Top 10 Simpsons Moments That Made Fans Rage Quit
It’s one of the most influential TV shows of all time, but it is not without its frustrations. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 10 Simpsons Moments That Made Fans Rage Quit.
For this list, we’ll be looking at ten controversial scenes or episodes from “The Simpsons” that resulted in a lot of fan backlash and criticism.
#10: All Hail Lady Gaga
“Lisa Goes Gaga”
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It’s no secret that “The Simpsons” has been mediocre for years, but Lisa Goes Gaga reached a new low. Fans absolutely detested this episode, and it is currently the lowest-rated episode of the series on IMDb. The reasons for this are plenty, but most of the criticism boils down to the Christ-like depiction of Lady Gaga. The entire episode was a giant advertisement for Lady Gaga and her music, and it depicted her as some type of literal savior of depression and malaise. The cultural references were also cringe-worthy, and Lady Gaga’s vocal performance was boring and uninspired, as if she was half-heartedly reading off cue cards. “The Simpsons” has proved time and time again that it can do guest stars right. Lady Gaga just wasn’t one of them.
#9: Moe’s Attempt
“Whiskey Business”
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The Season 24 episode, “Whiskey Business,” is one of the show’s bleakest episodes. In it, the usually depressed Moe becomes even more despondent and actually attempts suicide. While Moe is typically depicted as being unhappy and miserable, seeing him attempt suicide was surprisingly shocking and graphic. It’s nothing compared to, say, “13 Reasons Why,” but it’s pretty dark stuff for a sitcom that’s usually rated TV-PG. The episode received generally negative reviews from critics, many of whom called it too dark, dreary, and depressing for “The Simpsons.” When an episode opens with an attempted suicide, you know you’re in for some gloomy viewing.
#8: Bart & Homer ‘Prank’ Skinner
“Yellow Subterfuge”
Top 20 Bart Simpson Moments
The thing about pranks is that they can go too far, and when it came to the Season 25 episode Yellow Subterfuge, Bart and Homer’s prank went way, way too far. It all started when Skinner disqualified Bart from a school field trip to a submarine. To get his revenge on Skinner, Bart employed both Homer and Agnes Skinner to fake Agnes’s death. This resulted in Skinner obtaining a new identification and briefly fleeing town to avoid being implicated in his own mother’s murder. “The Simpsons” works best when its characters are grounded and relatable. This prank just made Bart and Homer enormously unsympathetic, and it’s an unfortunate testament to the show’s increasing reliance on dark humor and exaggerated characters.
#7: Lisa Becomes Addicted
“Smoke on the Daughter”
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By the time a show enters its nineteenth season, it should be trying new things. Unfortunately, some of these news things turn out to be really bad ideas. Case in point, “Smoke on the Daughter,” the episode where Lisa becomes addicted to second-hand cigarette smoke. It’s a drastic regression of Lisa’s character, who is typically portrayed as the goody two shoes who runs crying to her mother if she even saw someone smoking a cigarette. The “smoking is bad” message is also a little too on-the-nose and cliché for “The Simpsons,” although the episode does earn originality points by having Lisa take responsibility for her addiction rather than blaming cigarettes or tobacco companies.
#6: Homer Meets the Evil Elf Jockeys
“Saddlesore Galactica”
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Most “Simpsons” fans agree that the show started regressing in quality sometime between Seasons 9 and 11. And while there is no clear, delineating episode separating “good” and “bad” “Simpsons,” “Saddlesore Galactica” is about as clear as that line gets. This episode is often considered one of the worst of the series, thanks mostly to the outlandish plot involving Homer traveling to a land of evil, brain-eating elf jockeys. The episode, and this scene in particular, received near-unanimous condemnation, and many fans consider it one of the show’s clearest shark-jumping moments. “The Simpsons” was now favoring nonsensical plots over grounded familial stories, and it was not a good look.
#5: Continuity, What’s That?
“That '90s Show”
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If there’s one episode of “The Simpsons” that deserves to be purged from our collective memories, it’s “That ‘90s Show.” Not because it’s bad necessarily (although it is that), but because it deconstructs decades’ worth of backstory and family history. Suddenly, we see Homer and Marge as young, grungy, child-free adults in the 90s, even though their personal histories throughout the 70s and 80s are well-established and an integral part of the Simpson family’s history. The experiment was immediately met with utter disdain, as fans were insulted that the show ignored its own canon. If we wanted ‘90s nostalgia, we would have just watched the golden seasons.
#4: Panda-monium
“Homer vs. Dignity”
Season 12’s “Homer vs. Dignity” is another series low point. Not only were its storylines and jokes recycled from past episodes, but it also featured a highly controversial scene wherein Homer is sexually assaulted by a panda. The scene is surprisingly graphic, as Homer is dragged away while kicking and screaming, and Moe even makes a creepy comment while watching the act take place. The panda can later be seen spooning Homer, a joke implying that it had mated with him. The scene was a little too ridiculous for most “Simpsons” fans, and it is now regarded as an unfortunate stain on the series’ legacy.
#3: Bart’s Attempt
“The Boys of Bummer”
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If there’s one thing we’ve established with this list, it’s that “Simpsons” fans don’t like when the show turns overly dark. As such, Season 18’s “The Boys of Bummer” has quite the reputation. In this one, Bart goes mad and suicidal after the town turns against him for dropping a fly ball in an important baseball game. Usually Bart does something to deserve the negative attention, but this episode made him innocent and sympathetic for once. It also piled on the unnecessary hatred, culminating in a legitimate suicide attempt when Bart throws himself off a water tower. It was a depressing scene in a hateful and mean-spirited episode, and the fans were not having it.
#2: What Happens to Maude
“Alone Again, Natura-Diddily”
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“The Simpsons” took a major creative risk in killing off Maude Flanders. Unfortunately, it did not pay off in a satisfying manner. First, the death itself was done in a silly manner, as Homer kneels to grab a bobby pin for some inane reason, resulting in Maude getting hit with a launched t-shirt. We know Homer isn’t the smartest person, but that is some contrived stuff right there. Viewers also didn’t like that Homer was indirectly responsible for Maude’s death, and some people found his portrayal in this episode to be crass and unsympathetic. Finally, the episode proceeded to rush through Ned’s grieving process, a process that some think deserved its own episode. Everyone knows “The Simpsons” is a comedy, but Maude’s send-off deserved better than this.
Before we look at the most infuriating moment in the show’s history, let’s take a look at a few dishonorable mentions.
Bart Films Ms. Cantwell
“Black Eyed, Please”
Moe’s Talking Rag
“Moe Goes from Rags to Riches”
Ned Marries Edna
“Ned ‘n’ Edna’s Blend Agenda”
What Homer Does to His Father
“Papa Don’t Leech”
Homer Threatens Springfield
“A Tale of Two Springfields”
#1: Skinner Is an Imposter
“The Principal and the Pauper”
Top 10 Principal Skinner Pranks on the Simpsons
When it comes to jumping the shark, most “Simpsons” fans point to Season 9’s “The Principal and the Pauper.” In this infamous episode, it is revealed that Principal Skinner was actually an imposter, and that his real name is Armin Tamzarian. This was such a controversial decision that most fans don’t even consider it to be canon, and most have written it off as an unfortunate diversion that officially signaled the show’s decline in quality. Even those involved in the creation of “The Simpsons,” including Harry Shearer and Matt Groening, have dismissed the episode and called the plot twist a major mistake. The show proceeded to fly off the rails, and it has never recovered.
