Before you get to reading this, please understand that making a top 10 or even a top 20 list of Simpsons episodes is an impossible task. What we plan to do over the next little while, is to just write about some episodes that fall in our 'best of' lists and then we may arbitrarily rank them later. Obviously we will miss some as we will stop when we get to 15 but don't worry, there will be a whole article devoted to the omissions (and even then someone will probably point to an episode that will make all of us say "WOW we missed that one?!"). Anyways, I have the honor of leading us off, and the episode I will open with is: "You only move twice" from season 8. One of the fun things about doing this is that we get to re-watch the best episodes but also notice some things; for example: when I went on Wikipedia to do some research for this episode I noticed just how many good episodes there were in season 8. Don't be surprised if this is not the only time an episode from this season is featured.
"You only move twice" (or more commonly known as the 'Hank Scorpio' episode) was one of the first ones that came to my mind for this list. Forget about the great story and the great premise, this is one of the funnier episodes the show has ever done (more on this in a bit). But first I managed to found an abridged version of the episode on YouTube, watch it, its less than 3 minutes and captures most of what made the episode great.
Aside from Homer finding both a job and a boss he loves, the fact that Hank Scorpio doubles as a super-villain was awesome. As a result we got to see some nice parodies, the best one being Homer tackling a James Bond figure and receiving praise from his favorite boss. Even the scenes of the rest of the family struggling to adjust to their new home were mildly entertaining, and considering the fact that they were the worst scenes should tell you how good this episode is.
What really stands out in this episode (other than the 'wow that's so cool' factor) is the humor. From the very beginning we are treated to Ned pointing out that Homer still has all of his things that he 'borrowed' and is putting them in the moving van (how much would it suck if Homer was your neighbor?). Realistically, Homer and Ned scenes are great no matter what the context. We then got a lot of Hank Scorpio; it would take way too long to talk about all of his funny bits but the 'trust game' he does with Homer is excellent. At the end of the episode we learn that Hank managed to take over the East coast and he gives Homer the Denver Broncos to help fulfill Homer's dream of eventually owning the Dallas Cowboys. It's times like this that I openly wonder why Simpsons writers don't write some episodes that continue the plots of old ones. I think they only did that once (who shot Mr. Burns-and if you think it wont be on this list then you really don't watch the Simpsons) and it was brilliant, they could easily trot out 3 seasons worth of material like this. But I guess that is part of what makes the show great, allowing us to imagine where things went once the credits rolled. Hopefully you enjoyed reading this as much I did writing it, but then again any excuse to watch classic Simpsons episodes is a good one. Look for Jovan or Luka to follow up to this article soon, I am looking forward to them.
Leave a comment of your favorite Simpsons episodes and follow me on Twitter @ Daki_4 if you like the work.
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