Homer at the Bat
Can anyone confirm that Ozzie Smith has indeed escaped from “The Springfield Mystery Spot” yet? This softball championship episode was full of appearances from famous baseball players, Homer aping The Natural with his own version of “Wonderboy” and the classic, “Mattingly, I thought I told you to trim those sideburns?” from Mr. Burns. The anticlimactic ending is perfect too.
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You Only Move Twice
Hank Scorpio is one of the best characters in the history of The Simpsons – equal parts evil genius and ideal boss. This episode gave us the classic, “I moved here from Canada and they think I’m slow, eh” when Bart gets put in a remedial class and the hammock distict bit. Scorpio brandishing a flamethrower while Homer tells him they’re moving back to Springfield is awesome and the “Supervillain Seizes East Coast” headline on the newspaper the next day when they return home is great too.
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Lisa the Vegetarian
“You don’t win friends with sal-ad! You don’t win friends with sal-ad!” Turned off eating meat after a trip to the petting Zoo, Lisa stands out in her quest to convert her family and anyone who will listen to vegetarianism. Needless to say, it doesn’t go so well. One of the most quotable episodes of all time, Homer’s “It’s Still Good” rationalizations of the “Pig de Resistance” eludes him might be the best thing ever.
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Bart the Murderer
Fat Tony, Lionel Hutz and Bart, dressed to the nines, retrieving a gangster’s roll from the wash as Marge does his laundry – what’s not to like? It introduced the audience to Manhattens, includes Bart telling Fat Tony to “Get bent!” when his murder trial ends and contains the mob boss’ amazing rationalization of stealing cigarettes that he concludes with, “Now, what if instead of giving them away, you sold them at a price that was practically giving them away. Would that be a crime, Bart?” Priceless.
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22 Short Films About Springfield
One of the few times that the periphery characters from The Simpsons Universe shine, this Season 7 gem riffed on Pulp Fiction, gave us the “Aurora Borealis/steamed hams” interaction between Principal Skinner and Superintendant Chalmers and showed local bully Nelson Munce getting his comeuppance. There was talk of a spinoff show about the lesser characters from Springfield and this episode showed that it was (a) possible and (b) potentially awesome. Here’s hoping it eventually happens.
