Where To Start Watching The Simpsons

Most diehard Simpsons fans will tell you the same thing about their favorite series: don’t watch anything past Season 10. While I’ve recently warmed up to some of the later seasons, I still gravitate back to the Golden Era (Seasons 3 through 9) when I just want to tune into the best animated comedy to come out of the 90s and zone out for a bit. If you’ve only ever been a casual Simpsons fan, or you’re overwhelmed by the sheer volume of episodes pumped out over the last 40 years, getting into the series may seem like a daunting task. But it really doesn’t have to be.

In my mind, you just need to zero in on a single episode from the Golden Era that perfectly encapsulates why The Simpsons of the 90s was so influential. If I had to pinpoint an episode that checks all the boxes, it would be Season 7’s finale, “Summer of 4 Ft. 2.” This episode has everything going for it at the height of the series’ glory days. Homer goes full Captain Wacky, Bart gets into his usual mischief, Lisa has a palpable coming-of-age moment that any unpopular kid could relate to, and Marge has to deal with the fallout as she tries to hold the family together while vacationing at Ned Flanders’ beach house. Oh yeah, Bart gets the Dud (more on this later!).

Summer Of 4 Ft. 2

Focusing primarily on Lisa, “Summer of 4 Ft. 2” is a wholesome yet crass story about reinventing yourself for the sake of popularity, only to realize you should have been yourself the whole time. When school gets out, the Simpson family (and Milhouse) is offered the chance to house sit Ned Flanders’ beach property in Little Pwagmattasquarmsettport. Upset that nobody signed her yearbook despite the fact that she’s the head of the yearbook committee, Lisa decides to leave her old life behind and completely reinvent herself as a hip, cool, nonchalant preteen.

Her efforts almost immediately pay off. She befriends Erin, Dean, Rick, and Ben, who have no clue she’s a bookworm and considered a loser back home. This newfound popularity infuriates Bart because Lisa’s new friends think he’s a tryhard and make fun of him even though he’s effortlessly popular back in Springfield. Bart does everything he can to expose Lisa and steal her friends, which causes a rift when she’s finally found out.

Devastated and humiliated, Lisa takes her rage out on Bart, which mostly results in Milhouse suffering by proxy. While the Simpson siblings bicker their way through the premise, Homer’s B story lingers in the background as he tries to get his hands on illegal fireworks for Fourth of July weekend. His entire mission is summed up by his belief that the best way to celebrate the independence of his country is to blow up a small part of it.

Why It’s A Bona Fide Classic

“Summer of 4 Ft. 2” is a great entry point into The Simpsons because it nails everything that made the Golden Era special. We get Homer’s monastic obsession with procuring explosives that will surely backfire. We get a cynical sibling rivalry that mirrors a real family dynamic with a wholesome third act payoff. And Lisa learns a valuable lesson about unapologetically being herself, even if it means dealing with some growing pains along the way.

Most importantly, we get that one creepy, lingering smile Homer makes when Bart gets “The Dud” card, that looks suspiciously like Milhouse, while playing Mystery Date. It’s become a recent meme that has taken the internet by storm in the form of Dudposting, which I fully subscribe to. There isn’t much more you can ask for in a Simpsons episode from this era. It leans cynical and surreal but ends on a positive note.

Every character leans into their strengths and has room to explore the vacation setting. Even Marge, who’s mostly operating in the background, has several moments where she mutters under her breath while cleaning up after Homer, a destructive force of nature determined to celebrate the holiday on his own terms.

It’s the perfect mix of Simpsons insanity summed up in 24 minutes.

The Simpsons is streaming on Disney+.