insert credit forum presents: one last good Simpsons season

creative
1

On the most recent episode of the podcast, @“exodus”#3 mentioned that if you take one or two good episodes of the Simpsons from each season that followed season 10, you'd have one last good season.

I'm a diehard fan of seasons two through eight, and I also wish they'd let this series die already, so this idea appeals to me!

(I want to go on record as saying that season nine is the last good season, and that season eight is the last great season, but 10 is a nice cutoff, so let's go with that.)

Let's see if we can get to 22 nominated episodes – the most common number of episodes per season. Nominations must come from season 11 or later.

To get us started, I'll nominate The Dad Who Knew Too Little (season 14, episode 8). This is the one where Homer hires a private investigator to spy on Lisa.

Here's a clip. In two minutes, it contains: a shocking number of good jokes (which are more rewarding for longtime fans), Homer being an idiot (multiple times), non sequitur cutaways to beloved minor characters, and genuine sentimentality. In short, everything that makes the Simpsons great.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44yB5Skg4t4

And as a bonus, anyone who gives a heck about this thread will also probably be interested in reading this incredible book-length essay about how the Simpsons became the Zombie Simpsons: https://deadhomersociety.wordpress.com/zombiesimpsons/

_THE LAST GOOD SIMPSONS SEASON_
Ep. 1 - E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt) (S11 E05) @"Gaagaagiins"#429
Ep. 2 - Skinner's Sense of Snow (S12 E08) @"2501"#281
Ep. 3 - Trilogy of Error (S12 E18) @"robinhoodie"#120
Ep. 4 - Weekend at Burnsie's (S13 E16) @zm1704
Ep. 5 - The Dad Who Knew Too Little (S14 E08) @"whatsarobot"#243
Ep. 6 - Bart-Mangled Banner (S15 E21) @"scoregem"#239
Ep. 7 - The Road to Cincinnati (S32 E08) @"Video_Game_King"#136

2

Me upon thinking I‘d thought of a Season 11 and on episode that I remember liking, but then finding out that the episode where Homer and Lisa experience some heartwarming genuine bonding when breaking into a museum is in fact only from Season Nine: D’oh!

3

Also @whatsarobot I would like to put forth a rule that this cannot have any more than a single Treehouse of Horror episode. It would be up to you and as well up to you to extend this to episodes of any other holiday theme but Treehouse of Horror feels like enough of an institution to say that there can only be One.

Tangent: I haven't watched _The Simpsons_ with anything resembling regularity literally since the Bush Presidency, but I had this theory come to mind just now: is a season's _Treehouse of Horror_ a good barometer for the quality of any given season overall?

4

@“Gaagaagiins”#p47798 This happens to me all the time. Like I am constantly surprised that “steamed hams” comes from season seven, because in my mind it's at least season 12.

5

Actually, no. It must have a Treehouse of Horror episode.

6

@“Gaagaagiins”#p47799 This is a good rule. There must be a Treehouse of Horror episode. But I am willing to expand upon this suggestion. What if we limited the number of ToH episodes to one, but accepted segments from a variety of post-season 10 ToH episodes? They tend to be three mini-episodes stitched together, so I think this could work.

I have heard that ToH tends to be a high water mark for any given season, but have not watched anything at all past season 20ish, so cannot say for sure.

7

I'm going to borderline cheat and snatch up a Season 11 episode before anyone else has a chance to–put me down for E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt) (S11E05), if for no other reason than that Tomacco is a hilarious concept.

8

@“Gaagaagiins”#p47805 I almost nominated this one! It is a fine selection.

Here's a clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvrURYFfxSA

9

I‘m going to say that choosing one segment from a tree house of horror isn’t going to work because we are trying to make a full season. This should be something where we could got to Disney+ or whatever and watch each episode in order.

My other point will be that the episode order of this "season" should be chronological/air date just in case for continuity reasons. Also, I have no suggestions (lol)

10

I haven’t seen many episodes from those seasons, but I remember the opening of season 15 ep 21 is good:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ilc_YmDPiBk

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@“exodus”#p47818 These are all good suggestions.

Let's keep it to one whole, entire ToH episode.

I'll keep the episode order (which is in this thread's original post!) chronological.

12

@“scoregem”#p47821 Good enough! We'll take it.

13

As perhaps the only person who‘s watched any episode of The Simpsons made in the past few years, I’m giving myself the extra challenge of picking an episode made after 2016, long after the show had exhausted whatever quality or good will might have remained up to that point. (Case in point: that fucking Elon Musk episode of the show. No, I will never shut up about it; it's just that awful.)

You know, I genuinely tried to find an episode from this period that's worth watching, but the closest thing I got was [The Road to Cincinnati](https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/The_Road_to_Cincinnati). It's one of the rare late *Simpsons* episodes that, rather than treat the characters as vehicles for unfunny gags or desperate attempts at remaining socially relevant, makes some effort to ground the story in their personalities and relationships, and even then, it doesn't fully understand how to achieve that goal. Plus they throw in [a weak Steamed Hams reference](https://twitter.com/crimson_mayhem_/status/1333283175389409280) just because this is the Chalmers and Skinner episode.

That being said, it's still miles better than anything *Family Guy* or *South Park* has put out in recent years.

14

@“Video_Game_King”#p47887 Kudos to you for including an episode from season 32, which I frankly cannot even believe exists.

15

I was never a huge simpsons fan but its amazing to me how the show is such a great sample case for how American animation has trended toward lowest bidder computer generated stuff over the vibrant hand animated stuff. Obviously the new way is much cheaper but it feels like such a loss that every animated show basically looks the same now. I wouldn't mind more stuff like 12 Oz. Mouse, that ALSO is cheap to animate, But at least cheap in a different, interesting way.

16

Trilogy of Error its the last episode I remember watching live. It felt like a good “if I stop here we walk away on good terms,” kinda episode. A real physical gag machine of an episode. Linguo the grammar robot cliches it.

https://youtu.be/BSjLzqg364k

1 Like
17

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@“exodus”#p47818 My other point will be that the episode order of this “season” should be chronological/air date just in case for continuity reasons.

It's very funny to me that anyone would think to show concern for preserving continuity with regards to post shark jump shambolic Zombie _Simpsons,_ let alone in the year 2021. You're truly a person of principle, Brandon, and I respect it.

18

A terrifying thought: given the delays involved in television production, there is a non-zero chance we‘ll see a 2019 Joker episode of The Simpsons some time in 2022. (They only just now got around to doing a Parasite parody.) If I had to guess what the plot would look like: Krusty or Sideshow Bob/Mel as the Joker if they’re smart, but in all likelihood Bart or maybe Nelson in a toned down, “fun for the whole family” parody. The famous exchange gets rewritten as:

>

“Let me get this straight: you think that killing pranking those guys kids is funny?”

“I do. And I‘m tired of pretending it’s not.”

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“Skinner’s Sense of Snow” (S12E8). A childhood favorite, often quoted in my family (mostly by me).

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@“2501”#p47902 Share some quotes!