The Best Episodes of The Simpsons

A hardworking new employee at the power plant is consumed with resentment at Homer's undeserved success.

Director: Jim Reardon

Writer: John Swartzwelder

The Simpsons go incognito to avoid the newly paroled Sideshow Bob, who's out to get Bart.

Director: Rich Moore

Writer: Jon Vitti

Lack of beer and cable TV make Homer a crazed killer; the present is altered by a time-traveling Homer; and Principal Skinner turns detention students into food.

Director: Jim Reardon

Writer: Bob Kushell, Dan McGrath, David X. Cohen, Greg Daniels

Mr. Burns makes many enemies when he steals the oil discovered beneath Springfield Elementary.

Director: Wes Archer, Jeffrey Lynch

Writer: Bill Oakley, Josh Weinstein

In an idyllic planned community, Homer works for a new boss who has trouble with the government. Meanwhile, the rest of the family has difficulty dealing with the bucolic burg.

Director: Mike B. Anderson

Writer: John Swartzwelder

When Springfield gets a sudden windfall, a charismatic traveling salesman convinces the town to build a monorail.

Director: Rich Moore

Writer: Conan O'Brien

Homer witnesses something out of this world in Springfield woods, but no one believes him -- not even FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, who come to investigate the incident.

Director: Steven Dean Moore

Writer: Reid Harrison

Union president Homer fights to keep the dental plan.

Director: Mark Kirkland

Writer: Jay Kogen, Wallace Wolodarsky

When Homer gropes for a gummy candy stuck to the babysitter's pants, she mistakes his intentions and turns the town against him.

Director: Jeffrey Lynch

Writer: Greg Daniels

Homer joins the secret society of the Stonecutters and is suddenly exalted when the brethren discover his birthmark. The ancient order is shaken to the core by the ineptitude of its new Chosen One.

Director: Jim Reardon

Writer: John Swartzwelder

With Mr. Burns shot, Chief Wiggum investigates the crime, and nearly everyone in town has a motive. At the end, it all comes down to the Simpson DNA.

Director: Wes Archer

Writer: Bill Oakley, Josh Weinstein

Homer tries to gain sixty pounds so he can stay home on disability. When he nearly causes a catastrophe at the plant, Homer reconsiders his plan.

Director: Jim Reardon

Writer: Dan Greaney

Bart and Milhouse wonder if anything interesting happens to the citizens of Springfield, which leads to a series of interconnected vignettes.

Director: Jim Reardon

Writer: Bill Oakley, Brent Forrester, David X. Cohen, Greg Daniels, Jennifer Crittenden, Jonathan Collier, Josh Weinstein, Matt Groening, Rachel Pulido, Richard Appel, Steve Tompkins

Designated driver Barney absconds to Manhattan in Homer's car and leaves it there. But when the family journeys to the Big Apple to retrieve their property, Homer discovers his car has been booted.

Director: Jim Reardon

Writer: Ian Maxtone-Graham

After skipping church one Sunday morning, Homer decides to quit church altogether and spend Sundays worshiping in his own way -- with cigars and beer.

Director: Jim Reardon

Writer: George Meyer

Homer and Barney compete to be the first "average" American in space.

Director: Carlos Baeza

Writer: David Mirkin

The story of Maggie's birth is told in flashbacks: after Homer quits the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant to pursue his dream of working at a bowling alley, Marge reveals that she is pregnant.

Director: Swinton O. Scott III

Writer: Jennifer Crittenden

After eating poisonous blowfish at a sushi restaurant, Homer decides to live life to the fullest in the 24 hours he has left to live.

Director: Wes Archer

Writer: Nell Scovell

Moe steals the drink recipe Homer invented, and the rechristened “Flaming Moe” turns his tavern into a hotspot. When a national franchise wants to buy the recipe, Homer wants revenge.

Director: Rich Moore, Alan Smart

Writer: Robert Cohen

Homer and Barney become competitors in the snow-plowing business.

Director: Jim Reardon

Writer: Jon Vitti

Burns longs for a childhood toy that winds up in the grip of Maggie.

Director: Wes Archer

Writer: John Swartzwelder

Homer sells his soul; Vampire Burns invites the Simpsons for dinner; Bart sees a gremlin damaging his school bus.

Director: David Silverman

Writer: Bill Oakley, Conan O'Brien, Dan McGrath, Greg Daniels, Josh Weinstein, Bill Canterbury

Bart sells his soul to Milhouse for five dollars, but soon regrets his decision. Meanwhile, Moe turns the Tavern into a family-friendly restaurant.

Director: Wes Archer

Writer: Greg Daniels

Forced to take a vacation, Smithers needs to find a temporary replacement who won't outshine him. Homer seems the perfect choice until a sudden outburst forces Mr. Burns to assert his independence.

Director: Steven Dean Moore

Writer: John Swartzwelder

The Simpsons befriend a shop owner, but when Homer discovers the man is gay, he worries about his influence on Bart.

Director: Mike B. Anderson

Writer: Ron Hauge