The essential episodes of The Simpsons
Watch these 15 in order and you've got The Simpsons — each pick states its reason.
- 01
Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire
Homer's Christmas bonus is canceled and the rainy-day funds are needed to pay for Bart's tattoo removal in the first full-length episode of the subversive animated satire about Springfield's hapless first family.
- 02
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.
- 03
A Halloween trilogy includes a murderous Krusty doll; a "King Kong" parody; an invasion of zombies unleashed by Bart's incantation.
- 04
Homer takes Nuclear Physics 101 at the local college, where he gets a trio of nerdy tutors expelled for extracurricular activities.
- 05
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.
- 06
Bart drives Milhouse, Martin and Nelson to Tennessee, thanks to his fake ID and Martin's cash from a stock dividend.
- 07
Homer feels bad because he does not know much about Lisa so he hires a private detective to spy on her. He then becomes a big hit with her because of the information.
- 08
Lisa is made to look like Eva Peron in this loose parody as faculty members undermine her student-body presidency.
- 09
When Professor Frink uses an astrology machine to ease the constant bickering between Bart and Lisa, they are given a sneak-peek into their final days of high school. In this future view, Marge and Homer are separated, Lisa is dating a muscular Milhouse and Bart is dating the girl of his dreams, Jenda, guest-voiced by Amy Poehler. Much to their disappointment, both the relationships quickly flounder. In hopes of winning Jenda back, Bart takes a job at a Kwik-E-Mart, where he becomes the local hero after saving Mr. Burns from a robber. His reward is a scholarship to Yale that was initially intended for Lisa. Bart's deeper look into the future causes him to have a change of heart, ultimately affecting his present-day sibling rivalry for the better.
- 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
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.
- 13
When Marge learns Springfield Elementary is the worst school in the state, she and Homer rent an apartment in the upscale Waverly Hills neighborhood so Bart and Lisa can attend a better school. When Lisa is ostracized by the popular girls at Waverly Hills, Bart uses his newly established bad boy image to impress the other students and increase Lisa's popularity by telling everyone she is best friends with the pop star Alaska Nebraska. However, when Alaska Nebraska comes to town, Lisa is left wishing Bart had never opened his big mouth. Meanwhile, Homer moves into the new Waverly Hills apartment to make it look like someone is living there, and he quickly gets used to the bachelor lifestyle.
- 14
On a research trip, Lisa is shocked to discover that Sideshow Bob is now the chief scientist at a massive chemical engineering company, but her fears are allayed as she becomes enamored with his likeminded appreciation of high-culture. Meanwhile, Marge's attempt to preach healthy sexual practices to a teen church group goes awry.
- 15
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'.
Shows like The Simpsons
The closest matches on shared genres, ranked by match strength and popularity.
- 01Comedy·FamilyThe essential episodes of Family Guy1999–presentSame network — FOX·
- 02Comedy·FamilyThe essential episodes of American Dad!2005–presentSame network — FOX·
- 03Comedy·FamilyThe essential 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 essential episodes of Bob's Burgers2011–presentSame network — FOX·
- 05Comedy·FamilyThe essential 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 essential episodes of Shameless2011–2021·Paramount+ with ShowtimeShameless is a fiercely engaging and fearlessly twisted series.
