14.1 Treehouse of Horror XIII
Another excellent installment in the venerable Treehouse series. In the first segment, Homer clones himself with predictably disastrous results (a funnier version of Multiplicity). In the second, undead outlaws Billy the Kid, Jesse James, and Kaiser Wilhelm(!) take over Springfield. While the final segment is a delightfully absurd take on The Island of Dr. Moreau where Dr. Hibbert creates hybrid creatures by crossing animals and Springfeldians.
I didn’t care for middle segment, but the rest were fun. The Island of Dr. Moreau stuff is dark for the show, but I love it and I enjoyed the Multiplicity parody more than the source material. Two out of three for a Treehouse episode is pretty good ratio.
14.2 How I Spent my Strummer Vacation
After Homer embarrasses his family in an episode of Taxicab Confessions, they realize they are a burden to him and send him to Rock and Roll fantasy camp where he’s tutored by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Elvis Costello, Tom Petty and Lenny Kravitz.
It’s a hysterical send up of the rock and roll industry and an insightful parody of the hold being a rocker has on middle aged men. The final episode written by Mike Scully during his run with the show is near perfection and rightfully appears on many lists of the best the series has to offer.
14.3 Bart vs. Lisa vs. the Third Grade
Bart is demoted, while Lisa is promoted. Both in third grade, the siblings initially antagonize each other, before joining forces to solve a common problem.
It has a few funny moments, but, in the fourteenth season, episodes featuring Simpson sibling rivalry are not altogether original.
14.4 Large Marge
Marge deals with sexism after inadvertently getting breast implants while Krusty’s show is retooled because of kids imitating his dangerous stunts.
I hated this episode. The concept is cringey and the execution was worse.
Best avoided.
14.5 Helter Shelter
The Simpsons have a termite problem and, desperate to find alternative lodging, participate in a reality show where they live in a Victorian era house as the Victorians would. As ratings plummet, the desperate producers send in Squiggy from Laverne and Shirley, then dump the house on water to boost its sagging fortunes.
There’s not a lot to like. The parody of reality TV is tepid and the particular shows they parody are too obscure.
The idea isn’t bad, but it’s not enough to carry a lackluster episode.
14.6 The Great Louse Detective
When Homer is attacked by a mysterious stranger, Sideshow Bob moves in with the Simpsons to help them find the would be assassin. In the end, Homer’s assailant is revealed to be Frank Grimes Jr., hellbent on avenging his father’s death from the season eight episode “Homer’s Enemy.” I loved Frank Grimes’s deconstruction of Homer, and I love this follow up. Add Sideshow Bob and it’s an embarrassment of riches; easily the best episode of the season.
14.7 Special Edna
After Bart observes a low point in Skinner and Edna’s relationship, he nominates Edna for teacher of the year. As a finalist, she and the Simpson family are invited to an amusement park, where a jealous Skinner impulsively proposes to Edna.
I enjoyed the Skinner / Edna dynamic and third wheel Agnes is amusing.
It’s a fine, above episode average for the season but middle of the road overall.
14.8 The Dad Who Knew Too Little
When Homer has to prove how much he knows about Lisa, he hires a detective. When the investigator is more expensive than anticipated, Homer frames Lisa for animal theft to scapegoat her.
By this point in season fourteen, Homer and Lisa have gone through the same issues too many times. It’s difficult to continually create new material, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it when you rehash similar storylines.
The only highlight is the real email address created for Homer: chunkylover53@aol.com.
14.9 The Strong Arms of the Ma
Marge is mugged and becomes agoraphobic. Her inexplicable solution: transform into a jacked weight lifter. Eventually, with the prodding of her neighbor, Ruth Powers, she turns to steroids.
It’s the second episode this season to focus on Marge and it’s a big 0 for two. It’s wrongheaded and silly, demonstrating how little the show cares for the character.
The only reason this is not the worst episode of the season is because “Large Marge” exists.
14.10 Pray Anything
Jealous of Ned, Homer prays excessively and believes he’s rewarded when he receives the church property as compensation in a lawsuit. Unfortunately, he turns to a life of debauchery and God seemingly attacks him for the blasphemy.
This is a pretty weak critique of prosperity gospel nonsense. It thinks it’s edgy, but it’s a soft target and not terribly insightful.
Not the weakest episode of the season, but close.
14.11 Barting Over
Bart discovers he was in commercials as a small child, and, upset to find out Homer wasted the money he earned, sues to emancipate himself. Initially, he struggles to adapt to his new life, until he finds out Tony Hawk and Blink 182 live in his apartment.
Homer’s neglectful, selfish parenting has been done before and Bart’s reconciliation with him is inevitable. If you’re going with tired tropes as narrative backbone, there better be jokes to compensate. There aren’t enough here.
14.12 I’m Spelling as Fast as I Can
Homer develops an addiction to Krusty Burger’s new rib sandwich, while Lisa enters a spelling bee. At the spelling championship Lisa refuses a bribe in exchange for losing, but loses anyway.
George Plimpton is a good guest star, but I enjoyed the rib sandwich subplot more than the main story. “Lisa is smart” and “Lisa faces an ethical dilemma” are two of the more played out tropes of the show’s 300+ episodes. Add a dash of “Homer comes through when it counts” and there’s not a lot of originality.
There’s nothing wrong with this episode, but it feels like a retread.
14.13 A Star is Born Again
Ned is depressed and lonely while everyone else in Springfield enjoys a romantic evening during the annual Jellyfish Festival. Alone at the Leftorium, he meets movie star Sara Sloane (Marisa Tomei). The pair hit it off and briefly pursue a romantic relationship, but Ned’s insistence they marry before consummating their relationship is a deal breaker for Sara.
The Hollywood parody (through Ned’s eyes) is great, James Brooks’ cameo is a cool easter egg, and Marissa Tomei is delightful. Plus Ned’s love life is a great avenue for the show to expand its scope beyond the core family. At this point in the show’s run, it’s a pitch perfect episode.
14.14 Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington
To help with noise pollution, the Simpsons recruit Krusty to run for Congress. He wins, but is quickly disillusioned. However, with the help of blackmail and drunkeness, the Simpsons get their bill passed.
Krusty in Congress is a little amusing and the episode features plenty of writer John Schwartzelder’s disdain for government institutions, but it’s a firmly middle of the road; not memorable, but not bad.
14.15 C.E.D’oh
Inspired to be more ambitious, Homer proposes changes to the nuclear power plant, all rejected by Burns. Determined, he engineers a semi-hostile takeover of the plant when he learns the actual owner is a canary (in a novel plan to shield Burns from liability).
Homer is a decent boss, but the stress of the job proves too much for his family and he relinquishes control back to Burns.
It has a few laughs, but something about the episode didn’t land with me. Sometimes the show’s cruel treatment of Smithers is too much (there’s a throwaway line that he’s been given eighty years for drug possession), and “Burns isn’t that bad” stories are hard to execute. I want jokes and humor, not another episode where Homer realizes what he has with his family.
14.16 ‘Scuse Me While I Miss the Sky
When a visiting documentarian advises Lisa to focus on one subject, she picks astronomy. However, she can’t look at the sky because of light pollution and convinces Mayor Quimby to dim the lights at night. Unfortunately, this leads to a spike in the crime rate so he switches them back on.
The episode has no momentum. It’s not bad, but it’s short on laughs. The couch gag parodying the phrase “jump the shark” and Carl’s off handed remark about his Icelandic heritage are the funniest things.
14.17 Three Gays of the Condo
Homer thinks Marge resents him, they fight, and he moves out, eventually settling into a condo with a couple of gay men.
I’m not a huge fan of episodes focusing on the marital strife in the Simpson clan, but this is one of the better ones. I loved the gay angle and Grady’s crush on Homer was a welcome development.
It’s one of the better episodes of the season.
14.18 Dude, Where’s My Ranch?
When copy right infringement forces the Simpsons to cease caroling, Homer creates an anti-Flanders screed. The “song” is so successful, the Simpsons clan escape for a vacation at a dude ranch where Lisa crushes on a cowhand, Luke, and grows jealous of his relationship with Clara (who turns out to be his sister).
It’s disjointed and disconnected. There’s no clever call back to the first act in the third, and Lisa’s problematic love life is hardly a minefield of original material. Bart’s adventure with Native Americans and a beaver dam has some potential, but winds up being mostly filler.
In an uneven season with some all time greats and horrible clunkers, this was one of the latter.
14.19 Old Yeller-Belly
When Santa’s Little Helper proves to be a coward, Homer disowns the dog and favors Snowball II, but then Santa’s Little Helper is unexpectedly named the new mascot of Duff Beer, Suds Mackenzie. This is a boon for the family, until the dog’s original tries to claim him.
The Simpsons plot to retrieve their dog.
It’s convoluted plot takes too long to develop. It’s middle of the road for this season, but that’s not saying much.
14.20 Brake My Wife, Please
Homer is in accident and can’t drive. While he learns to love walking everywhere, Marge is stressed from the additional driving. In a fit of rage, she runs Homer over and then resents having to care for him.
Of course, they eventually reconcile.
During this period of the show’s history, the show consistently swerved to see how far from the original story they could go. It’s a little lazy. And Homer / Marge fighting is about as played out a trope as they come. It’s a lesser episode of the season.
14.21 The Bart of War
After Milhouse and Bart destroy Flanders’ collection of Beatles memorabilia, their parents decide they can’t be around each other. Marge forms a peer group for Bart, “The Pre-Teen Braves,” and Kirk forms one for Milhouse, “The Calvary Kids.”
The two rival groups go to great lengths to sabotage each other.
Flanders, Beatles freak, intrigues me, but the actual “war” between Milhouse and Bart is anticlimactic. It’s not the worse episode of the season, but that’s damning with faint praise.
14.22 Moe Baby Blues
A lonely Moe bonds with Maggie. When she goes missing, Homer and Marge assume Moe is involved, but he helps track her down at a mob meeting with Fat Tony, diffusing a dangerous situation. As a reward, the Simpsons decide to let him to continue to play with their daughter.
It’s decent episode for the season, but Moe walks a fine line being truly funny and a cruel caricature of a depressed person. His attempted suicide is a bit too dark for my taste.
This episode straddled the fence between classic Simpsons and overly cartoony / predicable. Good by season fourteen standards, but slightly less than average overall.
| Ranking | Episode title |
| 1 | The Great Louse Detective |
| 2 | How I Spent My Summer Vacation |
| 3 | A Star is Born Again |
| 4 | Treehouse of Horror XIII |
| 5 | Three Gays of the Condo |
| 6 | Special Edna |
| 7 | I’m Spelling As Fast as I Can |
| 8 | Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington |
| 9 | Moe Baby Blues |
| 10 | Bart vs. Lisa vs. the Third Grade |
| 11 | The Bart of War |
| 12 | Scuse Me While I Miss the Sky |
| 13 | Old Yeller-Belley |
| 14 | Helter Shelter |
| 15 | Pray Anything |
| 16 | Brake My Wife, Please |
| 17 | Dude, Where’s My Ranch? |
| 18 | C.E.D’oh |
| 19 | Barting Over |
| 20 | The Dad Who Knew Too Little |
| 21 | The Strong Arms of the Ma |
| 22 | Large Marge |