The Best Episodes of The Simpsons Season 7

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

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

In "Attack of the 50 Foot Eyesores," strange atmospheric conditions bring giant advertising statues to life. In "Nightmare on Evergreen Terrace," Groundskeeper Willie is killed in a freak accident and seeks revenge in the childrens' dreams. In the final segment, Homer steps through a secret portal and becomes three-dimensional.

Director: Bob Anderson

Writer: David X. Cohen, John Swartzwelder, Steve Tompkins

Homer discovers that his mother is still alive, a former radical who is a fugitive from the law. When her old nemesis Burns spots her and tips off the FBI, she is forced to return to the underground.

Director: David Silverman

Writer: Richard Appel

Bart creates a fake driver's license for himself and uses it to go on a spring break road trip with Milhouse, Nelson, and Martin. Meanwhile, Homer and Lisa bond after spending some quality time together at work.

Director: Swinton O. Scott III

Writer: Richard Appel

After visiting a local petting zoo, Lisa becomes a vegetarian and faces ridicule from family and friends. When she lashes out and ruins Homer's barbecue, she learns a lesson in tolerance.

Director: Mark Kirkland

Writer: David X. Cohen

Nabbed for shoplifting, Bart manages to keep it a secret from the family... until it's time to have the family Christmas photo taken at the Try-N-Save.

Director: Steven Dean Moore

Writer: Mike Scully

Homer resents being upstaged when former president George Bush moves into the neighborhood. After Bush spanks Bart, an all-out prank war ensues.

Director: Wes Archer

Writer: Ken Keeler

When a fellow veteran dies, Grandpa Simpson and Mr. Burns fight for buried WWII treasure as the only surviving members of their battalion.

Director: Jeffrey Lynch

Writer: Jonathan Collier

On a family vacation, Lisa tries on a new identity to fit in with the other kids at the beach. Jealous, Bart reveals her true nerdiness to the group.

Director: Mark Kirkland

Writer: Dan Greaney

When Homer and Marge are found to be unfit parents, the kids are placed with the Flanders family. Reluctant participants in the Flanderses' wholesome family activities, Bart and Lisa become the targets of an emergency baptism.

Director: Susie Dietter

Writer: Jon Vitti

Bart auditions for the part of Fallout Boy in the movie "Radioactive Man," being filmed in Springfield.

Director: Susie Dietter

Writer: John Swartzwelder

Homer catches Mr. Burns in an ether-induced haze and asks for $500 for his bowling team. When Burns' head clears, he demands to join the team. Meanwhile, Bart's inflammatory T-shirt provokes Principal Skinner to require school uniforms.

Director: Mark Kirkland

Writer: Mike Scully

Washed up and plagued by scandal, Troy McClure sees a marriage to Selma as his ticket back to success.

Director: Mark Kirkland

Writer: Jack Barth

While researching into Jebediah Springfield's past for an essay, Lisa discovers that the town founder wasn't the hero that everyone thinks he was.

Director: Mike B. Anderson

Writer: Jonathan Collier

When Mayor Quimby uses immigrants as a political scapegoat, the Simpsons discover that Apu is an illegal immigrant.

Director: Susie Dietter

Writer: David X. Cohen

After Sideshow Bob escapes from prison, the Springfield Air Show is the setting for his ill-fated vendetta against television and Krusty the Clown.

Director: Dominic Polcino

Writer: Spike Feresten

Bart meets the original animator who created Itchy, penniless some 70 years after the studio stole his idea. When Bart helps him sue for restitution, he unwittingly bankrupts Itchy & Scratchy.

Director: Wes Archer

Writer: John Swartzwelder

To show his kids how hip he is, Homer takes Bart and Lisa to a music festival, where he earns himself a place in the sideshow by catching a cannonball with his belly.

Director: Wes Archer

Writer: Brent Forrester

A chance encounter with a former classmate yields an invitation to the Springfield Country Club, where Marge tries to parlay a bargain basement Chanel suit into elevated social status for her family.

Director: Susie Dietter

Writer: Jennifer Crittenden

In a scheme to get Krusty's autograph, Bart sends him a check. When Krusty's offshore holding corporation endorses the check, his illegal tax shelter is exposed. In despair after the government auctions off his possessions, Krusty fakes his own death.

Director: Jim Reardon

Writer: Bob Kushell, John Swartzwelder

Troy McClure hosts a behind-the-scenes look at the show, including clips of the series' beginnings as shorts on "The Tracy Ullman Show," Simpsons trivia questions, and unaired scenes from popular episodes.

Director: David Silverman

Writer: Jon Vitti