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300 Episodes of the Simpsons

circletimessquare writes "As we approach 300 Episodes of the Simpsons, Entertainment Weekly tries to pick the 25 best episodes of The Simpsons (and the one episode they consider the worst). They do a pretty good job. But since "best of" lists like this one are always rife with debate and contention, I can't think of a better place than Slashdot to send up EW (pun partially intended)."

7 of 692 comments (clear)

  1. Like Fine Wine... by cancrman · · Score: 4, Interesting
    The greatest thing about the Simpsons is how well the show has aged in syndication. I firmly believe that it takes 3-4 viewings of an ep to really catch all of the nuances. Even newer episodes, which some view as a bit weak, really shine in syndication. Hey it's either that or watch Fraiser reruns. That said, there are numerous omissions from this list.

    Other Classics:
    Two Bad Neighbors (s7)
    Bart vs. Australia (s6)
    Deep Space Homer (s5)
    Homers Enemy (s8)
    2 dozen and 1 greyhounds -- best song ever (see my vest)
    Brother From another Series -- "..those years at clown college" "I appreciate you not refer to Princeton that way"
    $pringfield "I think we'll keep those jars of urine"
    Colonel Homer "The don't call me Colonel Homer because I'm some dumbass army guy"

    Anyway, I could do this all day but I think you get my point. (Quotes courtesy of The Simpsons Archive).

    As for eps that shouldn't have been included in the top 25: THOH, Spin-Off Special & Homer's Phobia. But this is purely subjective, so no flames please.

    I do agree with they're pick for worst ep though

    --
    The sole purpose of the Internet is to get porn and bomb making plans into the hands of children.
  2. Homer collects unemployment by scubacuda · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Definitely the one where Homer gets fat in order to collect unemployment.

    On a side note, I know that Conan O'Brian wrote several of them (like the monorail one, I think). Does anyone know/have a list of those? And did any other famous people (co)write them also?

  3. Quality of episodes declining by Dugsmyname · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It's interesting that out of the top 25 episodes picked in this article, only 2 episodes are from seasons after 1997. The vast majority of episodes listed in this article are from 1993-1994.

    Have all of the creative juices stopped flowing into the Simpsons? Or have they just had a bad run of writers?

  4. Re:Not bad, but... by The+Only+Druid · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It says something about a show that the best episodes are almost exclusively from several years ago.

    Before I'm modded down for heresy, I adore The Simpsons. Yet, I still believe that the show was far greated from seasons 3-7 than from 8-today. The show has lost its ability to be intellectual at the same degree, in losing writers such as Conan O'Brian.

    Frankly, I'm not entirely sure they should keep making the series: Homer is now retarded (whereas he's merely simple in the beginning), Homer has no Job (or actually, he's had well over 70 jobs, as listed in a recent episode...which means roughly a quarter of the episodes have been "Homer becomes a "), they no longer make subtle erudite references...its falling apart.

    --
    "Stumble before you crawl"
  5. Peaked Too Soon...! by clickety6 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Plotting the TOp 25 by year we see:

    90 XXX
    91 X
    92 XXX
    93 XXXXXXX
    94 XXX
    95 X
    96 XX
    97 XXXX
    98
    99
    00
    01
    02 X

    Looks like they peaked early in 93 and, despite a brief revival in 97, its been downhill ever since.

    Or does anybody's best ever list contain items from 98 - 02 seasons?

    --
    ----------------------------------- My Other Sig Is Hilarious -----------------------------------
  6. 300th Episode has already aired!! by thesolo · · Score: 3, Interesting

    From SNPP.com:

    "It should be noted that while Fox is promoting "Barting Over" as the official 300th episode, this is not exactly correct. In fact, the 300th episode to be aired will be "Strong Arms of the Ma," on February 2nd. "Barting Over" isn't the 300th produced episode either, as that title goes to "Strong Arms of the Ma" as well."

    We passed the 300th episode Milestone last Sunday! Anyone else celebrate?

  7. Yes, but there's more by GuyMannDude · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Have all of the creative juices stopped flowing into the Simpsons? Or have they just had a bad run of writers?

    I'm not sure what the difference between these two choices is. But there has definitely been not only a change in writing talent but also in attitude. I couldn't believe my eyes that someone voted "Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie" as one of the best 25. As a long time Simpsons fan, I was actually offended by that. The episode seemed designed to be a big "fuck you" to all the fans who were complaining about how the newer episodes were nowhere near as good as the past ones. I think the writers and producers would have been wise to listen to the feedback they were getting from fans. In fact, I just made this comment the other day about Star Trek. In the Poochie episode, Lisa finally goes off on a siloquoy (I know I spelled that wrong) about how Itchy and Scratchy is just as good as it's always been and that the falling ratings are just a result of being too successful for too long. This speech is obviously directed at unhappy fans of the Simpsons and telling them to shut the hell up and that their opinions are wrong (that the Simpsons is as good as it was in Conan's day). I couldn't believe the audacity of the writers!

    Also, I don't understand what the hell they were thinking about the episode anyhow. The whole plot is that Poochie is a terrible character and makes I&S even more unwatchable. So then the writers of the Simpsons force us to watch these lame I&S clips and this is supposed to be funny? This is kind of like those awful "annoying man" skits on Saturday Night Live. I guess writers seem to think that shoving annoying stuff at us is going to make us laugh out of nervousness or something. As I see it, the entire I&S&P episode was designed as a "fuck you" to the fans and nothing else. It wasn't even designed to be funny. Why it got voted in the top 25 is beyond me.

    GMD