6.1 Bart of Darkness
As summer vacation begins, Bart breaks his leg and can’t enjoy the Simpsons’ new pool which becomes a neighborhood attraction causing Lisa’s popularity to swell to an all time high. Meanwhile, Bart thinks he sees Ned killing Maude (a la Rear Window). When Martin installs a bigger pool at his house, Lisa’s popularity crashes back to normal.
I loved the Hitchcock references; Ned as the suspected murderer is perfect. The Lisa subplot is not as funny until Martin usurps her and his hubris causes his pool to explode and the disgruntled neighborhood kids to depants him. I love when he responds by singing “Summer Wind” in the nude. It’s a solid start to the season.
6.2 Lisa’s Rival
I enjoyed Winona Ryder’s cameo, and I like Lisa being one upped, but for someone so smart, she has an astonishingly small sense of self-worth. It’s a middle of the road episode for me.
6.3 Another Simpsons Clip Show
An insulting waste of time.
6.4 Itchy and Scratchy Land
This big concept episode has some funny moments and insightful stuff (especially the Westworld parody), but Itchy and Scratchy episodes are a hard sell for me.
6.5 Sideshow Bob Roberts
Released from prison, Sideshow Bob successfully runs for mayor of Springfield as a Republican, but the Simpson kids once again foil his plans by uncovering massive voter fraud.
I’m a sucker for Bob episodes, and this one doesn’t disappoint. I love Birch Barlow (a Rush Limbaugh parody) and the secret Republican meeting cracks me up, especially when the group mistakenly thinks the water cooler is the candidate. A first rate episode.
6.6 Treehouse of Horror V
I loved The Shining parody. Homer as Jack is fantastic. The second segment focusing on time travel and the butterfly effect is funny, especially the stinger when Homer settles on a timeline where his family has tongues like frogs. The last segment is a less sophisticated parody of Soylent Green and lacks the energy of the earlier portions until the end: a bizarre, gruesome dance sequence, a clear riposte to criticism the annual Treehouse specials are too gory. This is a fine entry in the annual Halloween tradition.
6.7 Bart’s Girlfriend
Making Reverend Lovejoy’s daughter the object of Bart’s affection was a fantastic decision. Making her a one-off character was a mistake and a waste of Meryl Streep’s talent.
The character adds a dimension to the Lovejoys I enjoyed, and I wish this dynamic was something we could explore more. Portraying Jessica Lovejoy as more wantonly evil than Bart (a stereotypical preacher’s kid cliche) is not as original as the writers thought.
6.8 Lisa on Ice
Failing gym, Lisa is forced into a sports activity and discovers she’s an excellent hockey goalie. She’s placed on a team opposite Bart and a sibling rivalry erupts in this solid, if not spectacular, episode.
6.9 Homer Badman
Homer is accused of sexual harassment after he grabs a gummy Venus de Milo off the derriere of a babysitter.
It’s an awkward episode, made more awkward in the #MeToo era. I enjoyed the parody of tabloid journalism, but I wish it had a different subject matter.
6.10 Grandpa vs. Sexual Inadequacy
After Homer and Marge use Grandpa’s special tonic to solve their intimacy issues, Homer and Grandpa travel from town to town selling the elixir in medicine shows. After a falling out they quit selling the drug, but quickly reconcile and come to understand each other better. The side story is a funny diversion featuring the neighborhood children as they process their parents’ renewed interest in sex.
I really enjoy episodes focused on the Homer / Grandpa relationship. Family relationships are the best part of the show.
6.11 Fear of Flying
When Homer gets free airline tickets, the family discovers Marge is terrified of flying. She goes to a therapist who uncovers her secret shame: she’s told everyone her father was a pilot, but he was a flight attendant.
I enjoyed the numerous pop culture references (especially North by Northwest and Cheers) and Anne Bancroft’s cameo in this solid episode.
6.12 Homer the Great
Homer is inducted into the Stonecutters, a secret society which seems to include every male in Springfield. He’s almost kicked out because of incompetence, but a birthmark convinces the members he is their Chosen One. However, the group tires of his erratic leadership and forms a new group to exclude him.
This a classic episode. Patrick Stewart’s cameo as Number One is perfect and the song “We Do,” is one of my favorite musical numbers from the show.
6.13 And Maggie Makes Three
The final episode dedicated to the origin of the Simpson children begins with Lisa noticing there are no pictures of Maggie in the house. A flashback tells us a financially stable Homer quit his job at the nuclear power plant to work at his dream job: a bowling alley. While celebrating this new job, Marge and Homer conceive Maggie. Financial instability associated with a third child forces Homer to return to the plant and work for Mr. Burns, who vindictively places a plaque in front of his work station which says “Don’t forget, you’re here forever.” Homer has taken all of Maggie’s pictures and covered letters on the plaque so it now reads, “Do it for her.”
I love what this episode says about being a parent and how much Homer loves his children.
6.14 Bart’s Comet
With Skinner’s telescope, Bart discovers a comet headed towards Springfield. The townspeople crowd into Ned’s fallout shelter to survive the impending collision, but because there’s not enough room, they kick Ned out. A guilty Homer joins Ned on a hilltop to await their fate, and, soon everyone joins them, singing “Que Sera, Sera.” As the comet approaches, it disintegrates into a pebble before hitting the fallout shelter and destroying it.
The end is wonderful. I love everyone crowding into Ned’s shelter and the fact he anticipated it. A solidly entertaining episode.
6.15 Homie the Clown
When Krusty trains people as assistant clowns to do his more menial tasks. Homer becomes one of the many Krustys. His resemblance is so uncanny, the mob kidnaps him because of Krusty’s outstanding debt.
There are a lot of very funny gags and I love the reveal: Krusty’s huge debt is less than $50, but it’s a middle of the road episode for me.
6.16 Bart vs. Australia
After Bart makes a collect call to Australia to confirm the water flows in the opposite direction there because of the Coriolis Effect, the Simpsons are flown to Australia for Bart is to give a public apology, however, the Australians change the agreement at the last minute and want to have him booted. After a failed escape attempt, a compromise is reached: Bart will be kicked one time by the Prime Minister. Bart agrees, but taunts the prime minister by pulling down his pants to reveal “Don’t Tread on Me” on his backside.
There’s some funny stuff, but it’s only a slightly better than average episode.
6.17 Homer vs. Patty and Selma
Homer borrows money from Patty and Selma who force him to humiliate himself as payment, but after he takes the blame when they’re caught smoking at work, they forgive the loan. Meanwhile, a PE requirement shows Bart has an unexpected talent for ballet.
I enjoy Homer’s antagonistic relationship with his sisters-in-law, and guest actors Susan Sarandon and Mel Brooks are phenomenal. This is a solid episode focused on Homer’s heart.
6.18 A Star is Burns
Jay Sherman (from The Critic) comes to Springfield to host a film festival. Mr. Burns spares no expense to direct a biographic film, Barney enters a touching exploration of his descent into alcoholism, and Hans Moleman submits a short film where he is hit in the crotch by a football. After Burns bribes Krusty and Mayor Quimby, the jury is deadlocked between Barney’s film and Burns’s hagiography. Homer favors Moleman’s film, but Marge convinces him to vote for Barney.
The film parodies, especially Barney’s avant garde spectacle, are incredible. Matt Groening famously refused to have his name attached to the episode in protest of the corporate crossover, but time has quieted the controversy. Sherman is not horrible and provides a rationale for a fantastic episode.
6.19 Lisa’s Wedding
At a renaissance fair, Lisa visits a fortune teller who reveals her future: at twenty three years old, she will fall in love with Englishman Hugh Parkfield, but his disdain for her family will cause a rift in their relationship.
Mandy Patinkin is always good, but this episode rubbed me the wrong way. Adult Lisa is insufferable and should have seen Hugh’s snobbery a mile away. I like Greg Daniels and he wrote some of my favorite episodes, but this was a bad miss.
6.20 Two Dozen and One Greyhounds
Santa’s Little Helper meets another greyhound and fathers a litter of puppies. Mr. Burns kidnaps them to create a vest of greyhound fur.
Burns’s musical number “See My Vest” is inspired, but the rest of the episode is not.
6.21 The PTA Disbands
Facing budget cuts after a disastrous field trip, the teachers at Springfield Elementary School strike for better conditions. Bart initially encourages the strike because he wants to stay home, but works to resolve it when Marge replaces Ms. Krabapple as his temporary teacher.
I like Skinner and Edna together. I like Bart working as a master manipulator. This is a very good episode, but is overshadowed by the brilliance of the rest of the season.
6.22 ‘Round Springfield
Bart gets an appendicitis after eating the prize in his Krusty Os cereal. While visiting him in the hospital, Lisa runs into Bleeding Gums Murphy who lends her his saxophone for an upcoming school concert. Afterwards, she learns Bleeding Gums has died from his illness. Distraught, she convinces Bart to use his settlement from Krusty to purchase a copy of Murphy’s only album to play on the local radio station.
I love Bleeding Gums; few characters on the show have had as big an impact in so few appearances. His presence makes this one of the most fun Lisa-centric episodes.
6.23 The Springfield Connection
When Marge joins the police force, Homer sees this as a license to do whatever he wants, which escalates into a huge fight. Later, Marge discovers Herman is smuggling knock off jeans into Springfield, and quits the force to protest the police keeping his contraband product for themselves.
As far as bored Marge stories go this is one of my favorites. I like Herman (an underused character) as a criminal mastermind and I enjoyed Marge and Homer squabbling over her authority as a police officer.
6.24 Lemon of Troy
After some Shelbyville boys steal Springfield’s beloved lemon tree, Bart and his friends plot to steal it back, eventually joined by their parents in the escapade.
I love Shelbyville as a bizzaro Springfield. Every small town in America has an arch rival and this episode plays to that wonderfully. I love the Trojan Horse reference and it’s delightful to see how each city spins the incident into a positive part of their own mythology.
6.25 Who Shot Mr. Burns Part 1
Everyone is mad at Burns. He steals the recently discovered oil under Springfield Elementary. He can’t remember Homer’s name. He fires Smithers. He blocks the sun. In the middle of all this dastardly behavior, it shouldn’t surprise anyone he’s shot by an unseen assailant.
The resulting cliffhanger represents the zenith of The Simpsons cultural prominence. I enjoyed the episode, even if Burns’s plot is a little too convoluted and evil (even for him). The first part of the first ever Simpsons two parter is a solid outing.
- And Maggie Makes Three (6.13)
- Sideshow Bob Roberts (6.5)
- Homer the Great (6.12)
- Treehouse of Horror V (6.6)
- A Star is Burns (6.18)
- Bart’s Comet (6.14)
- Bart of Darkness (6.1)
- Lisa on Ice (6.8)
- Grandpa versus Sexual Inadequacy (6.10)
- Who Shot Mr. Burns Part I (6.25)
- Fear of Flying (6.11)
- Homie the Clown (6.15)
- Homer vs. Patty and Selma (6.17)
- Lemon of Troy (6.24)
- Bart vs. Australia (6.16)
- The Springfield Connection (6.23)
- Round Springfield (6.22)
- The PTA Disbands (6.21)
- Two Dozen and One Greyhounds (6.20)
- Lisa’s Rival (6.2)
- Itchy and Scratchy Land (6.4)
- Bart’s Girlfriend (6.7)
- Homer Badman (6.9)
- Lisa’s Wedding (6.19)
- Another Simpsons Clip Show (6.3)