I read this entire thread thinking “no one has mentioned the Mel Gibson” one yet! That episode reeked of having Mel signed up to do the show before a script was written.
Yeah, the Mel Gibson one sucked balls. I also really hated the one where they go to New York City. Ugh.
On the other hand, I can’t believe someone didn’t like “Behind the Laughter”. I thought that one was brilliant. (It helped that I’d watched “Behind the Music” featuring Vanilla Ice about a week before seeing it.)
“Did Braveheart quit? Did Payback quit?!!” Cracks me up every time. I like that episode.
That was actually a reference to an on Rolling Rock beer commercial. I should’ve known nobody would get it 
I remember hating the Mel Gibson on the first time but it’s aged better, or there’s been worse since so it doesn’t seem so bad or something. Mel’s insecurity is funny. I do think there should be a moritorium on stars playing themselves. The best guest appearances have been playing against type – Michelle Pfieffer as Mindy Simmons springing instantly to mind along with Glenn Close and Meryl Streep’s appearances.
I’ll agree that even the worst episodes have something funny in them – I mean even Saddlesore has Homer hassling BTO.
I’ll continue to stand up for the first two seasons of episodes. I guess you had to be with them from the start. I do wonder where many of the people that can’t stand them came into watching the series. If you’re used to the jokey 5th season hijinks, they would seem a bit off. Watch Lisa’s Substitute and tell me that’s not half an hour (or 22 minutes, if you want to get pedantic) of outstanding TV.
Boo-urns to the person who didn’t like the Sideshow Bob episodes. Every one a winner, with Cape Feare being my all time favourite episode. The rake scene is funny precisely because it’s obviously filler.
I was really looking foward to Treehouse of Horrors this year, but I ended up really unimpressed.
I did too. And let’s not forget the “new” ending to “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” - that whole scene cracks me up.
“All in favor, say…die!!”
“Happy Birthday, Mr. President!!”
“You chopped off the President’s head!! Bet you didn’t see that coming.”
“This is worse than Godfather III!! Hey, whoa! Let’s not say things we can’t take back.”
I’ll agree with you on the first two seasons. Really, half the reason I keep watching the show is that the first two seasons actually made me care about the characters. Comedy’s more interesting to me when the characters are three dimensional, which is why I liked the first six seasons more than the pure slapstick of the recent seasons. Of course, some of their latest attempts at characterization, like The Blunder Years and She of Little Faith, are so inept that I’m almost glad that they usually just stick with standard sitcom hijinks. (That’s my answer to the worst episode question, by the way: The Blunder Years.)
I can’t agree that all the Sideshow Bob episodes are winners. Most of them, yes, but what about that last one, where he hypnotizes Bart? Everyone just seemed to be phoning it in on that episode…the writers, Kelsey Grammer…everyone.
I’m probably going to destroy any shred of credibility I have by asking this, but why does everyone hate the Armin Tamzarian episode so much? I’m not going to claim that it was one of their better ones, but at least it was creative; they were trying something different. I’d rather see that than another episode in which the family gets a horse or Homer gets a wacky new job.
The first episode that made me think “this show sucks now” was the one where Otto drove the schoolbus off a bridge, so the kids were all stranded on an island. It was done as a Lord Of The Flies parody, except parodies usually contain humour, and this did not.
ahem
“I’m so hungry I could eat at Arby’s” (other kids make amazed murmuring sounds)
I liked the Armand Tanzarian one. It actually worked to earn its flagrant violation of the sitcom rules. Unfortunately, it set a bad precedent for many of the later episodes where the rules were broken out of sheer laziness (e.g. making Ned a senior citizen just to fuel some extremely forgettable storyline, or killing off Maud because the actress left in a pay dispute.)
I wasn’t all that keen on the Mel Gibson episode when it first aired, but it does get bonus points for eerily predicting the god-awful ending of The Patriot.
The last Sideshow Bob was still hilarious.
“That’s it, work the groin!”
[inside]
“Uh, Chief, you’d better have a look at this.”
“It’s so good to see a kid using a wooden bat these days.”
I didn’t mind the Armin Tanzerian one so much up until the end. Character changes and secrets aren’t such a bad thing yes but the ending was just terrible. Stick to your convictions. And yes, it did set a bad precedent.
My least favourite has to be the Africa episode. It’s kind of funny, but it TOTALLY loses steam when it gets into the thing with the monkeys in the diamond mine, blah blah blah.
Also, I just watched the one where Lisa cheats on a test, and raises the school’s GPA with an A+++. It had its moments, but for the most part, I found it plodding and WEAK!!! I miss the utter goofiness mixed with real wit that was the earlier seasons.
Oh, I also hated the singing and dancing one, but the “Paint your Wagon” part at the beginning cracked me up! My mother and I still sing that and laugh.
Dunno if someone beat me to it already but;
worst. episode. ever. (Comic Book Guy)
HAs to be the one with the Christmas burglar. Blatant moralistic crap, an not even the disrag bit at the end could save it. Also the Itchy and Scratchy and Poochie show- I HATE that one
I haven’t seen most of the last few seasons, but I still cast my vote as a tie between “The Principal and the Pauper” and “All Singing, All Dancing”.
Oh please! This is the episode that gave us:
[Ralph Wiggum]“It tastes like burning!”[/Ralph Wiggum]
Well then I rest my case! 
I hate all the Treehouses of Horror!
(I also hate the All-Singing, All-Dancing one, yet still sing the “Paint your Wagon” bit whenever I catch my husband watching a western on TV.)
Well wasn’t “All Singing, All Dancing” bascially just a clip show? I woudn’t really count that one. The clip shows are almost bad by definition.
I’ll have to agree with those who said the Mel Gibson episode is the worst, tho “Saddlesore Galactica” is hard to argue against. Most of the recent THoH’s have stunk up the place, too.
I’ll still watch it twice a day in reruns, though.
I thought this episode was funny just for the mysterious ailment that Smithers had in the doctor’s office that made him the only person on line (who didn’t have a wheelbarrow) who was standing.
I vote for fake Skinner. Worst episode ever.
Thank you! I’m always quoting that line. Good stuff.
But is it “Dying tastes like burning”? Because that’s always what I say. I’m not good with quoting anything exactly, though, so I could be wrong. :smack:
Wow, I really liked the Mel Gibson episode. The hyper-violent remake of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is classic!
As for worst episode, I pick the one where Ned opens a theme park in Maude’s memory. Blecch.
Other than that, I can watch them all.