The best episodes of The Simpsons
Ranked by viewer rating, highs first. Vote on a placement to back it or contest it.
- 01
Frightfest '94: Lack of beer and cable TV make Homer a crazed killer; the present is altered by a time-traveling Homer; and Principal Skinner turns detention students into food.
- 02
Homer takes Nuclear Physics 101 at the local college, where he gets a trio of nerdy tutors expelled for extracurricular activities.
- 03
Homer recalls his days as a debt-free dad of two---until Marge got pregnant with Maggie.
- 04
Bart drives Milhouse, Martin and Nelson to Tennessee, thanks to his fake ID and Martin's cash from a stock dividend.
- 05
Bart has a new accomplice and best friend when Homer is hypnotized at the circus and believes he is a young boy again. Blackboard: 'Snowmen don't have carrot penises'.
- 06
Homer leads a vigilante group to catch the Springfield Cat Burglar (voice of Sam Neill), who then robs the museum. Blackboard: 'I am not authorized to fire substitute teachers'.
- 07
The Simpsons get a pool, but a broken leg sinks the summer for Bart. Blackboard: 'Beans are neither fruit nor musical'.
- 08
Lisa is made to look like Eva Peron in this loose parody as faculty members undermine her student-body presidency.
- 09
Prime Minister Tony Blair welcomes the Simpsons to England, where they run into author J.K. Rowling and actor Ian McKellan.
- 10
The Seemingly Never-Ending Story
While cave exploring with his family, Homer causes the cave to crumble and finds himself stuck upside down in the ceiling. Marge and Bart search for help while Lisa passes the time by telling Homer a story, which turns into a chain of narrated tales.
- 11
In a parody of "24," the school's Counter Truancy Unit tries to stop three sixth-graders planning to disrupt the school bake sale with a stink bomb.
- 12
One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish
Homer takes to sushi like a fish to water, but an apprentice chef may have given Homer some bad blowfish---and 24 hours to live.
- 13
Secrets of a Successful Marriage
Homer teaches a class on "Secrets of a Successful Marriage," but sharing secrets about his own union gets him kicked out of the house. Blackboard: 'Five days is not too long to wait for a gun'.
- 14
Homer becomes the leader of a secret club, but his power is undermined by a "spiritual emptiness." Blackboard: 'Adding "Just kidding" doesn't make it okay to insult the principal'.
- 15
A comet is hurtling toward Springfield, so the Simpsons take refuge in a bomb shelter---Flanders'.
- 16
Homer graduates from Krusty's Clown College and becomes a target for the clown's bookie. Blackboard: 'Next time it could be me on the scaffolding'.
- 17
Springfield boys try to recapture the town's beloved lemon tree after it's stolen.
- 18
The frightfest begins in "Mr. and Mrs. Simpson" as Homer and Marge leave for what appears to be an ordinary day. But Homer is living a double life as a secret agent, and he is assigned to eliminate Kent Brockman. When a mysterious woman blocks Homer's shot and tries to kill Brockman herself, Homer finds that his competition "hits" a little too close to home. In "E.T. Go Home," Bart and Lisa come to the aid of Kodo the space alien, who's hiding from the government. Kodo asks them to help him obtain a long list of devices so he can reconnect with his home planet, but his intentions prove to be anything but friendly. In the final Halloween scare, "Heck House," Bart, Lisa and their friends spend Halloween night pulling pranks on unsuspecting people in Springfield. But when they go too far, Flanders decides he's going to spook them straight. Transforming the church into the "Heck House," Flanders is filled with supernatural power and subjects the children to his wrath of seven deadly sins.
- 19
Kelsey Grammer returns to guest-voice as the infamous Sideshow Bob, David Hyde Pierce as Sideshow Bob's dubious brother Cecil Terwilliger, and John Mahoney as their father, Mr. Terwilliger. Marge dreams that Keith Olbermann (guest-voicing as himself) chides her for fast-forwarding through television commercials. Marge tries her to make restitution by watching hours of advertisements, and she and the Simpson family take particular interest in an ad for Wes Doobner's World-Famous Family-Style Rib Huts. They drive to the restaurant, only to find Sideshow Bob waiting for them, triumphant in his elaborate hoax to lure them to their doom. When Sideshow Bob's attempt to terminate the family is foiled, he is put on trial, where his father blames Sideshow Bob's psychosis on Bart. During the proceedings, Bart accidentally kills his old nemesis, and Bob's brother Cecil invites Bart to attend the memorial service for Sideshow Bob to bury the hatchet for good.
- 20
Marge hires a nutritionist who puts Homer on a strict diet, but Homer decides to sneak in snacks and meals on the side. Marge becomes suspicious of Homer's weight gain and calls the producers of "The Sneakers," a take-off on "Cheaters." Meanwhile, Bart and Lisa go bike-riding in Springfield National Park, where they run into Martin Prince and play a prank on him. Bart and Lisa are wracked with guilt when their prank goes terribly wrong they think they're responsible for the accidental death of Martin Prince.
- 21
A Halloween trilogy includes a murderous Krusty doll; a "King Kong" parody; an invasion of zombies unleashed by Bart's incantation.
- 22
Leonard Nimoy is among the first to ride Springfield's new monorail, opposed by Marge.
- 23
Homer and Barney compete to be the first "average" American in space.
- 24
Marge makes Homer promise not to embarrass her when they visit Itchy & Scratchy Land, "the violentest place on earth." Blackboard: 'I am not the reincarnation of Sammy Davis Jr.'.
- 25
Bart helps precipitate a teachers strike, but he rues his handiwork when Marge takes over for Mrs. Krabapple. Blackboard: 'I do not have power of attorney over first graders'.
Shows like The Simpsons
The closest matches on shared genres, ranked by match strength and popularity.
- 01Comedy·FamilyThe best episodes of Family Guy1999–presentSame network — FOX·
- 02Comedy·FamilyThe best episodes of American Dad!2005–presentSame network — FOX·
- 03Comedy·FamilyThe best episodes of Modern Family2009–2020·ABCModern Family revolves around three different types of families (nuclear, step- and same-sex) living in the Los Angeles area, who are interrelated through Jay Pritchett and his children, Claire Dunphy (née Pritchett)…
- 04Comedy·FamilyThe best episodes of Bob's Burgers2011–presentSame network — FOX·
- 05Comedy·FamilyThe best episodes of Mom2013–2021·CBS
Christy is a single mom who, after years of questionable choices, is now sober and trying to get her life on track. - 06Comedy·Family·DramaThe best episodes of Shameless2011–2021·Paramount+ with ShowtimeShameless is a fiercely engaging and fearlessly twisted series.
