'Narcos' Season 3: Life After Escobar
Shaun Cordingley
Shaun Cordingley discusses 'Narcos' Season 3
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Shaun Cordingley discusses 'Narcos' Season 3
Read MoreShaun Cordingley takes a look at Netflix's Original Documentary Series 'Five Came Back'
Read MoreShaun Cordingley takes a look back at the 1983 OVA 'Dallos' in the inaugural TGF Anime Chat!
Read MoreThe Guys From wrap up their Top 100 Episodes of 'The Simpsons' List with numbers 10-1!
Read MoreWell. Here we are. The top 20. This also means that this is my last one to write, as Shaun is (un)lucky enough to get the top-10 next week.
Let me tell you, this has been a great ride. It's been really fun watching the episodes as I write, tracking down the perfect photo to use for each episode. I really don't know what I'm going to do with all this free time…
As per usual, I will link the other 8 weeks of list for you to peruse if this is your first time coming here. (Note that if it IS your first time reading one of these, our process is laid out in the first week of episodes.) Thanks for reading these, you guys. I genuinely hope it's been as fun to read as it has been to write.
Kicking off the top-20 is a great episode that has just so many tremendous moments. Based on the title, you might not remember which episode it is. Apparently there's a movie called Last Exit to Brooklyn (based on the novel of the same name) and it's all about union corruption and (apparently) a prostitute who falls in love with one of her clients. Well the Simpsons writers couldn't really write an episode about prostitution, but they sure could write an episode about a union scandal! And boy did they ever!
This is the episode where Homer becomes the leader of the power plant union because Lisa needs braces (dental plan!) Lisa needs braces (dental plan!) Lisa needs braces (dental plan!) and Burns decides to cut the dental plan. And wonderfulness ensues. Such wonderfulness includes:
Okay. This is an episode that I always forget how much I like it and just how G-D funny it is. Shaun perpetually reminds me about how good it is. And it is. Really good. Not just in the sense that it's funny and charming. But good in the sense that it has won awards.
Like an Emmy.
And an Annie.
And a GLAAD because according to them, this episode was "a shining example of how to bring intelligent, fair and funny representations of our community onto television."
Yeah. To say it is a great episode is an understatement.
In this day and age, with all the bullshit that has been happening to gay people and trans people, this episode is more important than ever. It takes an archaic viewpoint on homosexuality and turns it into a wonderful lesson. I'm so glad that this episode exists.
This is a very Homer-centred episode, which isn't a terrible thing. For some reason I always think that this episode took place in season 3. I don't know why. And clearly I'm wrong anyway. This was after the point where the Simpsons writers realized what they had in Homer and started straying from Bart-centred episodes, because there was something so fun and… American about Homer.
Here are some of the best parts:
Way back in the was-before, when I was writing about Lisa's Sax, I just about made an egregious error and just about claimed that the mobile pool was in that episode. Boy would my face have been red. Granted, now I'm owning up to my mistake so it's probably just as embarrassing… Anyway. This episode is a classic. Not only do we get an excellent homage to Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window, but we also get some wonderful quotes, a bunch of great throwback Krusty moments, and a terrific end scene with Martin singing Sinatra's Summer Wind (Here's the Sinatra version, in case you wanted the original.) Just a terrific episode.
There aren't a lot of Patty or Selma related episodes on here. Clearly they're not our favourites. But every now and then we get one that is just… Yeah. This is one of those examples. It probably helps that a lot of it has to do with Troy McClure, who - if Phil Hartman hadn't also done Lionel Hutz - would be my favourite Hartman character (and possibly secondary character in all of the Simpsons.) But that's not to take anything away from Selma. This episode is very well crafted. It's funny, it's touching, you get to see the humanity in Selma, instead of just her often gruff exterior. It's really well done.
Another great part of the episode is how many ridiculous titles of films the Simpsons writers could come up with for Troy McClure. Every now and then when we'd see him in a smaller part of an episode, he'd have one or two titles to drop. There are so many in this episode. It might be the best part.
But the real best part? As we've pointed out on many occasions in the past, the Simpsons writers loved to go to the well that is Planet of the Apes. Even in the episode previous to this one, I mentioned there was a reference. Well this one just has an entire musical. It would go in my highlights segment. But it deserves an entire paragraph devoted to it. Because it is, without question, the best part of the show.
But speaking of highlights:
How many times can I rave about an episode? I guess four more times. Because none of these are sucky episodes. I mean, they couldn't be, otherwise they wouldn't be in the top 15. This one in particular is so, so good. Everything about it is good.
What I love the most about this episode is that they just rip on the Aussies. Now; I say this because as a Canadian the Simpsons writers have spent many moons making fun of the great white north. Like here. Or here. And here. I feel like if the Aussies take this episode as well as I take any time they rip on Canada, they would have had a great time with it.
The beauty about this episode is that there are so many great moments, they seem to all be on YouTube. So here are the best parts.
Oh how I loathe technology. I wrote all about this one, saved it, and somehow it decided not to save it all. And yet, number 13 on the list seems to be in tact. I don't get it. But boy am I thrilled about it.
Well all know this episode, but I think we all forget just how good it is. But considering it kicks off what is widely accepted to be the best season of The Simpsons world, it has to be a great episode. And here are the best parts:
This is one of those episodes I could basically do the highlights of without even watching this episode. I adore this episode. As the large fan of music that I am, I appreciate the festival atmosphere that Homer gets to tour on. I also harbour fantasies of becoming a touring musician and I fear that being in a Lollapalooza freak show is the closest I'll ever be able to get. And that makes me sad.
But you know what doesn't make me sad? This episode. Beginning to end, I think it's one of the most solid episodes ever written. Why? because of the following:
This episode came on the heels of Who Shot Mr. Burns, Part 2. It was a refreshing change. Don't get me wrong, I like both the Mr. Burns episodes, but this episode gives us more of who we all really want. Milhouse. We know that Milhouse is kind of a wiener, but who doesn't love some 'house?
This episode is great because it has some wonderful quotes, has a lot of funny moments, has a terrific guest star in Mickey Rooney, and also really pokes fun at Hollywood and just how much people can take advantage of the film industry (for better or for worse.) Some of my favourite all-time moments come from this episode. I'll be sure to flag them in the highlights:
Every now and then, a crossover episode comes along where you take a character from one popular show, and insert him into another one. The Simpsons have had crossovers before, like with Family Guy, and technically with King of the Hill (which was amazing). But the best one was when they crossed over the short lived animated comedy The Critic with The Simpsons. Now, I'm sure the transition was easy, as Jon Lovitz had already done many guest spots on the Simpsons before so he would have been familiar with the staff and the style. But the way they introduced Jay Sherman was so seamless and worked so well! They also had a nice tongue-in-cheek moment about it right in the episode. They knew what they were doing.
As Shaun and I both love film so much (75% of our podcasts are about that medium) it makes sense why this episode is so high on both of our lists, which is why this episode just barely got edged out of the top-10. Although, let's be honest; 11th out of 596 episodes is pretty remarkable. Anyway, here are the best parts:
That's my time, kids. I'm done with this list. But I can promise you this: There will be more major things of this nature coming down the pipes eventually. Mostly because it's nice that we have a regular thing to post about on Wednesdays.
Anyway. I don't know when that's happening. That's all in Shaun's head and who wants to venture in there, am I right?
Yeah.
-D (@davidronn)
The Guys From's Top 100 Episodes of 'The Simpsons' continues with numbers 30-21!
Read MoreThis list is getting both easier and harder to write. It's easier because I love every episode and they're simple to talk about. But it's harder because I love every episode and how can I condense my love into a simple blurb and a few highlights? Anyway; here are episodes 40-31.
Read MoreThe Guys From's list of The Top 100 Episodes of 'The Simpsons' continues with numbers 50-41!
Read MoreLook: this is week 5 of these lists being churned out. If you don't know what we're doing yet, go back and take a look. It's all explained in the first week when we did numbers 100-91. You can find that list here. Then there's 90-81, 80-71 and finally 70-61. And now we're back here. So enjoy this week's article, won't you?
Read MoreThe Guys From's Top 100 Simpsons Episodes continues with numbers 70-61!
Read MoreTime to continue The Guys From's Top 100 Episodes of 'The Simpsons' and dig into numbers 80-71.
Read MoreThe Guys From's Top 100 Episodes of 'The Simpsons' continues with numbers 91-80!
Read MoreWe at The Guys From have taken on one hell of an undertaking: over the next 10 weeks, we will be counting down our top-100 episodes of 'The Simpsons'...arguably, the greatest show of all-time.
Read MoreShaun's Meandering Thoughts return, with his thoughts on when a television series should end (but usually doesn't...)
Read MoreTo go along with what the Film Golden Globe article, Shaun tried his hand at picking TV awards (for probably the last time...), with his reasons, and his reactions to every TV Golden Globe of 2016
Read MoreA month ago I wrote a list of my least favourite TV finales of all-time with the promise that I would do my list of my favourite TV finales of all time. Well, as I can't think of anything else to write about today, and also because it's been a month, I felt like now was the perfect time.
Read MoreShaun discusses the top 5 most underrated TV series of the first half of this decade.
Read MoreIn the interest of getting to complain more, I figured why not write my top-5 worst series finales of all-time. (In no particular order.)
Read MoreBefore the internet ate our website for the second time, Shaun had written this segment. But with him working for iHorror, he felt like maybe he couldn't (or shouldn't) write it this time. So the task fell to me (which is perfect, because I was stymied for an article to write this week.)
Anyway, without further Apu (*swish*) here are my top-10 Tree House of Horror segments
Read MoreThe Top 10 Episodes of 'The Simpsons' of All-Time, and the wrapping up of our Top 25 Simpsons Episodes.
Read More