D'oh! We're diving into the most unforgettable moments from Springfield's favorite family. From heartwarming scenes to hilarious hijinks, join us as we count down the most iconic scenes that have defined "The Simpsons" over the decades!
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00:00Marill! Marill! Marill!
00:06Marill!
00:08Mono...
00:09Don't!
00:10Welcome to WatchMojo!
00:12And today we're counting down scenes from the Simpsons TV run that stood the test of time for better or worse.
00:19But no running gags.
00:21Flaming Mouse.
00:22Uh, yes, I'm looking for a friend of mine.
00:24Last name Jazz, first name Hugh.
00:26Ah, hold on, I'll check.
00:28Number 10.
00:29Hank Scorpio's multitasking.
00:32One person's supervillain is another person's fair, understanding, and really cool employer.
00:37I'm Hank Scorpio.
00:38Wow, my boss!
00:40Don't call me that word.
00:41I don't like things that elevate me above the other people.
00:44I'm just like you.
00:45Oh, sure, I come later in the day, I get paid a lot more, and I take longer vacations, but I don't like the word boss!
00:49Hank Scorpio personifies this duality in a series of interconnected scenes that are really one big scene.
00:57Near the end of the only episode the character appears in, we see him taking care of James Bond with a T,
01:05threatening the U.N. and then torching government forces with a flamethrower.
01:14Hey, Homer! You're missing out on some fun!
01:16They did, after all, invade his lair, which is also his office.
01:21But he isn't too busy with his plans for world domination to take the time to praise Homer for his quick thinking,
01:28give him advice on hammocks, and respect his decision to quit for his family's well-being.
01:34That's some hilarious and truly memorable multitasking.
01:37Say, what's going on?
01:39I'm having a little trouble with the government.
01:40Oh, those jerks always walking over to small businessmen.
01:44Don't get me started about the government!
01:46Number 9.
01:47Happy Birthday, Lisa.
01:49Most of the hype for The Simpsons' third season premiere involved around the rumor that Michael Jackson was going to be voicing a character.
01:56I can't believe you never heard of me. I'm a very popular entertainer.
01:59Oh, of course I've heard of you! I mean, you'd have to be living under a rock not to know!
02:04What'd you say your name was?
02:05Michael Jackson.
02:06Doesn't ring a bell.
02:07Well, have you heard of MTV?
02:08Nope.
02:08Motown?
02:09No.
02:09Beat It?
02:10You beat it!
02:10Thriller?
02:11What was that last one?
02:11Thriller!
02:12Nope.
02:12The singer did provide the voice for Leon Kompowski, a psychiatric patient who Homer brings home and who thinks he's really MJ.
02:21Jackson was credited as John J. Smith due to contract reasons, which didn't prevent him from writing Happy Birthday, Lisa.
02:28Lisa.
02:30Lisa.
02:32Lisa.
02:39What bark?
02:40It's 6 AM.
02:42That's right. Hope you like your present.
02:44In the show, Leon writes the song for Bark to give to Lisa as a birthday present.
02:49This brought the B-plot, Lisa's Birthday, to the forefront.
02:53And due to the sweet and heartfelt way the scene came across,
02:56it's what many remember most from this episode decades after it first aired.
03:02Lisa, it's your birthday.
03:05Happy birthday, Lisa.
03:08Lisa, it's your birthday.
03:11Happy birthday, Lisa.
03:18Number 8.
03:19Ned Flanders Finally Snaps
03:21For over seven seasons,
03:23Ned Flanders was one of the most consistently written and performed characters on the show.
03:28Need some help there?
03:29You know, maybe you folks should come over and hunker in our bunker.
03:33Oh, it'll be fun.
03:34We're gonna go through our old canceled checks and receipts and give ourselves an audit.
03:38Make sure we don't owe anything extra.
03:40Sure, there was development and new traits added over the years,
03:44but he didn't waver from his overall supportive-to-a-fault nature.
03:48So when he finally snapped, the scene was unforgettable.
03:51A hurricane passed through Springfield, only destroying the Flanders' home.
03:55The neighborhood pitched in and built him a new house.
03:58Very poorly.
03:59Yo, Flanders.
04:00What do you think of the house that love built?
04:08Aw, shoot.
04:09When the whole thing crashed, so did Ned's self-control.
04:12We got some of his trademark sounds like diddly,
04:15which we later find out are his coping mechanisms to suppress his anger.
04:20And then he launched into an epic tirade against everyone there,
04:24before driving himself to a mental institution.
04:33Number 7.
04:34Maud Flanders' Death
04:36Maud Flanders died either because a barrage of t-shirts knocked her off the bleachers
04:41of the local Speedway, or because her voice actress, Maggie Roswell,
04:45was not able to satisfactorily negotiate her contract with Fox.
04:56Regardless, the way the writers handled her death was shocking, to say the least.
05:00It happened near the beginning of the episode,
05:02shortly after the opening credits stopped rolling.
05:06She was really something.
05:07Oh, wasn't she?
05:08Thank you, Mo.
05:08I appreciate that.
05:09The story then shifted focus to Homer and Bart helping widower Ned deal with dating.
05:14While other recurring Simpsons characters had died before,
05:17this was the first time it happened on screen.
05:26Number 6.
05:27Homer's Mom Leaves
05:29Homer's mother, Mona Simpson, voiced by Glenn Close,
05:33would come in and out of her son's life during the series and eventually die.
05:42While these encounters were always emotional,
05:45it's the first time we see them say goodbye that stands out.
05:48Homer didn't know his mother was alive, but when he shows up, their reunion is brief.
05:53Because of her past activism, she is forced to go back on the run with the Underground.
06:04After they part, Homer just looks off in the distance and then up at the stars.
06:19This moment is truly powerful and melancholic, done with no dialogue.
06:24Producers even asked the network not to run commercials over the end credits
06:28so they didn't diminish the emotional weight of the scene.
06:34Number 5.
06:42Do It For Her
06:44We've seen Homer as a grossly unqualified oaf at his job and as a caring family man at home.
06:50Those worlds collide in a notably touching way when Bart and Lisa ask why there are no
07:05baby pictures of Maggie in the family photo album.
07:08We learn that at one point, Homer had quit his job at the nuclear power plant and replaced it
07:13with his dream job at the bowling alley, until Marge's unexpected third pregnancy
07:18forced him back to the plant.
07:27Mr. Burns exacted revenge by posting a demotivational sign reading,
07:31Don't forget, you're here forever, in Homer's workspace.
07:35But by covering it with Maggie's baby pictures, it now reads,
07:39Do It For Her, ending the episode on a beautiful, emotional note.
07:48Number 4.
07:49The Monorail Song
07:51Funny musical production numbers have been baked into this show's DNA
07:54since the program's golden years.
07:56Who can forget Mr. Burns revealing that he is going to turn Bart and Lisa's puppies
08:01into a vest, Beauty and the Beast style.
08:11Or Troy McClure proving that the Planet of the Apes really can work as a Broadway musical.
08:17But it's the late, great Phil Hartman's earlier singing performance as traveling
08:21salesman Lyle Lanley that is still the most memorable.
08:35While not a direct parody, it clearly draws inspiration from Meredith Wilson's The Music
08:40Man.
08:40But episode writer Conan O'Brien, along with Hartman and the good people of Springfield,
08:45make this number uniquely Simpsons.
08:48O'Brien would even perform the song at the Hollywood Bowl in 2013.
08:57Number 3.
08:58Frank Grimes Loses It
09:00When The Simpsons goes dark, it really goes dark.
09:15While Homer Simpson is portrayed as an everyman, Frank Grimes was an everyman without the luck
09:21or plot armor to succeed when failure is the logical outcome.
09:26Most of the episode focuses on Homer trying to deal with someone who doesn't like him
09:30for reasons that would be understandable in the real world.
09:33When Grimes finally snaps, he starts doing things that he thinks Homer gets away with,
09:38until he touches some high voltage power cables and dies.
09:45At his funeral, Homer's sleep talking causes Lenny to say,
09:51that's our Homer.
09:52The focus comes back to Homer, and the episode ends with everyone laughing.
09:57This was dark comedy and meta-commentary before it was a thing.
10:06Number 2.
10:07Maggie Shoots Mr. Burns
10:10Between its 6th and 7th seasons, The Simpsons manage to create the mystery of the summer.
10:15Who shot Mr. Burns?
10:27Almost everyone was a suspect and had a motive.
10:30But the culprit turned out to be someone no one was expecting, Maggie Simpson.
10:35And her motive was that he was trying to steal her lollipop,
10:38effectively taking candy from a baby.
10:45Yes, that's the one.
10:49Smithers had thwarted my earlier attempt to take candy from a baby.
10:52But with him out of the picture, I was free to wallow in my own crepulence.
10:56Was it an accident?
10:58That wasn't clear.
10:59But what is clear is that Mr. Burns' description of the events is one that will stand the test
11:04of time as one of the most memorable moments in the series' history.
11:08Officer, arrest the baby.
11:11Yeah, right pops.
11:12No jury in the world is going to convict a baby.
11:16Maybe Texas.
11:17Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
11:21Weightless Snacking
11:22Operatic 2001-style chip eating in space
11:32Stepping on rakes
11:33Repeating a gag until it becomes iconic
11:43Ned Saves Homer from a Fire
11:46It encapsulates just who Ned is.
11:49And who Homer is, too.
11:51Dear Lord, may your loving hand guide Homer to the mattress square and true.
12:01Okay.
12:02I'm So SMRT
12:05An unintentional spelling blooper made this scene even more memorable.
12:09I am so smart.
12:10I am so smart.
12:12I am so smart.
12:14I am so smart.
12:15S-M-R-T
12:16I mean S-M-A-R-T
12:18Stupid Sexy Flanders
12:21Homer is dismissive of and impressed with Flanders in the same thought.
12:25If you ever get into trouble, all you need to do is…
12:28Feels like I'm wearing nothing at all.
12:30Nothing at all.
12:32Nothing at all.
12:34Stupid Sexy Flanders
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12:51Number 1.
12:53Jumping Springfield Gorge
12:55This episode helps set the tone for Homer's comedic pratfalls for seasons to come.
13:00Hey, what gives?
13:02Boy, I tried ordering you.
13:04I tried punishing you.
13:05And God help me, I even tried reasoning with you.
13:08And the only thing left for me to do is jump the gorge myself.
13:10Homer tells Bart not to jump Springfield Gorge on a skateboard.
13:14But when his son sneaks out to do it anyways, Homer decides to jump the gorge himself.
13:19Bart tells his dad it's okay.
13:21He has learned his lesson.
13:22But Homer is already rolling down the hill.
13:25His brief euphoric moment of thinking he is going to make it is followed by a fall down
13:32the gorge, punctuated with a chorus of DOS as Homer hits his head on the rocks.
13:38Then we are treated to a second chorus, as Homer is rescued, but then falls out of the
13:43ambulance and back down the gorge.
13:55Do you agree with our list?
13:57Are there any iconic Simpsons scenes we missed?
13:59Surely there are.
14:00This show had so many memorable moments.
14:03Let us know in the comments.