Season 8 was the second and final year with Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein as showrunners. At a time when the show could have easily been on the decline, Oakley and Weinstein gave us some of the funniest episodes in the show's history.
Somewhere in my house is a VHS tape with a record version of The Springfield Files. I remember watching that episode hundreds of times as a kid, and I can even recall watching it live (the syndicated version doesn't contain the Water World joke, so I know this for a fact). For that reason, and for the reason that I can quote the entire episode, The Springfield Files gets my number one spot. A Milhouse Divided does provide ideal competition, though. My appreciation for that episode rises each time I watch it, and it features one of my all-time favorite quotes: "Crackers are a family treat. Maybe single people eat crackers, we don't know. Frankly, we don't want to know." Also, Kirk Van Houten's song "Can I Borrow a Feeling?" always gets me laughing hysterically.
Episodes 1-7 on my list, I absolutely love; episodes 8-20 are pretty good; and then unfortunately there is a drop in quality for 21-25. A lot of Simpsons fans give Ken Keeler hell for writing The Principal and the Pauper, but I think that Brother From Another Series is a much, much worse episode.
1. The Springfield Files
2. A Milhouse Divided
3. Mountain of Madness
4. El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer
5. Bart After Dark
6. You Only Move Twice
7. The Homer They Fall
8. Homer's Phobia
9. Homer's Enemy
10. The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show
11. Burns, Baby Burns
12. Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment
13. The Secret War of Lisa Simpson
14. The Twisted World of Marge Simpson
15. Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious
16. Treehouse of Horror VII
17. My Sister, My Sitter
18. The Canine Mutiny
19. Grade School Confidential
20. Lisa's Date with Density
21. The Old Man and the Lisa
22. Hurricane Neddy
23. In Marge We Trust
24. The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase
25. Brother from Another Series
Is Brother From Another Series a riff on Sayles' Brother From Another Planet?
ReplyDeleteYeah, but the title is the only riff on it. In the episode, Sideshow Bob's brother, Cecil, shows up. Cecil is voiced by David Hyde Pierce so it's nod to Fraiser as well. It's also as interesting as an episode of Fraiser.
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