This episode is one of the classics from the early days of the Simpsons, and has some of the best-remembered lines (although onions on the belt have gone out of style, unfortunately). It also aired on March 11, 1993, exactly 25 years ago today. I remember watching the episode on broadcast television. It used to be on Thursday nights.
Time flies.
Homer running in a circle while lying on the floor making Zoidberg sounds is one of my favorite bits in the entire show. Link
I kid you not, I’m a teacher and it has become tradition for me to do that when the last student leaves and the building is empty on the last day of school.
Play, “Classical Gas.”
Zoidberg sounds? Zoidberg sounds? Surely you mean Curly sounds! I’m not even a stooges fan, but seriously folks. 
This is the greatest Simpson Episode. Lisa in the Sky with Diamonds.
ETA: “It was the best of times, it was the BLURST of times?”
More than that: it’s the Platonic ideal of a *Simpsons *episode. No gimmicks, no foreign locations, no guest stars; just a good story, great jokes and exactly the right amount of sentiment.
Technically those were Curly noises. But yes, love it!
Lisa needs braces!
Dental plan!
Lisa needs braces!
Dental plan!
Lisa needs braces!
Dental plan!
Lisa needs braces!
Dental plan!
“Find the bathroom alright, Homer?”
“Uh…yeah!”
Only months before the murders.
To borrow a line from The Rolling Stones:
I did not know that. The Stooges weren’t ever really popular here in Finland. Don’t really know much about them except that there’s three of them and they like to poke each other in the eye.
I’m not sure they leave in the gay innuendo joke (“backdoor shenanigans”) if they made it nowadays, though.
I had no idea that this was considered one of the best if not the best episode. Just for season 4 alone, I’d put it behind Treehouse of Horror III, Marge vs. the Monorail, Whacking Day, I Love Lisa, and Kamp Krusty.
Yeah, unlike the Marx Brothers, the Stooges never really crossed the Atlantic.
Fair enough, the Marx brothers were made of awesome and except for the non-Marx brothers musical numbers their movies are still hilarious today. Though I’m surprised they translate well as they were at least as much wordplay and visual jokes.
The Stooges were just slapstick and extremely repetitive at that. As I said, not a fan, but as an American I guess impossible not to be aware of them.
See that’s the kind of things I know the Stooges from. Never actually seen a Stooges film. I’ve never seen a episode of Jay Leno or Oprah but I can deduce from pop culture references that one was a late night host who’s voice went high every time he told a punchline to a joke while the other was some kind of leader to a cult of mostly middle aged women.
DENTAL PLAN!
I almost literally rolled on the floor laughing when the Grinch reference came. Ah, those were the days!