# What's the WORST Episode of The Simpsons? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 18, 2002, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-episode-of-the-simpsons/137263 "2002-11-18T03:56:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-episode-of-the-simpsons/137263/21 "2002-11-18T13:14:02Z")
lol “Moaning Lisa” is one of my favorites. For worst I’d vote “Lisa’s Wedding”. ---
**Author:** ![elf6c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c57346/32.png) [@elf6c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elf6c)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-episode-of-the-simpsons/137263/22 "2002-11-18T13:42:40Z")
A couple of the Treehouse of Horrors were real dud’s. The fake Skinner episode was a waste too. ☹ Still, the worst 20% of the Simpsons is better than 80% of the other crap on TV. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-episode-of-the-simpsons/137263/23 "2002-11-18T14:26:32Z")
The Shari Bobbins (sp?) episode. I don’t count clip shows as actual shows (and I don’t think the writers do either). I love quite a few of the episodes from the first 2 seasons. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-episode-of-the-simpsons/137263/24 "2002-11-18T14:32:14Z")
On the other hand who wants to watch the worst 20% when 20% of what’s on right then happens to be better. 🙂 I understand season 1 and 2. When I watched them the first time they hooked me. But between the start of 1 and the end of 2 the quality of animation, writing, and acting shot up exponentionally so that by the time we reach season three it’s almost all exceptional. So when the follow up stuff was so spectacular it really does make those early episodes look painfully bad. But let’s have some fun with this topic and break it down by season. I don’t have clear enough memories of the Tracy Ulman shorts to pick a worst one there so lets go to: Season 1: Homer’s Night Out Season 2: Simpson and Delilah Season 3: Lisa the Greek Season 4: Kamp Krusty (I recall saying “Ug! They lost it!” when this was the first episode aired that season; followed up by Streetcar Named Marge and Homer the Heretic so I was clearly wrong) Season 5: The Boy Who Knew Too Much Season 6: 'Round Springfield Season 7: Homerpalooza (getting harder to pick which one is worst; just too many choices…) Season 8: Burns, Baby Burns Season 9: The Trouble With Trillions (getting worse… now need to pick one of half the episodes in the season…) Season 10: When You Dish Upon A Star Season 11: Kill the Alligator and Run Season 12: Simpson Safari (ugh… brain hurt… too much awfulness…) Season 13: She of Little Faith Season 14: How I Spent My Strummer Vacation (just picking one of the three) ---
**Author:** ![Kantalooppi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a5b964/32.png) [@Kantalooppi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kantalooppi)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-episode-of-the-simpsons/137263/25 "2002-11-18T16:17:55Z")
Saddlesore Galactica. As if Furious D wasn’t bad enough, they brought in the jockey elves. Brain… blocking… the… horridness… ---
**Author:** ![av8rmike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/edb3f5/32.png) [@av8rmike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/av8rmike)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-episode-of-the-simpsons/137263/26 "2002-11-18T16:48:04Z")
The specific names are escaping me at the moment, but I agree with **NDP** , any one where the plot seems to lurch about with no discernable direction. > [@](#): > > the one with Homer as an on-line columnist that suddenly turned into a parody of “The Prisoner” The problem is, it wasn’t even a _good_ parody of “The Prisoner.” The only similarities are people with number identifiers, and of course, Patrick McGoohan. > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by **elf6c** _ > Still, the worst 20% of the Simpsons is better than 80% of the other crap on TV. Umm, no… saying “it might be bad, but it’s better than \_\_\_” doesn’t make it any better. There are actually some _good_ programs on TV this year, better than most years. As someone said in another thread, I think some people have a little denial problem, or at least, tunnel vision. ---
**Author:** ![JayElle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4bbf92/32.png) [@JayElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JayElle)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-episode-of-the-simpsons/137263/27 "2002-11-18T17:14:10Z")
Last night’s epidsode was cruddy. I kept waiting for something to develop and then the show was over! I don’t know the names, but I hate the one where Mr. Burns gets a girlfriend who is kidnapped by Snake, and I generally dislike an Sideshow Bob centered episode. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-episode-of-the-simpsons/137263/28 "2002-11-18T20:00:14Z")
Saddlesore Galactica is still unwatchable, no matter how many times I see it. With some episodes, it takes a couple times before you start to appreciate them. But not this one. Principal and the Pauper is up there too. Mainly because it just screws with the whole concept. Along the way there are some good jokes, though…like with everyone in the car- “Why are you here?” “Because Jasper didn’t want to come alone!” “Fair enough.” I also hate the randomness of some of the recent shows. The online columnist one (seriously, what the hell was that?), Kill the Alligator and Run, etc. Sometimes it works, but usually not. I thought last season was unusually good. Maybe I’m just looking out through rose colored glasses, but I thought that it picked up. “Little Girl in the Big 10” was good, so was the one where Apu cheats on his wife, and Tales from the Public Domain. The Halloween one was weak this year, though, and last year, too. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-episode-of-the-simpsons/137263/29 "2002-11-18T20:46:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mighty Maximino \* > IMHO, however, I think that the Simpsons Variety Hour third of an episode was the absolute worst that they’ve ever ever been, Oh, come on, you didn’t laugh at Smithers wearing chaps and singing “Whip It”? ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-episode-of-the-simpsons/137263/30 "2002-11-18T20:53:06Z")
Strange, I thought the Love tester was funny as hell, as anything with Moe usually is. I have to sceond the Mary Poppins rip-off one. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-episode-of-the-simpsons/137263/31 "2002-11-18T21:03:30Z")
Mine was the Armin Tanzarian episode…until Saddlesore Galactica showed up. Not only was the jockey elves thing totally insulting, but you can tell they DELIBERATELY threw a song in there as an extra “screw you” to the fans. I can sit through the worst episode (“Up yours, children!”), but I cannot sit through that one. Truly awful. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_MuD\_PhuD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/2bfe46/32.png) [@Elmer\_MuD\_PhuD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_MuD_PhuD)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-episode-of-the-simpsons/137263/32 "2002-11-18T21:21:51Z")
“Brawl in the Family” the one where the women Flanders and Homer married in Las Vegas resurface in Springfield, absolutely stunk. For the first time I couldnt force myself to watch the entire episode. I sat there staring blankly at the screen thinking “They brought back that plot. It wasnt funny to begin with. Please make it stop.” I changed the channel and it did. Then I immediately thought, “I didnt think it was possible for something to both suck and blow” which reminded me that such bad simpsons episodes are few and far between. The tennis one was pretty awful too. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-episode-of-the-simpsons/137263/33 "2002-11-18T21:57:49Z")
I say the two episodes with Bleeding Gums Murphy were the worst. They just weren’t comedies at all, they were sappy drama. Especially the second one where he dies. I expected the B plot, Bart eating the ‘jagged metal Krusty-O’, to be the main one. Instead it was just Lisa trying to deal with Murphy’s death. It’s the only time I can remember when the drama far outweighted the comedy. And I agree with what someone else said. Even when The Simpsons isn’t that good, its better than most everything else. Seinfeld, Friends, Frasier etc. are all crap compared to Fox’s animated sitcoms. ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-episode-of-the-simpsons/137263/34 "2002-11-18T22:01:55Z")
I agree the “Homer joins the Navy” ep was the worst. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-episode-of-the-simpsons/137263/35 "2002-11-18T22:19:43Z")
How about that “Behind the Music” or whatever it was parody? I absolutely hated that. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-episode-of-the-simpsons/137263/36 "2002-11-19T00:06:29Z")
Only one that I just can’t stand (although I also admit to flipping when I see season 1 & 2 eps) is the one where Marge welcomes the convict artist into their home. But when it comes down to it, 13 seasons with only 10-15 crappy episodes is a pretty good track record as far as I’m concerned. ---
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-episode-of-the-simpsons/137263/37 "2002-11-19T00:25:16Z")
Fake Skinner was the worst IMHO, worse than any clip show. But when the Jockey/elves start singing, that is the worst thing ever, whoever wrote that should be shot. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-episode-of-the-simpsons/137263/38 "2002-11-19T00:34:29Z")
> [@](#): > > Mine was the Armin Tanzarian episode…until Saddlesore Galactica showed up. Not only was the jockey elves thing totally insulting, but you can tell they DELIBERATELY threw a song in there as an extra “screw you” to the fans. … I cannot sit through that one. Truly awful. Although, in retrospect, I was probably too generous, I cut “Saddlesore” some slack the first time I saw it mainly because it had some funny bits (e.g., Homer bugging BTO to play “Takin’ Care of Business”) and the ep itself acknowledged it was a slapdash effort by having the Comic Book Store Guy pop up to make comments on how some parts of the story had been done before and to declare it “Worst. Episode. Ever.” behind the closing credits. Unfortunately, rather than being a lone misfire, the episode–with its “WTF?” plot twist with the jockey elves and the cheap shot at Bill Clinton (which seemed to have the intrusive fingerprints of the evil Fox overlord “Darth” Murdoch all over it)–the episode was only a sour taste of what was to come later. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-episode-of-the-simpsons/137263/39 "2002-11-19T00:38:30Z")
> [@](#): > > Mine was the Armin Tanzarian episode…until Saddlesore Galactica showed up. Not only was the jockey elves thing totally insulting, but you can tell they DELIBERATELY threw a song in there as an extra “screw you” to the fans. … I cannot sit through that one. Truly awful. Although, in retrospect, I was probably too generous, I cut “Saddlesore” some slack the first time I saw it mainly because it had some funny bits (e.g., Homer bugging BTO to play “Takin’ Care of Business”) and the ep itself acknowledged it was a slapdash effort by having the Comic Book Store Guy pop up to make comments on how some parts of the story had been done before and to declare it “Worst. Episode. Ever.” behind the closing credits. Unfortunately, rather than being a lone misfire, the episode–with its “WTF?” plot twist with the jockey elves and the cheap shot at Bill Clinton (which seemed to have the intrusive fingerprints of the evil Fox overlord “Darth” Murdoch all over it)–was only a sour taste of what was to come later ---
**Author:** ![hazel-rah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hazel-rah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hazel-rah)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-episode-of-the-simpsons/137263/40 "2002-11-19T00:42:30Z")
What I’m taking away from this thread is that the question is unanswerable. What you all are naming as worst episodes ever are longtime favorites of myself and my friends, and nobody has yet named _any_ of the episodes that I didn’t especially like. Although the one with all the spin-off shows was kind of dumb, I still prefer it to absolutely anything from the first season. And they aren’t _bad_, they’re just unwatchable. -fh [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-episode-of-the-simpsons/137263.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-episode-of-the-simpsons/137263.md?page=3)