Among the displays, Homer spots the original 1960s Batmobile with Adam West sitting next to it signing autographs. Homer then bumps into the display for a large snowplow and imagines using it to plow protesters at the White House. When a salesman interrupts and convinces Homer to buy it, suggesting he can make the payments by doing plowing jobs on the side, Homer buys the snowplow, and his new business venture, Mr. Plow, is born. With the help of a late-night TV ad, his new business becomes an instant success, earning him the respect of the whole town, even getting him the key to the city from Mayor Quimby. Barney, who has been working a series of dead-end jobs, shows up and asks Homer how he can be successful, and Homer advises him to be the best Barney he can be. "You got to pull up your diaper, get out there, and be the best damn Barney you can be." "Here I come!"

[Music] World. The next day, Barney buys a bigger plow than Homer and starts his own rival business as the plow king. And with Ronda Rad's help—she was a famous singer in the 70s—Barney creates an ad that casts a shadow on Mr. Plow as an alcoholic loser, stealing all of Homer's customers. This makes Mayor Quimby take back the key to the city from Homer, and he passes it to Barney, almost like a passing of the torch in the snowplow world.

Now desperate, Homer goes to McMahon and Tate advertising to create an ad, but the result is so confusing that even Homer can't tell that it promotes his own plowing service. So if he can't tell, no one can. To get revenge, Homer tricks Barney into going on a fake plow job at the top of a mountain called Widow's Peak. And while Barney's gone, Homer begins plowing his old customers' driveways again. However, the news later reports an avalanche on Widow's Peak, and feeling guilty, Homer sets out to rescue Barney. In the end, they agreed to become partners, but that venture is just as bad and ends with Homer getting his plow repossessed. But hey, at least he gets to keep the Mr. Plow jacket.

One of the most famous and beloved episodes of The Simpsons, "Marge vs. the Monorail," begins shortly after Agent Malone catches Mr. Burns dumping nuclear waste in the city park, where he's fined $3 million, which is then allocated for Springfield's restoration. At a town meeting to decide how to spend the money, Lisa advocates for virtual reality helmets at Springfield Elementary to bring history to life. Bart dreams of giant mechanical ants to wreak havoc on the school, and Homer wishes for a billboard proclaiming "No Fat Chicks." Ned Flanders proposes using the funds to hire more firefighters for the perpetual blaze on the east side of town, a plan Homer finds dull. While Mr. Burns, poorly disguised as Mr. Snub, suggests the money should return to the nuclear plant, only to be booed off. Apu calls for more police officers after being shot 80 times and nearly missing work, a suggestion Chief Wiggum dismisses. And Marge pushes for fixing Main Street, which is severely damaged due to negligent driving.

Despite Grandpa Simpson's objection, the town overwhelmingly supports fixing Main Street. But before the vote is finalized, a charismatic stranger named Lyle Lanley sways everyone with a song about buying a monorail. If you haven't heard it, go check it out. I think I'd even buy a monorail after listening to it. While the town buzzes with excitement about this new monorail, Marge remains skeptical, believing the money should have gone to repairing Main Street. During a school assembly, Lanley charms most attendees, including Lisa, who questions the need for a monorail in a small town. "I'd like you to explain why we should build a mass transit system in a small town with a centralized population, young lady," Lanley says. "That's the most intelligent question I've ever been asked."

Homer, inspired by a TV ad, eagerly signs up for a monorail conductor training course and, after a minimal 3-week training, is named the monorail conductor. However, when Homer shows his family the monorail cockpit, Marge discovers a family of possums instead of a fire extinguisher. Now suspicious, Marge visits Lanley's office, finds his notebook outlining his plan to ruin Springfield with the monorail, and leaves with her fears confirmed. Determined to uncover more, Marge drives to North Haverbrook—now a ghost town—and meets Sebastian Cobb, a scientist forced by Lanley to cut corners on the monorail's construction. Cobb warns that the monorail's success hinges on having a highly competent conductor. Meanwhile, the maiden voyage draws a crowd, including local celebrities, but Lanley skips town with the money as the monorail begins its journey. It quickly malfunctions, speeding uncontrollably. The town's leadership is distracted, and a brief solar eclipse momentarily stops the monorail, only for it to start again once the eclipse passes. Lanley's escape to Tahiti is thwarted when his plane makes an unexpected stop in North Haverbrook, where he's mobbed by angry locals. "Karma," someone says. "Oh no, there he is."

Back in Springfield, Cobb instructs Homer to use an anchor to stop the monorail, which forces Homer to use the giant "M" from the monorail as an anchor, successfully bringing the runaway train to a halt by catching it on Lard Lad's giant donut, saving the entire town. "All right, we're going from the good to the bad now," as we turn to the episode "Last Exit to Springfield," which begins with Mr. Burns sitting in his office, laughing evilly as a window cleaner hangs on for dear life after his platform snaps in half. He then telephones Smithers to ask why the trade union leader is still absent from a meeting about the proposed union contract. Burns looks over the contract, is disgusted by the demands, and reminisces about simpler times when his grandfather mistreated workers, ignoring their warnings about unionizing. Deciding to avenge his grandfather, Burns revokes the union's dental plan in the absence of the union leader. "Well, I am going to avenge my grandfather and will get back our dental plan," he says.

Meanwhile, at Painless Dentistry, the Simpsons kids are getting their teeth checked by Dr. Wolf. It is discovered that Lisa needs braces. When Marge informs Homer, he tells her not to worry because the union had won a dental plan during the strike of 1988. "Hate to break it to you, Homer, but uh, not anymore," Carl says at work, announcing that the new contract requires the union to give up their dental plan in exchange for a free keg of beer for their meetings. Homer realizes that losing the dental plan would mean paying for Lisa's braces out of pocket, so he jumps into action, reminding everyone how important the dental plan is and how insulting the new contract is. Carl proposes Homer be the new union president; he's promptly elected almost unanimously. As his first act, Homer rips up the contract that would give up their dental plan. "Right on, Homer," someone says. Burns, monitoring Homer through a hidden camera, is impressed and asks Smithers who the employee is. "I love this recurring joke," someone says. "He just never remembers him." Smithers reminds Burns of all his past encounters with the Simpsons family, but Burns just doesn't remember. "It could be his old age," someone says. "Maybe a lack of caring. I don't know, probably both."

The next morning, Homer's family congratulates him on his new position as union president, believing he can gain better conditions for his co-workers. The next day, Burns continues to mistake Homer for a brilliant tactician, confusing his actions with clever strategy. While exercising away while the others are off at the candy machine, Burns invites Homer to his office to reach an agreement, making innuendos that hint at bribery. Homer quickly leaves, saying he doesn't go for such backdoor shenanigans. After a terrifying prep before her surgery and a dream resembling a Beatles' Yellow Submarine-style trip, Lisa gets her new braces without the dental plan. The only braces they can afford are old and outdated, making her call herself a monster and horrifying the school photographer. Meanwhile, Burns sends hired goons to bring Homer to Burns Manor for negotiations, where he gives Homer a tour of his mansion, showing off his wealth and power. During the tour, Homer desperately needs to use the restroom due to all the drinks he's had, but he's unable to find the bathroom. Homer leaves abruptly, making Burns think he's unwilling to negotiate. Fed up with meeting Burns, Homer calls a union meeting to resign as president, but the union misinterprets his words and immediately votes to strike.

Burns tries to break the strike with various methods, including bringing in 1930s-era strikebreakers, spraying the strikers with a hose, and using robots that turn on him 15 minutes later. Burns and Smithers turn off the power for the whole town, leading to chaos and anarchy. Despite the power cut, the strikers remain hopeful and start singing, led by Lisa. Burns, confident he's broken the union spirit, steps out to hear the reaction but is disarmed by their unity and optimism. Finally broken, Burns calls a meeting with Homer and agrees to the union's demands on the condition that Homer resigns as union president. Homer celebrates, prompting Burns to realize Homer is not the brilliant tactician that he thought he was. Homer tells his co-workers a deal has been reached, and they return to work, restoring power to Springfield. With a Simpsons family insured again, Lisa's outdated braces are replaced with modern, dental plan-covered, luxury braces.

Next up is season 5's opener, "Homer's Barbershop Quartet." This episode is a little different from the usual format, as the story is told through a flashback. While the Simpsons family are stranded in the middle of nowhere after being on a trip to the Springfield Swap Meet, it was at that meeting where Bart comes across an old vinyl from a band called The B Sharps that had a young Homer's face on it, which sparks the man himself into story mode as he begins to tell Bart and Lisa about the days he formed a band—a band with a hit record. Well, not a band per se, but a barbershop quartet. These four were originally comprised of Homer, obviously, Apu, Principal Skinner, and Chief Wiggum, and they would meet regularly and perform around Springfield. Eventually, they started getting a small bit of success, and when a record executive talent scouts them, he realizes that there's something which doesn't quite work with Chief Wiggum. He says that his inclusion in the band is too Village People, and the group he had in mind for the other three was a little more original. So the other three vote to kick Wiggum out and go on a hunt for their fourth and final wheel. They can't seem to find anyone that fits, that is until they hear an angelic voice coming from one of the toilets in Moe's Tavern, where they find Barney singing a little Irish tune. And just like that, The B Sharps are born.

By this time in the present day, by the way, Marge just left the family to go in search of a gas station for a replacement tire for the car because Homer swapped their spare tire at the swap meet. Homer continues the story, and he tells the kids about the time that he wrote the group's first number-one record. After spending days at the piano trying to write a song, Homer has complete writer's block, that is until Marge appears with baby Lisa and a sign she just bought that says "Baby on Board." This accidentally pushes Homer into a creative action; he needs to work on a new song. Then, after it's written, the band records it, and their record executive comes in and tells them that they've just recorded their first hit record. He wasn't wrong. The song "Baby on Board" sweeps the nation; it's played on every TV show and every radio station; heck, it even wins a Grammy. Their meteoric rise doesn't last for long, though, because the brighter the flame, the quicker the candle burns, and creative stress to match the success of "Baby on Board" drives a wedge between the group's members. Barney has gone completely insane with the idea of musical art, kind of like John Lennon in the 70s, and the rift between the band becomes too big, causing them to split up and return to their boring lives. Back in the present, Marge returns, and the family drives home. Homer puts the kids to bed and makes a call. The next day, on the rooftop of Moe's Tavern, Homer, Skinner, Apu, and Barney gather and reunite The B Sharps for one last performance of "Baby on Board." "Window," someone says. "Hello, human fly. Here come."

The next episode in season 5, "Cape Fear," sees the return of the insidious Sideshow Bob. After it's revealed he's the culprit who's sending the Simpsons family threatening and mysterious letters and newspaper clippings that threaten Bart's safety, Bob, who's in prison, spends his days plotting and scheming ways to get revenge on Bart for putting him in jail. He's so desperate that he wrote the letters in his own [Music] blood. The family becomes increasingly paranoid as the threats escalate, prompting them to seek police protection. However, the police aren't much help, as Chief Wiggum suggests that they enter the witness protection program, where the Simpsons will relocate to Terror Lake under the alias of the Thompsons. "But I think Homer can't quite grasp that," someone says. "You smile and nod, no problem. Hello, Mr. Thompson. I think he's talking to you." Life on the houseboat at Terror Lake seems peaceful until signs show Bob tracks them down, clinging to the underside of their car during the move. Bob then strikes, sneaking aboard the houseboat and up the family, while Bart escapes. A tense chase ensues as Bart tries to outrun Bob, but he's eventually cornered at the edge of the boat. So, in a desperate attempt to delay his imminent doom, Bart asks Bob to sing the entire score of HMS Pinafore, as he knows how much of a fan Bob is of that opera. And, of course, the flamboyant Bob agrees. "I shall send you to heaven before I send you to hell," Bob says. "And two and three and we sail the ocean blue." This performance buys enough time for the houseboat to drift back into Springfield, where it crashes into the rocks. The police arrive just in time to arrest Bob again. He spends the rest of his days once again plotting his revenge. "Take him away, boys," someone says. "Hey, I'm the chief here. Take him away, boys." Kind of a fun fact separate from this recap: there's a theater play called "Mr. Burns" by Anne Washburn, and basically the entire plot of this three-act play is that the survivors of this dystopian world are all trying to recount the details of The Simpsons episode "Cape Fear," and each act is separated by hundreds of years. And over time, this kind of silly text is essentially transformed and misconstrued; it almost becomes synonymous with, like, The Easter Story. It's something that gets put on every year uh by the descendants of the survivors. Sounds really insane, but uh, point being, it's a highly successful play that is successful because The Simpsons is so integral to pop culture; everybody recognizes this episode. Anyway, my theater kit is showing a little bit, so let's move on.

In the episode "Homer Goes to College," Homer's lack of knowledge about nuclear physics leads to a critical safety inspection at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. During the inspection, it becomes obvious that Homer is completely incompetent at his job, causing Mr. Burns to panic. To avoid a shutdown, Mr. Burns has to send Homer to Springfield University to get a proper education in nuclear physics. At university, Homer's excited, but he quickly becomes disappointed when his expectations of college life, based on stereotypical Animal House-style movies, don't really match reality. He fails his first nuclear physics class and decides that to succeed, he needs to embrace the wild experience he envisioned. But instead, he befriends three nerdy students, which he'd never have believed after his first day on campus. The new nerdy friends, Benjamin, Doug, and Gary, are put on a pedestal by Homer as he believes they're his ticket to the ultimate college experience. But instead of partying or getting into trouble, the three friends just want to study. Determined to create his version of college life, Homer pulls pranks and encourages the trio to join him, which eventually gets him into trouble. They accidentally cause a meltdown simulation, leading to them getting expelled from the university. Feeling guilty, Homer devises a plan to get them readmitted by proving their worth to the university dean, Dean Peterson. They stage a rescue of the dean from a fake mugging, but Homer accidentally injures the dean, worsening the situation. In a final attempt to help his friends, Homer studies hard for a crucial exam, but he still fails. Realizing the importance of their education, Homer convinces Mr. Burns to rehire Benjamin, Doug, and Gary as plant interns, showcasing their true talent. The nerdy students impress Mr. Burns with their knowledge and skills, leading to their reinstatement at the university.

In the episode "Rosebud," Mr. Burns celebrates his birthday, but he's deeply unhappy. He dreams of his long-lost childhood teddy bear, Bobo, which he lost as a child and has since become obsessed with finding. This bear holds sentimental value, symbolizing the lost innocence and happiness of his youth. Meanwhile, the Simpsons family stumbles upon Bobo in a bag of ice at the Kwik-E-Mart, and Maggie becomes attached to it. When Mr. Burns realizes that the Simpsons family has his beloved bear, he desperately tries to get it back. He offers Homer and his family various rewards, including money and lavish gifts, but they refuse, as Maggie loves the bear too much. Burns then resorts to more extreme measures to retrieve Bobo, such as cutting off the Simpsons' power and sending goons to take the bear by force. He even tries to steal the bear himself, although he doesn't account for Homer's commitment to American cheese. "64 slices of American cheese," someone says. "64. 63." Despite these efforts, the Simpsons refuse to give up Bobo, prioritizing Maggie's happiness over Burns's offers. Homer, understanding the sentimental value Bobo holds for Mr. Burns, eventually decides to give the bear back. When Maggie sees how much the bear means to Mr. Burns, she willingly hands it over. Touched by this gesture, Mr. Burns thanks the Simpsons family and feels a sense of contentment he hasn't felt in years. The episode ends with a flash-forward to the future, showing an elderly Burns and Smithers in a post-apocalyptic world with Burns still treasuring his beloved Bobo.

Now it's time to walk on the spooky side once again with the fourth installment of the Treehouse of Horror series. The episode begins with Lisa and Bart's visit to an art gallery where they encounter paintings that come to life to tell each terrifying Treehouse tale. The first story, "The Devil and Homer Simpson," begins with Homer craving a donut at work. When he finds that there are none left, he declares that he would sell his soul for a donut. Suddenly, the devil, who takes the form of Ned Flanders, appears and offers Homer a contract to sell his soul in exchange for a donut. Homer signs the contract and begins eating it, but cleverly leaves one piece uneaten to avoid losing his soul. However, he does eventually eat the final piece in his sleep and is taken to hell. "You're wide behind won't save you this time," someone says. Marge intervenes with Lisa and Homer, granting a trial in hell to determine the ownership of his soul, but until then, he has to endure a full day in hell, where he gets tortured. "I don't understand it," someone says. "James Coco went mad in 15 minutes." In his court hearing, Lionel Hutz steps up to defend Homer while the jury includes famous historical figures like Benedict Arnold and Blackbeard. Then he promptly steps out. Thankfully, Marge presents a photo of their wedding day, proving that Homer pledged his soul to her, and the court rules in their favor. Despite winning, Homer is left with a donut for a head as a final punishment from the devil.

The second story, "Terror at 5 1/2 ft," is a parody of the Twilight Zone episode "Nightmare at 20,000 ft." This one's a total classic where Bart has a nightmare about a gremlin causing a bus crash and wakes up terrified. On his way back to school, he sees the same gremlin attacking the school bus. He tries to warn everybody, but nobody believes him. Bart's attempts to stop the gremlin cause absolute chaos, leading Principal Skinner and the other kids to think he's gone crazy. Finally, Bart manages to knock the gremlin off the bus with a flare gun, and Groundskeeper Willie runs over with his tractor. The story ends with Bart being taken away in an ambulance, only for him to discover the gremlin attached to the back of the ambulance, furthering his terror. In the third story, "Bart Simpsons Dracula," the Simpsons family are invited to Mr. Burns' mansion in Pennsylvania for a midnight dinner. When they arrive, they notice some strange and eerie things, like Mr. Burns not having a reflection and completely unnerving and sneaky behavior. Lisa becomes suspicious and puts all the evidence together to conclude that Mr. Burns must be a vampire. That night, Mr. Burns, as a vampire, bites Bart and turns him into a vampire. Lisa realizes that the only way to save Bart and stop Mr. Burns is to kill the head vampire. The family returns to Burns Mansion, where they drive a stake through his heart, believing they vanquished the head vampire. However, as they celebrate Christmas, Marge reveals that she is the real head vampire, leading the whole family to turn into vampires.

The next episode begins with a safety inspection at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant that reveals numerous health and ethical violations, forcing Mr. Burns to hire a new employee to help improve safety. This new employee, Mindy Simmons, turns out to be an attractive woman who mirrors Homer perfectly, with her love of beer and donuts, luring Homer into having feelings for her. Despite his initial guilt and attempts to avoid her, Homer finds himself spending more time with Mindy as their interests and personalities align perfectly. He heads to Moe's for some advice. "My friend, Joey Jojo Junior Shabadoo," Homer says. "That's the worst name I ever heard." Meanwhile, Bart is sent to the school nurse after his eyes are damaged from looking at the sun too long, and he's diagnosed with a condition that requires him to wear thick glasses, special shoes, and use additional shampoo, which makes him a target for bullying. Back at the plant, Homer and Mindy's mutual attraction grows stronger, and they're sent on a business trip together to Capital City. Homer tries to remain faithful to Marge, but the temptation becomes overwhelming.

And Mindy end up alone in a hotel room. Just as Homer is about to give into his desires, he chooses to stay loyal to Marge and he leaves the room. He then returns home, relieved and proud of his decision to remain faithful. He confesses his temptation to Marge, who forgives him, appreciating his honesty and his commitment to their marriage.

In the next episode, the town of Springfield is facing a financial crisis and needs a solution to generate revenue. After a town meeting, the citizens decide to legalize gambling, and Mr. Burns quickly opens a casino. Homer is hired as a blackjack dealer, and Marge becomes addicted to gambling after winning a jackpot on a slot machine. Marge's addiction snowballs, and she starts spending all of her time at the casino, neglecting her family and her responsibilities. This causes problems at home, especially for Bart, who gets into trouble at school and needs Homer's help. Meanwhile, Mr. Burns becomes increasingly paranoid and reclusive, turning into a Howard Hughes-like figure. Those of you who don't know about that reference, he's one of those powerful men in America who then went a little insane. "Now to the plant, we'll take the spruce moose, hop in!" "But sir, I said hop in!" Homer struggles to manage the household and Marge's absence, leading to absolute chaos. Homer decides that he's going to have to confront Marge over her problem and tracks her down to the casino and tells her that, basically, her addiction is driving the family apart. Viewing this as a wake-up call, Marge realizes the impact of her addiction and agrees to give up gambling. She apologizes to her family and helps Lisa finish her school project, making amends for her neglect.

The episode "Deep Space Homer" gets underway with NASA facing a decline in public interest and seeking a way to boost their ratings. They decide to send an ordinary person into space to capture the public's attention. Homer, feeling unappreciated at work and at home, calls into a NASA broadcast to complain, and his anger impresses the NASA officials, leading them to choose him as a potential astronaut. "People, our long search is over!" Homer and Barney are selected as finalists for the mission and undergo a series of tests to determine who will go into space. Initially, Barney outperforms Homer in every test; however, when Barney drinks non-alcoholic champagne in celebration, he reverts to his alcoholic ways, disqualifying him and leaving Homer as the chosen astronaut. Homer, along with veteran astronaut Buzz Aldrin and another astronaut named Race Banyon, begin training for the space mission. Despite his clumsy and bumbling nature, Homer manages to complete his training and is set to go to space. The Simpson family watches nervously as the launch day arrives, with Homer being both excited and terrified. Once in space, Homer's antics cause problems aboard the shuttle. He opens a bag of chips, and the floating chips create a mess, jeopardizing the mission. To clean up, Homer floats around eating the chips, leading to one of the most iconic scenes in the whole series, set to Johann Strauss's "The Blue Danube." Homer accidentally breaks an ant farm, causing the ants to float around the cabin and be mistaken for alien life by the media. Back on Earth, the situation worsens when Homer inadvertently smashes the spaceship's navigation system, facing potential disaster. Homer bravely volunteers to go outside the shuttle to fix the problem. With some help from his crewmates, Homer successfully repairs the system but finds himself drifting away from the shuttle. In a moment of desperation, he uses a carbonated beverage to propel himself back to safety. The shuttle re-enters Earth's atmosphere, and he lands safely, making Homer a hero. The family and townspeople celebrate his return, and Homer feels appreciated and valued, until a carbonated Rod takes the spotlight away. The episode ends with a ticker-tape parade in Rod's honor, but luckily his colleagues at the power plant show newfound respect.

The next episode on our list, "Homer Loves Flanders," starts with Homer winning tickets to a big football game, but he can't find anybody to go with him. After exhausting his options, he reluctantly invites his neighbor, Ned Flanders, who enthusiastically accepts. To Homer's surprise, he ends up actually having a fantastic time with Ned, who goes out of his way to make the experience enjoyable. The two end up bonding, and following the game, Homer becomes increasingly infatuated with Ned and starts spending more time with him. He tags along on family outings, much to the shock of both families. Ned, who initially enjoys Homer's company, soon finds Homer's constant presence overwhelming and intrusive. Meanwhile, Marge and the kids notice the unusual amount of time that Homer is spending with Ned, and they become concerned. Ned tries to gently distance himself from Homer, but Homer doesn't take the hint and continues to involve himself in Ned's life. He shows up uninvited at the Flanders home, joins them on their family trips, and even disrupts their church activities. Despite Ned's growing discomfort, Homer remains oblivious to the problems that he's causing. The situation reaches a breaking point when Homer insists on joining the Flanders family for a camping trip. Ned, desperate for some peace and quiet, becomes increasingly frustrated with Homer's antics during the trip. Homer inadvertently causes a series of mishaps, including setting their campsite on fire and attracting a swarm of bees. "Oh, Lord, please give me the strength to endure Homer Simpson's..." [Music] friendship. Ned then loses his temper and angrily tells Homer to leave him and his family alone. Hurt by Ned's outburst, Homer finally realizes that he's been overstepping his bounds. He returns home feeling dejected and confused about why Ned no longer wants to be his friend. Back in Springfield, Ned feels guilty for losing his temper, and he decides to apologize to Homer. He goes to the Simpson home and explains that while he values the friendship, he also needs some space for his family. Homer understands, and he agrees to give Ned some breathing room, appreciating the honesty. "It's all or nothing with Homer; either he loves you a lot or he hates you."

Up next, we've got another fan favorite, "Bart of Darkness." The episode begins in the middle of a Springfield heatwave, prompting the Simpsons to buy a pool to cool off. "Everybody in the pool! It is a fine bar, but sure it is no pool!" The new pool quickly makes Bart and Lisa popular with their neighborhood friends, who flock to their backyard for pool parties. While attempting a daring dive, Bart breaks his leg and he's confined to his room in a full cast. Feeling isolated and completely bored, to pass the time Bart is given a telescope by Lisa, and he starts observing the neighborhood from his bedroom window. Inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's *Rear Window*, Bart becomes increasingly interested in spying on his neighbors. Meanwhile, Lisa enjoys her newfound popularity as the host of the pool parties but feels guilty about Bart being left out. One night, while looking through the telescope, Bart witnesses what he believes to be Ned Flanders murdering his wife. "I'm a murderer! I'm a murderer!" "Then that's not the real Ned Flanders." Bart tries to convince Lisa and their friends of the crime, but they dismiss his suspicions as the result of his boredom and overactive imagination. Determined to uncover the truth, Bart continues to spy on Flanders's household and notices more suspicious behavior from Ned. As Bart's paranoia grows, he enlists Lisa's help to investigate further. Lisa, reluctantly agreeing, sneaks into the Flanders house while Ned is away. Inside, she discovers unsettling signs: a bloody mattress, and Maude's belongings are missing. However, she's forced to flee when Ned does return home very unexpectedly. With more evidence, Bart becomes convinced that Ned is guilty and he calls the police, but they find nothing incriminating when they arrive. Frustrated, Bart decides to take matters into his own hands and he confronts Ned directly from his window. Just as he accuses Ned of murder, Ned enters Bart's room, revealing that he has been caring for Maude, who's actually away visiting family. Embarrassed by his mistake, Bart learns that Ned had been acting strangely because he was worried about Maude's health and was cleaning the house in her absence. The bloody mattress was actually from a nosebleed Ned had suffered, and the missing items were simply being cleaned or replaced. Bart apologizes to Ned, and this shows a virtual growth in Bart coincides with his leg fully healing. The episode ends with the Simpsons family finally enjoying their pool together.

All right, back to the spooky version of *The Simpsons* with the fifth and most beloved installment of the *Treehouse of Horror* series, number V... I mean, I mean number five. First story: "The Shinning" starts with the Simpsons becoming winter caretakers of Mr. Burns's isolated mountain lodge. As they settle in, Mr. Burns cuts off the cable TV and beer supply to ensure that Homer actually works without his usual distractions. Homer slowly begins losing his mind. Bart, who has "the shinning," which is a psychic ability, connects with Groundskeeper Willie, who realizes that Bart must be in trouble. Homer, meanwhile, driven mad by the isolation and lack of beer, tries to kill his family. Marge finds a typewriter filled with Homer's deranged writings. "No TV and no beer make Homer something something..." Willie arrives to try and save the family, but it's met with an axe in the back. So much for that. Homer attacks Marge, but she manages to knock him out and then locks him in the pantry, but he's freed by an apparition of Moe. Eventually, the family escapes into the snow and finds a portable TV, which distracts Homer from his murderous rampage, at least until he and the rest of the family are thawed from the snowstorm. The second story, "Time and Punishment," is a time travel parody where Homer accidentally creates a time machine out of a toaster. Every time he uses it, he travels back to the prehistoric era and inadvertently alters the future. Each change leads to bizarre and humorous versions of Springfield, including one where Ned Flanders rules a dystopian world and another where the family is extremely wealthy, but they lack donuts. After several attempts to fix things, including one where Willie is yet again axed in the back, Homer finally returns to a version of his life that seems somewhat normal, except everybody has long, lizard-like tongues, which he decides to accept as "eh, close enough." The third and final story, "Nightmare Cafeteria," is a gruesome tale set in Springfield Elementary. The school faces budget cuts and overcrowding, prompting Principal Skinner to come up with a horrifying solution: turning misbehaving students into cafeteria food. Bart, Lisa, and their friends realize that students are disappearing, and the lunch menu is getting suspiciously better. In a desperate attempt to avoid becoming the next meal, they try to escape, but they're eventually caught by the faculty. Willie runs in one more time to try and stop the gruesome grinding, but again, you know the drill; he gets axed in the back. The story ends with the children about to be turned into food, but then it shifts to the Simpsons waking up from what appears to be a shared nightmare. Then we all get a little more nightmare fuel with the ending sequence. I don't even know how to describe what I'm looking at. Jeez.

The episode "Homer Badman" begins with Homer and Marge attending a candy convention, where Homer's obsession with candy leads him to swipe a rare gummy Venus de Milo. "Now this is going to take all my skill!" At the convention, Marge arranges for a babysitter named Ashley Grant to watch the kids after the event. Homer drives Ashley home, and upon dropping her off, notices the gummy Venus stuck to her rear. Without thinking, he grabs it, causing Ashley to misinterpret his action as a sexual advance. The next day, Ashley accuses Homer of sexual harassment, which quickly escalates into a major scandal. The media grabs hold of the story, portraying Homer as a monster. Homer becomes a social pariah, with news reports and talk shows relentlessly attacking his character. The situation worsens when Groundskeeper Willie's secretly recorded video of the incident surfaces, but is edited to make Homer look even worse. Despite the negative attention, Homer maintains his innocence and struggles to prove it. Marge stands by him, but even she begins to doubt his innocence after being bombarded with biased news coverage. Lisa and Bart also face ridicule at school, making the entire family's life completely miserable. Desperate to clear his name, Homer appears on a trashy talk show hoping to tell his side of the story; however, the show's manipulative host turns the audience against him, further damaging his already terrible reputation. In a moment of despair, Homer contemplates fleeing, but ultimately decides to stay and fight for his dignity. The turning point comes when Groundskeeper Willie, inspired by Homer's plight, reveals the unedited version of his video, which clearly shows Homer simply trying to retrieve the candy and not committing any wrongdoing. This revelation vindicates Homer, and the media quickly shifts its focus to a new scandal, leaving Homer relieved but exhausted and grateful for his family's support.

Now we've got "Homer the Great," another fan-favorite episode that looks at the more secretive side of Springfield. While at the power plant, Homer accidentally figures out that Lenny and Carl are part of a secret society that makes life a million times easier and eventually stumbles his way into a meeting for the Stone Cutters, as they call themselves. During initiation, the leader of the Stone Cutters finds something interesting on Homer's bum, which turns out to be a birthmark in the shape of their symbol, marking him as the chosen one. Life from then on out becomes a breeze for Homer as the Stone Cutter way of life sets in for him, as they control everything. They control the British crown; they keep the metric system down. Wait, where have I heard this before? "Contr' British!" Homer becomes the new leader, though his different treatment as a leader rather than a friend starts to really bother him. When he tries to get the group to be more sociable, they quickly split off from Homer and start a new "Ancient Mystic Society of No Homers" in Baskin-Robbins. Thankfully, Homer finds out he's been a part of a better club all along; his family. Look, even got their own little initiation. "Hey, fell, can I join?" "Sry, no homers."

The next episode, "And Maggie Makes Three," to many fans, is the episode which captures everything that's great about *The Simpsons* with extra heart and extra tears. The story begins with Homer telling his children about the events leading up to Maggie's birth. The narrative unfolds through a series of flashbacks, revealing a time when the Simpsons family was financially stable and happy with two children, Bart and Lisa. Homer recalls how he was finally able to quit his job at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant after paying off all his debt, a moment he celebrated by dancing out of the plant and telling Mr. Burns exactly what he thought of him. "Such a nice, tidy office; maybe it's time you started living like a pig!" With newfound freedom, Homer lands his dream job at Barney's Bowl-a-Rama, where he works as a pin monkey and enjoys every moment of it. The family is content, and Homer is living his best life, spending time with his family and indulging in his love for bowling. However, their happiness is short-lived when Marge reveals that she's pregnant with their third child. This news shocks Homer, who realizes that the cost of raising another child means he must return to his old job at the power plant to support his growing family. Despite his reluctance, Homer makes the difficult decision to go back to the plant, where Mr. Burns humiliates him by making him beg for his job back and placing a plaque that reads, "Don't forget you're here forever" above his workstation. "Don't forget you're here forever." The arrival of baby Maggie brings immense joy to the family but also financial strain. Homer works hard to support his family, but he finds solace in Maggie's smiles and laughter. Although he initially resents having to give up his dream job, his love for Maggie quickly grows, and he becomes devoted to her. Homer explains to Bart and Lisa that, despite the challenges, Maggie's birth was a blessing. He reveals how he covered up the "Don't forget you're here forever" plaque with photos of Maggie, changing it to read, "Do it for her, man!" It doesn't get much better than that.

Now up next, we have our first *Simpsons* two-parter; two episodes which, when they aired, had the whole of the world in a vice-like grip. This is "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" Part One. The story starts with Springfield Elementary School facing budget cuts, only for Principal Skinner and Groundskeeper Willie to discover oil under the school grounds. Skinner hopes to use this newfound fortune to improve the school, but the anti-benevolent Burns has other ideas, wanting the oil all for himself. So he manages to find a way to siphon the oil away from Springfield Elementary, plunging them into poverty once again. Burns's actions create a domino effect of devastation as, one by one, people lose out on their livelihoods. Groundskeeper Willie loses his job; the school music program led by Lisa Simpson is cut. "I'll kill that Mr. Burns!" "And I'll wound that Mr. Smithers!" Tito Puente, another music teacher, is especially upset and vows revenge, but the people with a vendetta against Burns continue to grow as his oil obsession leads to Moe's Tavern being destroyed. Booed by his evil actions, Burns begins to lean into his villainy, even stealing candy from a baby, specifically Maggie Simpson, making him enemies of the Simpson family. Homer also realizes that, despite his years of service, Burns hasn't had the decency to remember Homer's name one time. "I forgot this; this is my favorite bit, and I love that they acknowledge it." This, combined with stealing from Maggie, sends Homer over the edge. He breaks into and vandalizes Burns's office, writing "I am Homer Simpson" on the walls, but even this fails to make an impression on the evil tycoon. Even Smithers, the loyal lapdog Burns has counted on for years, can't believe what a monster his boss is turning into when he tries to reason with him. Burns actually fires him. "No, no, my ty, I won't! Not until you step back from the brink of insanity!" "I'll do no such thing! You're fired!" He figures that if he's okay with what he's done, he will never be okay with what he's about to do as he's planning to construct a giant sun-blocking device to plunge Springfield into perpetual darkness. His aim is to increase energy consumption from his nuclear plant, fattening his wallet and making a whole town of people depend on him. This sends the Springfield locals into a frenzy. Tensions reach a boiling point in a town hall meeting. The meeting ends with everybody feeling more enraged and helpless than before. That night, Mr. Burns activates his sun-blocking device as he revels in his victory. Someone in the crowd, unseen, approaches him. A gunshot rings out. "Where is everybody?" And Burns collapses on the Springfield sundial, fatally wounded. The townspeople gather around in shock and confusion, trying to determine who among them could have committed such an act. Now that is a cliffhanger. You know, people in Las Vegas in the months between Part One and Two were betting on who shot Mr. Burns. Let's just say no one got the right answer.

Jumping straight on in, Part Two picks up right where we left off with Kent Brockman reporting on Mr. Burns's shooting. He was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead, until being transferred to a better hospital where doctors upgraded his condition to live. "I thought they said that money can't buy you health!" Chief Wiggum summarizes the shooting on Burns, revealing Maggie and Santa's Little Helper are in police custody for questioning as they were present at the scene of the crime, but that lead quickly fades away when Wiggum realizes that both witnesses can't talk. "Good job, Wiggum!" Back at home, Lisa says everyone in Springfield has a reason for shooting Mr. Burns, even themselves. This plunges the family into arguments until Marge announces the prime suspect: Smithers. In the aftermath, Smithers has wandered the streets wondering if he shot Mr. Burns in a drunken attack. He finds a recently fired gun in his jacket pocket and breaks into floods of tears as he recalls walking home, running into a mysterious figure, and shooting him in the leg, thinking that it was Mr. Burns. Moe, Barney, Lenny, and Carl ask Homer to help pull down Mr. Burns's sun blocker with Snake, Springfield's resident crook, Otto, the Springfield Elementary bus driver, Crusty, Skinner, Willie, and Bubblebee Man. They managed to snap the machine in half, and it crashes into Shelbyville, delighting everybody. Guilt-ridden Smithers goes to church to confess, thinking that he's talking to a priest. Smithers admits that he shot Mr. Burns when suddenly Chief Wiggum bursts in and takes Smithers to the station at gunpoint. The police and press interrogate Smithers, who cracks a Madonna joke. Crusty, watching TV, claims that it's his joke, but Sideshow Mel says Crusty stole it from *Pardon My Zinger*. Mel recalls Smithers never missed an episode of that show on Comedy Central, meaning Smithers couldn't have been the shooter if he was watching the show at the same time. Mel and Crusty go to the station, and Smithers remembers he was home watching the show. He realizes that he shot old man Jasper, not Burns. The police find Jasper, and all is well, as it's revealed that he was shot in his wooden leg. "Oh my god!" With Smithers now cleared, Lisa makes a chart of other suspects. Skinner is next; he planned to ambush Burns but was in the bathroom applying camouflage makeup during...

The shooting. Willie reveals arthritis from playing Space Invaders, making it impossible to pull a trigger. Mo's polygraph proves he didn't shoot Burns, but he embarrasses himself lying about his evening plans. "Now would you unhook this already, please? I don't deserve this kind of shampy treatment."

Marge discovers Grandpa's missing gun. With the investigation at a dead end, Wiggum drinks warm cream and falls asleep. In a dream, Lisa tells him to look for clues on Burns's clothing. Eddie suggests checking Burns's suit for DNA. Wiggum finds an eyelash belonging to a Simpson family member.

Burns regains consciousness and says, "Homer Simpson." Eddie and Lou think Burns is identifying his attacker. The police raid the Simpson home. Wiggum reveals Simpson DNA was found on Burns's clothing, and Burns mentions Homer. Lou finds a gun under Homer's car seat with his fingerprints. Ballistic comparison shows the bullets match Burns's wound, and Homer's arrested.

Homer escapes during a stop at Crusty Burger. He reaches the hospital and confronts Burns while Wiggum names Homer as the prime suspect, and Smithers offers a $50,000 reward for Homer's capture. Lisa points out that the evidence against her dad isn't very strong. She recalls Homer finding a green lollipop under the car seat earlier, so she searches Springfield's town hall and realizes who the shooter is. She races to the hospital to tell people of Homer's innocence. Inside, Homer shakes Burns, who says, "Smithers, who is this beast? I'm sorry, and who is this beast that's shaking me?" Quickly, as he was made prime suspect, Homer is cleared. Burns then identifies Maggie as the shooter. He recounts wrestling a lollipop from Maggie, causing his gun to discharge. The gun and lollipop fell under the seat where Lou later found them. Burns clarifies his arms' position on the sundial was coincidental; basically, they're pointing to "WS" on the sundial, which were the initials of Waylon Smithers. The case closes, but Burns demands Maggie be arrested. Wiggum refuses, stating, "No jury would convict a baby. Yeah, right, pops. No jury in the world's going to convict a baby. Maybe Texas. And anyway, it's just an accident. Or was it?"

The episode "King-Size Homer" starts with Homer discovering that the power plant has initiated a new exercise program. Uninterested in physical fitness and desperate to avoid it, Homer learns that employees who are classified as disabled can work from home. Inspired by this loophole, Homer decides to gain enough weight to qualify as disabled. He sets his goal at 300 lb, indulging in a diet of junk food and high-calorie treats, ignoring Marge's concerns about his health. Bart and Lisa find their dad funny at first, but even they realize how dangerous this might be for him.

Now classified as disabled, Homer begins working from home, enjoying the freedom to do as little as possible. He sets up a workstation in the living room, using a toy drinking bird to press the "Y" key on his keyboard repeatedly, effectively doing his job with no effort. Homer revels in his new lifestyle, wearing a ridiculous moo-moo. "I don't want to look like a weirdo; I'll just go with a moo-moo." But as time goes on, his new size makes it difficult for him to perform basic tasks, and he becomes a source of embarrassment for his family. "Hey, my dad may have gained a little weight, but he's not some kind of food-crazed maniac." "Oh, that's raspberry."

Meanwhile, at the power plant, Homer's laziness leads to a dangerous situation when he fails to notice a critical warning on his computer screen after his bobbing bird idea lets him down. Realizing how dangerous things could get, Homer rushes to the power plant to avert a disaster. Despite his immense size, he manages to heroically stop a nuclear meltdown by plugging a vent with his body, saving the town from catastrophe. His actions earn him praise from Mr. Burns, who acknowledges his quick thinking but also orders him to lose weight and return to work.

The next episode on our list, "Mother Simpson," kicks off with Homer faking his own death to get out of work for a day. Classic Homer. When Marge forces him to reveal that he's alive, Homer visits the cemetery to remove his own tombstone, where he unexpectedly encounters a mysterious woman mourning at another grave. This woman turns out to be Mona Simpson, Homer's long-lost mother, who's been absent from his life for decades.

Homer's thrilled to be reunited with his mother, and she returns home with him to meet the rest of the family. Marge, Bart, Lisa, and even Maggie are curious about Mona, who begins to share her story through a series of flashbacks. She explains that she was forced to leave the family when Homer was a young boy due to her involvement in radical political activities during the 1960s. So, basically, she had to go into hiding to avoid being arrested by the FBI.

As the family bonds with Mona, Mr. Burns recognizes her on the news and remembers her as a fugitive responsible for sabotaging his germ warfare laboratory years ago. Burns alerts the FBI, and soon agents are on Mona's trail. Meanwhile, Homer cherishes the time he spends with his mother, making up for the lost years. Mona also connects with her grandchildren, sharing stories and her wisdom. The happy reunion is cut short when the FBI closes in on the Simpson household. Realizing that her presence endangers the family, Mona decides to leave to protect them. She and Homer share a heartfelt goodbye, and she slips away into the night, once again becoming a fugitive. Despite a fleeting visit from her long-lost mother, Homer feels a sense of closure. He believes, "It's not sad that it's over; it's great that it happened."

The episode "22 Short Films About Springfield" is an episode of small, short anthology series, uh, just centering around different residents of Springfield. And well, it's remembered for this classic scene: "Why is there smoke coming out of your, Ren Seymour? Uh oh, that isn't smoke; it's steam. Steam from the steamed clams we're having. Mmmm, steamed clams. And yeah, that's all that you really need to know from the episode."

In the episode "You Only Move Twice," Homer's offered a new job at the Globex Corporation, which promises a higher salary and a better life for his family. He eagerly accepts the position, and the Simpsons prepare to move to a new, utopia-like town called Cypress Creek. The family are excited about the change, especially when they see their new luxurious home and the seemingly perfect community. Homer's new boss, Hank Scorpio, warmly welcomes them and appears to be the ideal boss—a lot better than Mr. Burns, anyway. Scorpio is energetic, friendly, and supportive, making Homer feel appreciated and valued. However, under the surface, Scorpio is actually a charming and ruthless supervillain with plans for world domination, but that doesn't stop Homer from excelling in his new job.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Simpsons family struggled to adjust to their new life. Marge finds herself with too much free time and starts drinking wine out of boredom. Lisa discovers that she's allergic to the wildlife of Cypress Creek. Bart is placed in a remedial class; he struggles to fit in and learn. The family's initial excitement fades as they realize that their new life isn't as perfect as they hoped. As Homer continues to thrive at work, Scorpio's villainous activities intensify, including battles with secret agents, even involving Homer. "Nice work, Homer. Am I proud of you? Well..." Despite this, though, Homer remains blissfully unaware of the chaos around him, focused on pleasing his boss and enjoying his job. But realizing that his family is unhappy and struggling, Homer makes the difficult decision to quit his job at Globex and move back to Springfield. He approaches Scorpio to resign, and surprisingly, he's understanding and even supportive of Homer's choice. So, the Simpsons go back to their old Springfield ways, and Homer realizes his family's happiness is far more important than his own.

In the episode "Hurricane Neddy," a massive hurricane hits Springfield, causing widespread damage throughout the town. Remarkably, the Simpson family's house remains untouched, while their neighbor Ned Flanders' house is completely destroyed. The community rallies to help the Flanders family, with the town's people coming together to rebuild their house. Despite their best intentions, the reconstruction is a disaster, resulting in a shoddy, poorly constructed house that collapses almost immediately after Ned inspects it. This final straw pushes Ned over the edge, leading him to have a public breakdown where he angrily lashes out at everybody in town. "Hell, did I do wrong? Crap! Can't you morons do anything right?" Following his outburst, Ned decides to admit himself to a mental health clinic, feeling that he has lost control and he needs help. At the clinic, he meets with Dr. Foster, who begins to delve into Ned's past to understand the root of his suppressed anger. Through a series of flashbacks, it's revealed that Ned was raised by beat parents who never disciplined him, resulting in severe behavioral problems. In response, Ned was subjected to a highly experimental and aggressive treatment by Dr. Foster, which involves spanking him continuously for eight months, ultimately suppressing his anger and molding him into the overly polite and repressed individual he is today. Dr. Foster encourages Ned to confront his repressed feelings and express anger in a healthy way. Meanwhile, the town's people, feeling guilty for contributing to Ned's breakdown, decide to show their support by fixing his house properly. Homer, feeling particularly responsible, takes charge of the reconstruction effort. Ned returns home to find his house rebuilt to its original state. He thanks everybody for their efforts and realizes that it's okay to feel anger and frustration sometimes. Ned's journey helps him find a balance between his suppressed emotions and his natural impulse to be the kind and caring man that we have come to know.

The episode "The Mysterious Voyage of Homer." Marge reluctantly takes Homer to the town's chili cook-off on the grounds that Homer doesn't drink and make a fool of himself like he did the previous year. This year, however, Chief Wiggum has a secret ingredient to defeat Homer's taste buds during the chili contest: Guatemalan insanity peppers. But these peppers pack more than a punch and cause Homer to go on a trip of a lifetime to find his soulmate. This episode is one where you kind of have to watch it to get the whole meaning, as it's just really like a vivid trip. While Homer is on his pepper-fueled journey, he has a spirit guide which appears to him in the form of a space coyote, which was voiced by the late great Johnny Cash. The coyote warns Homer of his relationship with Marge and asks him to really think about if she is his soulmate. This pushes Homer into a crisis of him thinking that he's living the wrong life. Meanwhile, Marge is angry with Homer as she mistakes his trip for him basically getting drunk and not coming home. So, when he returns, Homer is given the cold shoulder by her. This only feeds into what the coyote warned Homer about, and now he's convinced that his real soulmate might just be out there, so he sets off on a journey that takes him to the Springfield Lighthouse, as he figures a lighthouse operator must be the loneliest guy in the town and maybe he has some advice for him. But when he reaches the top of the lighthouse, he realizes that it's robotically controlled; that he is actually the loneliest guy in town. Homer, being Homer, accidentally destroys the lighthouse bulb. "I know, I'll bring them to me, and then they'll have to be my friends." Just on time, Marge arrives, worried about him. Together they try and fix the bulb, which brings them back together, and once again Homer realizes that Marge is his soulmate. I guess the space coyote's message was, "Don't take your soulmate for granted."

The next episode begins with Homer having a few beers at Moe's Tavern before heading home. On his walk back, he cuts through the woods and encounters a glowing, alien-like figure that frightens him. The next day, he tells the family and his friends about his encounter, but everyone just dismisses it as a drunken story. Determined to prove what he saw, Homer reports the sighting to the authorities, which catches the attention of FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully from the X-Files. Yeah, seriously. The agents come to Springfield to investigate, interviewing Homer and conducting tests to determine his credibility. Despite Homer's sincerity, their investigation finds no concrete evidence, and the town's people continue to mock him. Meanwhile, Lisa suggests that Homer takes a lie detector test to support his claim, but the test results are inconclusive. Still, Homer decides to search for the alien again, this time with Bart's help. They camp out in the woods hoping to spot the mysterious figure once more. After several nights, they finally see the glowing figure again and manage to capture it on video. The video attracts a crowd, including local news crews and curious residents, but skepticism remains very high. As the figure approaches, it becomes clear that it is not an alien, but Mr. Burns. "It's not a monster; it's Mr. Burns. Oh, it's Mr. Burns. Kill it!" Smithers explains that Mr. Burns undergoes a series of weekly medical treatments to prolong his life, which includes exposure to extreme radiation, vocal cord scraping, and painkillers that leave him disoriented and in the dark. These treatments cause Mr. Burns to wander into the woods every Friday night in an almost sleepwalking-like state. Mr. Burns being revealed as the alien puts an end to the mystery, and the town's people's fears are forgotten about. Mulder and Scully return to their duties, leaving Springfield, while Homer feels vindicated, though he's slightly embarrassed by the true nature of the alien that he encountered.

"What is the best ever Simpsons episode?" is a question that comes up a lot, and more often than not, the episode which comes out on top is the next one on our list: Season 8's "Homer's Enemy." It starts with Mr. Burns sitting in his office watching the local news when a human-interest story pops up about a man named Frank Grimes, a man who struggled his way through serious adversity in his life, and coincidentally, he's just secured a degree in nuclear physics. This pricks Burns' ears, as the last drop of humanity that he has left in him is sympathetic of Grimes' story, so he asks Smithers to give him a break by hiring him. Delighted, Grimes agrees. He starts his new job, and where else is he placed but Sector 7G? Though Frank's dream job is about to become a nightmare, as he's appalled by Homer's laziness and incompetence. Despite being a model employee who works hard and follows all the rules, Grimes finds himself constantly frustrated by Homer's laxidasical attitude. Yet, seeing Homer thrive and be well-liked by his colleagues, Grimes can't understand how someone as irresponsible as Homer has a job, a family, and a comfortable life when he's done everything by the book and lived a life of hell.

Homer, oblivious to Grimes' growing resentment, tries to befriend him, but his efforts only make things worse. Grimes is further infuriated when he visits the Simpson home and sees the lavish lifestyle that Homer enjoys, including a nice house, a family that adores him—the stark contrast to his own life of hardship drives Grimes to the edge. "You're a fraud! A total fraud! It was nice meeting you." To make matters worse, Homer gives him a nickname that he hates: Grimey. When you think about it, you can understand why he hates it, or maybe you don't really have to think about it. Well, Grimey is determined to expose Homer as a fraud, setting up a series of tests at the plant, hoping to show everybody how unqualified Homer is. However, each attempt backfires, and Homer comes out looking even more fortunate. The final straw comes when Homer wins a children's contest for designing a model nuclear power plant—a competition Grimes thought would surely reveal Homer's stupidity, but no, people just want to see Homer succeed, I guess. In a fit of rage, Grimes loses his composure. He starts mocking Homer's behavior by acting recklessly around the plant, shouting that if Homer can do it, so can he, but clearly he can't do it, as tragically Grimey accidentally electrocutes himself by grabbing high-voltage wires. "What's this extremely high voltage? Well, I don't need safety gloves because I'm Homer!" leading to his untimely death. And even at his funeral, when Homer falls asleep, Frank Grimes still isn't given the respect and attention that he deserved.

The episode "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson" begins at Moe's Tavern, where the boys at the bar are drawing straws to see who will be the designated driver. Unfortunately, Barney draws the short straw, and any night that would be bad, but tonight is Duff night. Duffman and a party bus appear and give free beer out to the whole tavern. Barney manages to get through the night, but after he drops Homer home, he steals Homer's car and goes missing on an alcohol binge. Two months later, Barney returns without the car, having abandoned it somewhere in New York City. Later that day, Homer receives a letter from the New York City impound lot informing him that his car is parked illegally at the World Trade Center Plaza. At first, due to his past negative experiences in New York, Homer doesn't want to go, but he's convinced by the family to go retrieve the car. The family takes a bus to New York, and upon arrival, they split up to explore the city. Marge and the kids excitedly visit various landmarks, including Central Park, the Statue of Liberty, and the Broadway show. "I'm checking in! I'm checking in!" Meanwhile, Homer heads to the World Trade Center to reclaim his car. He finds the car covered in parking tickets and a boot on one of the wheels, learns that he must wait for a traffic officer to remove the boot, which leaves him stuck at the plaza for hours. As he waits, Homer becomes increasingly agitated, especially after drinking several cans of Crab Juice and needing to use the restroom, which is located in the other tower. Meanwhile, the rest of the family are having a great time in the city, unaware of Homer's mounting frustration. Back at the plaza, Homer eventually gets the boot removed but discovers that the car has suffered extensive damage, including a missing door and smashed headlights. Determined to leave the city, Homer drives the dilapidated car through the chaotic streets of New York, causing more damage along the way. The family reunites, and Homer insists that they leave immediately, despite the car's condition. They finally managed to drive out of the city, with Homer vowing never to return.

The next episode, Season 9's "Principal and the Pauper," is the episode that many fans point to if you want to know when the show, um, died. This episode also coincides with a mass exodus of a lot of the talented, staple staff writers that the show had, and boy does the writing reflect it. It basically rewrites a whole bunch of The Simpsons canon. When a military figure shows up at Springfield Elementary School and reveals that his name is Principal Seymour Skinner, that the Skinner we've all come to know and love is an impostor called Armin Tamzarian, who stole Skinner's identity during the Vietnam War. Yeah, the episode's basically Springfield getting grips with the real Skinner but realizing they preferred the old Skinner, even if he was an impostor. But the main thing fans took away from this episode is they felt cheated—nearly 10 years with the character, all the ups and downs and steamed hams wiped away in just seconds, and for what? A lackluster character. And sadly, things from there on out got a whole lot bumpier for fans of the show.

After two turbulent seasons where the charm of classic Simpsons began to fade away, Season 11's "Alone Again, Natura-Diddly" kind of finished off what "Principal and the Pauper" started. This is the episode where Maude Flanders' wife dies thanks to Homer, basically causing her to fall from several stories while at the new Springfield Speedway. It wasn't even the fact that she died that was the problem for fans; it was that for the rest of the episode's run time, Homer doesn't apologize but instead turns Ned's life into a laughing stock, forcing him into the dating world just days after his longtime wife died thanks to him. So, with that episode, the fans felt betrayed, and less and less of them tuned in to that famous Fox slot to watch the family which revolutionized TV. The Simpsons also kind of did nothing to stop its decline, giving into almost every self-parody that the new version of the show became. Episodes like "Lisa Goes Gaga," "The Star of the Backstage," and "Yokel Hero" show the stark decline of the once-great show. But even in the wilderness years, some quality episodes were still made, so if you haven't given up on them just yet, I highly suggest that you check them out. Season 19's "Eternal Moonshine of the Simpsons Mind," where Homer wakes up randomly in a pile of snow with no memory of how he got there. He ends up going to resident Springfield brain box, Dr. Fink, to analyze his brain to reread and piece together his memories—memories that reveal Marge is having an affair. Season 27's "Bart's Hood" is exactly what it sounds like: Bart's coming-of-age story, but it's far more than that. It's a heartfelt dive into the mind of Bart, starting from when he's six and ending when he's an adult. "Bart's Hood" shows just how deep and how complex the character Bart is, from exposing his real connection with Homer to just how much he wants his sister's approval. It's an episode that wouldn't look out of place in the early '90s. "Pixelated and Afraid" is the most recent episode we've included, so...

Far, first airing in 2012, the episode is a study of the connection between Homer and Marge as they get lost in the icy wilderness and have to survive alone, but together. Then we have the 33rd installment of the Treehouse of Horror, which, amongst Die Hard fans and critics alike, may be one of the best of all time. Three unique tales: one with Lisa in an anime-styled world where she has to save that world through murder; the second is The Simpsons' take on the horror series, Baduk; uh, but most recently of all is the third story, Simpsons World. I met a breakdown of what it means to be in a classic Simpsons story with a surprising cameo from the episode, Marge vs. the Monorail.

So now, after coming through over 30 years of episodes, there's only one more thing for us to recap: The Simpsons Movie. The story begins where else? Springfield; or more specifically, Springfield Lake, where a Green Day concert is disrupted by polluted water, causing the band to sink. At their funeral, Grandpa Simpson has a vision from the heavens, a prophecy that warns of impending doom for Springfield, shouting, but no one pays attention except for Marge, who's deeply concerned. Thanks for listening. Meanwhile, Homer adopts a pig from Crusty Burger, which he affectionately names Spider Pig, or Harry Popper. The pig's waste, collected in a large silo, becomes a significant environmental hazard. Although Homer was warned a thousand times by Marge that both the pig and the silo are horrible ideas, Homer then does maybe his most stupid thing ever and dumps the silo into Lake Springfield, causing a massive pollution spike that triggers a catastrophic environmental crisis.

This event catches the attention of Russ Cargill, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), or EA, as Grandpa foretold. Russ Cargill manipulates President Schwarzenegger—yeah, really, although he does look similar to McBain—Cargill gets the president to authorize drastic measures to contain the pollution. The EPA seals Springfield under a giant glass dome, trapping the residents inside and isolating them from the outside world. The town, meanwhile, descends into chaos as supplies dwindle and tensions rise. Realizing Homer's role in the disaster, an angry mob converges on the Simpson household, where the family narrowly escapes and flees to Alaska, seeking refuge from the enraged townspeople and the authorities. In Alaska, they start a new life, but Marge remains haunted by Grandpa's prophecy and the fate of Springfield.

Back home, conditions deteriorate as the townspeople struggle to survive under the dome. Russ Cargill decides to destroy Springfield altogether to cover up the EPA's actions, planning to blow up the town with a powerful bomb. Marge learns the plan through a TV broadcast and urges the family to return and save Springfield. Homer refuses, content with their new life, but after an epiphany brought on by an encounter with a mysterious Inuit shaman, he realizes he must save his town and his family. The Simpsons make a perilous journey back to Springfield. Once inside the dome, they find the town's people ready to revolt against the EPA. Homer, using his newfound determination, scales the dome and manages to reach the bomb with seconds to spare. He ingeniously disposes of the bomb, saving the town from destruction. Homer and Bart, now reconciled, managed to break the dome with the help of Bart's skateboard and a motorcycle stunt, allowing the townspeople to escape just as the bomb explodes outside the dome, causing no harm at all. The town celebrates, and the Simpsons family are hailed as heroes.

The Simpsons cannot be understated for its impact on TV and film since its first airing in the late '80s. It broke the mold; it became the benchmark for comedy, satire, and even general sitcoms for years to come. To many, The Simpsons is the greatest piece of television of all time, and to those many, I can't blame them. I hope you enjoyed this rundown as much as I truly did. Let me know down below what your favorite episode is, your favorite gag or moment from The Simpsons, and also let me know what episodes you'd like for me to cover in the future, cuz trust me, there's a lot to cover. But for now, I'll see you all next time. See you.