The Simpsons: 10 Best Episodes Of Season 7, Ranked (According To IMDB)
The answer to the Summer’s biggest cliffhanger was finally revealed and then The Simpsons’ seventh season was off to the races. Set right in the sweet spot of the show really hitting its early stride, the sight of Homer in a moo-moo instantly became one of signature shots of the series.
The family also get to meet Homer’s mother (Glenn Close) and go 3-D during the annual Halloween special, not to mention one of the most entertaining clip shows ever. Here are the 10 best episodes of season seven, ranked according to IMDB.
10 Lisa The Vegetarian - 8.5
Cartoons tend to generally reset themselves every week - Family Guy loves to riff on that premise. But Lisa making the decision to stop eating meat was very progressive for the time and a change that has stood the test of time. After visiting a petting zoo, Lisa can’t bear to eat lamb chops that Marge made for supper and decides to give up eating meat. A decision that guest stars Paul and Linda McCartney fully support. In fact, the reason Sir Paul did the show was if Lisa stayed a vegetarian for the rest of the show.
9 Treehouse Of Horror VI - 8.6
The Treehouse Of Horror is probably the episode most fans are looking forward to all year. The sixth installment was no different featuring Groundskeeper Willie as Freddy Krueger, and massive road signs come alive and attack Springfield.
But the big story was a riff on The Twilight Zone’s “Little Girl Lost.” In “Homer Cubed,” The Simpsons go 3-D as Homer finds himself in another dimension. For the time, this was revolutionary.
8 Mother Simpson - 8.6
After trying to fake his own death to get out of cleaning up the highway, Marge makes Homer head to the hall of records to explain that he’s not really dead. There he finds out that his mother isn’t really dead either. She was actually on the lam, being part of a radical Hippy group. Out of hiding, Burns recognizes her and wants her arrested for her past crimes.
7 Two Bad Neighbors - 8.6
After badmouthing the Simpsons during his presidency, George H.W. Bush wound up moving next door to the family in “Two Bad Neighbors.” The President took it upon himself to punish Bart for his behavior and Homer sought revenge. Their war of pranks is one for the ages including Homer and Bart unleashing locusts and Bush takes out the Simpsons’ lawn with his car. They eventually apologize but Bush still sells his home to President Gerald Ford and leaves Springfield.
6 Bart On The Road - 8.6
As further proof that Bart was the ultimate prankster, he forged a driver’s license, rents a car and goes for a road trip with Milhouse, Nelson, and Martin. Unfortunately, they wind up with a destroyed car and stranded. With no way home and not wanting to get in trouble, Bart phones Lisa who suggests that they be couriers. He doesn’t earn money to get home though. Lisa has to ask Homer for help, who orders parts for the Plant and the boys stow themselves away inside.
5 Bart Sells His Soul - 8.8
After delivering “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” as In The Garden Of Eden, Bart has to clean the church organ to atone for his sins. He and Milhouse both have to clean the pipes. Bart decides there’s no such thing as a soul and sells his to Milhouse for five dollars. But after experiencing all sorts of weird events and Lisa’s egging him on, he tries to buy it back, but Milhouse ups the price.
4 Homer The Smithers - 8.9
After being forced to take a vacation, Smithers enlists Homer to be Mr. Burns’ assistant, since he won’t overshadow and of the work Smithers does for Burns. His incompetency causes a massive accident that leaves Burns self-sufficient and he fires Smithers for not needing an assistant anymore.
He enlists Homer’s help to scheme to get his job back. After a melee ensues causing Burns to again need an assistant, the sycophant gets his job back and sends Homer a fruit basket thanking him for his blundering good deed.
3 22 Short Films About Springfield - 8.9
The film, Thirty Two Short Films About Glen Gould and Pulp Fiction get Simpsonsnized in “22 Short Films About Springfield.” Bart and Milhouse ponder about the lives of other Springfield residents and for next 20 minutes or so, we’re treated to snippets of several characters’ lives. Some scenes include Dr. Nick treating Grampa with a light socket, Smithers allergic reaction to a bee sting, and Reverend Lovejoy teaching his dog to use Flanders’ yard as a bathroom.
2 King Size Homer - 9.0
“King Size Homer” has long been thought of as one of the best episodes of the entire series. After hearing about the Nuclear Plant’s new fitness program, Homer goes the other way.
He gains enough weight to claim disability and work from home, despite Marge and Lisa worrying about their husband and dad’s health. The bigger he gets, the lazier he gets, but’s it’s still Homer’s large butt that saves the day.
1 Who Shot Mr. Burns, Part Two - 9.0