As far as I know, the only person still thinking about clip shows in the year 2018 is Dan Harmon, and he’s more interested in parodying the various setups for clip shows than in ever delivering the real deal. Nobody … Continue reading The Simpsons, Season Four, Episode Eighteen, “So It’s Come To This: A Simpsons Clip Show”

This is the first episode where, as a filthy foreign non-American, I almost don’t feel qualified to write about this episode. It feels so rooted in a specifically American (and specifically working-class American) perspective that I’m certain there are nuances … Continue reading The Simpsons, Season Four, Episode Seventeen, “Last Exit To Springfield”

After dealing with Homer’s eating problems, this episode delves into his drinking. Once again, we’ve seen all through the show how Homer can be a little *glug glug* – I recall the flashback of Homer getting Barney into alcohol as … Continue reading The Simpsons, Season Four, Episode Sixteen, “Duffless”

Once again, The Simpsons is setting out to develop a minor character by using romantic interest as a plot device. But this time, like a football to the groin, “I Love Lisa” works on so many levels – as an … Continue reading The Simpsons, Season Four, Episode Fifteen, “I Love Lisa”

As we work through what I consider the Golden era of the show – seasons four through eight – we’re gonna see episodes that are controversial, and we’re gonna see episodes that I personally find difficult to watch because the … Continue reading The Simpsons, Season Four, Episode Fourteen, “Brother From The Same Planet”

I will confess that Selma episodes have never been my favourite. In general, I like Marge’s sisters in small doses, dropping some barb about Homer to punctuate a scene (e.g. “Homer’s Triple Bypass” has a great gag where they’re completely … Continue reading The Simpsons, Season Four, Episode Thirteen, “Selma’s Choice”

I’m sure few people will think I’m overstating things when I say that this is not only one of the greatest episodes of The Simpsons, it’s one of the greatest episodes of any half-hour sitcom ever made. By my weak … Continue reading The Simpsons, Season Four, Episode Twelve, “Marge vs The Monorail”

“Homer’s Triple Bypass” is a culmination. Even throughout those first couple of seasons, when the show was gradually pulling itself together and building a world, it never really went in for continuity. At the risk of sounding massively pretentious (The … Continue reading The Simpsons, Season Four, Episode Eleven, “Homer’s Triple Bypass”

A few weeks ago, beloved commentor Ruck Cohlchez observed that the run from “Mr Plow” to “Marge Vs The Monorail” is the best run The Simpsons would ever do; what I love is how we’ve jumped straight from one of … Continue reading The Simpsons, Season Four, Episode Ten, “Lisa’s First Word”

Well, here we are, an all-timer episode that has some of the most quoted lines in the show. “Mr Plow” doesn’t reach for any particular satirical or emotional heights, but everything in it snaps together; the underlying plot functional enough … Continue reading The Simpsons, Season Four, Episode Nine, “Mr Plow”

Way back in the first season, I suggested that part of the Classic era of the show was giving up the riffing in favour of fast-paced plotting, and I’m going to formally concede that I was as wrong as I … Continue reading The Simpsons, Season Four, Episode Eight, “New Kid On The Block”

Sometimes an older episode of a show feels like a subtle dry run for the later, more ambitious episodes, and sometimes an older episode feels like an extremely obvious dry run. As the title implies, “Marge Gets A Job” is … Continue reading The Simpsons, Season Four, Episode Seven, “Marge Gets A Job”