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Best of Season 2: The best season of The Simpsons?
299 Plays2 years ago
Join us on the run up to Season 3 as we count down some of our favourite episodes from Season 2!
D'oh! In this episode, Satsunami and Adam recruit the help of their friend Greenshield to take on the age old question: which season of the Simpsons truly is the best? Get your Lard Lad doughnuts ready because we are about to find out!
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Transcript
Introduction: Favorite Simpsons Seasons
00:00:00
Speaker
Hello everybody and welcome to the Best of Chad Tsunami Season 2. In this episode, we're joined by our very good friend GreenShule95 as we discuss our favourite Simpsons seasons.
Welcoming the Hosts and Topic Introduction
00:00:11
Speaker
This episode was a lot of fun to record and if I'm being completely honest, it was even more fun researching it. Without any further ado, hope you... Welcome to Chad Tsunami.
00:00:35
Speaker
Hello everybody and welcome to another episode of Chatsunami.
Personal History with The Simpsons
00:00:40
Speaker
I'm Satsunami and joining me today for quite honestly a long overdue topic is my very good friend Adam. Hello hello, good to be back. And my other friend who you might have heard on the channel before, Green Shield. Green Shield, welcome back.
00:00:59
Speaker
Hey everyone, finally get to talk about The Simpsons that time. As I said, long overdue because we all absolutely love this show. We are, as the cool kids say, very old because we probably have been watching this really since
Impact of The Simpsons' First Twelve Seasons
00:01:12
Speaker
it came out. Well, not that far back, not since the 80s. But yeah, how is everyone? I'm not too bad, thank you. Yeah, I'm good, thank you.
00:01:20
Speaker
I wouldn't say I was watching it during the Tracy Ullman run, but I probably picked it up a fair bit later, probably in the early 2000s for me. Oh, Grinchio, don't be modest.
00:01:32
Speaker
I know you guys have a couple of years seniority on me in that respect. So what were we going to be talking about occurred before I even started watching the show? We have indeed been watching this since late 90s, early 2000s. And is it right to say that this has been a... So I'll start with you, Green Shield. Is it right to say that this show has been a significant part
Memories and Influences of The Simpsons
00:01:55
Speaker
of your life?
00:01:55
Speaker
Yes, I would say that Simpsons is probably my favourite show ever. It often does not get talked about today in the same light amongst like the best TV sitcoms or TV shows because of people thinking about its legacy and how it kind of deteriorated in the later seasons, which I still believe are watchable, but not the same quality as early seasons. I think just purely based on the impact that it had for those first
00:02:22
Speaker
I'll even say 12 seasons. I think it goes down as the best show ever. So I would watch it every day because it would be it would be airing on both Sky1 and Channel 4 each day so I could I would be able to watch multiple episodes a day and then I would try and stay tuned to watch the the newest episode that came out on Sundays on Sky1. And so it was a very important part of my day and a part of my week.
00:02:44
Speaker
Most of my jokes that I reference today come from The Simpsons. I used to own a lot of the DVDs, I'd do lots of rewatches, so I'd be watching it each day on the TV as it aired in syndication, and then I'd also have the DVDs, which I'd frequently put it in and watch.
Discovery and Early Impressions of The Simpsons
00:02:57
Speaker
So I was quite into The Simpsons mania. I have to admit, I would agree with that as well. Growing up, my
00:03:03
Speaker
Well, when I say my family, because I don't think my mum likes a show very much, she thinks it's okay. But I think in terms of coming together as kind of like a family and watching it, it's definitely an interesting time capsule, depending on what era of The Simpsons you watch. And I remember the very first season that I bought of The Simpsons was probably season
00:03:27
Speaker
I remember it came in like the kind of pink box and I really just watched those DVDs religiously. I just kept watching them over and over and then I got season four, season five. I kept building up until I want to say about season 11.
00:03:43
Speaker
And then, yeah, it just kind of spiraled from there. I reference The Simpsons quite a lot, especially in the seasons that we're going to talk about today. And yeah, ever since then, it's been a major part of my life. But what about you, Adam?
Cultural Reach of The Simpsons
00:03:57
Speaker
Has The Simpsons played a significant role in your life as well?
00:04:01
Speaker
Certainly for a while it did. I remember, I think I first came across some since I was probably seven, I think, into primary school. I remember some kids in my class talking about it. And before it appeared on things like Channel 4 and stuff, it used to be on BBC2, a very popular channel in the UK here. And it would appear on, I think, about six o'clock or something like that. So I eventually managed to catch some episodes after school. And that's where I sort of fell in love with it. But BBC2 obviously wasn't showing like the most recent episodes. It was showing episodes from quite a few years.
00:04:29
Speaker
in the past, which I didn't realise at the time. So I have a very particular fondness for a very particular era of The Simpsons. That kind of, well, I suppose that kind of golden age, that kind of mid to kind of late 90s. Yeah, I never really watched the new seasons as they came out. I didn't have Sky when I was growing up.
00:04:46
Speaker
And eventually it kind of moved off BBC2 and it went to Channel 4, as Grin Shields was saying. And I caught some of it there. But my interest kind of faded. After a while, I moved on to other things. I moved on to other animated shows. I love The Simpsons, but I'm probably more of a South Park fan, I have to admit, than a Simpsons fan. But I still really treasure those kind of earlier seasons and those episodes. And it certainly was very, very important. It was something I really look forward to each day after school for a good few years. So it was very important to me, certainly at a kind of formative point of my life.
Debating the Best Simpsons Seasons
00:05:15
Speaker
and it is safe to say that you would be hard pressed to find someone who actually didn't know about this show because even in The Darkest Reaches of Scotland honestly can't think of anyone who either didn't know about this show or yeah who didn't reference it or have some kind of merchandise whether it was the show, whether it was Simpsons Hit and Run the video game or even the arcade game if you want to
00:05:40
Speaker
you know, go further and further back. I actually remember seeing like a physical arcade machine with that game. Have any of you guys seen it? The swimming pool in the city that I grew up in used to have one. I doubt it still has it, but it did for a while. Have you seen that Green Shield? Yeah, I've seen the arcade game. I don't remember if I ever played it. I know a fair bit about it. I've heard other people talk about it on podcasts and on TV shows. They've brought up this arcade game because it's so important to a lot of people's experience with Simpsons growing up that they had that arcade game.
00:06:09
Speaker
Yeah, I think I actually did play it. I think I have played it in an arcade before. Not that I had the opportunity to go to many arcades, so I don't remember when it would be, but I have a very distinct memory of playing a Simpsons arcade game, so I think it must have been the one that everyone talks about. Not even just with the arcade game. The Simpsons was just everywhere. I remember growing up and actually collecting the comics of it. It's kind of weird, because this could be a whole episode in itself.
00:06:32
Speaker
but I remember reading the comics and falling in love with these stories that could have easily been episodes and then as the kind of show declined in quality so too did the comics like the comics got a lot thinner and you were kind of like well there's no point in buying them because it was you know it wasn't as good anymore and that's kind of
00:06:53
Speaker
I think that's kind of the controversial thing about The Simpsons, and I'm using that very lightly, but it's the kind of thing that a lot of people debate about. They'll say, when was The Simpsons good? Was it from season 1 through 10? Was it only from season 3 to 9? Was it up to 11 if you're being
Emotional Resonance of Season 7
00:07:10
Speaker
generous? You know, there's this whole debate about this kind of thing, and that's what we're kind of, we're not really going to be diving into that question today, but what we are going to be doing is
00:07:19
Speaker
we are basically going to be recounting our favourite seasons of the show, what actually made us fall in love with the show. It's safe to say none of us have gone to double digits, have we? Nope. No, I, as I mentioned before, I am not part of the hate for some little, and I say later seasons, even going into the seasons in the 20s and 30s, they're watchable.
00:07:44
Speaker
But I think people are overly harsh about the teen seasons. And I have a particular love for season 12. It is not one that I picked for today, but I think it does deserve an honorable mention. But what did you guys pick in the end? Oh, that's a secret. We're going to have to find out in the next episode.
00:08:01
Speaker
Well, we reveal our top picks right after these adverts. Let's do it. So hold on to your hats, get a Duff beer for legal reasons. That is a joke. And we will indeed be back right after these messages.
00:08:15
Speaker
Welcome to Chatsunami, a variety podcast that talks about topics from gaming and films to streaming in general interest. Previously on Chatsunami, we discussed Game of the Decade, Deadly Premonition, the romantic thriller, Birdemic, and listen to us get all sappy as we discuss our top five Christmas films. If that sounds like your cup of tea, then you can find us an anchor, Spotify, YouTube, and opiate podcast apps. As always, stay safe, stay awesome, and most importantly, stay hydrated.
00:08:47
Speaker
We are Beer and Chill Podcast. Podcast where we review TV shows, games, movies and whatever else takes our fancy. So what are you waiting for? If you're a cool kid like us, you're gonna listen to the Beer and Chill Podcast. You can get it anywhere from Spotify all the way to your grandma's radio. My name is Jan. And I'm Craig Yisi. And we are Beer
Writing and Emotional Themes in The Simpsons
00:09:12
Speaker
and Chill.
00:09:38
Speaker
Yeah, well we'll just dive right into it. Sounds good. Let's do it. The way we're gonna tackle this is in chronological order. Turns out by look at the drawer, I am first. You guys ready to hear what I picked? Yeah. Yep. You're totally gonna be surprised. I definitely didn't tell you off the recording. Okay, ready? Three, two, one. Get your best gasps possible. I chose season seven. I for one am shocked. What?
00:09:44
Speaker
I hope everyone enjoys the Manscaped commercial that we put in there.
00:10:08
Speaker
Thank you, thank you. Thank you for humouring me on my own podcast. Personally for me, although I think the seasons, probably three to ten I would say are my personal favourites, there are quite frankly a
00:10:23
Speaker
whole load of episodes that deserve, you know, honourable mentions, deserve, you know, recognition. But the reason I chose Season 7 is purely from, I would say like a sappy reason, because I feel as if Season 7 is one of those seasons that has the most emotionally resonating episodes of the entire franchise.
Character Depth and Emotional Storytelling
00:10:46
Speaker
Of course you two will be familiar with some of the episodes I'm talking about. You've got episodes like Home Sweet Home Diddley Dum Doodley, which I am not saying again. You can look it up. Which is of course the episode where Homer and Marge get Bart and Lusa taken away from them and Flanders has to take
00:11:05
Speaker
care of them and everything. We've got the iconic Bart Sells His Soul, which is just such a poignant episode. You know, we've got Luca the Vegetarian, where Luca kind of goes through these phases of questioning who she is, her choices in life. Marge Not Be Proud, which is another favourite. When Marge finds out that Bart is shoplifting. You know, I'll go into this in a little bit more detail, but long story short,
00:11:27
Speaker
some of you might be wondering out there, you know, and especially you Green Shield because I told you in my favourite episode this season why aren't I majoring in it but we'll get on to that. But personally for me The Simpsons has always been one of those shows that obviously the comedy is first but I feel as if the one thing that people don't give this show credit for is the emotional aspect and the kind of real aspect like Green Shield, would you agree with that?
00:11:51
Speaker
There are a lot of emotional episodes that really hit home and in particular the season seven that you picked has a lot of those. I would argue that each of our seasons has one or two of those that hits really hard. Obviously we'll get into those a bit more when we get around to.
00:12:06
Speaker
are each of our individual seasons but yeah there are some really lovely kind of episodes real sappy episodes which i think is uh is quite common in your season i think due to the the writer that was the head writer that season i'm drawing a blank on who who was the head writer for season seven but i think they were quite keen on these more sappy endings which um i know
00:12:27
Speaker
some of the other writers who ended up going over to work on the likes of Futurama close to this time after the season, they left and went to do that. You see a lot of sappy episodes in that following this and less so in The Simpsons. Yeah, it did seem as if, although the following seasons do have absolutely fantastic moments, there are definitely scenes in it where you just kind of think,
00:12:52
Speaker
Okay, that is more of a comedy show now than a kind of emotional tugging at your heartstrings kind of thing, but yeah, I totally agree. I think it definitely is a head writer who wanted to kind of get to the emotional core of these episodes and these characters.
Satire and Cultural Commentary
00:13:09
Speaker
And I have to admit, in Adam as well, feel free to jump in, but do you feel as if the earlier seasons of The Simpsons didn't really tap into characters that were more being used as instruments for the punchline, rather than treating them as characters?
00:13:26
Speaker
Yeah, you two are probably better qualified to answer this than me. But from what I understand, were those seasons not more kind of leaning into satire and the characters were being used to kind of as part of, as you say, instruments to kind of satirize American society and culture and things like that. While obviously by kind of this time, you know, by season seven and these kind of these sort of later early seasons, they'd kind of moved a little bit past that to make these characters more kind of rounded and fleshed out.
00:13:52
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. I would agree with that. I think it was a case of the early seasons were a satire on the sitcom. By the later seasons, it started becoming its own thing. And in some ways, it kind of became what it was originally satirizing. And in other ways, it kind of morphed into its own behemoth.
00:14:11
Speaker
There's some really like great episodes in the early seasons. I mean, the first one that comes to mind is from season two is Lisa's Substitute. I don't know if you guys remember that one that well, but that's actually probably one of my favorite episodes of the show. Season two is not strong enough with that to make it my favorite season, but it has a very, very beautiful message and very, very sweet ending. Because I mean, you even get episodes like I think Bart gets an F I think that season two. Am I right in saying? Yes, it is.
00:14:39
Speaker
Because you get a very emotional moment from that episode, where of course as the title suggests, Bart gets an F. Yes, spoilers. And of course he's supposed to get a particular grade to move on from the 4th grade. I know, ironic considering he's never graduated in the whole run of the show.
00:14:58
Speaker
yeah that moment at the end where he breaks down and you know he's kind of crying and everything and it's just very emotional but then as the show kind of progressed as you said Adam it's more of like a satire on American society so much so that I think it was George Bush senior that actually criticized it live on TV and of course as you know there's the famous retort from The Simpsons and everything I feel as if in season seven going back to like why I chose this season I feel as if
00:15:28
Speaker
this is where they perfectly capitalise on tugging at the heartstrings, but not in a manipulative way, if that makes sense.
Favorite Episode: 'Mother Simpson'
00:15:37
Speaker
You kind of really care for these characters, even though there's a lot of comedy in Home Sweet Home, diddly-dum-doodly. Yeah, try saying that three times.
00:15:45
Speaker
you know you get like the kind of heartbreak that Marge and Homer are going through losing their children even though Homer's ready let's face it by today's standards abusive. What's the phrase you use Adam? It was a different type. It was the mid-90s we didn't know any better. I know we just didn't know. But no jokes aside another episode which I don't know why but this one really has been burned into my memory it's
00:16:11
Speaker
Bart sells his soul. That one, of course, is where Bart, as a kind of jokey, writes down Bart's soul on a piece of paper and he sells it to Milhouse and then he starts having like an existential crisis of faith. I mean, what did you think of that episode, Green Shield?
00:16:27
Speaker
I guess I've not seen that one in quite a while, so I would need to go back and see it from a more contemporary viewpoint that I have, because I probably haven't seen that since I was quite young, where maybe I didn't fully understand what the show was going for at the time. I mean, it's a pretty simple message. Even as a child, I did kind of understand in some ways.
00:16:47
Speaker
I don't remember it hitting that hard in terms of other episodes I saw, especially from season seven. What I did when I learned what seasons both of you selected, I went through and made a list of all the episodes and highlighted the ones that I think from both my season and also both yours, which like hit hard for me from all of those seasons. And I didn't find that one in particular to hit that hard for me, but maybe that just requires me to go back and rewatch it.
00:17:13
Speaker
That's something I think I would say about some of these episodes of season seven. I think they hit a bit differently as you get older. Funny you bringing up that mod, be not proud, because I remember really disliking that one when I was a kid. I remember it was one that used to get shown quite a lot on things on BBC two and stuff. And I've always been like, oh, these don't like this episode. But I bet now if I went back, I've not seen it since I was a kid, but I bet if I went and watched it now, it would hit so much more differently. I'd probably get a real new appreciation for it.
00:17:38
Speaker
No, I'm totally the same. Funny you say that, because I also remember that. It was an episode that, you know, it was always shown in BBC Two and Shadowford and things. And it would always be like around Christmas, I think. Because, you know, as Bart's, you know, he wants the latest video game, Bonestorm, and they end up getting, is it Pudding Challenge or something?
00:17:57
Speaker
It's just such an amazing joke by the end of it. I mean, you've even got the, is that the same episode where Marge is like looking at the diamond ring and Homer says, I'm sure someone will get you it. And then he's head is like, she'll be really excited when she opens that ironing board cover.
00:18:16
Speaker
or something. Tons of amazing jokes in that one, but see going back to watch it, it just, like I agree with you Adam, when you were watching it as a child you kind of think, oh great you know Bart's getting into trouble, we just wanted the video game. But something that is quite chilling going back to watch that episode, it's just Marge's reaction of just complete like total coldness.
Execution of Emotional Storytelling
00:18:41
Speaker
Marge is usually quite a warm character, she supports her
00:18:44
Speaker
children and everything and then all of a sudden she just turns into this completely cold cutting off bar from this kind of affection and things and you know obviously who resets into the status quo but it is just like a side of mod you don't see and it's
00:19:01
Speaker
really interesting seeing it as you get older because you're completely right Adam, like watching some of these episodes as a child. In fact that's something our good friend Kadeghi C says in the Being and Child podcast. He keeps a message of me every so often saying that we are closer to Homer's age now than we are to Bart's age.
00:19:19
Speaker
Constantly reminding us how close we are to getting older Bart. By far, I think Bart, Bart's, well I know for a fact Bart's 10 and Homer I think is canonically like 37, 38. I think so, yeah. And so yeah, we're a lot closer to Homer's than I would say. That's impressive.
00:19:37
Speaker
uh hello to present but you know i'm not going to sit here and say like you know all the episodes in this season are absolutely knocking out the park even though this season has 22 short films about springfield the infamous steam tams episode where i have to admit the rest of that episode has kind of hit our mists but obviously everyone remembers the steam tams the most
00:20:01
Speaker
in our podcast? Yes. Can I see it? No. Anyway, our esteemed podcast is out there. As I said, I'll go through some honourable mentions in this season because there's loads of them, but the margin will be proud, as I said, scenes from the clash struggle in Springfield. While it's not the best and most emotional hitting,
00:20:21
Speaker
It is quite interesting again to see Marge become like a focal point of trying to become someone who's not and everything. And again, it's something you kind of appreciate when you're older as opposed to watching that as a child. A fish called Selma, you know, where Selma's getting used by Troy McClure. Summer of 4 foot 2, which I have to say, out of this list is probably the weakest one.
00:20:42
Speaker
Hold on a second. A fish called Selma. Isn't that the episode where you find out that Troy McClure has a weird thing for fish? Yep. Say he likes to sleep with the fishes. Yeah. When I said sleep with the fishes, I meant no, please. It's just dawned on me that there's a connection there in the title. I don't know if that's just me being incredibly dense or if that was hidden there. Because obviously it's a pun on a fish called Wanda, which I understood years and years ago. I didn't realize about the
00:21:10
Speaker
The fish love aspect to it. You can't see it right now, but I'm making the dud face. I guess so smile up. You got the dud! I honestly, it's amazing when that happens. Of course, there is one particular episode before we move on and the listeners at home get sick of my voice. There's one particular episode I do want to hone in on and it's by far one of my favourite episodes of the entire show. That of course being Mother Simpson.
00:21:39
Speaker
Basically the plot is that Homer and one of his hijinks pretends to kill himself for a day off of work, which is crazy in its own right, but that leads him to reunite with his mother who left him as a young child and everything. Although there are some bits that could have been done better in that episode,
00:21:58
Speaker
I feel as if this episode, even back then, but more so as an adult, just hits so hard because we get Homer who he doesn't seem to have, when he's around his mother, and I don't know if you've noticed this in the episode, he seems quite childish in the episode, you know, like obviously it's Homer Simpson, he is quite childish, but he just seems very innocent and kind of, because there's a particular scene where he's talking to Marge
00:22:23
Speaker
you know, Marge is like asking, well, why does your mother come back after all this time? And of course they turned round and they say, I don't know, maybe she just didn't love me, maybe I just wasn't a good son. And you know, that is really hard hitting stuff for a show like The Simpsons. And obviously there's the comedic bits like
00:22:40
Speaker
Mr Burns, you know, playing on Waterloo and the big tank and things like that and, you know, the post office scene. That ending as well, that ending just really gets to me. So much so that I was showing Adam and Green Shield my screensaver before we came on and it's a picture someone's edited where it's like a picture of the stars but at the bottom it's just Homer like kind of sitting in his car looking up at the stars.
00:23:05
Speaker
And for me personally, that just seems like a very, it's just a very powerful scene. Because at the end of course it says goodbye to his mum and everything and he just silently looks up as the credits play above
Iconic Episodes of Season 8
00:23:17
Speaker
him. And there's just like, it's not really, there's no joke, there's no punchline. It just lets you kind of sit there and appreciate the episode. But before we go on and talk about your guy's picks, is there anything you want to say about this particular episode?
00:23:31
Speaker
I don't have anything in particular to comment on Mother Simpson. I think you touched on a lot of what I feel as well. It is an incredibly touching episode. It explores Homer's mother, which we didn't really know anything about previously because you've been introduced to Abe Simpson very early on in the series. Grandpa Simpson, as he's also known, is one of the best characters in the
00:23:53
Speaker
in the show. He's absolutely wonderful how they write him. So we got that father figure which kind of demonstrated why Homer is the way he is when you see flashbacks to how he was raised by Abe. But you don't really understand then
00:24:09
Speaker
where Homer's mother was in this. So getting that character introduced provides a different perspective on who Homer was and why he became the way he was in that regard as well, because he's the child of both parents. And you understand his way he finds life so charming and funny at times is because of his mother, whereas his sort of angry, cynical side comes from his father.
00:24:33
Speaker
Yeah, there's nothing I can really add. You both basically explain why it's a great episode. It's been a long time since I've seen that one, and just hearing you two speak about it, I definitely want to go back and rewatch it. Because again, I think it's one that I will get such a new appreciation for. I remember enjoying it when I saw it when I was younger, but I really think this one, this is an episode that I would get a complete new understanding and love for watching it now.
00:24:54
Speaker
So yeah, without any further ado, let's move on to the next one. So I think the next one is Adam. So honestly, looking at the three seasons that we've each picked for the best season, there's no wrong choice, but there is a right choice. And that's season eight, which I think has a claim to be one of the best seasons of television ever, probably. I think a lot of people would agree with that.
00:25:17
Speaker
So let me start by just reading out some of the episodes that are in Season 8. So we've got Treehouse of Horror 7, which is probably the best. I would argue the best of the Treehouse episodes. That's the one with Hugo, Bart's Evil Twin, Lisa creating a new species on her tooth, and then the Kodos and Kang infiltrating the American election. We've got The Only Move twice.
00:25:38
Speaker
with Scorpio. We've got Homer, the Homer they fall, where Homer becomes a boxer. We've got Bart after Dark, A Millhouse Divided, Draw Me Your Best version of Dignity. We've got Hurricane Nedde. We've got The Springfield Files, The Mysterious Voyage of Homer, Mountain of Madness, Homer's Phobia, Brother from Another Series, In Marge We Trust, Great School Confidential, and my personal favorite, which is Homer's Enemy.
00:26:01
Speaker
It's just a season that's jammed with just jam-packed with iconic episodes. It's consistency is unmatched, I think, compared to any other series of The Simpsons. The lowest rated episode on IMDB is one called Simpson's Spin-Off Showcase near the end of the season. And that's still rated at 7.2 out of 10, which I think just speaks to the quality of the season that that's the lowest rated one. Going back to IMDB, the highest rated episode of The Simpsons ever is You Only Move Twice in season eight. And the second highest is Homer's Enemy, also in season eight.
00:26:30
Speaker
So it's just it's just it's such a quality season with just amazing iconic episodes. Look at the characters as well. Like The Simpsons has had a lot of great kind of one off or kind of sporadically appearing characters, but they're like season eight is just filled with them. So for instance, we've got prohibition agent Rex Banner. We've got the Mary Poppins parody Sherry Bobbins. We've got the legendary Johnny Cash playing a mystical talking coyote. You've got Ned Flanders, a therapist, Dr. Foster, the den. May God have mercy on us all.
00:26:58
Speaker
We've got cockamamie's collectibles owner, John. We've David Hyde Pierce as Cecil Terwilliger, sideshow Bob's brother. And so they get to him and Kelsey Grammer get to recreate the kind of electric chemistry from Frasier. Frank Grimes, my personal favorite. And of course, Hank Scorpio, who is probably one of the greatest one-off characters in any TV series ever. Just such a fantastic character. So funny and so well-written.
00:27:21
Speaker
And it was just, season eight was a season that was just built on these fantastic characters. And I think that's what makes it so popular and makes its quality so strong and makes such a lasting appeal to the season. And looking as well, there was some great kind of narrative arcs in season eight. And it felt like each member of the Simpsons family was allowed to grow during the season. For instance, we've got Homer's realization of the kind of stupidity and the foolishness of his homophobia in Homer's phobia. And then we also get as well in the episode called
00:27:48
Speaker
the mysterious voyage of Homer. We get to see his fears about whether he and Marge are actually soulmates and the resolution to that arc. And then as well, in You Only Move Twice, we get to see him realising that he needs to prioritise his family over his working for Scorpio, despite how great it is and how much he loves it.
00:28:05
Speaker
For Lisa, Lisa gets to become the kind of, really becomes the family's moral compass in this season, in the episode, The Old Man and The Lisa, where she works with Mr. Burns, and it looks like Mr. Burns has turned over a new leaf, but actually by becoming like ultra good, he actually turns out to be ultra evil, but Lisa's able to kind of keep in a moral high ground and become that kind of strong moral compass for the rest of the family. We have Bart kind of realizing the importance of Santa's little helper in his life, in the episode, The Canine Mutiny, and just how much, you know, unconditional love from Santa's little helper means to him and how important
00:28:33
Speaker
is. We get Marge as well, Marge understanding that, you know, as much as she wants to think of advice, she can't always help everybody in every situation. In the episode in Marge, we trust where she ends up giving horrific advice to Ned Flanders, where he ends up trapped by baboons. And even outside of the family, we get to see some of the other important characters grow. So speaking of Ned Flanders, we get to see the kind of really dark side that kind of resides behind his positivity and his gaiety. In the episode Hurricane Nedium, we see this just really dark and twisted side to him, which is great to see.
Character Growth in Season 8
00:29:03
Speaker
And then finally, as well for this season, it had some of the really lasting effects on the series as a whole, just in some of the kind of plot points that happens. So for instance, in A Millhouse Divided, Millhouse's parents, Kirk and Luann, get divorced, which were kind of like a long running thing in the series past season eight. We get the start of the kind of Lisa and Nelson romance arc, which starts in Lisa's date with Destiny. And then finally, as well, we have the Skinner and Krabappel starting their relationship in grade school confidential.
00:29:31
Speaker
And these were all sort of arcs that would kind of stay and remain in the series moving forward. And they all started in season eight. So it had a really long lasting effect. But honestly, I think to pick some highlights, I mean, there's so many great episodes, it's difficult to pick highlights. I mean, as I said at the start,
00:29:46
Speaker
Homer's enemy for me, I think, is my favorite episode of The Simpsons. I think it's just such a funny episode with some great gags. And Frank Grimes is such a great character in a way he's juxtaposed against Homer, and it's just great. But even things like Mountain of Madness with Homer and Mr. Burns is great. In Marge, we trust it. It's fantastic. We can see another side of Reverend Lovejoy as well, which is good. It's just the episode... Sorry, the season is just jam-packed with amazing episodes.
00:30:11
Speaker
And it just, I think it really was the height of The Simpsons. And you know, if I was going to go back and watch a season of The Simpsons, it would be season eight without a question.
00:30:18
Speaker
It is definitely. I'm just looking through the list of them just now. You're completely right. There's just so many iconic episodes there. As you said, you've got the Itchy and Scratchy in the picture show. I was going to say the Mary Poppins parody one, but I've just read the title. There's like, oh, I've got to go and read it out, read it out. Simpson Callifragilistic Expiala Annoyed Grunts.
00:30:43
Speaker
Lucius. Are you supposed to go with some sort of capitalistic exp? Ugh, Lucius. I don't know. It just says Annoyed Crun. No, absolutely. I mean, as you said, there's, oh god, there's just so, so many episodes. You were saying before that Homer's enemy. Is that the one with Frank Grimes? Yeah.
00:31:05
Speaker
Why is that one your favourite in particular? Homer's my favourite character in The Simpsons, so I always really liked, I always gravitated to Homer-centric episodes, and there's just something about this one. I think it's just the way that we never really stop to think that for as much of a doofus and as dumb as Homer is, we don't appreciate how lucky he has been. And it's funny to see, it's funny to view his life that way and be like, how the hell has he ended up?
00:31:31
Speaker
All these things, how does he keep his job? How does he have this nice house and this loving family and everything? I love just the character of Frank Grimes coming in who's just had to toil every day of his life to achieve this briefcase, this briefcase and this haircut. He meets his antithesis in Homer.
00:31:46
Speaker
and I just think it's just so funny but it also kind of speaks as well to kind of the good nature of Homer and the fact that you know his co-workers and everything do just rally around him even when he's in like a child even when he's winning like a child you know building competition and stuff they do have a genuine fondness for him so I think you just get to see a lot of different sides of Homer I just think it's such a well-written episode and it builds so fantastically
00:32:06
Speaker
to Frank Grimes' breakdown, which I think is still just one of the funniest things I've ever seen, where he just loses it, and he just tries to act like Homer, and then you realise that there could only ever really be one Homer Simpson, because nobody else can survive going through that. And it's just, I think it just, the episode builds so amazingly. It's just got, it's got, if I think of funny moments in Simpsons, I always come back to the episodes of Frank Grimes just laughing as he sent Homer off to build for the kids' competition, then he's just laughing the night, and Homer just backs straight into his car and wrecks it.
00:32:35
Speaker
There's just so many bits of that. It's just such a comedic masterpiece to
Revisiting 'Homer's Enemy'
00:32:40
Speaker
me. What's particularly great about that episode, though, as well, looking back at it now, as opposed to when I watched it when I was younger, where when I was younger, I kind of thought this Grimes guy was weird. Like, why is he being so confrontational to Homer? What's Homer done wrong here?
00:32:56
Speaker
But being older and seeing this man who bumbled his way into quite a senior position in this company, it's one working family member, and yet they have this very large house that he's been able to afford, have steak and lobster dinners and that kind of stuff on a semi-regular basis. How has his life come to that point? And you're sort of comparing it with where we are now, going
00:33:20
Speaker
Yeah, how was Homer able to do all of this? And why can't I have that? So I think it hits differently now than it did when I was younger for sure. I don't know if you guys have a similar reaction now watching it as opposed to when you were younger. It's definitely added another layer to my enjoyment of the episode without a doubt. I agree when I was a kid, it was just the kind of like gags and just the comedy of it that I really responded to. But you're totally right in that growing older, you do get a much more appreciation for the kind of the undertones to it and the kind of narrative.
00:33:50
Speaker
Because, I mean, it is kind of that central theme, isn't it, of we've all been there when you're going through, say, for example, university or school or something where there's that one guy that, you know, manages to coast through everything effortlessly and they put in the bare minimum amount and you're like, how the hell are they up there and you're still down here? And that's obviously like a minor thing compared to like, you know, like the Homer Simpsons of the world and things like that. But you definitely appreciate this episode, the older you get, don't you?
00:34:20
Speaker
No doubt. And Green Shield, before we move on to yours, is there any kind of final point you want to make about this season? Yeah, there's a couple actually, because you didn't mention a couple of episodes I would like to sort of highlight, which was Bart After Dark, where Bart works at that Burlesque house, and there's an excellent musical number. There's the classic scene, which has now been used as a big gif of Abe walking into the establishment, seeing Bart, and then is immediately turning around and walking away.
00:34:48
Speaker
That's brilliant. It's such a great piece of animation. I think that's one of my favorite bits from the show. I think it's so good. The Itchy and Scratchy and Poochy show is a classic episode of the season where they kind of get into the meat and potatoes of the animation industry and going into adding in these extra characters and what it can do to a series and Homer's kind of experience working there and then having the character be written off in the most ridiculous way.
00:35:15
Speaker
In my defense, there are so many great episodes. You're right in the highlight book for those because they are fantastic as well. But it just goes to my point that this is full of quote unquote bangers. It's just amazing. I can't think of an episode in the season that I wouldn't watch. I agree that there's some that are better than others, but I don't think there's one in the season that I would look at and go, oh, I'm not watching that.
00:35:37
Speaker
That's fair. I think you can make that argument for quite a few of the seasons where it's a case of, I would rather watch this other episode, but I'm not going to
Season 9 Highlights
00:35:46
Speaker
necessarily skip it. I was going to say not even the Simpsons spin-off Showcase. I'd probably still even watch that, you know? I kind of like it. Oh, I forgot. That was the one where Chief Wiggum and Skinner, like our detectives. Yeah.
00:35:58
Speaker
and the automatic one but yeah no yeah you're totally right Adam just an absolute fantastic season filled with like absolute golden moment before we wrap up which obviously we can't wrap up yet because Green Shield you have your choice Dick so without any further ado I'm gonna give it to you this time
00:36:15
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. We've done season seven, we've done season eight, and on theme, I'm moving on and doing season nine. I was toying and froing about which of these seasons was my favorite. It took me a fair bit of time to try and figure out which one I thought had the most episodes that I love in it.
00:36:32
Speaker
There are cases for each of the seasons that you both mentioned, and for another season that I'll mention after this one is an honorable mention. But season nine, I think, has more episodes that I will consistently go back to and rewatch than any other season. I think it has the most rewatchability of any of these seasons because of these episodes. I love a lot of this other seasons and episodes and other seasons that you mentioned, but I think episode for episode, this has the greatest rewatch factor.
00:36:59
Speaker
It starts off with the city of New York versus Homer Simpson, which is such a hilarious episode where Homer has a horrendous time trying to get his car back from the city of New York and having all these exploits go on while he's there and given an additional perspective that this took place before the events of 9-11 and the car was situated between the two towers in the World Trade Center. So there were jokes made about the World Trade Center in the episode. It was a great joke about with the, what's it called? The food that he has.
00:37:28
Speaker
Kyle Galash, thank you. And then he said, do you have anything to wash this down with? And he goes, I have Mountain Dew or crab juice. And her goes, Eww, disgusting. I'll have the crab juice, please. Which is just such a funny joke. I love that so much. And then you have the really kind of hard hitting episodes like Lisa's Sax, which I actually watched last night. My partner and I watched that together. And that's such a sweet episode.
00:37:49
Speaker
where you find out the origin of Lisa getting her saxophone. And you kind of have that also almost an origin story of Bart becoming who he was at school as well, which is very, very fun and cute. Another highlight is reality bites, where Marge becomes a real estate agent and Homer gets a sports car that belonged to the criminal snake. Oh, and just before I forget the in the New York episode, it's the there's the introduction of Duffman as a character who we I didn't realize it took until season nine to introduce him. But really?
00:38:19
Speaker
The recurring character Duffman introduced in that episode in season 9. Oh my god. Yeah, that really surprised me. I know he's such a fun character. Reality Bites, fantastic episode. Joy of the Sect is one of my favourite episodes in the entire show where they join like a cult and you have a great kind of back and forth with Willy and Reverend Lovejoy, where Reverend Lovejoy is trying to knock Homer out with a bat and Willy says, give it here you noodle-armed, quiet boy, which...
00:38:48
Speaker
It's such a fantastic line, I love quoting that. The hoverbikes joke where Marge fakes hoverbikes. Another woolly moment where he says that he'll capture him for 20, kill him for 75. And then he says, no, no, just the capturing. He says, all right, I'll throw in the killing for three.
Comedic Strength of Season 9
00:39:02
Speaker
And I love that one. Dasp bus.
00:39:04
Speaker
is a really underrated one where the kids all get trapped on an island and have to fend for themselves on the island. It's kind of like a law of the fly situation. Meanwhile, this other side story is Homer setting up his own company, which makes zero sense and Bill Gates comes in and tries to destroy it. Then we have Lisa the Simpson, which is really another sweet episode where Lisa kind of understands her position in the family and what being a Simpson means. My favorite episode, Simpson Tide,
00:39:31
Speaker
I will watch this episode more than any other episode it is so funny the amount of jokes they managed to fit in the story itself is stupid there's very little to it but they managed to squeeze in a gag in every scene and it just
00:39:46
Speaker
I cannot stop laughing watching this episode. The whole bit with all the weird submarine jokes and with the recruitment agent trying to bring Homer in and Homer's trying to read out the question that's crossed out because it asks if he's gay and the guy is saying like, do not read that, I could go to jail. And then like afterwards someone goes, what a nice guy. What if he's gay? There's so much in the season that is just so wonderful. Trouble with Trillians, another great one. Trash of the Titans, I know is a Sasanami's favorites.
00:40:15
Speaker
Yeah, King of the Hill is a great one where Homer climbs up the murderhorn mountain, which is hilarious, and lost our Lisa, where Lisa travels to a museum in a strange part of Springfield by herself and gets lost. There's so many fantastic episodes there. Those are just the ones I highlighted as my favorites, but there are another 12 or so episodes I didn't mention.
00:40:39
Speaker
there. This season has so many episodes with great musical numbers as well, thinking about Trash of the Titans, All Singing, All Dancing had some great stuff on it, and there was one other that had an absolutely fantastic musical number, The Last Temptation of Krusty. Krusty, I think, has the Bring in the Clowns, which is great. Yeah, I think that's it in terms of... Oh, and this is the season that has Principal and the Pauper, which
00:41:04
Speaker
I didn't highlight it because it's not one of my favourites, but it gets a bad rap. People often say it's one of the episodes where the show starts going downhill. I love that episode. I think it's very fun. I think it's interesting you get to see the other side of Skinner and a strange origin of Skinner. And Martin Sheen is fantastic as the real Seymour Skinner. But what do you guys think of it? I just want to say for legal reasons, that was a joke. Now I'm a weakness.
00:41:31
Speaker
I'm just thinking back to the principal and the pauper comment there because I'm like, oh god, we're going to be speedrun cancelled. That jokes aside, I actually think there's one episode that's worse than principal and the pauper. I do not like old singing, old dancing.
00:41:48
Speaker
No? I honestly think, and I don't know why, like when I was younger maybe I have to go back and rewatch it so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt but this episode just really stuck out to me as just being one of these like obviously because it was a flashback episode which I don't like at the best of times but just all singing and dancing, I don't know what it was it's just it's one that I've never liked and I know that's kind of the only negativity we've really had in this episode so apologies but I don't see how that one kind of gets a pass and
00:42:17
Speaker
you know, principle and the popper. So like, I get why people don't like it. But I mean, at the end of the day, like, that's the thing about The Simpsons, the status quo always has to be kind of reset by the end of it. And of course, that's what they do anyway, you know, principle skinners back to what he is. And even then, I think Matt Groening actually said that as well. This is one of his most favourite episodes. And all I can keep thinking is then why did you like allow it to be created, you know, and put to that stage? Yeah, I don't know.
00:42:46
Speaker
He had other things on his mind. Yeah, like the rest of the Simpsons. He had Futurama to create. Oh, of course, yeah. That old indie gem. And yeah, the outlines of Disenchanted probably. Matt Groening and bashing
Subverted Humor in Season 9
00:43:00
Speaker
this idea. I totally agree. I think this season is absolutely filled to the brim.
00:43:05
Speaker
with absolutely fantastic episodes. There's even one episode I have to say which I do think is quite emotional, even though it's mainly comedy obviously, but see the episode Lisa the Skeptic. I actually think that's a really interesting episode. Just the fact, again going back to some of the episodes I've brought up in the past, Bart Sells his soul and things, because obviously you know we focus on this American family who go to church and things and
00:43:31
Speaker
Sometimes those episodes are quite interesting because, especially with Lisa, Lisa starts saying, oh, I can't believe people think that angels exist and things, and then Marge has quite a frank discussion with her to say, oh, no, I believe in them. And it's that kind of her being a bit more open-minded, if that makes sense, rather than being completely dismissive. And it is two sides of the coin. It's people who are blindly rejecting and blindly believing, and then there's that kind of arbiter in the middle.
00:44:00
Speaker
yeah with Marge saying oh maybe it is maybe it's not you know and I thought that kind of aspect was quite interesting I'm not saying it's the best episode it's got some great moments one of my favorite parts is actually see when Lisa's going to actually smash the angel and she's walking by very slowly with the crowbar and Homer
00:44:22
Speaker
Homer's just sitting there and he's like, so many stopper! It's just an arm's reach. I don't know why that cracks me up all the time. I actually watched that episode last night. It was one of two episodes that I watched last night of the season, and that was one of them. And I didn't mention it as one of my favourites, because I wouldn't say it's one of my favourites of the season, but it is an absolutely fantastic one.
00:44:40
Speaker
I think there was quite a few I didn't mention. I think Bart Carney is a very funny one and Girly Edition where Bart and Lisa have the news anchor position of the children's news show. Those are all really, really classic episodes. But I just picked about nine or 10 from the season that I thought really sort of shone to me.
00:44:59
Speaker
I think Lisa the Skeptic is a brilliant one, a bit like what you mentioned earlier with Bart Sells' soul, that there is a philosophical or theological argument in the episodes and that you have Lisa and Marge kind of coming to blows in words where Marge says, if you can't take a little leap of faith every once in a while, then I feel sorry for you. And Lisa says, no, mum, I feel sorry for you.
00:45:21
Speaker
And that just seems so, for a young girl and her mother to be having that kind of dialogue with each other, it's very kind of hard hitting. It's quite stark. And so I think that this season doesn't have as many heartfelt episodes as some of the others. I think it's more of a comedic season than some of the others, but I think it is what I want and what I think of when I think of The Simpsons.
00:45:42
Speaker
I think the end of Lisa's sax, where you get the montage of all the other times where she's played her saxophone throughout the show, is just so beautiful. And the song she plays, I can never remember the name of it, it's such a wonderful song. And kind of going off on one of your points there, you of course mentioned
00:46:00
Speaker
he mentioned the joy of sect which again I totally agree fantastic episodes and there's just so many good ones but the one i want to point out is the actually the 200th episode of the simpsons that of course being trash of the titans
00:46:16
Speaker
I have to admit, bit of a guilty pleasure because on the one hand you could easily say that Trash of the Titans does like a lot of similar things to like the new seasons where they take like a very small premise and they completely blow it out of proportion and you know they've got the celebrity voices coming in being themselves but I have to admit for this one I think it actually does work like it's not perfect the whole premise is about Homer becoming the
00:46:45
Speaker
Is it the sanitation minister or something like that? The sanitation's something, but he ends up getting all the garbage men coming in and they're all in their silk uniforms, but there's so many memorable moments in this one. There's of course the Happy Love Day everyone, which is something I
00:47:06
Speaker
still bring up to this day. There's the YouTube one where he tries to blag his way through by saying he is the potato man and of course they say, what the hell have you been? And it's just something so silly that it just comes right around to being funny again. Of course you've got Steve Martin as well.
00:47:24
Speaker
I was going to say one thing that this season does better than the others. And I think it's something that the later seasons actually work quite well on. And it's one of the reasons why I enjoy the later seasons is the subverted humor. The jokes you're expecting to be made then gets subverted and it's a different joke that it's made. And that kind of like takes you aback and you're like, Oh, okay. I didn't, didn't, didn't see that coming, which, which I, that's my favorite kind of humor.
00:47:48
Speaker
where a joke takes a different direction from what you expected it to, that something that seems so obvious then gets subverted. And so season 9 has a lot of those kinds of jokes, and I think I'll mention it briefly now, but season 12, I think, is one of the best seasons for those kinds of jokes, that there are so much subverted humor in season 12.
Decline of The Simpsons
00:48:08
Speaker
I don't know how you guys feel about that kind of humor and where Simpsons kind of went in that direction.
00:48:13
Speaker
I have to admit, this season, looking at all the episodes from this season, this is where I start my kind of knowledge of The Simpsons starts to fade. I recognise some of the episodes this season, but there's a lot I'm like, I don't think I've ever seen that. But I totally agree, there are some great ones in this one. I really love this little wiggy. Me and my, the one with the, kind of a couple of friends with Ralph Wiggum, me and my fiance often do the, go fish at each other just at random points. Lines of Ralph Wiggum says during the episodes. You mentioned, I think, when you were talking about the season about Trouble with Trillions, I think it's a great one.
00:48:41
Speaker
And I also quite like the cartridge family, the one where we're home where he gets a gun, joins the NRA and everything. I think that's a really funny one. But this is kind of where my knowledge of The Simpsons starts to fade. I don't really know. I don't really feel like I'm qualified to say how the quality of the series went after this, but just not personally, this is kind of where I kind of left off in my sort of journey with The Simpsons.
00:49:00
Speaker
I have done that. I think, and again, this could be like a whole other episode in its own right, which it probably will be. I think that The Simpsons started to kind of become a bit more cartoony, if that makes sense, and I get it. The Simpsons is a cartoon and everything, and
00:49:19
Speaker
at the end of the day, the kind of situations that these characters get into. They're over the top, they're bombastic, they're, you know, memorable moments. Like, for example, I was watching one from, I think it's season four, but I could be wrong, it's the Mr. Plough one. You're really just stripping moments like that, or the one where Marge becomes like the leading.
00:49:39
Speaker
a plane. They were over the top scenarios but at the same time they had that kind of human element that grounded them and I mean as I said in season seven most of the things although they were silly they were kind of grounded by something that the audience could relate to and I feel as if with kind of season 12 onwards
00:49:57
Speaker
they started because like before I go on I just want to say there's like a huge discussion about this online about a thing called Zombie Simpsons. I think the author of that blog says you know Zombie Simpsons started after Principal and the Popper. It's all very subjective about when this all started.
00:50:16
Speaker
but it starts to talk about kind of changes in the characters and things and I think as well that was when they started getting a lot more celebrity voice
Cultural Impact of 'Who Shot Mr. Burns'
00:50:26
Speaker
actors in. One of my least favourite episodes in Green Children might be able to tell me when this was because I can't remember but do you remember what season the episode is? Would they go to London? Season 13 or 14 I think?
00:50:39
Speaker
Yeah, it was definitely around that time. I think that that is probably what sums up everything that's wrong with The Simpsons. You know, you had all these celebrities that came in like JK Rowling, Tony Blair for some weird reason, the UK's former Prime Minister, just for anyone keeping count, Ian McKellen as well. I think they might have been a couple others but they were just there and they go and they get into like these shenanigans and everything and
00:51:07
Speaker
None of the jokes hit. There wasn't any, again, all of these episodes that you Adam and you Green Shield have said, they're all memorable for their different things. But I feel as if season 12 onwards was that kind of transitional period where they started to just say, okay, we've got this voice actor from White Lady Gaga, for example, which is an infamously bad episode. Have you seen that one, Green Shield, actually?
00:51:29
Speaker
I've seen bits of it. I did not enjoy it. I think the Simpsons have had celebrity voice stars for a long time, but they would very rarely play themselves. They would usually play a character who just has their voice. For example, Principal and the Pauper had Martin Sheen voicing the real Seymour Skinner. It wasn't Martin Sheen voicing Martin Sheen or playing Martin Sheen. They had a actor come in to voice a character. And they've been doing that for years and years and years.
00:51:57
Speaker
with The Simpsons becoming more popular, more voice actors wanted to come in and lend their voice to the roles. But then when they had actors more famous than the show, then they would have them just be themselves. But you then feel like it's becoming a bit more metaphysical, and they aren't diving into that as much anymore. We're starting to get into where Simpsons went downhill, as opposed to the seasons we're talking about, which we could make an entire other podcast episode about.
Nostalgic Episodes and Personal Favorites
00:52:26
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, just kind of getting back into some of the earlier seasons, some sort of honorable mentions, I don't know if you guys have any you want to bring up, but I would like to pay homage to season six, which I think encapsulates everything that we've talked about in season seven, eight and nine. I don't think it has as many hard hitting episodes and as many funny episodes as necessarily season seven, eight and nine together.
00:52:47
Speaker
But you have things like Itchy and Scratchyland, where you have the Bort license plate joke and loads of other really great bits, like they park in the Itchy lot. And they say, remember, remember we parked in the Itchy lot. You zoomed out and there's just a gigantic parking lot. So they're definitely going to lose their car. It has a Maggie Makes Three, which is just such a wonderful, like heartfelt episode where you have the ending with Homer having the Maggie pictures all over his office, which is just so, so beautiful. So sweet. It's one of, it goes down with one of the sweetest episodes in The Simpsons.
00:53:16
Speaker
You have Bart versus Australia, which is such a funny destination episode with like so many gags per scene. So that's one of my favorite episodes. You have 2001 Greyhounds, which has loads of very fun scenes and such a great musical number with Burns singing about making different animals into different items of clothing.
00:53:32
Speaker
It's Brinkfield Connection where Marge becomes a cop. Lemon of Troy. How often do we quote Lemon of Troy? It's such a fun episode. And then that season ends with Who Shot Mr. Burns Part 1, which I think is one of the only, if not the only, two-parter in The Simpsons. And the fact that it ends a season with one and then starts the following season of the next episode is so interesting and so different. I don't know, what do you guys think about that?
00:53:55
Speaker
Who shot Mr Burns I think is one of the best episodes of The Simpsons. I really love season 6 as well just looking through the episode list there. But yeah, I think it has the best ending to a season because I love that episode. Of course we were all too young to take part in the craze right enough because apparently, and I remember this from the DVDs, there were actually adverts at the time on TV.
00:54:18
Speaker
for who shot Mr Burns, and I think it was primarily Butterfingers, which of course isn't very popular in the UK. I can't speak for Canada, but I know they were popular in the US, and because of that, I think The Simpsons tied them, or sorry, Butterfingers rather, sponsored
00:54:35
Speaker
The Simpsons and they had like all the tie-in things and they had the who do you think shot Mr Burns and everything and who did this and who did that and it was just really interesting to look back in this kind of era in The Simpsons and see like how everybody was gripped by these episodes and it's kind of cultural and
00:54:53
Speaker
on the entertainment scene because I mean obviously every couple of years you do get that moment in a TV show but no I absolutely agree with you Green Child. I think season six is a absolutely fantastic one. Is there any other ones you want to point out?
00:55:09
Speaker
Well, I was just going to quickly say, going back to what Adam said about it being the strongest end of the season, looking at how each of our seasons that we picked ends. Season 7 has Summer of 4 featuring 2. I don't actually remember what happened to that episode. The Secret War of Lisa Simpson was Season 8, and Natural Born Kisses was Season 9. I don't think any of those were particularly strong season enders. I don't think they were necessarily bad episodes.
00:55:31
Speaker
Again, I remember what happened in the summer of 4 featuring 2, but I think season 6 definitely does have the strongest ending of those 4 seasons at least. I'd have to look at some of the other seasons to see if they have any better season enders, but I think that's probably claiming the top place. Oh, it's definitely the most iconic one by far.
00:55:49
Speaker
I honestly can't think of. There might be a better or maybe funnier episode, but I honestly can't think off the top of my head what could have topped that both in terms of drama, in terms of impact and everything. I mean, even to this day when you do think of The Simpsons, that is one of the episodes that does
Conclusion and Future Discussions
00:56:08
Speaker
pop up. You know, it's that season 6 finale.
00:56:10
Speaker
I can only imagine what people must have been thinking when Season 6 ended, and then they had to wait all that time to find out who actually shot Mr Burns. Spoilers that was Waylon Smithers, totally. The Simpsons fans will get it. Just trust me on it, because I know some people will be like, wait, isn't that an
00:56:27
Speaker
yes I know I know but I would actually go further back and maybe this is nostalgia talking but one of the very first seasons I ever got into with this show was season three and don't get me wrong I don't think it's as good as seasons six through nine I think their episodes are on a completely different level but at the same time there are some like
00:56:50
Speaker
very hard-hitting episodes in this one. Obviously, maybe not to the same extent, but you've got episodes like when Flanders failed, which is the one where of course Flanders has his left-handed shop, the left order, and of course Homer jokes and says,
00:57:07
Speaker
hope it doesn't go under and he wishes for that in a kind of sadistic way. And this is what I love about this episode because in a sadistic way Homer's getting exactly what he wants. He sees his neighbour trying to pursue his dream, absolutely failing and thinking, haha, it serves him right. And then he sees the kind of fallout for his family and everything and he has a heart to heart with him. And you know, he ends up like rallying everyone in town and you actually get like a parody of It's a Wonderful Life
00:57:36
Speaker
nearly seen for scenes at one point. It's actually really interesting but yeah that's just such a touching scene you know where you think oh everyone's abandoned them and then they all rally to them. It is absolutely fantastic. You've got Lisa's pony as well which I have to admit the majority of that episode isn't great but considering again that you see Homer taking on the role of you know he takes several jobs on just to keep his little girl's dream
00:58:02
Speaker
you know alive and then she kind of realizes that things have to be sacrificed for them to be happy and everything. Of course not a touching episode but you've got flaming moles which is just like a really funny one. I honestly think that seasons I would say three to five were probably, although they were like the most, they were probably the most memorable to me I would say,
00:58:24
Speaker
because, you know, you obviously had like the Camp Crusty one, you had the one where Marge becomes, is it Blanche du Blas? And like, I can't even remember what the musical it is. And do you remember that episode though? The Street Corning Desire. That's the one. Thank you. Thank you, Adam, for saving me there with your vast knowledge of any musicals.
00:58:44
Speaker
I watched that episode so many times. It wasn't until after I studied Street Cardiac Desire in English class in high school that I understood what a lot of the jokes in that episode were. There's an entire song about how you can always trust it'll help from a stranger. I did not realise until after I'd studied the books that it was all about the fact that one of the main characters in the story essentially prostituted herself.
00:59:06
Speaker
Ah, The Simpsons. Family friendly content all around. But Adam, is there any kind of honourable mentions you want to bring up before we wrap up? Yeah, honestly, I'd probably pick Season 6 or 7, but I was just looking at Season 5 there, because I remember being in some episodes that I love in Season 5, so I'll pick Season 5, something different. So you have that great episode where Homer becomes best friends with Ned Flanders, and there's that fantastic Terminator 2 scene where he's chasing after the Flanders car. Of course you would bring that up.
00:59:33
Speaker
I think it's a great episode. There's the one Lady Bouvier's lover, which is the kind of parody of that film The Graduate from the 60s, where it's the kind of love triangle between Marge's mum, Homer's dad and Mr. Burns. It ends with Grandpa Simpson going, Mrs. Bouvier, as he falls through the glass plate.
00:59:50
Speaker
We've got the one where Bart gets an elephant. It's good. Homer goes to space. Deep Space Homer, it was called. There's the one with Mr. Burns' casino, which I always quite liked when I was younger. That's got quite a good triage of horror, I think, as well. Homer sells his salt for a donut. I like the boy who knew too much from season five, where Bart witnesses the crime with Mayor Quimby's nephew and the clumsy French butler. The chow-dudding, yeah. Yeah. Chow-dah. Chow-dah. Chow-dah.
01:00:18
Speaker
Yeah, I thought there was some good... It's not my favourite. Again, I don't think I've seen all the episodes. I wouldn't pick it as my favourite, but there's also Cape Fear as well with quite a good Sideshow Bob one. The other one where he stands on all the rakes. It is. I think that might be the beginning of the rake joke that became a recurring pun around Sideshow Bob. That's a great scene. Yeah, I'll give Season 5 some props.
01:00:39
Speaker
Season five and season four I think definitely deserve some more honorable mentions. As you said, I love the Lisa vs Malibu Stacy episode as a particular one from season five. There's the scene where Lisa goes to see Waylon Smithers because he's like an utmost expert on Malibu Stacy, this sort of Barbie reference essentially. We see that Smithers' screensaver is Mr. Burns like half naked and he goes,
01:01:01
Speaker
Smithers, you turn me on. One of my favourite moments in that as well was see when Louisa tries so hard to make like this. I was about to say action figure. This doll that appeals to everyone and they just bring out Malibu Stacy with a hat. And I think to this day, even with like video games and things, would they bring out such a pointless cosmetic you have to pay for? And you're always just saying like,
01:01:22
Speaker
No, don't buy it. It's just the same silly model. It's the same doll. It's not something new. And then wailing all people. It's not the girls. It's not the children. It's wailing. It's like she's got a new hat. I want it. At the end of the day, there's so many quotes you could have or you could pluck from this particular age of The Simpsons. It's just absolutely fantastic. But I think we could honestly do a good couple more episodes on The Simpsons by far.
01:01:51
Speaker
Would you, Adam and Green Shield, be up for that one day? Never say never. I'm always up to talk about The Simpsons, so yeah, for sure. You know, I was trying to think of like a reference there, but I think I'm old Simpson now. It's just come full circle and it's just like, you know, in The Simpsons film where it's just the monkey like clapping the cymbals. It's just like, yeah. But honestly, guys, thank you again so much for, yeah.
01:02:13
Speaker
coming on and will act cylindrical about The Simpsons. My pleasure. Thank you for having me. And yeah, as always, if you want to listen to more of our opinions on gaming, films and particularly anime under the Chatsun Nani sub-series, you can of course check us out on Anchor, Spotify, iTunes, YouTube as well.
01:02:33
Speaker
and really any good podcast that. So look for the Red Panda under the name Chatsunami, and we'll see you there. But until then, thank you all so so much for listening to this episode. Stay safe, stay awesome, and most importantly, eat my shorts.