oneseason

[oneseason]

Combing through seasons 1 through 3

I went through episode summaries on Wikipedia and Real Jims videos on YouTube.

Season 1

Season 1 has a lot of charm, but I think it's ultimately too incongruent with the rest of the show.

Homer's Odyssey is an interesting option, as it gets very dark with the suicidal ideation, and provides back story for how Homer got his improbable job, but that's not something that I think needs explanation. Other episodes are indisputably classic, but I don't think they're essential to what the show would become.

Season 2

Season two has some strong considerations.

The season premiere, Bart Gets an F, is a great example of Bart struggling. I think the character is at his best when he tilts more towards being a kid who is struggling, who gets bullied, who can't stay out of trouble, and is trying to understand how to navigate the world. Some of the darkest years of the Simpsons lean on into Bart being "cool" and it's really painful to me. Bart Gets an F is absolutely a vibe that I want to include, but I think it's much better captured by episodes like New Kid on the Block or Bart Sells His Soul. Even Bart vs. Thanksgiving a couple episodes later might be a stronger option.

The Way We Was is one of, if not the first, flashback episode. I want to include one, even though they're generally not the strongest, but I'm leaning towards And Maggie Makes Three, although I might need to rewatch to get a good sense how how good these episodes actually are, both overall and compared to each other.

There is a LOT of Mr Burns in Season 2, and I love that. I want Mr Burns to be a big part of my arc, but I'm not sure how much space I can really dedicate to him. I'm tentatively set on Last Exit to Springfield, Flying Hellfish, and Who Shot Mr Burns as a kind of Burns Trilogy. I think he's at his best as an intermittent character, and I don't think any of his Season 2 episodes touch those, and that's not even counting Rosebud, which will be really hard to pass up.

A brief aside on the Mr Burns arc

I think I really like the idea of Mr Burns getting his first starting role in Last Exit to Springfield. He just exists as the boss, and Homer only interacts with him because he falls into his union position.

Flying Hellfish then makes his connection to the Simpsons personal, and Who Shot Mr Burns turns the town against him.

Very roughly it's

Mr Burns vs his workers

Mr Burns vs Abe / The Simpsons

Mr Burns vs the Town

I like the idea of presenting him more as an overarching villain, and less personal to the Simpsons.

An aside within the aside, I'm very skeptical that I'll use any Sideshow Bob episodes. Cape Feare is the creme de la creme, but I feel his episodes are too sequential, and too many of the entries are weak to bother with it. I expect some people would find this an inexcusable, glaring omission, but he pales in comparison to Mr Burns as THE antagonist.

Back to Season 2

Lisa's Substitute. This is the first episode in the show that feels like a must include. I'm not 100% it will fit in, but it would be tough to pass up. It's an incredibly strong episode, makes a strong statement on who Lisa is and how she fits into her family and Springfield, and has a fun b-plot that helps build up the world of Springfield Elementary. I'm not sure there's a better episode to establish Lisa early on (early in my season that is), and I love the symmetry of having this heartbreaking episodes early, and wrapping up Lisa's arc with Summer of 4 ft. 2 as my quasi-series finale. Plus, Sam Etic guest stars.

Season 3

The final phase of "early" Simpsons, where we're on the cusp of greatness. We're so close, but we're not quite in the definitive era.

Homer Defined isn't my favourite episode (I think it was heavily in Global's syndication package for a while), but does a strong job of establishing the Nuclear Plant, and having a sad sack Bart B-plot. This is very weak contention for my series premiere.

Flaming Moe's, Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk [sic], Radio Bart, and Homer at Bat are all classic, solid memorable episodes that don't quite feel essential. I could see any of them filling a slot, but I'm not sure any of them are needed.

Colonel Homer is the first Marge/Homer marriage troubles episode that I've seriously considered. I definitely want at least one (I think Secrets of a Successful Marriage is my frontrunner right now) and the songs are 10/10, but I don't think Marge is nearly fleshed out enough in this episode to deliver on that theme.

Season 1 to 3 Wrap-Up

I've got one very strong candidate in Lisa's Substitute, a couple considerations for role players, and a handful of episodes on hand for filler. Season 4 is where this is gonna get tough.

[oneseason]

The Simpsons ran for one perfect season in 199X.

Not actually, but what if a friend approached you and said they'd never seen the Simpsons, and they were committed to watching one season. I think Id point them to Season 4 or 5, but I'd even rather point them to my own custom season. But I don't know, because I've never had such a friend.

What would that season look like? First of all, it's 22-25 episodes. We have some wiggle room. It needs to introduce our characters and Springfield, and then expand on them. It needs to have some kind of narrative arc, possibly involving Mr Burns, but hopefully not too heavy.

Some episode archetypes:

Treehouse of Horror - required

Holidays - maybe

travel - probably

Homer and Marge relationship episode, probably

Bart struggling episode, probably

Lisa episode definitely

Marge focuses episode probably

Homer gets a job

Grandpa Episode

history episode

If I start slotting in episodes....

Act 1 (1-8)

[Premiere]

A Streetcar Named Marge

Bart sells his soul / New Kid on the block

And Maggie Makes Three

Secrets of a Successful Marriage

Last Exit to Springfield

Act 2 (9-16)

Treehouse of Horror V (The Shinning / Time and Punishment / Nightmare Cafeteria)

22 Short Films About Springfield

Bart vs Australia

Raging Abe Simpson and his Grumbling Grandson in the Curse of the Flying Hellfish

Act 3 (17-24)

Lemon of Troy

You Only Move Twice

Who Shot Mr Burns part 1

Who Shot Mr Burns part 2

Summer of 4 ft. 2

[Finale]Behind the Laughter

Thoughts

What about a future episode in Act 3? No, because none of them are good. Das Bus would also be a funny pre-BtL finale, but I think Summer of 4'2" is too good. It gives Lisa the opportunity to grow and end the series on that high point.

Last Exit, Hellfish, and Who Shot give a satisfying Mr Burns trilogy, going from most to least grounded, which is generally but not exclusively the arc I want to follow

Lemon of Troy can fit in anywhere.