What’s the opposite of “Last Exit to Springfield”? According to the Simpsons die-hards, the writers have been trying to answer that question for the last 20 seasons.
Through 33 years and 750 episodes, Simpsons fandom is a bit of a double-edged sword. For every mind-blowingly amazing episode and season, there are at least as many duds and disasters that make us wonder why we’re still watching at all — at least, those of us who still tune in. Many who call themselves Simpsons fans haven’t watched a single new episode in the last decade-plus and spend their free-time re-watching all the way up to the point Maggie shoots Mr. Burns.
For better or worse, some superfans have kept up with every misstep, every anachronistic storyline and every godforsaken celebrity cameo that 21st century Simpsons has to offer, and, in a recent thread in the Simpsons subreddit titled, “What do you consider the worst episode of ‘The Simpsons’ ever and why?” those loyalists made their voices heard.
Here are the fans’ picks for worst ever Simpsons episode along with their reasoning. Spoiler alert: Every single episode is post-Season Ten, and more than one of them involve Homer getting sexually assaulted. Maybe it’s for the best that you haven’t been watching…
“Unquestionably, the ‘musical’ episode from the past couple of seasons. … TERRIBLE episode. All music, no jokes”
“A serious contender for me would be ‘The Boys of Bummer.’ … It’s basically pretty much comparable to the whole plot of Chicken Little but worse because the townspeople of Springfield pressured Bart into attempting suicide”
“Elon Musk hands down. Brutally unfunny and I’m convinced he paid the writers to make the episode as a fluff piece for his ego”
“The one where Homer becomes Burns' ‘jester’ and gets raped by a panda”
“Since I always stop watching around Season 11, I almost certainly haven’t seen the worst, but I did hear that Marge rapes Homer in an episode where she gets really muscly? (She does)”
“The one that truly wound me up was the Sideshow Bob episode where he’s been splicing his genes with animals. Now he has the proportional strength of an ant, breathe underwater and dislocate his jaw. ‘Worst episode ever’”
“Alone Again, Natura-diddily. The whole episode is really mean-spirited, from Homer getting Maude killed to parking in the ambulance spot. I think it’s too dark for the Simpsons and is the moment I stopped regularly watching the show”
“The one with Marge and the manatees is the one where I finally stopped watching them new every week”
“Any of them where Homer and Marge are dating because the story has been retconned so much it doesn’t make sense. They graduated high school in the mid-1970s but were in college in the year 2000? Pfft, I really hope someone got fired for that blunder”
“The Gaga or Elon Musk ones. Nothing less funny than celebrity worship. Matt Groening must have been spinning in his grave”
