The Simpsons has become one of the most popular animated sitcoms of all time and was created for the Fox Broadcasting Company by Matt Groening. It was originally based on Groening’s own family and the characters even shared his family’s names, although he substituted his own name with Bart. He created a series of animated shorts that became part of ‘The Tracey Ullman Show’. After three seasons, it was developed into a series and given a prime-time slot. It was first aired on January 14, 1994. However, there had been a one-off special that was aired much earlier in December 1989. The series is based on the lives of a working-class family and the main characters are Bart, Lisa, Maggie, Homer, and Marge.
The Simpson family live in the fictional town of Springfield and this animated comedy follows the daily lives of the family and members of their community. The Simpsons appeals to a wide audience both because of the humor and how people can relate the story-lines to their own experiences. Since the series began, there have been some particularly great and memorable scenes. Each person has their own favorite scenes from the series as there are moments to suit all types of humor.
Here are our picks the top 20 Simpsons moments of all time.
Homer Trying to Jump the Ravine- and Failing
In an episode titled ‘Bart the Daredevil’ in season two, Homer tries to jump Springfield Gorge on a skateboard and fails completely. There is a brief moment when he is suspended in the air where he truly believes that he will make it to the other side. A group of children, including his own, are watching from the side of the ravine. Homer suddenly drops out of the air and hurtles down the rocky crags. After he is airlifted from the scene by helicopter, the winch fails and he is dropped on his stretcher right back down again. It is the type of scene that will appeal to those who enjoy pain-related humor. This is one of the most repeated moments from the show as it is the perfect example of how the show mixes things that you can only do in a cartoon with the traditional storylines of family sitcoms.
Bart Studying for His First Test
While Lisa was known as a wot who loved school and studied hard for every test, Bart was the complete opposite. He was always disinterested in school and didn’t care whether he did well or not. He was more interested in having fun and playing pranks. However, viewers saw a different side to the young Simpson in an episode titled ‘Bart Gets an F’ in season two. He is shown trying hiss hardest to revise a test and struggling to remember historical events. His hard work does not pay off as the grade he achieves when he has completed the test is still an ‘F’. Fans of the show almost felt sorry for Bart after his failed attempts to succeed in school.
Spider Pig
One of the top moments from The Simpsons came from the long-awaited feature film they released in 2007. Homer gets himself a pet pig which he thinks has special powers. He spends all his time with the pig trying to teach it to do new tricks. One of the most memorable moments is when Homer makes up his own ‘Spider Pig’ song when he is trying to teach the pig to walk on the ceiling to the disbelief of Marge. The song became just as famous as the scene itself and people couldn’t help but sing it out loud.
The Talk Show Host Gentle Ben
In ‘Homer Badman’ in season six, some rather sinister issues are covered, including sexual harassment. Surreally, this storyline was also based on gummy bears. The lovable TV bear from the 1960s goes on a murderous rampage when he sees a doughnut table. This episode was bizarre but hilarious. And when we say bizarre we mean by Simpsons standards. Of course it was bizarre but even moreso than most Simpsons episodes which is saying something.
Wiggum PI
Season 8 featured an episode called ‘The Simpsons spin-off Showcase’ in which Ralph and Chief Wiggum move to New Orleans. They are aiming to clean up the south from its mucky underbelly. It is just one of the many great Chief Wiggum moments from The Simpsons. Is it just us or does it make you laugh every single time Chief Wiggum speaks? Honestly he doesn’t even have to say anything funny. He just needs to speak and we’re rolling on the floor.
Maggie in Who Shot Mr. Burns
In a two-part special in season 7, Mr. Burns is shot and the big question is ‘who shot Mr. Burns?’. The answer that Mr. Burns gives to this question is Maggie Simpson. He reveals the name of The Simpsons baby in front of the whole family and other residents of The Simpsons as they stand beside his hospital bed. However, Lisa tries to disprove this theory.
Sideshow Bob and the Rakes
There is nothing like a little slapstick humor and this is a type of comedy that runs throughout The Simpsons series. One of the best examples of this is the sequence where Sideshow Bob repeatedly steps on rakes and gets smacked in the face in season five in the Cape Fear episode which by the way can still be considered one of the best episodes in the show’s history. It was brilliant satire and incredibly accurate parody. Plus Kelsey Grammer’s voice, perfection.
Grandpa Abe Ties an Onion to His Belt
Grandpa Abe’s long-winded stories about the ‘Olden Days’ were one of the features that made this character so funny. One of the best was definitely the story about the time he tied an onion to his belt. It is about strikebreaking in the 1930s and was even more rambling than the stories he usually told in the series. It was one of the stories in ‘Last Exit to Springfield’ in season 4. Here’s some food for thought. How old were you when this episode aired? We dare not say our age.
The Brian Vs. Stomach Contest
In season 5, Homer gives a good display of his true stupidity. He goes in Apu’s shop where Apu has just discovered that most of his food has got off. Homer has a brain versus stomach moment when he gets excited to see the meat and buys it regardless of the fact it is out of date. He is so ill that he is taken to hospital in an ambulance. He goes to complain to Apu that the meat made him sick and Apu apologizes by giving him an out of date bag of shrimp. It doesn’t take a genius to work out what happens next. This episode was simply called ‘Homer and Apu’.
Homer, Mulder and Scully
‘The Springfield Files’ in season 8 was by far one of the weirdest episodes of The Simpsons. Homer claims he has had an alien encounter and Mulder and Scully from ‘The X-Files’ turn up to investigate the incident. They connect him to a lie detector machine and explain that they are just going to ask him a few simple questions. The only question they ask is whether he understands or not. When he responds ‘yes’, the lie detector machine instantly blows up.
You Made a Monkey Out of Me
Whenever Marge’s sister appears in The Simpson’s there is always a level of sauciness added to the show. In the ‘A Fish Called Selma’ episode of season seven, she meets the movie star Troy McClure when he comes into the optician’s where she works. The pair date despite his fish fetish and much to the surprise of the rest of The Simpsons clan and McCloys agent. In the episode, McCloy also repeatedly says, ‘you may remember me from movies such as….’. Later in the season, the pair marry.
The Catholicism Conversion
In season sixteen in an episode titled ‘The Father, The Son and The Holy Guest Star’, Homer and Bart decide to convert to Catholicism. This is much to the horror of Marge as the family are actually believers in ‘The Western Branch of American Reform Presbylutheranism’. After he converts, Homer decides to go to confession with a priest supposedly played by Liam Neeson. Some of the deeds he confesses to include coveting the wife in the movie ‘Jaws 2′, lying to a waiter in a restaurant, masturbating approximately eight million times and having no plans to cease masturbating anytime soon.
Mindy Almost Stealing Homer’s Heart
In season five in an episode titled ‘Last Temptation of Homer’, a new woman called Mindy Simmons starts working at the plant with him. This character is styled on Michelle Pfeiffer. Homer instantly falls in love with her and imagines what it would be like if he could be with her. Although he faces great temptation, he remembers at the last minute that it is Marge he truly loves. He even sings a cheesy love song to Marge at the end of the episode.
Stephen Hawking Drinking with Homer
Stephen Hawking has made many guest appearances in television including this animated version of himself in ‘They Saved Lisa’s Brain’ in season 10. Homer and Stephen Hawking share a drink together even though Homer has no idea who Hawking is and then Homer tries to imitate Hawking’s voice to say who is paying for the beers. This results in Homer getting punched in the head when a boxing glove shoots out of the side of Hawking’s wheelchair.
Homer Meets God
In ‘Homer the Heretic’, episode 3 f season 4, Homer meets God. He has denounced his faith and stay home rather than attending Sunday’s church service. When he meets God, it is Homer’s opportunity to ask him about the meaning of life. Unfortunately, God has to leave the conversation early as he has an appointment in Mexico.
See My Vest
Mr. Burns sings a particularly unpleasant song about what he would like to do to puppies in ‘Two Dozen and One Greyhounds’ in season 6. This is basically a list of unpleasant actions although the song is quite catchy and even Bart admits this at the end of the song. It is called ‘See My Vest!’ and is based on the music of the Disney song ‘Be My Guest’. He is planning on making more clothes for his closet out of the hides of puppies.
From Organism to Prime Human Specimen
‘Homer Evolution’ was one of the strangest but funniest episodes of The Simpsons. It shows how Homer evolved from an organism to a primate, to a prime example of a human being. Unfortunately, the evolution process then begins to reverse taking Homer back to his usual ‘unevolved’ self. During the process of his evolution, Homer meets other animals who try to attack him that are all based on characters from the show. For example, there is a Mr. Burns octopus and a dinosaur that resembles Bart.
Chief Wiggum the Professional
Chief Wiggum was always known for his consummate professionalism throughout the series. One good example of this is during season seven in one of the ‘Bart the Fink’ episodes. When Krusty the Klown is killed in a plane accident, he initially tells everyone to move away as there is nothing to see before getting excited by the drama and asking everyone to take a look and crowd around.
The Simpsons Visit England
Throughout the series, The Simpsons make many trips abroad. One of their vacations is to England. One of the funniest moment in this season 15 episode called ‘The Regina Monologues’ is them getting stuck on a roundabout. This is when they also meet the Queen of England after rear ending her royal coach. Less funny was the appearance made by Tony Blair considering this episode was originally show during the height of the Iraq war.
The Streetcar Named Marge
Every second of this episode is hilarious. One of the highlights is the song titled ‘A Streetcar Named Marge’ which is a parody of Tennessee Williams’ song called ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’. This was the second episode of season four. The episode is about Marge wanting to audition to take part in the local musical.
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