The times when Springfield's favourite family had some snarky things to say.
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00:00Whilst its best years are certainly behind it, The Simpsons rose to be one of the most
00:03important television shows for many years due to the combination of great wit and emotional depth.
00:08It wasn't just a silly cartoon, it often handled the important subjects of the day.
00:13Typically, the Simpsons writing team has always been pretty even-handed with their approach.
00:17Using the subject to tell a story rather than pick a side,
00:19it was the duty of the residents of Springfield to represent the different shades of grey.
00:23That being said, sometimes the show feels pretty potently about things,
00:27and it makes sure we know about it. I'm SciForWhatCulture.com,
00:31and these are 10 Simpsons episodes probably made out of spite.
00:3510. Brother's Little Helper In this season 11 classic,
00:39Bart, ever the wild child, is placed onto an experimental drug called Focusin. It proves
00:44fruitful at first, but it isn't long before Bart starts wearing tinfoil and ranting about being
00:49spied on. The episode culminated in him swallowing a handful of tablets and riding a tank through
00:53Springfield streets. The episode was written by George Myers, who had found decent success
00:58writing part-time for the show, but was feeling burnt out at the time. Struggling psychologically,
01:02Myers turned his pain into a memorable episode that critiqued the rise in diagnosing children
01:07with attention deficit disorders. Myers hated the first draft of the episode and was so ashamed of
01:12it that he turned it in under a pseudonym. Producer Tim Long joked that the script was
01:16moist with contempt. Amongst the ongoing debate at the time, Myers had heard plenty of stories
01:20of children misdiagnosed and placed onto drugs such as Ritalin and the damage it caused their
01:25psyche, when presumably they just needed better schooling. When it released on DVD,
01:29Myers admitted in the episode's commentary that, whilst he wasn't sure on his stance on the issue,
01:33he wrote Brother's Little Helper out of concern for children being prescribed behavioural drugs
01:38so readily. 9. There's Something About Marrying
01:41By 2005, The Simpsons was no stranger to talking about homosexuality, back in a time when it wasn't
01:47as normal as it is today. This episode certainly continued the show's trend of showing LGBT people
01:52in largely more positive lights. Around this time, the subject of same-sex marriage was a hot-button
01:58subject in America and the centre of a lot of debate as some states, such as Massachusetts,
02:02began to legalise the process. And so, as with many great talking points of the day,
02:06The Simpsons used Springfield to explore the issue. There's Something About Marrying sees
02:10Springfield legalising same-sex marriage to cynically increase its tourism income and,
02:15in the lead-up to the show, the network announced that a key character would come out as gay.
02:19Whilst not necessarily anyone's favourite, Patty was a long-standing part of the show's cast and
02:23a member of the Simpsons family. Her acceptance by others was a large part of the episode's story.
02:28Producer Al Jean said of There's Something About Marrying that we don't take a position
02:32as much as explore everybody's perspective. Whilst the episode tended to be apolitical,
02:37it was definitely giving the message that those that demonised homosexuality were of an outdated
02:42sort. 8. Itchy & Scratchyland
02:45During seasons 5 and 6 of The Simpsons, the show was led under showrunner David Merkin,
02:49who immediately began to receive pushback from Fox. Specifically, the feedback was about the
02:54show within the show, Itchy & Scratchy. Fox were concerned with the animated ultra-violence and
02:59asked David Merkin to basically cut the two characters completely. In reaction, The Simpsons
03:04writers went the other way entirely and crafted a season 6 episode that takes the Simpsons family to
03:08Itchy & Scratchyland. The story allowed them to write as much animated brutality as they liked.
03:13Fox said that if such an episode were produced then they would remove the Itchy & Scratchy
03:17parts themselves, although it's fair to say that wouldn't leave much of an episode. All the same,
03:21Merkin told his superiors that if that were the case then he would tell the media what they had
03:24done. Fox relented and the episode aired in 1997. Additionally, the episode serves as a
03:30parody of Disneyland by combining the seemingly perfect majesty of the Mouse's Wonderland with
03:35the various dangers of both Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park and Westworld books. In hindsight,
03:40there's some delicious irony to be had in that The Simpsons is now owned by Disney and continues
03:44to be censored to appease the worldwide Disney Plus audience.
03:477. The Fool Monty
03:49Slash How Munched Is That Birdie In The Window
03:52This one is not so much an episode written out of spite but a reaction to one that impacted another.
03:56The episode Fool Monty tells the story of an amnesiac Mr Burns being taken in by The Simpsons.
04:01Then, for all the troubles he's caused, Burns is essentially used and abused until
04:05Lisa takes him home and his memory returns. Whilst the episode does poke fun at Vice
04:09President Dick Cheney in its side story, there was one particular moment that caught the ire
04:13of the Republican Party. At the start of the episode, a Fox News helicopter swings into frame
04:18emblazoned with the phrase, not racist, but number one with racists. Conservative TV host Bill O'Reilly
04:24in particular was upset with the show, crying foul that the Fox network was letting its cartoon
04:28characters run wild and bite the hand that feeds. Happy to have stirred the pot, especially with
04:33such a vocal and well-known political figure, The Simpsons poked back. A helicopter was written into
04:38the following episode, How Munched Is That Birdie In The Window, which reads, Fox News, unsuitable
04:42for viewers under 75. Al Jean said of the reaction, We're happy to have a little feud with
04:47Bill O'Reilly. That's a very entertaining thing for us.
04:506. You Won't Believe What This Episode Is About, Act 3 Will Shock You
04:54In March 2022, The Simpsons decided to take another swing at the rise of the so-called
04:59cancel culture movement. What was particularly interesting about this decision is that it came
05:03two and a half years after The Simpsons was embroiled in its biggest controversy
05:07surrounding the character of Apu. In the episode's plot, unfortunate accidents lead to Homer trapping
05:12Santa's little helper in a car and not picking up the kids. The town proceeds to label him as a
05:16pariah. Instead of reading a prepared apology, Homer essentially calls Springfield soft and
05:21accidentally pushes Reverend Lovejoy out of a window. The family gets doxxed and Homer loses
05:26his job, but he is eventually invited to the Institute, where those who have had their
05:29reputations ruined on the internet can find repentance. Clearly a critique on the public
05:34perception of The Simpsons during the era, the episode takes a shot at clickbait and society's
05:38tendency to believe a headline rather than read a story's context. It also toys with a current-day
05:43controversial figure by featuring Theo, a podcaster with a pretty clear inspiration in Joe Rogan,
05:48who wants to delete news of his misdeeds from the internet. Whilst the episode was decently
05:53well-received, it was kind of a case of The Simpsons already did it with the episode Homer Badman.
05:585. Homer Badman After spending their day at a candy convention,
06:02Homer loses track of his stolen and incredibly rare gummy based on the Venus de Milo statue.
06:07When he drops the kid's babysitter back home, he finds the gummy stuck to her behind and reaches
06:12out to take it. The babysitter misunderstands this act as sexual harassment and Homer becomes
06:17disgraced. Homer Badman at large is a criticism of television's growing need to turn tragedy
06:22into entertainment, an issue which has only gotten bigger over time. In particular,
06:26the episode satirised Hard Copy, an over-the-top news show that ran from 1989 to 1999 in the US
06:32and was guilty of dramatising its stories. Hard Copy had a habit of not only presuming their
06:37targets as guilty, but also cutting footage to support their arguments and even camping
06:41outside of their houses. The show's parody version, Rock Bottom, does all of the above
06:45and also contains a memorable made-for-TV retelling of events starring actress Dennis
06:50Franz as Homer. Homer Badman also parodies the O.J. Simpson's chase footage, late show with
06:55David Letterman and television talk shows in general by giving the real-life bear gentle
06:59bear his own show. David Merkin would say in a DVD commentary that anyone could host a talk show
07:04because all they needed is a microphone and an audience.
07:074. Lisa vs Malibu Stacy In the early 90s, Mattel released a new
07:11Barbie doll called the Teen Talk Barbie, which would read 270 different phrases. They were the
07:17kind of thing you'd expect if you've seen this episode that parodies the doll, low-hanging fruit
07:21of feminine tropes about how great shopping is and, most controversially, how hard math class
07:26is. Due to public reaction, Mattel said that future revisions of this doll would not say
07:30this particular phrase. Always reacting to the real world, the Simpsons used their already
07:35existing doll, Malibu Stacy, in exactly the same way, giving her a voice that only said
07:39the most vapid thing shatters Lisa's illusions that she had of the character. This prompts her
07:43to make a stand and make her own talking doll that empowers women. Lastly mocking the toy industry
07:48and Mattel, Bill Oakley, one of the writers for the episode, even based Lisa's story on
07:52some of his own experiences. He went to several Barbie collecting conventions and met superfans
07:57due to his wife's own interest in the toy line. Despite Lisa's issues with the doll being founded
08:01in logic, the fact that the less intelligent Malibu Stacy outsells hers is a Simpsons-style
08:06cynical look on how having fun often wins over the importance of making a statement.
08:113. Panic on the Streets of Springfield In season 15, the Simpsons family travelled
08:17to the UK for the episode, The Regina Monologues, and encountered several British figures that made
08:22voice cameos. One of those approached, Stephen Patrick Morrissey, turned down the opportunity
08:26to be on the show. Over 15 years later, the Simpsons finally hit back at Morrissey's disinterest,
08:32not to mention his steadily more damaged public perception born from his controversial political
08:36stances. In Panic on the Streets of Springfield, Lisa is introduced to rock band The Snuffs,
08:41who act as a parody of both The Smiths and The Cure. Inspired by the liberal, vegan frontman
08:46Quillaby, Lisa begins to imagine his younger self to bring her solace. Eventually, this imaginary
08:51friend convinces Lisa to steal Homer's credit card to go see the real him perform. Lisa sees
08:56that in the current day, he has become an overweight, meat-eating, immigrant-hating
09:00washer. In a touching moment, imaginary Quillaby tells Lisa to remain true to her values before
09:05vanishing. Morrissey struck out against the caricature, bemoaning that,
09:08in a world obsessed with hate laws, there are none that protect me, yet again missing the point.
09:14The Simpsons team said that Quillaby was actually inspired by several people,
09:17and that therefore he couldn't sue, but it's plain to see who exactly the episode is mocking.
09:222. Two Bad Neighbours
09:24Whilst The Simpsons had its fair share of controversies in its earlier years,
09:28very few public figures had a feud with the show quite like George H.W. Bush did. During
09:33his presidency, he famously said that he wished more families were,
09:36more like the Waltons and less like the Simpsons. The show fired back in its own way the next week,
09:41with Bart saying that, like the Waltons, we're also waiting for the end of the depression.
09:45Two years later, in which time Bill Clinton had replaced Bush in office,
09:49writer Bill Oakley's idea to bring the feud to TV was put into production. Whilst many jokes
09:54would poke fun at his politics, the concept was not one that was meant to attack Bush's agenda,
09:58so much as satire his crotchetiness. With George and his wife Barbara moving to Springfield,
10:03Bush essentially took the role of Mr Wilson to Bart Dennis the Menace. Bart and Homer act
10:07exactly how Bush and his wife would expect them to, childishly pranking their uptight new neighbours.
10:12It was one of the first times that Simpsons got into the face of a politician to such a degree.
10:16Two Bad Neighbours was a great success, although George H.W. Bush never did make
10:20any statement about this parody of himself. 1. The Itchy and Scratchy and Poochy Show
10:27The 14th episode of season 8 of The Simpsons saw the show overtake the Flintstones episode
10:32count to become the longest running animated series on television. It was a perfectly timed
10:36affair as, in the lead up to the season, Fox had expressed some concerns about the show's shelf
10:41life and longevity. A suggestion was pitched to add a new main character to the show to shake
10:45up the formula, an idea that the writer's room laughed off. Parodying Fox's real life worries,
10:50The Itchy and Scratchy and Poochy Show sees the popularity of Bart and Lisa's favourite cat and
10:55mouse duo waning. Much like Fox had suggested to the Simpsons writers, the fictional heads
11:00behind Itchy and Scratchy propose the idea of adding a new character to freshen things up.
11:04Naturally, Poochy's over-the-top persona and position as the shiny new thing is poorly
11:09received and kids just want the thing they loved back. The episode morphed Fox's request into one
11:14of the show's best outings. Many jokes from it are still remembered fondly today,
11:18taking aim at the fickleness and sometimes obsessive nature of television viewers.
11:22And hey, Fox can't say the writers didn't do as they asked. The episode also features an
11:27unexplained older son of the Simpsons family, Roy, played totally straight for extra laughs
11:32as the main story unfolds around them. And that's the list! Let us know what you
11:36thought of this video down in the comments below and let us know of any other Simpsons
11:39episodes that you can think of that were either made to rile someone up or made in a reaction
11:44to something out of spite. Make sure you like this video, subscribe, hit the notification bell
11:48and share it with your friends. I've been Si for WhatCulture and have a good week.