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Funniest family guy episodes to watch high12/13/2023 ![]() ![]() (“It’s one of the few old-school cartoon things they did in the show,” Turner recalls.) He also encounters a coyote spirit guide, voiced by country icon Johnny Cash. While on his metaphysical journey, strange things happen he shatters the sun, for instance. In this foray into a newly surrealist realm - or a “spirit quest acid trip,” as Turner describes it - Homer wins a hot-pepper-eating contest only to start hallucinating due to the strength of the peppers. “El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer),” Season 8, Episode 9. “Homer’s Enemy” also has its share of critics who see it as a bit too on the nose in its unusually clear-eyed depiction of Homer’s faults, making it one of the show’s more controversial episodes.ħ. And you realize that these people have become not only OK with it, but charmed by it - and so have you.” Ortved calls it the “Hannah Arendt episode” for its wry portrayal of the banality of evil - a timeless term originally coined by the German-American theorist following the Holocaust. “It’s quite dark,” admits Ortved, “but you and I laugh so hard, because you realize everyone in the Simpsons world has become so inured to Homer’s stupidity, gluttony and downright parasitic laziness. But when Grimes is stuck with Homer, he is driven to madness and, ultimately, death. Burns hires a hard-working man named Frank Grimes to join the power plant. This episode explores what happens when reality - or something like it - bumps up agains the Simpsons fantasy. It’s a comedic exercise.” And it worked.Ĩ. “It becomes kind of repetitive and tedious, but by the seventh or eighth time it’s funny. “It was one of those things where they were almost testing the theory that anything repeated enough becomes funny,” Turner says. ![]() One of the most memorable parts of the episode is a comic bit that’s become Simpsons legend: Sideshow Bob keeps stepping onto rakes that continually whack him in the face. But despite the dire context, they’re still able to mine plenty of comedy out of the circumstances. In the Simpsons version, Homer and his family are terrorized by Homer’s nemesis Sideshow Bob, voiced by actor Kelsey Grammer they end up entering the witness protection program and relocating to a new town and a houseboat to try to escape. This is what Richmond calls the “ultimate Sideshow Bob episode.” It’s primarily a play on the Oscar-nominated 1991 movie Cape Fear, a psychological thriller from Martin Scorsese. That irreverence has only enabled its long life.ĩ. “On some level The Simpsons is a kind of punk rock TV show, or certainly was,” Ortved says. To top it off, there’s voice acting from the Ramones (yes, the rock star Ramones), adding an official layer of punk rock cool to the show. Burns through the hands of Adolf Hitler and an expedition to the North Pole before miraculously ending up in the arms of Maggie, Homer’s daughter - leading, of course, to a Homer vs. There are extensive historical references as Bobo’s journey is traced from Mr. “It’s as perfect an episode of television as I’ve ever seen,” Ortved says. Burns, recalling his beloved childhood teddy bear, Bobo, that he discarded in exchange for ascension to a life of wealth - and his lifelong quest to recover the treasured object. This Citizen Kane homage gets into the backstory of Mr. Here are ten of the most memorable of the show’s episodes according to those who have studied the iconic show over its run, focusing primarily on its acclaimed first 15 years. It’s a combination of character development, great guest stars, sight gags and homages to the past and to films,” he explains of its longstanding appeal.” As for its future? “It will never go out.” “At its core it’s just a feel-good show about this wonderful family. The trick was that it took a traditional family sitcom and added the cartoon twist. ![]() “Even at its lowest, it’s been greater than almost every comedy,” Richmond says. Most critics accept that the second half of the show’s run hasn’t hit its early subversive highs. For Ray Richmond, critic and co-author of The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family, it’s one of the classics. Chris Turner, another journalist and author of Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Defined a Generation, agrees. “I’d put The Simpsons right up there - I think it’s as or more powerful than Saturday Night Live,” he told TIME. Journalist John Ortved, who wrote The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History, considers it one of our most powerful cultural forces in television. To celebrate and consider the show’s hefty legacy, TIME spoke to three Simpsons scholars and experts who have written extensively about the show over the years, particularly about its lauded first decade. ![]()
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