I stopped watching The Simpsons for years even though I watched it pretty often as a kid. I decided to get caught up (which will take a long time). Last night I watched Homer's Odyssey for the first time. I still need to see the very first episode that I tried watching one other time but didn't get through all of it. I plan on watching all the episodes in order. This may take a while.

Marge Not Be Proud, Lisa the Iconoclast, Homerpalooza, Summer of 4 ft 2.

After looking through both seasons, I've never noticed how superior Season 8 is to Season 7. There is some all time greats in 8, where there is some weird episodes, especially in terms of plot (not really in terms of jokes, which are still good), in 7. It's almost as if they started to decline in 7 (imo) and then Season 8 was just as good as any other.

That is possibly true actually. Though I do still think there is a bit of a dip in the second half of series 7, they probably did pull it back in series 8.

I definitely think they improved. I mean, going from the relative meh-ness of "Homerpalooza" and "Summer of 4 Ft. 2" to the classic "You Only Move Twice"?

Summer of 4 ft 2 is one of my very favourite episodes.

I haven't watched it in years, so I may have changed my mind about it. Will have to go back and check.

I said "even if;" it's been a while since I've seen it. Anyway, season 10 may be off peak, but I still think it's much watch. I'm not sure at what point it truly hits the duldrums (i.e. more mediocrity than really good episodes). I think 14 or so, but I forgot what I decided.

Is that the episode the features the Beach Boys' "All Summer Long" at the end?

I think it does.

It has one of the best Marge moments ever. Lisa is hanging with her new friends in the living room of Flanders' summer house, when one of them says "your mom is so cool. My mom would have tried butting in with rice krispie squares and tang" just at the precise moment Marge is about to give them all rice krispie squares and tang. Marge is savvy enough to do a complete 180 turn though, much like Abe in that gif we all love.

It's also just quite a touching episode. And it's another one where Milhouse is brilliant.

"You got the dud!"

I love that episode. It's been a long time since I've seen it.

It also has one of my all-time favourite Homer lines:


Dan Castellaneta really makes that line extra hilarious.

Same. Lisa's touching struggle of making new friends coupled with the perfectly captured summer vacation atmosphere make it one of the best. It's also Milhouse's finest hour.

edit: Realized I basically repeated exactly what you said in your later post. Yeah.

Another brilliant Marge moment from that episode:

Lisa: Friends?... My only friends are grown-up nerds like Gore Vidal, and even he’s kissed more boys than I ever will.
Marge: Girls, Lisa. Boys kiss girls.

just watched an interview with Gucci Mane, and he cited his favorite Simpsons episodes as the Simpsons movie and the shorts on the Tracy Ullman show. I just thought that was the strangest Simpsons preference I've ever heard. How weird is that? Only a fan of the extremes, not the middle ground.

In other words, he doesn't like The Simpsons and only wants to see how people react to his 'shocking' views.