Overrated/Underrated Episodes: Simpsons Edition

I figure since The Simpsons is such a Long Runner and it's changed so much in style that I'm sure it's had its hit-and-miss episodes

Some were put into Dethroning Moment Of Suck,but they really weren't that bad,others were praised far more than they deserve.

Now I can think of plenty but I'll start with,....

Overrated: "Deep Space Homer" (Homer becomes an astronaut) Began the episode type where Homer gets a new job that isn't entirely believable and also was the first case of Homer's Flanderization in stupidity. Also sober Barney was handled better in the 11th season. Though it started off good and it's hard not to sympathize with Homer.

Underrated: "Worst Episode Ever" (An episode that finally talks about Comic Book Guy and adds a little depth to him. Also the comic book store subplot with Bart and Milhouse was hilarious. The ending was kind of sad though,yeah I know the whole Agnes thing was Squicky and the radioactive ape was too Fantasy Kitchen Sink like.But it still was hilarious and heart-warming. The title is ironic

I think the first season is underrated. I actually really enjoy it. The less polished look makes it dead charming.

Overrated: The Twisted World of Marge Simpson. This episode wastes a great guest star role by Jack Lemmon (and a hilarious scene with Cletus) in favor of a lot of jokes that go nowhere and a lot of mean-spirited behavior towards Marge. (Before then, I had never seen the women of Springfield hate Marge so much. And for what? Starting a small business to compete with theirs.) Also, the episode has no ending. There is a bizarre Mafia vs. Yakuza battle that has nothing to do with anything and then the episode just ends. No resolution, no outcome, nothing.

Underrated: Some Enchanted Evening. The troubled production of this episode tends to overshadow the content and as a result, people seem to hate it on instinct. The truth is: it's the best episode from the first season. Looking past the animation errors, the episode is actually well-written and Penny Marshall was great as The Babysitter Bandit. The ending is also hilarious and it has a meaningful main plot with Homer and Marge having a night out to spice up their marriage.

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I actually like Some Enchanted Evening for it's stranger animation. The whole of the first season seems to allow more fluidity and off model moments making the characters a bit more expressive (one of the main reasons I prefer the old titles over the HD one). The Tracey Ullman shorts are similar, but the series itself has better scripting and evolved voice acting at it's advantage.

Also S.E.E actually seemed like a better introduction to the family than the Christmas Special, displaying the personalities and normal scenario rather well, as well as showing the genuine sentimentality that reoccurs between them. Oh and a dumbfounded Homer appearing with a badly presented gift and uttering "I love you, Marjorie" is one of the most beautiful moments in the whole series.

I'm mixed about Cape Feare, it has some really REALLY funny moments, but the climax seems kinda deranged and dumb, it actually reminds me of some of the later seasons.

Of such 'zanier' episodes however, I admit I kinda like the despised Saddlesore Gallactica, if only because it ups it to extremes and at least utilizes it for a genuinely funny manner. The Jockeys concept could be considered bad taste, but it's still hilariously done.

edited 14th Oct '11 5:46:49 PM by Psi001

I have to admit I loved Saddlesore,...until the jockeys came up. The subplot was really stupid though and foreshadowed Lisa's status as The Wesley.

Speaking of Scully era-episodes everyone seems to hate,...why does everyone hate "Insane Clown Poppy"? The interactions between Krusty and his daughter are very natural,and the handling of the book fair is hilarious.And the climax with Fat Tony was really good. It's my favorite episode in that season

And once again to bring the 5th and 6th seasons down, "Bart vs Australia" was inaccurate,not very funny,and much of it is wacky enough to welcome itself into the 11th season.The whole starting point over something as dumb as a toilet,...

And finally "Alone,Again Natura-Diddly" needs more love. It actually had the guts to kill off a character,and the issue was nicely handled. Most of the seemingly dis-jointed parts were justified,and the ending was bittersweet. Besides Maude was a bland character anyway,and it really showed the relationship between Homer and Flanders better. Yet everyone hates it becuase it killed Maude and in a cheap way.

Insane Clown Poppy and Alone Again Naturaldiddly were pretty good for the point in time they were made. I'm glad they managed to be poignant with the latter without going all out melancholy like a lot of comedies do with character deaths. My only big complaint was that they made Maude's death pretty much entirely Homer's fault (and even outright lampshaded it). He was already becoming a moronic ass as it was, he didn't need to outright get another character killed.

The Jockeys pretty much made Saddlesore for me though, if only because it's so ridiculously done it's hilarious.

edited 14th Oct '11 6:42:30 PM by Psi001

I still think those episodes have aged fairly well. Alone Again feels like an early episode,it has the same Closer to Earth feels of the very early seasons,and yet it still has some humor [like the bear crapping into the bag or the Huge WRITING CREDIT". And frankly Krusty's daughter was a really nice character and I really wish they'd bring her back for an appearence (would've been a better character than stupid Princess Penelope)

Also "The Good,Sad,and the Drugly" is underrated,I mean people don't hate that episode back in Season 11 when Bart takes drugs to combat ADHD or "Bart's Friend Falls In Love" do they? Well this episode was really just the two mashed together. And frankly considering how far Lisa has fallen as a character,her on drugs is an improvement and the whole Milhouse ruins Bart's relationship with a girl part. C'mon people Bart did the exact thing to Milhouse and Milhouse never lied to Sam either. It's kind of hypocritical as I see it.

Also "Natural Born Kissers" seems more like a Family Guy episode than a Simpsons episode. The humor is unusually adult and really there's no good humor for the target audience. I mean the subplot was decent,..if you were a film buff and love Casablanca,but everyone else...forget it. Yes it was hilarious and the whole escape from the golf course was epic,but really it's not the holy grail of Simpsons episodes. Really if it was Lois and Peter that'd be one thing,but the whole thing feels wrong for Homer and Marge.

Alone Again's winning moment is arguably Moe goading Flanders into beating him to death.

I can stand the Denser and Wackier moments if they are well written and the cast feel in character. Something about the characters usually feels awkward and forced when they fall into the wackier approach, like they know they are actors and blandly acting it out (that Behind The Laughter episode is pretty much the standard of how the scripting works right now). As said Family Guy work with this setup but The Simpsons weren't made this way so don't really feel right with it.

I can stand episodes like Saddlesore Gallactica and Alone Again because they downplay this (or play it so over the top it's actually kinda funny).

Oh, I actually think Home Sweet Home Diddly is hilarious. I know a lot of people don't like Ned's Flanderization (being the Trope Namer and all), but it was just so ridiculously funny for this instance, and it was interesting giving his family some more prominant flaws.

edited 15th Oct '11 4:02:05 PM by Psi001

Underrated: Treehouse of Horror XIV. This is my third favourite special below Number III and Number VI. The jokes with Homer as death are just some wonderful Black Comedy that honestly feels creative rather than just mean spirited, and the third segment was a riot with all the ways they mangaed to screw around with the Time Stop. Okay, Frinkenstein is gross, but even that had some funny bits ("Muffins are surprisingly high in calories! The Pyramids were actually built by Sears!)

Overrated: Homer the Heretic. Okay, this one....Is a bit personal for me. I can understand why some people would like it. The thing is, this episode, rather the message it tries to bring home, pisses me off on such a fundamental level. It's kinda a long story with me. I am a Christian, and yet I have issues with Mass as a concept, and also through my experiences, and I just loathe the fact that the episode's message came off as "Going to Mass makes you an evil person". It just felt insulting to me, and the whole plot about Homer trying to worship god in his own way was blown to pieces by him becoming a straw douchebag to religious people. It also doesn't help that Reverend Lovejoy is a horrible Priest and person, and so him trying to honestly convince Homer at the end just falls completely flat.

A corpse should be left well enough alone...

You do know that Homer the Heretic was written by a devout atheist, don't you?

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Overrated: "Burns, Baby Burns". I just don't find Rodney Dangerfield funny, so after the family leaves the apple mill (which was pretty funny) this episode didn't do much for me.

Underrated: "The Principal and the Pauper". Some people consider it the worst episode of the whole series, but I actually liked how it handled the whole Skinner-was-faking-his-identity thing. The bits where Skinner tries to reclaim his Armin Tamzarian identity despite being horribly out-of-practice are great, and there's no way I could hate the episode that gave us "Under penalty of torture!"

Why did people hate Principal and the Pauper?

I loved that episode

"Contests fought between two masters are decided instantly. An invisible battle is now raging between the two of them." Lulu vs Schneizel

I thought it was funny, but it messed with the continuity with a ridiculous plot just for the sake of a new story that will never be mentioned again, and even outright lampshaded it at the end. It was still had lots of good jokes but it was the start of The Simpsons leaning more into silly non sensical territory.

Religious stories tend to be a more iffy subject matter, I think that's why "Not All Dogs Go To Heaven" is dispised as well. It's a more sacred subject so people think any Broken Aesop is less to do with the character being an Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist and more that they are trying to make a genuine message out of it.

edited 17th Oct '11 5:07:51 AM by Psi001

Anything with Martin Sheen is worth watching. That's why "The Principal and the Pauper" is not a bad episode.

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I'm realizing I actually have very little idea of what people generally think of Simpsons episodes, so I'm not sure which ones I can say are over/underrated.

However, I do notice a lot of dislike for "Lisa episodes", while at the same time a lot of my favorite episodes center around Lisa. So...which Lisa-centric episodes are generally disliked, anyways?

Belief or disbelief rests with you.

I know Lisa The Simpson is somewhat disliked, due to basically making the show's Positive Discrimination a genetic disorder. I kinda disliked it but more for the fact it gave Lisa a justification for being ashamed of her family and not having to worry about being like them (similar to previous episode where she labels Marge's housewife role a waste of a life to her face but hey, at least she won't end up the same, so it's okay for her to be condescending douche). These infuriated me more than any religious episodes, especially since Lisa's moments is intended to be portrayed as far more heartwarming and wholesome as the likes of Homer.

edited 17th Oct '11 7:04:09 AM by Psi001

Because most Lisa-centered episodes after "She of Little Faith" turned her into a self-rightoeus Granola Girl who was always written to be right,when clearly she was wrong or went too far (I'm looking at "Million Dollar Abie","Oh Brother Where Art Thou","On A Clear Day,I Can't See My Sister" and especially stinky "Bart to the Future". She has no respect for anyone different than her at all,even Homer never went that far.

And please don't call it Positive Discrimination,..it wouldn't called that be if Bart was the "smart" one.

Also "Days of Wines and D'ohses" was a nicely done episode written by Homer (Dan Castellaneta) himself,the phonebook gag was brilliant,Barney going sober was a nice change of character,along with the twist of coffee by Moe at the end. The forest fire climax was also quite nice

But the "Kill Gil Volumes 1&2" were just not that great,I mean save Marge telling off Gil,and Homer burning the thousand dollar bill,it was mostly just filler and Gil seemingly came off as a Karma Houdini. The jokes were almost non-existent or fell flat. And what was up with the Grinch expies? I thought every Post-12 episode wasn't supposed to be silly and nonsensical.

Now why does everyone hate the "Homer gets a job and has adventures" episodes? I always thought he was a wild card character from the start.

edited 19th Oct '11 3:36:42 PM by terlwyth

I really don't get why the writers love Gil so much. He's just a bland substitute for Lionel Hutz (and a not well-done parody of Jack Lemmon in Glengarry Glen Ross also).

edited 18th Oct '11 2:59:35 PM by Buscemi

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Oh I can see why,he's the ultimate loser,and in a sociopathic way,it's hilarious how bad he has it.

But that particular episode jut wasn't all that good. He was better on the sidelines like the teenager or Hans Moleman or Jasper than as a focus character for even an episode

The key problem is often that when Lisa admits she is wrong about the situation she comes off as submissive and caves in to people bullying her. eg. Lisa The Vegetarian works in the case of making up to Homer, but aside from that she was ridiculed endlessly just for not eating meat, even when she wasn't being extremely pretentious about it.

Gil I admit works better as a side character, though I think he has differences from Hutz. The former is more conniving and slick, while Gil is an outright pitiful and neurotic mess. This was obvious the one time they were paired up and Gil was a constantly bullied employee for Hutz's realty business.

edited 18th Oct '11 4:27:14 PM by Psi001

It's odd, Lisa-centric episodes in earlier seasons could be genuinely sweet. As for Principal and the Pauper, I'm not a big fan of the episode but the ending always makes me laugh. I think it's the parade music.

I loved Lisa-centric episodes before Season 13 happened.In fact "Lisa's Substitute" is one of my favorite episodes ever,that's back in Season 2 though. And "She of Little Faith" and "Blame It On Lisa" were the last good ones.

And when has Lisa ever really caved in recent times? Not in any of last season which centered around Lisa like 10 did to Homer. Kind of hypocritical how people complain about Homer criticizing food too far,truck driving,becoming an artist,trying to invent stuff,redo a film,and be a bodyguard,even at his worst moment "A Tale of Two Springfields" he got what he deserved. Then complain about those Lisa-haters because they actually find fault with stuff far worse such as that restraining order "On A Clear Day I Can't See My Sister",indirectly having bulls murder people "Million Dollar Abie",send the whole town into disarray over a skeleton and not just let the people believe what they want "Lisa the Skeptic" ,send the whole family to South America for a week leaving poor Bart alone "Lost Verizon".

Oh yes,all those Homer-centric episodes I listed,....underrated especially Maximum Homerdrive.

All those Lisa episodes,...overrated.

As for "Principal and the Pauper",I just found it boringly mediocre. It wasn't funny and it essed with canon,but it explained a disturbing amount

Also "Lisa the Simpson" was pretentious,and completely sexist and "HOMR" is the superior explanation to Homer's unintelligence.

edited 18th Oct '11 6:20:25 PM by terlwyth

I guess it's the case that in a lot of episodes where two sides clash, when the Aesop is given, they make out one side to be completely right and justified, despite a lot of times they are shown to have their own flaws and hypocritical points. Homer The Heretic and Lisa The Vegetarian have been mentioned above. It's fair because it's a comical show and it humanizes both sides to have strong and weak points against the other, but I guess it skews things to always have one that is the clear winner and the other is the immoral loser (granted Homer being commended by God arguably humbles the former Aesop a bit).

I wouldn't exactly call Lisa The Simpson sexist, it gave a genetic explanation as to why only the Simpson family suffers in terms of gender, just it further drills in the 'Mary Sue female vs complete loser male' concept they've been using for ages, something I think gives the suggestion the cast are a bit one dimentional. Again it also seems to give Lisa the entitlement to look down on her family in shame.

edited 18th Oct '11 6:37:08 PM by Psi001

The Lisa as Mary Sue thing is easily explained when you find out that Lisa is Matt Groening's favorite character.

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I like Lisa-centric episodes of the earlier seasons, but certainly not of the post-shark-jumping later episodes (the one, where Lisa becomes a Buddhist was simply awful). "Homer the Heretic" is pretty... I don't know. What was the point of that one?

I kinda liked "The Principal and the Pauper". It's not the greatest episode, but for it's time it was pretty good. And the end was so insane, I couldn't help but find it funny.

I'm not exactly sure how the general perception of that episode is, but I read that "There's No Disgrace Like Home" is not very well-liked. Not surprising considering that the characters are completely different (would that count as Early-Installment Weirdness?). But I don't mind, since I think it's pretty funny.

Seriously? It seems to me more like it was written by a devout church-goer who thinks that someone, who doesn't go to church, is no true Scotsman Christian.

edited 18th Oct '11 11:36:19 PM by Nyarly

People aren't as awful as the internet makes them out to be.