fuckin same lol, I basically feel like it’s already happening: I’m going to watch a ton of Simpsons now. Def starting with these though, like my own DW roulette scheme!
Is the “Monorail” one where Burns says “since the dawn of time, mankind has yearned to destroy the sun”? I think about that line a lot lol.
Alas my friend, that line is from the two-part "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" saga. Part of my Theory of Simpsons is that those two episodes represent a certain high-water mark for the show — when they could get away with making something that audaciously thrilling and funny while still playing fair with viewers who were actually determined to solve the mystery. And a cross-summer link between two of the finest seasons. I didn't make room on this list for that two-parter but if you guys are gonna go nuts I strongly encourage you to include it.
Just circling back here to share another thanks for sharing this syllabus… I have made my way through the first two episodes on this list—at list rate, it may take me a bit longer than I initially anticipated given that I have rewatched each and find myself rewinding out of (1) either joy/delight at a particular moment/line of dialogue that I want to hear again, and again, or (2) I feel I likely missed something and need clarity etc. The quick pacing for me has been so fun in many regards, but also requires a bit of adjusting because I am just not familiar with it yet, and there is lot to take in / unpack in each scene and episode overall. Anyway, just wanted to mention that I am having fun exploring this, albeit quite slowly.
There is a continual thread that likely also slows me down just a bit—the biting sarcasm and passive aggressive dynamic within many of the relationships (at least, that is my experience/observation from watching just two episodes); however, I do see / recognize / appreciate the humor inherent within that recurring thread/layer, and more importantly for me, I also see the dormant tenderness, even sadness / disconnection / potential longing and disappointment there as well, which I find a bit more interesting than sarcasm and it makes me want to continue to explore more. Ok, that was quite the ramble, but there you have it. :)
There's a lot to unpack in this comment and I think it shows some genuine insight coming from someone new to the show. The characters can definitely be sarcastic and passive-aggressive, or in the case of the Homer/Bart relationship aggressive-aggressive. However I would argue that during these classic years the voice of the show was almost always ultimately sincere and principled. Sardonic and biting but rarely cynical.
In terms of the pacing — yeah, best to get adjusted to how fast things move as it picks up more momentum in the coming years. For me that was always part of the fun growing up with the really great episodes: sometimes you can barely catch a great joke because you're still laughing so hard at the one from right before. Rushing up to friends in the school hallway the morning after a great episode aired, we would be tumbling all over one another to start picking over and reenacting our favorite bits from the night before!
Have definitely already had several moments like this (“sometimes you can barely catch a great joke because you're still laughing so hard at the one from right before”) and it was unexpectedly kind of wonderful, to just be laughing at something seemingly so true and relatable. The entire aversion/shock therapy scene towards the end of the episode was kind of hilarious, as was this little moment/scene earlier in the episode:
(@ ~Min 10:35)
Scene: Together as a family, crawling around the neighborhood looking/spying/peering into the windows of others’ houses to observe how families live.
Homer: Let’s see what’s behind door number two.
Lisa: What are they doing?
Marge: They are having a conversation. They actually enjoy talking to each other.
Homer: I wish I could hear what they are saying.
…………
That was one of my favorite little shared moments between the family, as if it was a foreign concept and wholly unknown to simply enjoy being in the same room, relaxed, at ease, talking with each other, as a family. The man emerging with a gun moments later was also funny. Anyway, will keep exploring/ and will welcome the unexpected laughter whenever it happens. 😆🤓
This detailed listed is so fun and beyond amazing—had no real idea what I was in store for but I am now inspired to begin my homework/exploration journey without further delay. Will circle back here when I have a clue of understanding and maybe a thought worth sharing. It is also just so fun to see/read about your (and others here in the comments) genuine enthusiasm and love for this show. I wonder if I will be able to see/experience a bit of the deep delight that you (and others) clearly see/experience when you watch these episodes—I hope so! 🤓 Thank you very much for sharing this.
Love it, thanks DW! We used to get together at the Chameleon on Valencia to drink and watch the Simpsons when my friend Marc Cabrera was behind the bar.
Thanks Bowen! If you are interested, this piece gave rise to a series of interviews I conducted with a great director who worked on the classic years of the show. You can find those interviews elsewhere on my publication.
That is such a hard question to answer, but off the top of my head...
Bart the Daredevil - when Bart is going to but homer ends up jumping Springfield gorge. I’m a skateboarder so that one had even more significance to me.
Marge and the Monorail is great - even just for the song alone.
When Lisa plays ice hockey and becomes super competitive (“Ralph Wiggium lost his shin guard, hack the bone, hack the bone!)
The gummi Venus Demilo
I like the one where the Simpson’s family comes to Australia, just because I’m Australian and I enjoyed them making fun of us aussies.
Flaming Moes.
When Homer fights for the heavy boxing title.
The episode when Homer is guarding the big pile of sugar.
Did you read David Cole's write-up in response to mine over at Sucks to Suck? He included Bart the Daredevil.
Hard agree on the Australia episode and the Gummy Venus de Milo.
And as for the big pile of sugar: no bullshit, I actually would like that monologue read out as they shoot the flaming arrow onto my floating funereal pyre. That is one of the funniest and most beautiful pieces of writing, acting and animation I've ever seen.
Yeah I actually came across David Cole’s piece first and his led me to yours (I went in the opposite direction).
Haha yes, that’s gold! Yeah the sugar one is a classic. I don’t know how many times I’ve said “first you get the sugar, then you get the money, then you get the ... etc etc”
And then at the end when it rains and Homers losing it - it’s so good.
I remember when all my most liberal friends, who just looked upon 'red necks' in disgust, most were calif transplants, but such were the times
My first dinner party, as I actually didn't watch TV, and had killed it before I turned 20 years of age. So we go to this dinner party, and watch back-2-back "Simpsons" & "Married with children"
Both shows depicted adult men as morons, and teenage girls as the smartest of the pack, all my friends were laughing their asses off; ( Certainly most of the teen-girls on Married w/Children were sluts, but they had the air of elitism over the harelip moron father ).
The "American Dysfunctional Family, the New Hollywood Sitcom" Gone was leave-it-beaver, now its "Showers with Biden", staring his own daughter and hunter.
I just didn't get it, why should grown adults, all with Grad Degree's find it amusing to watch harelip homes in action? Saw this stuff as a child growing up at my friends homes, why watch it on TV?
There is this moral high ground this self-righteous attitude, Certainly the OP here is right, some great writing, ,but you could say the same about "SOUTH-PARK", who also did great material and took it to another level by being non-woke, and non political correct.
That was the thing about Lisa, she was always politically correct
....
Lastly don't forget thes show where "TRUMP becomes POTUS" and destroys the USA, followed by Lisa as POTUS ( Chelsea Clinton ), Hollywood always projects ZOG long term planning for the Truman SHow.
Man, what a great list of episodes. Might lead me down a rabbit hole of just watching the Simpsons for months.
fuckin same lol, I basically feel like it’s already happening: I’m going to watch a ton of Simpsons now. Def starting with these though, like my own DW roulette scheme!
Is the “Monorail” one where Burns says “since the dawn of time, mankind has yearned to destroy the sun”? I think about that line a lot lol.
Alas my friend, that line is from the two-part "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" saga. Part of my Theory of Simpsons is that those two episodes represent a certain high-water mark for the show — when they could get away with making something that audaciously thrilling and funny while still playing fair with viewers who were actually determined to solve the mystery. And a cross-summer link between two of the finest seasons. I didn't make room on this list for that two-parter but if you guys are gonna go nuts I strongly encourage you to include it.
Spectacular list. Lisa the Iconoclast is a work of art, IMHO.
I agree; it's sorely underrated!
Just circling back here to share another thanks for sharing this syllabus… I have made my way through the first two episodes on this list—at list rate, it may take me a bit longer than I initially anticipated given that I have rewatched each and find myself rewinding out of (1) either joy/delight at a particular moment/line of dialogue that I want to hear again, and again, or (2) I feel I likely missed something and need clarity etc. The quick pacing for me has been so fun in many regards, but also requires a bit of adjusting because I am just not familiar with it yet, and there is lot to take in / unpack in each scene and episode overall. Anyway, just wanted to mention that I am having fun exploring this, albeit quite slowly.
There is a continual thread that likely also slows me down just a bit—the biting sarcasm and passive aggressive dynamic within many of the relationships (at least, that is my experience/observation from watching just two episodes); however, I do see / recognize / appreciate the humor inherent within that recurring thread/layer, and more importantly for me, I also see the dormant tenderness, even sadness / disconnection / potential longing and disappointment there as well, which I find a bit more interesting than sarcasm and it makes me want to continue to explore more. Ok, that was quite the ramble, but there you have it. :)
There's a lot to unpack in this comment and I think it shows some genuine insight coming from someone new to the show. The characters can definitely be sarcastic and passive-aggressive, or in the case of the Homer/Bart relationship aggressive-aggressive. However I would argue that during these classic years the voice of the show was almost always ultimately sincere and principled. Sardonic and biting but rarely cynical.
In terms of the pacing — yeah, best to get adjusted to how fast things move as it picks up more momentum in the coming years. For me that was always part of the fun growing up with the really great episodes: sometimes you can barely catch a great joke because you're still laughing so hard at the one from right before. Rushing up to friends in the school hallway the morning after a great episode aired, we would be tumbling all over one another to start picking over and reenacting our favorite bits from the night before!
Have definitely already had several moments like this (“sometimes you can barely catch a great joke because you're still laughing so hard at the one from right before”) and it was unexpectedly kind of wonderful, to just be laughing at something seemingly so true and relatable. The entire aversion/shock therapy scene towards the end of the episode was kind of hilarious, as was this little moment/scene earlier in the episode:
(@ ~Min 10:35)
Scene: Together as a family, crawling around the neighborhood looking/spying/peering into the windows of others’ houses to observe how families live.
Homer: Let’s see what’s behind door number two.
Lisa: What are they doing?
Marge: They are having a conversation. They actually enjoy talking to each other.
Homer: I wish I could hear what they are saying.
…………
That was one of my favorite little shared moments between the family, as if it was a foreign concept and wholly unknown to simply enjoy being in the same room, relaxed, at ease, talking with each other, as a family. The man emerging with a gun moments later was also funny. Anyway, will keep exploring/ and will welcome the unexpected laughter whenever it happens. 😆🤓
This detailed listed is so fun and beyond amazing—had no real idea what I was in store for but I am now inspired to begin my homework/exploration journey without further delay. Will circle back here when I have a clue of understanding and maybe a thought worth sharing. It is also just so fun to see/read about your (and others here in the comments) genuine enthusiasm and love for this show. I wonder if I will be able to see/experience a bit of the deep delight that you (and others) clearly see/experience when you watch these episodes—I hope so! 🤓 Thank you very much for sharing this.
Love it, thanks DW! We used to get together at the Chameleon on Valencia to drink and watch the Simpsons when my friend Marc Cabrera was behind the bar.
Thanks Bowen! If you are interested, this piece gave rise to a series of interviews I conducted with a great director who worked on the classic years of the show. You can find those interviews elsewhere on my publication.
Awesome list although I would have also included the episode featuring Albert Brooks as Hank Scorpio. Hilarious masterpiece
That is a fantastic episode. Picking from Season Eight is really difficult.
Picking just one episode from each of the first ten seasons is no easy task, and so that considered I think this is a great list.
You also sent me down a nostalgic rabbit hole where I can’t stop thinking about old Simposon’s episodes - thank you.
What are some of your favorites?
That is such a hard question to answer, but off the top of my head...
Bart the Daredevil - when Bart is going to but homer ends up jumping Springfield gorge. I’m a skateboarder so that one had even more significance to me.
Marge and the Monorail is great - even just for the song alone.
When Lisa plays ice hockey and becomes super competitive (“Ralph Wiggium lost his shin guard, hack the bone, hack the bone!)
The gummi Venus Demilo
I like the one where the Simpson’s family comes to Australia, just because I’m Australian and I enjoyed them making fun of us aussies.
Flaming Moes.
When Homer fights for the heavy boxing title.
The episode when Homer is guarding the big pile of sugar.
And so many more.
Did you read David Cole's write-up in response to mine over at Sucks to Suck? He included Bart the Daredevil.
Hard agree on the Australia episode and the Gummy Venus de Milo.
And as for the big pile of sugar: no bullshit, I actually would like that monologue read out as they shoot the flaming arrow onto my floating funereal pyre. That is one of the funniest and most beautiful pieces of writing, acting and animation I've ever seen.
Yeah I actually came across David Cole’s piece first and his led me to yours (I went in the opposite direction).
Haha yes, that’s gold! Yeah the sugar one is a classic. I don’t know how many times I’ve said “first you get the sugar, then you get the money, then you get the ... etc etc”
And then at the end when it rains and Homers losing it - it’s so good.
I remember when all my most liberal friends, who just looked upon 'red necks' in disgust, most were calif transplants, but such were the times
My first dinner party, as I actually didn't watch TV, and had killed it before I turned 20 years of age. So we go to this dinner party, and watch back-2-back "Simpsons" & "Married with children"
Both shows depicted adult men as morons, and teenage girls as the smartest of the pack, all my friends were laughing their asses off; ( Certainly most of the teen-girls on Married w/Children were sluts, but they had the air of elitism over the harelip moron father ).
The "American Dysfunctional Family, the New Hollywood Sitcom" Gone was leave-it-beaver, now its "Showers with Biden", staring his own daughter and hunter.
I just didn't get it, why should grown adults, all with Grad Degree's find it amusing to watch harelip homes in action? Saw this stuff as a child growing up at my friends homes, why watch it on TV?
There is this moral high ground this self-righteous attitude, Certainly the OP here is right, some great writing, ,but you could say the same about "SOUTH-PARK", who also did great material and took it to another level by being non-woke, and non political correct.
That was the thing about Lisa, she was always politically correct
....
Lastly don't forget thes show where "TRUMP becomes POTUS" and destroys the USA, followed by Lisa as POTUS ( Chelsea Clinton ), Hollywood always projects ZOG long term planning for the Truman SHow.