Ok, based on the rage that some people have expressed that The Simpsons is still on the air, I'm expecting no one will read this or the title alone might result in death threats. I don't agree with most people in my generation that only seasons 1 - 10 matter. (I actually think 1 is the weakest season.) I will concede there are bad episodes, and that will be my next post (don't worry, Lisa Goes Gaga will be on it). But here's a list of post season 20 episodes that I think are worth your consideration.
10. THE STAR OF THE BACKSTAGE (s33)
Season 33 is my favorite recent season, and it kicked off with a full blown musical episode. The premise is that Marge misses being a stage manager in high school, and she decides to re-produce the musical she stage managed, Y2K the Musical.
I might have a personal connection with this one because my senior year of college, we did a musical that is very important to me, West Side Story, but I can't sing well and can't dance at all, so I knew I couldn't be in it. My theater prof asked me to be the stage manager. I was calling the shots behind the scenes, making sure people didn't miss their cues, fixing mics, and had to run onstage at one point between scenes when they told me they'd accidentally left the prop gun out there. But maybe part of me wishes I could have been in it. Which is exactly what Marge expresses in this episode. She would have been in the play if she could sing well enough. And she also realizes she was never really a part of the theater group. That was true for me in West Side Story. The stage manager doesn't show up until the last couple weeks of rehearsals, and the cast of a musical typically turns into a fam and you are, I don't know, neighbor at best.
This episode is really fun, and, if you have a problem with Marge having been in high school in the 90's, just grow up. Do you really want the characters to still have landlines and all the pop culture references being to the Kennedys or the Beatles? The characters don't age, but they evolve with us.
9. TREEHOUSE OF HORROR XXVIII (s29)
I watch all the treehouse episodes every year and I can't think of one I don't like, but this one really stands out. There's the Exorcist parody, the Coraline parody (where the author of my favorite book voices the cat!), and what ... might be a parody of Survivor Type by Stephen King. I love all three segments.
8. A SERIOUS FLANDERS (s33)
This episode is not canon, as we see because in the intro you stumble upon a movie when looking for something to watch online. It is a wild ride. It's a parody of the TV show Fargo, which I had not seen, and several Coen brothers movies I also haven't seen, But I didn't care I didn't get the references, I was just so entertained. It's a fast paced and funny story, and it's possibly the best Ned Flanders centric episode ever.
7. NOT IT (s34)
Ok. I am really biased on this one, because IT is my third favorite movie. But I think this is the best Stephen King parody they've done since "The Shinning." Plus, they had fans submit original artwork of Krusty as "Krusto" that they would show during the credits. Seriously. If you watch this one, watch the credits. You get to see Krusty as Saturn in Saturn Devours His Son and the fact that someone came up with that makes me feel like I might have a soul mate somewhere.
6. LISA THE BOY SCOUT (s34)
Get ready to be mad at me. I like this episode.
This episode is also not canon and structured as a series of running gags someone was going to leak that show The Simpsons breaking canon. I feel like the show is lovingly making fun of itself and also the old school fans who get upset when anything breaks canon or doesn't make sense. The montage of episodes they were going to make but didn't is possibly my favorite part. And, if you were wondering, this episode is not about Lisa being a boy scout.
5. THANKSGIVING OF HORROR (s31)
When I first watched this episode, my initial thought was, GET OUT OF MY HEAD, SIMPSONS WRITERS! It starts with a parody of Apocalypto, one of the only movies to ever give me nightmares but one that hasn't been relevant in a long time. Then, they parody my favorite Black Mirror episode, White Christmas, which I watch every December.
In the final segment, Russi Taylor delivers her last lines as Martin Prince prior to the actress passing away. It's bittersweet, but she has a great line to go out on.
4. HOW I WET YOUR MOTHER (s23)
Ok. That title is really oof. Someone greenlit that?
The episode, which is a parody of Inception, is a lot of fun. I typically am not a fan of episodes where Mona Simpson shows up because it feels like unearned emotional cheese, but this one works. The Inception-esque ambiance is great, and I sputter-laughed when everyone immediately checked out on Lisa's dream.
3. HOW LISA GOT HER MARGE BACK (s27)
My only complaint about this episode is that the ending seems very tacked on, but there is so much I LOVE about it!
I think we can all relate to a generational gap meaning we can't connect over music with our parents, or our nieces and nephews. Music is especially important to Lisa, so she is very hurt to realize Marge doesn't like her saxophone playing. Marge tries to mend their relationship by taking her to a Broadway musical, and there's a really, fun parody of how at the time every even semi popular movie was turned into a musical. ("Paul Blart, you guard the mall, but when will you fall in love?")
Lisa eventually realizes she needs to get off her high horse, and she learns that from none other than one of my favorite celebrities, Andrew Rannells, who plays himself in a hilarious cameo.
The B story in this one is also pretty fun. We don't see Bart and Maggie team up too often.
2. PUFFLESS (s27)
So, 2 things that I love are a) Maggie getting to be the hero, and b) Spiderpig. This episode has both!
The B story revolves around Patty and Selma trying to quit smoking. Patty successfully quits, but Selma can't, so Patty temporarily moves out. She ultimately realizes she can't get out of the codependent relationship with her twin and moves back in.
I like the episodes that give Patty and Selma some humanity, but, ultimately, I hope they find happiness with ... other people. (Possible future blog: things I want for the finale of The Simpsons)
1. POORHOUSE ROCK (s33)
And we've come full circle! This is the finale of season 33, and it's kind of everything.
I had my sister watch this with me, My sister pointed out that this episode breaks canon that already broke canon because it's depicting Homer and Marge as boomers and the kids as millennials, whereas the show had already updated to Homer and Marge being millennials. But the song that Hugh Jackman sings so perfectly depicts what I call the millennial realization.
We grew up in the "everyone gets a trophy" and "you should major in whatever you want" generation, and when you graduate college buried in debt from your liberal arts degree and are working 3 retail jobs and sleeping on a mattress you borrowed from your friend, you wonder how your parents ... managed this. Boomers call millennials lazy if they continue to live with their parents, but ... how do you afford a house. Especially if you majored in something that's not STEM. The world has changed.
The plot of the episode is that Bart decides he's going to be set for life because he's going to be exactly like Homer, but Lisa and a nuclear plant janitor played by Hugh Jackman have to break it to him through song that Homer's job is no longer going to exist.
Lisa: What can he do that a robot can't?
Homer: These Oreos taste like nuclear plant!
The episode ends with Bart giving up and burning down his treehouse, and then Homer and Marge cleaning up afterwards.
Homer: What was that?
Marge: From what I can gather, a singing janitor took Bart on a magical journey through America's postwar economy.
Homer: Oh yeah. And Lisa was a rapper.
It's so bizarre, but I love it, and I love when The Simpsons sing the voice of my people.
But yeah, those are some of my standout episodes from the last 14 years of The Simpsons. If you are one of those people who thinks the show should have ended after season 10, a) come at me if you want bro, b) if you're not in a Clockwork Orange situation, no one is making you watch, and if you are in a Clockwork Orange situation, please, let me know! I'll try to send help!
