Top 5 Episodes from each season of Simpsons
Season 1
5. Bart the General - Nelson starts beating up Bart every day after school. Grandpa Simpson helps Bart to fight back.
The earlier seasons focused more on Bart and the children’s lives, and I enjoyed Nelson’s comeuppance in this episode.
4. The Call of the Simpsons - The family goes on a camping trip in their RV (which isn’t nearly as nice as the one the Flanders’ have)
Basically I just liked the antics of Homer and Bart, as well as Maggie befriending the bear. The ending with Homer being mistaken for Bigfoot is what really made this episode. This could also be the beginning of “things that fall off cliffs and explode”
3. Some Enchanted Evening - Marge feels unappreciated by Homer, so he decides to take them for a romantic night out. Meanwhile, the kids stay home with a suspicious looking babysitter.
Maggie saves the day! And Homer looks like a buffoon.
2. Krusty Gets Busted - Bart’s favorite television performer is accused of robbing the Kwik-E-Mart.
Sideshow Bob’s first episode, need I say more? I remember Sideshow Bob’s evil laugh actually scaring me when I was a child.
1. The Crepes of Wrath - Bart gets in trouble at school, and gets sent to France on an exchange program.
Season one is hard for two reasons: there's only 13 episodes and the animation really doesn't hold up against later years. That being said, I love this episode, mainly for the French jokes. “Ah, the life of a frog, that’s the life for me” and “So basically, I met one nice French person”. Adil the Albanian (not albino) exchange student also adds a humorous b-story. “Maybe Adil’s got a point about the machinery of capitalism oiled with the blood of the workers”.
Season 2
5. Dead Putting Society - Homer and Ned make a bet on their two sons over winning a mini-golf tournament.
Bart actually gets good at something, and Lisa is encouraging. “Having never received any words of encouragement myself, I’m not sure how they’re supposed to sound. But here goes: I believe in you”. Touching and depressing at the same time
4. Simpson and Delilah - Homer finds a hair growth cure and quickly becomes a superstar at work.
Karl is the *best* assistant ever: knowing how to dress Homer and remembering Homer and Marge’s anniversary (or Marge’s birthday, I forget). Homer’s joy at his re-grown hair is awesome, and so is this line: “I’m going to tell you three things that are gonna haunt you for the rest of your days: you’ve ruined your father, you’ve crippled your family, and baldness is hereditary!” I also really enjoy the punny title.
3.One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish - The family goes out for dinner at a sushi restaurant. Homer tries the fugu, and is told that he has less than a day to live.
Mrs. Krabappel’s trampy ways are introduced in this episode. The karaoke is also pretty awesome. And the fake-out at the end is pretty classic Simpsons.
2. Lisa’s Substitute - Miss Hoover “gets” Lyme Disease and Mr. Bergstrom is her substitute, who bonds with Lisa. Also Bart runs for class president against Martin.
A surprisingly touching episode for a cartoon, plus Lisa calls Homer a baboon. The “You are Lisa Simpson” note tugs at the heart-strings. There’s also a President Truman parody in there that really speaks to the history buff in me.
1. The Way We Was - After the tv breaks down, Marge tells the story of how she and Homer first met.
This is The Simpsons first flashback episode, and it certainly set the bar for all others. “Close to You” became Marge and Homer’s theme song, and even though Homer’s not perfect, he’s the perfect guy for Marge. At least, in comparison to Artie Ziff (the skeeze). “…You have elected me, your intellectual superior, as your king. Good for you”.
Season 3
5. Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes? - Homer’s half-brother, (who Homer had previously empoverished), is back and asks to borrow $2,000 to invent a baby translator.
I remember always looking forward to this episode (and I have to say, picking the 5th spot was *really* hard), so it got in based on nostalgia. There are two things that make this episode pretty good, first, the continuity of Homer’s half-brother, plus the first act directly ties in to the rest of the storyline. Something that’s been sorely missing in some of the later season episodes.
4. Homer at the Bat - Homer joins the Power Plant softball team, and is actually pretty decent. But the whole team is soon replaced by professional baseball players.
I’ll be honest, any baseball player that I can name was probably on this episode. It’s quite the feat of guest casting, and probably the start of having star-studded Simpsons episodes (there were other high profile guest stars, but this one was really packed). “Well Mr. Burns had done it, the power plant had won it, with Roger Clemens clucking all the while…”
3. Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington - Lisa wins the family a trip to Washington, D.C. after writing a patriotic essay.
Lisa’s disillusionment with Capitol Hill politics gives us this classic essay “Cesspool on the Potomac”. “The city of Washington was built on a stagnant swamp, some 200 years ago, and very little has changed. It stank then, and it stinks now!”
2. Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk - Mr. Burns sells the power plant to German businessmen
Ohhhhh…such a classic Simpsons episode. From the land of chocolate, Lenny’s permanent smile, Mr. Burns’ inability to function in the real world, and Homer’s inability to get anything right, this episode ranks pretty high. “We regret to announce the following layoffs, which I will read in alphabetical order: Simpson, Homer. That is all.”
1. Separate Vocations - Bart and Lisa take a career determination test, and the results ‘cause some personality changes.
This is another one that’s high in nostalgia. I enjoy Lisa’s rebellion, and Bart’s iron fist of discipline. And Bart taking the blame for Lisa’s prank is pretty nice.
Honorable Mentions: Stark Raving Dad (“Michael Jackson” was in a mental institute…how apt), Bart the Murderer (Neil Patrick Harris plays Bart!), Like Father, Like Clown (Bart is actually quite erudite, well, with the help of Lisa. Plus, continuity!), and Black Widower (Sideshow Bob marries Selma).