The Simpsons

1989 - Present

America's favorite dysfunctional family has been entertaining us for over 30 years, making The Simpsons the longest-running animated series in US history. Dimwitted Homer and longsuffering Marge, live with their genius daughter, Lisa, their troublemaker son, Bart, and their perpetually pacifier-puffing baby, Maggie, in the fictional town of Springfield, [insert state here], where they get into weird and wild adventures with a wealth of wacky townspeople.

Stars: Julie Kavner, Dan Castellaneta, Yeardley Smith, Nancy Cartwright, Harry Shearer, Hank Azaria, Pamela Hayden, Tress MacNeille, Maggie Roswell, Russi Taylor, Marcia Wallace, Kevin Michael Richardson, Alex Désert, Phil Hartman, Joe Mantegna, Kelsey Grammer, Jane Kaczmarek, Michael York, Jan Hooks, Megan Mullally, Gary Coleman, Danny DeVito, Scott Thompson, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ron Howard, David Hyde Pierce
Created by: Matt Groening
Tags: animated, family

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Episode Tropes

Season 1

Wunderkind: Episode 2, "Bart the Genius" (1990). Bart cheats on an intelligence test at school and convinces everyone his IQ is over 200. Homer and Marge agree to put him in a special school for gifted children, but he's so miserable there that he confesses what he did so he can go back to his regular class.
America's Most Wanted: Episode 13, "Some Enchanted Evening" (1990). To make up for not appreciating her enough, Homer takes Marge out for a romantic evening and hires a babysitter from a service. When Lisa and Bart defy Marge's orders and watch "America's Most Armed and Dangerous," they suspect their babysitter is "The Babysitter Bandit." It turns out they're right.

Season 2

Mounting the Hustings: Episode 4, "Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish" (1990). To solve his legal problems at the plant, Mr. Burns decides to run for mayor, and Homer campaigns for him to avoid getting fired, but Marge is campaigning for his opponent, the incumbent Mayor Bailey, and it drives a wedge between them.
See You in Court: Episode 10, "Bart Gets Hit By a Car" (1991). Mr. Burns hits Bart with his car and offers Homer $100 not to use. Homer is insulted and, on the advice of Lionel Hutz, decides to sue Mr. Burns. Lionel encourages Bart and Homer to exaggerate Bart's injuries and pain and suffering, and Marge disapproves. When Marge takes the stand, she reveals their scam, and the family gets nothing.
Raging Bull&@!: Episode 13, "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment" (1991). When Lisa learns about Hell in Sunday school and is upset that Homer is getting free cable because she believes it's stealing, so she announces that she's abstaining from watching television in protest. Homer has invited all his friends to watch a big boxing match at his house, but Lisa's protest is troubling him, and eventually he feels pressured to join her. While everyone else is watching the fight, he reluctantly sits outside with Lisa.
I'm My Own Grandpa: Episode 15, "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" (1991). Harry Shearer plays Dr. Hibbert and Dr. Hibbert's long lost twin brother, who is the director of the orphanage where Homer is looking for his long lost brother.
Hot for Teacher: Episode 19, "Lisa's Substitute" (1991). When Miss Hoover has to take time off, an unconventional teacher name Mr. Bergstrom takes over Lisa's class, and Lisa falls in love with him.
Elections: Episode 19, "Lisa's Substitute" (1991). Despite Mrs. Krabappel ardent protests, Bart runs for class president against Martin on a platform of "more asbestos."

Season 3

Waldorf Hysteria: Episode 1, "Stark Raving Dad" (1991). Marge accidentally turns Homer's shirt pink, and it starts a chain reaction that leads to his being committed.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest: Episode 1, "Stark Raving Dad" (1991). Homer is committed in an asylum that resembles the one from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, but their tall Native American man talks normally.
See You in Court: Episode 4, "Bart the Murderer" (1991). When principal skinner goes missing, Chief Wiggum blames the Springfield mafia, for whom Bart has been working as a gofer. The chief raids Fat Tony's hideout and arrests everyone for murder, including Bart. During the trial, the rest of the mob finger Bart as the don, planning to pin the whole thing on him. It's not until Principal Skinner re-emerges that everyone realizes he's not even dead.
Moonlighting: Episode 8, "Lisa's Pony" (1991). To make up for ruining Lisa's recital by not getting her the reed she needed in time, Homer buys her a pony, but he's not prepared for the massive costs involved in maintaining it, so he gets a second job working the overnight shift at the Kwik-E-Mart, and he becomes so exhausted that he's basically a zombie.
Hole: Episode 13, "Radio Bart" (1992). For Bart's birthday, Homer gives him a microphone that let's him talk through any radio. When Bart drops his radio into a well, he ceases the opportunity to prank the whole town by pretending to be a boy named Timmy O'Toole who fell down the well. After the town rallies behind Timmy, Bart goes back to the well to try to get his radio out, but he accidentally falls down the well for real.
Catfish: Episode 16, "Bart the Lover" (1992). Bart is mad at Mrs. Krabappel for giving him detention after he smashed the class fish tank with his yo-yo, so when he spots a letter she wrote to a magazine dating column, he decides to get back at her by writing to her as a man named "Woodrow." He sets up a date with her as Woodrow, planning to laugh at her when no one shows up, but to everyone's surprise—including Bart's—he feels bad for what he did, so he asks the rest of the fam for help writing her a letter that will kindly end their correspondence.
Play Ball: Episode 17, "Homer at Bat" (1992). The plant's softball team is killing it this year, and Homer is the MVP, but Mr. Burns makes a bet with a fellow rich guy, and if the team loses a game, he stands to lose $1 million, so he hires nine professional baseball players to made-up jobs at the plant and kicks everyone else off the team. Unfortunately, all nine all-stars fall victim to nine separate misfortunes the night before the game, and it's up to Homer and the gang to win it.
Career Opportunities: Episode 18, "Separate Vocations" (1992). Lisa and Bart take career tests, and Lisa is devastated when her results say she should be a homemaker. Meanwhile, Bart is thrilled that his test says he should be a cop, and he starts enforcing the law at school, but the authority goes to his head.

Season 4

We'll Put on a Musical: Episode 2, "A Streetcar Named Marge" (1992). Marge gets the role of Blanche DuBois in a musical version of A Streetcar Named Desire, and the parallels between Blanche's struggles with Stanley and Marge's struggles with Homer are not lost on her.
Risky Business: Episode 3, "Homer the Heretic" (1992). Against Marge's wishes, Homer stays home from church, and while he has the house to himself, he does the Risky Business while singing along to "Short Shorts."
Beauty Pageant: Episode 4, "Lisa the Beauty Queen" (1992). After a caricature artist draws a terrible picture of Lisa, she starts to think she's ugly, so to boost her self esteem, Homer enters her in the "Little Miss Springfield" pageant.
See You in Court: Episode 8, "New Kid on the Block" (1992). After an "all-you-can-eat" seafood restaurant throws Homer out, he sues them for false advertising. The case is settled out of court with an agreement that Homer can actually have all he can eat if he poses as a sort of restaurant sideshow, "Bottomless Pete, nature's cruelest mistake."
Video Will: Episode 13, "Selma's Choice" (1993). Marge's aunt Gladys passes away and leaves a video will, which the executor of her estate, Lionel Hutz, attempted to alter by recording his voice over hers saying she left him all her money.
Big Brothers Big Sisters: Episode 14, "Brother from the Same Planet" (1993). When Homer forgets to pick Bart up from soccer practice, Bart decides to get revenge by replacing him with a "Bigger Brother," so Homer decides to get back at Bart by replacing him with a "Little Brother."
Psycho: Episode 14, "Brother from the Same Planet" (1993). When Principal Skinner is talking about his mother, he zones out and starts talking as her, Norman Bates style, and looks over at his house, which looks just like the house from Psycho.
School Reunion: Episode 19, "The Front" (1993). Homer and Marge go to their high school reunion, and Homer wins a long list of made-up, ironic awards, like "most improved body odor."
Back to School: Episode 19, "The Front" (1993). At Homer's and Marge's high school reunion, the principal reveals that Homer never graduated high school because he failed remedial science, so Homer decides to go back to school to re-take the class and earn his diploma.
False Arrest: Episode 21, "Marge in Chains" (1993). When the whole family comes down with the flu, Marge goes to the Kwiki Mart for supplies and accidentally puts a bottle of bourbon in her pocket and gets arrested for shoplifting. While she's in jail, the whole town falls apart without her.

Season 5

Witness Protection: Episode 2, "Cape Feare" (1993). When Sideshow Bob gets out of jail and threatens to kill Bart, the Simpsons join the witness protection program. Their names are changed to "the Thompsons," and they're relocated to a place called "Terror Lake," but Bob still finds them.
It's a Wonderful Life: Episode 9, "The Last Temptation of Homer" (1993). Homer is distressed by his attraction to a new woman at the plant, and he has a fantasy where Col. Klink from Hogan's Heroes shows him what his and Marge's lives would be like if they'd never met, and both much happier and rich.
Milwaukee: Episode 9, "The Last Temptation of Homer" (1993). Homer is uncontrollably attracted to the new woman at the plant, and she's interested in him, and they're both trying to ignore their feelings, but Mr. Burns sees the two of them talking and decides to send them on a business trip together, where they're continually thrust into intimate situations that test Homer's faithfulness to Marge.
We Were Robbed: Episode 11, "Home the Vigilante" (1994). The Simpsons wake up to find that they were robbed while they were sleeping. A calling card left behind identifies the perpetrator as "The Springfield Cat Burglar," a menace that has struck 15 homes in the town.
12 Angry Men: Episode 20, "The Boy Who Knew Too Much" (1994). Mayor Quimby's nephew is put on trial for assaulting a French waiter, and Homer serves on the jury. When he learns that if they're sequestered, they get a free stay at a hotel, he purposely changes his vote so they'll be deadlocked.

Season 6

Rear Window: Episode 1, "Bart of Darkness" (1994). The Simpsons get a pool, and the very first time Bart tries to dive into it, he breaks his leg, so he has to spend the summer inside watching all the neighborhood kids swim. To try to cheer him up, Marge buys him a telescope, and Bart uses it to watch the neighbors through the window. He sees some suspicious activity at the Flanders' house and suspects Ned murdered his wife, Maude, but after Bart and Lisa sneak into their house, and Bart accuses him of murder, Maude returns from her trip to Bible camp.
Here's Johnny: Episode 6, "Treehouse of Horror V" (1994). In a parody of The Shining, Homer takes an axe to a door and shouts, "Heeeeere's Johnny!" only to find the room empty, so he tries again with another door, and this time he says,"Daaaaavid Letterman!"
Suspicion: Episode 7, "Bart's Girlfriend" (1994). Bart is smitten with Rev. Lovejoy's daughter, Jessica, but she enjoys making him a patsy for her bad behavior. She steals the money from the collection plate and frames Bart for the crime. Bart proclaims his innocence, but no one in the family or the church believes him except Lisa, who decides to finger Jessica in front of the whole church.
Fear of Flying: Episode 11, "Fear of Flying" (1994). Homer dresses as a pilot to get into a bar next to the airport, and an airline representative mistakes him for a real pilot and makes him try to fly a plane. When the truth comes out, the airline is so embarrassed that they give Homer and his family a free trip to anywhere in the US. When the board the plane, Marge suddenly flips out and demands to leave the plane. Later, she confesses to Homer that she's afraid to Homer that she's afraid of flying.
Billy Elliot: Episode 17, "Homer vs. Patty and Selma" (1995). Bart comes to school late and is last to choose a gym class, so he ends up having to take ballet, and to everyone's surprise, he's really good at it.
Walt Disney: Episode 19, "Lisa's Wedding" (1995). In a glimpse into the future—2010—Mr. Burns's body is frozen, and Smithers can't wait until they find a cure for what killed him: 17 stab wounds to the back.

Season 7

Long Lost Parent: Episode 8, "Mother Simpson" (1995). Homer fakes his own death, and of course, Patty and Selma are all too happy to prepare his grave and headstone. When Homer stumbles upon the grave, he runs into a woman who tells him that's her son's grave, and they both realize she's his mother, whom he thought was dead (and she thought he was dead). She tells Homer she's been on the run for 27 years after destroying Mr. Burns's germ warfare lab in the '60s.
Vacation All I Never Wanted: Episode 17, "Homer the Smithers" (1996). Smithers has been messing up lately, so Mr. Burns tells him to take a vacation. Smithers begs Mr. Burns not to make him go on vacation because he can't bear to be without him, but Mr. Burns insists, so to make sure his temporary replacement doesn't become permanent, he hires the most incompetent person he can think of: Homer.

Season 8

Raging Bull&@!: Episode 3, "The Homer They Fall" (1996). When Moe witnesses Homer take punches from a gang of thugs and not fall down, he offers to coach him and manage his boxing career (for a 60% cut). Homer works his way up the Springfield boxing circuit by standing still and letting himself get hit until his opponent drops from exhaustion, but when Moe sets up a match with the champ, Drederick Tatem, Marge worries that Homer might finally get knocked out.
What a Dummy: Episode 5, "Bart After Dark" (1996). When Marge accidentally drives a bulldozer into Springfield's historical burlesque house, she makes it up to the owner by providing the evening's entertainment as a ventriloquist with a dummy that looks exactly like her.
Close Encounter: Episode 10, "The Springfield Files" (1997). Moe won't let Homer drive home from the bar, so he walks home and takes a shortcut through the woods, where he sees a glowing creature emerge from the trees. The next day, Homer tells everyone about the "alien" he saw, but nobody believes him, so he and Bart record a short video of it, and the whole town gathers in the woods to see it, but they're shocked to discover it's just Mr. Burns after his weekly medical treatments.
Focus Group: Episode 14, "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show" (1997). The ratings for Itchy & Scratchy are waning, and Krusty's worried they'll affect his show, so Roger Meyers, Jr. holds a focus group with Bart, Lisa, Nelson, and Ralph to find out what kids want to see.

Season 9

Home Sweet Office: Episode 2, "The Principal and the Pauper" (1997). When Principal Skinner is exposed as a fraud who stole the name of his sergeant in Nam, the real Skinner takes his place at home, and the phony sleeps on the floor of his office.
Magic Fingers: Episode 5, "The Cartridge Family" (1997). Marge is horrified when Homer buys a gun and doesn't get rid of it when she asks him to, so she packs up the kids and checks into the Sleep Eazy Motel, where Bart and Lisa amuse themselves by racing vibrating beds.
Coach from Hell: Episode 6, "Bart Star" (1997). All the kids in town join a pee-wee football team, and after Homer antagonizes Ned Flanders, he has to take over as coach. Unfortunately, Homer is a crappy coach, who cuts the best player from the team, and forces Bart into the spotlight, even though he's terrible at football.
Bachelor Auction: Episode 7, "The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons" (1997). Springfield holds a bachelor auction to raise money for the fire department buy a fire engine so they can get to fires, but nobody bids on any of the sad excuses for bachelors until Marge talks Apu into putting himself up for auction. Apu turns out to be the catch of the day, and five single women pool their money so they can each have a date with him.
Lie for Me: Episode 7, "The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons" (1997). Apu's mother reminds him about his arranged marriage, but Apu is enjoying being a bachelor, and he doesn't want to go through with it, so he tells her he's already married. When his mother shows up to meet his wife, Apu brings her to the Simpsons' home and pretends Marge is his wife, and the three Simpson kids are his children, and the whole family plays along.
Sure, I'll Join Your Cult: Episode 13, "The Joy of Sect" (1998). Homer meets some members of a cult called the "Movementarians" at the airport, and their promise of a free weekend getaway lures him to join them. He ends up handing over their house and all their money and moves Marge and the kids to their compound. The kids jump on board, but Marge isn't fooled, and she recruits Rev. Lovejoy, Groundskeeper Willie, and Ned Flanders to help de-program the rest of the family.
Mock Trial: Episode 14, Das Bus" (1998). A bus full of students gets stranded on a deserted island, and their field trip cooler is their only sustenance, so when they wake up to find all the food gone and Milhouse surrounded by wrappers, everyone accuses Milhouse of eating all the food, and Lisa insists they have a trial. She serves as Milhouse's defense, Nelson is the prosecutor, and Bart is the judge, who finds him not guilty.
Monkeying Around: Episode 21, "Girly Edition" (1998). Homer learns about "helper monkeys" and decides he needs one. He brings home a monkey named Mojo to help around the house, but Mojo starts to imitate Homer, develops a taste for junk food and Duff beer, and becomes too fat and lazy to help.
Election: Episode 22, "Trash of the Titans" (1998). After Homer insults the garbage men, they stop taking the Simpson family's trash, so Homer runs for sanitation commissioner and wins. Unfortunately, fulfilling all his wild promises bankrupts the department almost right away.

Season 10

This is Your Life: Episode 2, "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace" (1998). Homer learns that the man's lifespan is 76.2 and gets depressed because he's middle aged. To cheer him up, the family throws him a "Welcome to Your Life" party, where they play a film of some of his greatest moments.
Magic Brownies: Episode 6, "D'oh-in' in the Wind" (1998). After accidentally destroying a couple of hippies' juice factory, Homer tries to help by harvesting some "vegetables" from their "other" garden, the one behind the fence with the "keep out sign" and using it to make juice, which he delivers to every store in Springfield, leading to everyone in town getting stoned.
Kidney Transplant: Episode 8, "Homer Simpson in: 'Kidney Trouble'" (1998). Grandpa needs a kidney, and Homer promises to give him his, but at the last minute, he chickens out and runs away. Eventually, the guilt gets to him, so he comes back, but as Dr. Hibbert is preparing the anesthesia, Homer chickens out again and runs out the window, where he gets hit by a car. While he's unconscious, Dr. Hibbert extracts his kidney and transplants it into Grandpa.
What Happens in Vegas: Episode 10, "Viva Ned Flanders" (1999). Homer and Ned wake up after a night of debauchery to discover they got married to two cocktail waitresses while they were drunk of their asses.
Accidental Marriage: Episode 10, "Viva Ned Flanders" (1999). Ned realizes he's never let loose, so Homer helps him out by taking him on a trip to Las Vegas and encouraging him to gamble and drink.
Accidental Eavesdropping: Episode 16, "Make Room for Lisa" (1999). Maggie's baby monitor starts picking up people's phone calls, and Marge becomes preoccupied with listening to her neighbor's conversations until Bart catches on and plays a trick on her.
When I Paint My Masterpiece: Episode 19, "Mom and Pop Art" (1999). Homer tries to build a barbecue pit, but he ends up getting frustrated with teh project and smashing it. He tries to return it to the store, but they refuse to take. An art deal happens to notice Homer's smashed barbecue and thinks it's genius outsider art, so she sets up a gallery show for him. Unfortunately, his subsequent attempts at art didn't quite live up to the original, and his fans were not impressed. Frustrated once again, Homer consults Lisa for advice, and she tells him about environmental art, so he decides to flood the whole town, which is surprisingly well-accepted.
Boudoir Photo Shoot: Episode 22, "They Saved Lisa's Brain" (1999). Homer wins a coupon for a free boudoir photo session, so, despite his consternation, he gives it a shot and gives Marge an album of sexy photos, but all she notices is how nice the basement looked after the photographer decorated it.

Season 11

The Hollywood Story: Episode 1, "Beyond Blunderdome" (1999). Homer gets free tickets to a movie screening for test-driving an electric car, and he and Marge get to preview a new Mel Gibson re-make of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Homer's the only one there who hated it, and when Mel Gibson reads his comment card, he flies Homer to Hollywood to help him change the ending.
Awkward Awards: Episode 12, "The Mansion Family" (2000). The Simpsons attend the "Springfield Awards," where Kent Brockman and Britney Spears present the award for the oldest man in Springfield, who accepts his award, then promptly drops dead after Britney kisses him, so Kent thinks fast and picks a new oldest man, Mr. Burns.
Horsing Around: Episode 13, "Saddlesore Galactica" (2000). Chief Wiggum busts a guy with a "diving horse" for animal cruelty, and the guy disappears. To save the horse from being sent to the "glue factory," The Simpsons adopt him. Unfortunately, they can't afford the maintenance for a horse, so Homer and Bart try to win money by racing the horse.
Plastic Fantastic: Episode 16, "Pygmoeliana" (2000). Moe is depressed because he thinks he's ugly, so he decides to get plastic surgery, and it's a success. Moe's new handsome face gets him an acting role on a soap opera, and when he thinks his character is being killed off, he gives away future storylines and gets fired. As he storms out, a door falls on him, crushing his face back to normal.
Happy Death Day: Episode 19, "Kill the Alligator and Run" (2000). Homer takes a magazine quiz that says he's going to die in three years, and he freaks out. A therapists suggest he take a vacation to Florida, so he and the family head down for a relaxing time, but they're disappointed to discover that it's spring break.

Character Tropes

Sweet Summer Child: Marge Simpson - Played by Julie Kavner
Whiz Kid: Lisa Simpson - Played by Yeardley Smith
Slutty Spinster: Mrs. Edna Krabappel - Played by Marcia Wallace
Mama's Boy: Mr. Seymour Skinner - Played by Harry Shearer
Smother: Agnes Skinner - Played by Tress MacNeille