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The Best Episodes of The Tracey Ullman Show

Every episode of The Tracey Ullman Show ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of The Tracey Ullman Show!

The Tracey Ullman Show is an American television variety show, hosted by British-born comedian and onetime pop singer Tracey Ullman. It debuted on April 5,...
Genres:AnimationComedy
Network:FOX

Best Episodes Summary

"4W17" is the best rated episode of "The Tracey Ullman Show". It scored 8.2/10 based on 42 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 10/4/1987. This episode scored 0.0 points higher than the second highest rated, "5W10".

  • 4W17
    8.2/1042 votes
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    #1 - 4W17

    Season 2 Episode 2 - Aired 10/4/1987

    KAY'S OLD LOVE; Kay meets Derrick, her old high school boyfriend who visits from England with his wife and children. DRUGS AND GUNS; Becky (Julie Kavner), a suicidal pharmacist, decides to kill herself and tries to get a holdup man (Dan Castellaneta), who happens by, to do the deed. THE FUNERAL; The Simpsons go to the funeral of a distant relative while Bart causes trouble as usual.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • 5W10
    8.2/1022 votes
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    #2 - 5W10

    Season 3 Episode 2 - Aired 11/6/1988

    9 MINUTES AND 52 SECONDS OVER TOKYO; Angel and Marty Tish are to make an appearance on a Japanese sing and dance show when living memories of Marty's service in Japan comes to meet him. OUR DINNER AT TROY'S; Sara and Greg Downey have dinner at a popular New York restaurant which turns out not all it's cracked to be. When Greg complains about his food being undercooked, they have a first-hand look at the teenage, but egotistical, chief Troy, who responds by having them thrown out of the restaurant. SHUT UP SIMPSONS; Bart, Lisa, Homer and Grandpa fight over their personal problems that they never seem to solve.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • 5W13
    8.2/1023 votes
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    #3 - 5W13

    Season 3 Episode 5 - Aired 11/27/1988

    GINNY VS. ROZ; Attending the wake of her father at her parents co-op in Miami, Ginny meets her older sister Roz (Julie Kavner), and finds that the two still have lots of hostility between them. STARS ARE OURS; Greg and Sara watch the stars one night to determine their lifestyle status. DANCE STUDIO; After breaking into a dance studio, a burglar (Joe Malone) tries to convince a policewoman (Julie Kavner) that he teaches dance lessons at night by showing her how to tango. PUNCHING BAG; Bart, Lisa and even Marge use a punching bag with Homer's face on it to take out their frustrations.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • 4W22
    8.0/1022 votes
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    #4 - 4W22

    Season 2 Episode 9 - Aired 11/22/1987

    MEG'S SHOWER; Tina throws a bridal shower for Meg which brings growing hostility from Tina that Meg is getting married and not her. FOREIGN EXCHANGE; Pakistani convenience store owner Azai (special guest star Cheech Marion), tries to get the local English delivery girl, Ruby (Tracey Ullman), to notice him. WORLD WAR III; Homer tries to get his family into the storm shelter in the basement, several times, during a night-long practiced nuclear alert.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • 5W20
    8.0/1021 votes
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    #5 - 5W20

    Season 3 Episode 11 - Aired 2/12/1989

    FRANCESCA: A PHYSICAL EDUCATION; After Francesca is reprimanded by Dave and William for mouthing off to her stern gym instructor Miss Belts (special guest star Betty Thomas), she must overcome her radical ideals to partake and win the girls high school volleyball game. SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME; Dr. Gibson meets with Kay Clark for the first time at the building where she works to talk about her loneliness and of being unable to find a special someone. SCARY MOVIE; Bart, Lisa, and Maggie go to the movie theater to see a scary Sci-Fi/Horror movie.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • 5W26
    8.0/1022 votes
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    #6 - 5W26

    Season 3 Episode 17 - Aired 4/9/1989

    KAY: TRAPPED; A restropsective episode featuring flashbacks in Kay Clark's life when she's trapped in an elevator with an attractive businessman (Joe Malone).

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • 7W11
    7.9/1044 votes
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    #7 - 7W11

    Season 4 Episode 11 - Aired 12/17/1989

    67: KAY'S GIFT; Kay insists to Mr. Leroy that he open his Christmas gift from her to see what Kay means to him. MERRY CATNIP; Ann B. Cooper spends Christmas Eve alone in her apartment penthouse with her many cats after her father calls to tell her that he is not coming. TWO LOST SOULS; On New Year's Day, Barbara (Tracey Ullman) wakes up in Jesse Walker's (special guest star Keanu Reeves) bed after a wild New Year's Eve party the night before where the teenager proposed and married her. SIMPSON XMAS; [repeat from last season] Bart recites his version of ""Night Before Christmas"" theme while waiting to open his presents.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • 5W16
    7.8/1022 votes
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    #8 - 5W16

    Season 3 Episode 7 - Aired 1/8/1989

    FRANCESCA'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY: THE FINAL CHAPTER; A retropsective episode featuring past sketches involving Francesca McDowell who sits in her bedroom writing her autobiography.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • 5W17
    7.8/1022 votes
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    #9 - 5W17

    Season 3 Episode 8 - Aired 1/15/1989

    KAY BABYSITS; Kay is forced by her ruthless boss Mr. Leroy (Dan Castellaneta), to look after his spoiled 10-year old daughter Missy, for the day at the office. CHECK, PLEASE; Three men (Dan Castellaneta, Sam McMurray and Joe Malone) wait and wait to see who will pay the bill for lunch at a fancy, private golf club restaurant. THE KRUSTY THE CLOWN SHOW; Bart, Lisa and Maggie go on the popular children's show, and Bart naturally causes trouble, this time on-air.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • 4W02
    7.6/1029 votes
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    #10 - 4W02

    Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 4/5/1987

    THE MAKEOVER: Virginia Hall (Tracey Ullman) undergoes cosmetic surgery to meet her pen pal boyfriend when he gets out of prison. DANIEL ROSEN does a juggling act with bowling ball pins. HIGH HOPES; A couple (Julie Kavner and Dan Castellaneta) decides to open up their own restaurant, until an angel named ""The Dreambuster"" pays a visit. THE AUDITION; Angela Tanner (Tracey Ullman) auditions for a singing position and must perform for a live audience to qualify. DR. N!GODATU; Dr. N!godatu wore her pink slippers to work; not to worry, since she keeps a pair of pumps in a drawer for just such an emergency - but the drawer is filled with pink slippers.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • 4W04
    7.6/1028 votes
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    #11 - 4W04

    Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 4/19/1987

    LOTTERY; In 1967, Nancy Wickson (Tracey Ullman) is reluctant to share a winning $16 million lottery ticket with her college roommate Barbara (Julie Kavner). 20 years later, a wealthy Nancy returns to ask poor Barbara to reconciliate. AMBULANCE PICK UP; Lynette (Tracey Ullman), an English ambulance paramedic, tries to fend off the come-ons of Roger (Dan Castellaneta), a car crash victim. GIRL ON A LEDGE; Lt. Kelly (Joe Malone), a dancer/policeman, tries to get suicidal Mary (Tracey Ullman) off a ledge over Times Square. GOOD NIGHT; Homer and Marge say ""good night"" to their kids - but Bart wants to know how tangible the mind is, Lisa is afraid of being bitten by bedbugs, and Maggie takes ""Rock-A-Bye Baby"" too literally.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • 4W14
    7.6/1022 votes
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    #12 - 4W14

    Season 2 Episode 3 - Aired 10/11/1987

    FRANCESCA'S FIRST JOB; Francesca gets a summer job at a Taco Bell fast-food place to try it out, and must deal with the stern boss and cynic co-workers. THE LITTLE NEUROTIC FROM DOWN UNDER; Kiki Howard-Smith visits Dr. Gibson to talk of her simple problems from Australia. CITY OF STRANGERS; Pickpockets/con artists Cindy and Joe (Tracey Ullman and Dan Castellaneta) try to bring a group of wary people together on their way to work at a bus stop during a rainy day in New York City. MAGGIE'S BRAIN; Bart and Lisa try to imagine what Maggie thinks during a typical day with them.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • 7W16
    7.5/1024 votes
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    #13 - 7W16

    Season 4 Episode 16 - Aired 2/18/1990

    CREATIVE DIFFERENCES; Sandra meets Virginia Winslow (special guest star Glen Close), a rival movie actress of hers from the old times, who is to star with her in a new movie about two rival sisters. JINX HABER REVISITED; Jinx Haber's new cab driver boyfriend Howard Cramer (Dan Castellaneta) is amazed that she can fly. TEA; English tea tasters Penelope and Lloyd (Tracey Ullman and Dan Castellenta) taste types of tea to serve at an upcoming party while discovering romance with each other.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • 7W23
    7.4/1024 votes
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    #14 - 7W23

    Season 4 Episode 22 - Aired 5/5/1990

    UNDER THE BOUNDING MAIN; Angel and Marty Tish are on a cruse ship to the South Pacific when they meet Gulliver Dark, who happens to be Marty's former singing partner (now rival) from the old days. ARMS CONTROL; After Rosalie kills a burglar with a gun, Big Tony descends into fear thinking she may one day kill him with the gun.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • 4W08
    7.1/1023 votes
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    #15 - 4W08

    Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 5/31/1987

    TRAPEZE; Two Russian trapeze performers called ""The Flying Asternovishes,"" the oversexed Maja (Tracey Ullman) and the plain Anika (Julie Kavner), try to put aside their personal conflicts during a circus performance. SMALLS' TALK; Cynical radio talk show psychiatrist, Dr. Jillian Smalls (Tracey Ullman), ignores all serious calls on her show leaving her call screener Marcy (Julie Kavner), to deal with all of them. LAST CHANCE COMMERCIAL; Sandra Decker (Tracey Ullman), a 70-ish, bitter, over-the-hill Hollywood movie actress that doesn't own a car, gets a chance to come back into the spotlight with a frozen soup commercial. BABYSITTING MAGGIE; Left alone to babysit Maggie, Bart and Lisa watch TV while Maggie chases a butterfly on the roof.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • 7W12
    7.1/1025 votes
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    #16 - 7W12

    Season 4 Episode 12 - Aired 1/7/1990

    GINNY'S SECOND CHANCE; Ginny gets a second chance in life when a wealthy plastic surgeon named Edgar Schneider (Sam McMurray), proposes marriage in exchange for her to undergo a complete face lift. MARIA AND THE MISTER; Maria spends time talking with Mr. Brenna (special guest star Kelsey Grammar) who tells her of his own loneliness and unhappily married life.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • 4W07
    7.0/1022 votes
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    #17 - 4W07

    Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 5/10/1987

    KAY ON VACATION; Kay goes away for a week to a Caribbean resort and meets lots of eccentric people that include her oversexed roommate Cindy (Julie Kavner), and a loser tourist friend Barry (Dan Castellaneta). THE SESSION; Psychiatrist Dr. Alexander Gibson (Dan Castellaneta) has a heart attack in his office during a session with Brenda King (Tracey Ullman), an incredibly dumb, nymphomaniac woman. CLOSE TO YOU; A schmaltzy nightclub singer (Tracey Ullman) opens up her rage about her departed boyfriend to the audience during a show. BART JUMPS; Homer tries to persuade Bart to jump off a table and into his arms. But Bart ends up falling onto the floor, several times.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • 7W15
    7.0/1023 votes
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    #18 - 7W15

    Season 4 Episode 15 - Aired 2/11/1990

    THE WORD; Francesca visits newspaper publisher Sheldon Moss (special guest star Bill Pullman) to complain of a single word (plain) describing her in a newspaper article as a great writer. THE FEE; Brenda is unwilling to pay Dr. Gibson the new fee of $100 per session, unless he validates her parking. THE SELL; Psychotic saleswoman Daniela Greenback (Tracey Ullman), visits Kevin Patten (Joe Malone), the general manager of a TV station, in his office and threatens to kill herself if he doesn't buy the product she is trying to sell.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • 7W22
    7.0/1023 votes
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    #19 - 7W22

    Season 4 Episode 21 - Aired 4/28/1990

    HER FIRST GROWNUP; When Dave and William go out for the evening, Francesca tries to come on-to stereo repairman Jimmy, who happens by, and she questions her feelings when Dave and William come back and catch them in the act. DAISY'S DECLINE; Restaurant owner Daisy (Tracey Ullman) slips into a degenerate decline of stuffing her face after her husband/cook Helmouth (Sam McMurray), leaves her to open up his own restaurant.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • 5W29
    6.9/1023 votes
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    #20 - 5W29

    Season 3 Episode 20 - Aired 4/30/1989

    THE WAVE GIRLS; Dreana (Tracey Ullman), a 15-year San Diego Wave Girl veteran, meets with owner Mr. Big (Sam McMurray) to try to convince him to let her continue being a part of the Wave Girls after her final night. THE CURE; Dr. Gibson can't bring himself to let go of Meril (Julie Kavner), a long-time patient of his after he tells her that she is cured of her troubles. D.U.I.; After Brenda is pulled over by two Palm Springs motorcycle cops (Joe Malone and Julie Kavner), she must do odd dance steps to prove that she was not Driving Under the Influence. MAGGIE IN PEARL: CHAPTER ONE; While Marge and Homer go out shopping, Maggie gets out of her crib to chase after her rubber ball and is in pearl when she falls into a sewer and floats down to a waterfall...

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • 7W21
    6.9/1024 votes
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    #21 - 7W21

    Season 4 Episode 20 - Aired 4/21/1990

    THE HORMONAL CONVERSION; Dr. Gibson's mentor (Tracey Ullman) pays another visit, revealing that she is now a man named Hans after a sex change operation. WHO IS HE?; Henpecked, New York doorman Jimmy (special guest star John Ashton), returning home from work, asks a depressed girl (Tracey Ullman) outside his apartment building who is the boyfriend that dumped her. FACE THE MUSIC; Chorus dancer Andy (Joe Malone) asks Miss Alexander (Tracey Ullman), the veteran lead dancer in the play he is in, to dance with him backstage in a nostalgic dance sequence.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • 7W03
    6.8/1023 votes
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    #22 - 7W03

    Season 4 Episode 3 - Aired 10/8/1989

    DA ME LA MANO; At a New York beauty shop, a customer (Tracey Ullman) tells the manicurist (Julie Kavner) about her boyfriend and the manicurist reveals that she had the same boyfriend that jilted her weeks earlier. NEEDLE IN A HAYSTACK; Doc (special guest star Martin Short), a die-hard Elvis Presley fan, is on a diner date with his girl (Tracey Ullman) when he shows off his singing talents as Elvis Presley to impress her.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • 7W13
    6.8/1022 votes
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    #23 - 7W13

    Season 4 Episode 13 - Aired 1/14/1990

    I'M DATING A CORPORATE LAWYER; Sara Downey tells her marriage counselor about the time in 1977 when Greg and her first met at a law office where she worked as a secretary and found that they had a lot in common. A GINNY NOCTURNE; A desperate Ginny beds down with Tony, a non-English speaking Italian pool man and tells him of her dull life. DAWG DAY AFTERNOON; Lou (special guest star Martin Short) is a Cleveland football fan who's nagging wife (Tracey Ullman) tells him not to go to a Cleveland Dawg's game with his friend Arnie (Sam McMurray) because he should spend the afternoon with her.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • 7W14
    6.8/1022 votes
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    #24 - 7W14

    Season 4 Episode 14 - Aired 2/4/1990

    DUE DILIGENCE; Hollywood movie director Buzz Schlanger (special guest star Mel Brooks), tries to control himself when attractive movie actress Miranda Kentner (Tracey Ullman), comes to his office to ask him to cast her in a major movie role. YOU CALL THAT A DRESS?; Madonna-like punk Teresa (Tracey Ullman) gets a visit from the ghost of her father (Dan Castellaneta) at his own funeral who complains that he does not like the dress she is wearing, and also to ask for forgiveness from her in order to get into heaven.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • 7W17
    6.8/1022 votes
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    #25 - 7W17

    Season 4 Episode 17 - Aired 2/25/1990

    GINNY EATS ESCROW; Ginny tries to sell Lawrence and Mae a fancy house that is on wretched land to get even with them. Fails, but witnesses their first fight and make up. I HATE PARIS; When Dave goes to Paris for a week on a business trip, William becomes angry and alone, so Francesca tries to cheer him up.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A