The Simpsons: 30 for 30 - Part One

I read in the news today that The Simpsons might end soon.

Like almost everyone else I stopped watching at least 15 years ago, but the show has still had a great influence on me and the stuff I say.

So to mark about 30 years of Our Favourite Family, I've taken out of mothballs this list of the top 30 episodes I started drafting about two years ago.

The plan is for it to be three parts.

This is Part One. It has lay dormant, complete and unpublished, for about 18 months. I never got around to Parts Two and Three, but I'm confident news of the end will push me on to finish.

Images are generated from the outstanding website frinkiac.com. Video links are from YouTube, and may or may not be of questionable copyright status, so if you're reading this from the future and links are broken you'll know why.

30. Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Season 6, Episode 25; Season 7, Episode 1)

This two parter - the sixth season cliffhanger and seventh season opener - was probably peak Simpsons.

The mystery of Who Shot Mr. Burns was easily the most anticipated television event of my life to that point and in the simpler times known as the mid-1990s you had to actively search for spoilers to have the reveal of Maggie Simpson spoiled like it is in this awkward run-on sentence.

Importantly, both episodes are actually above-average funny to support the mystery gimmick.

29. Treehouse of Horror V (Season 6, Episode 6)
The annual Treehouse of Horror episodes are an iconic Simpsons tradition, and I think it is the fifth instalment that is the best example. It is certainly the most gruesome, as the show creators deliberately went out to troll the morality police who were petitioning Congress about the shows excessive violence (around this time, Fox asked The Simpsons to cut Itchy and Scratchy).

The episode is divided into three parts:

• The Shinning, a homage to the Kubrick film of a similar name
• Time and Punishment, a time-travelling adventure that explores the butterfly effect
• Nightmare Cafeteria, which provides a neat solution to overcrowded detention and an underfunded cafeteria at the elementary school

They all have two things in common - laughter, and Groundskeeper Willie taking a axe to the back. 

28. Two Dozen and One Greyhounds (Season 6, Episode 20)
Three words: See. My. Vest.

The best of all Simpsons musical numbers. A good Bart episode too - one that perfectly captures boyish innocence. Like the joy of discovering legitimate use for swear words - in this case Bart referring to Santa's Little Helper's girlfriend as a bitch (Marge: I'm going to write to the dictionary people and have that checked). Also, this:

27. Lisa the Iconoclast (Season 7, Episode 16) 
In this episode, Lisa discovers that town founder Jebediah Springfield was actually a murderous pirate. Lisa plans to expose the truth until she realises the value of the myth for Springfield and it citizens. That's... maybe not actually a great lesson, although it does shine a pretty accurate light on human nature. 

I included this episode because it invented two of the greatest words in the English language...

26. Homer the Vigilante (Season 5, Episode 11)

There is a spree of robberies, which includes Lisa losing her saxophone. When blowing into a jug turns out to be an unsuitable replacement for her musical instrument, Homer decides to take action by leading the neighbourhood watch group. This leads to a decrease in petty vandalism such as graffiti, but an exponential increase in heavy sack beatings.

It is only when he listens to Grandpa that the cat burglar is caught, before a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad conclusion. 

25. Homer's Enemy (Season 8, Episode 23)
I don't think this is a great episode, but it is certainly memorable, as the show takes a brave foray into blacker comedy.

The problem is that for it to truly work I think at some point before the shocking climax you're supposed to side with Homer, but for me that never happens. I still empathise with Grimey the downtrodden everyman over his lazy, ignorant and undeservingly successful mortal enemy Homer. Also, there is a B-plot where Bart buys a warehouse that is total filler. 

24. Bart vs. Australia (Season 6, Episode 16)

23. Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk (Season 3, Episode 11)
The Springfield Nuclear Power Plant is sold by Mr. Burns to German investors, and Homer loses his job after an interview with the new owners takes a memorable detour to The Land of Chocolate, an iconic scene that is an early foray into the absurd for the show.

A bitter Homer confronts Mr. Burns about his job loss in Moe's Tavern, and the confrotnation leads Mr. Burns to the realisation that he needs the Plant back, which in turns sees Homer re-hired.

22. Lisa the Greek (Season 3, Episode 14)
Lisa looks to bond with her dad by watching football, which Homer embraces once he discovers that Lisa has a remarkable knack for picking winners. He gets rich, until Lisa realises she is being used for her tipping prowess - a pain I personally know all too well - and gives Homer an ultimatum in the form of a Super Bowl pick: "If I still love you, Washington. If I don't, Buffalo". Homer doesn't bet, Washington wins, and the next weekend he goes hiking with Lisa.

This episode also constitutes about three-quarters of my NFL and gambling knowledge...

21. Stark Raving Dad (Season 3, Episode 1)

This episode is the undisputed starting point for The Simpsons amazing run of about seven years of television excellence (followed by twenty years of steady decline...).Not sure you're going to see an episode guest starring John Jay Smith in syndication ever again though.