The Best Episode Of The Simpsons, According To IMDb

With a show like “The Simpsons,” which has an undeniably perfect run of early seasons, It’s impossible to pick a best episode. We at /Film have had a go at ranking the best seasons of “The Simpsons,” and even ranking the best “Simpsons” episodes, but even then the process of trying to pick between unimpeachably brilliant installments reveals the futility of it all.

As almost everyone knows, the show lost its way as it went on, though the exact point at which it jumped the proverbial shark remains a hotly debated topic among fans. Even taking the most conservative view, i.e. that “The Simpsons” was only really good from seasons 4 to 8, that’s still five seasons of 22 to 24 episodes each to pick from — all of them classic entries.

For those with a Comic Book Guy disposition, however, getting a final and resolute answer to this conundrum of the single best episode of “The Simpsons” remains a necessity. Luckily, IMDb is here to solve the riddle once and for all, and while we all know it’s going to be one of the classic episodes, considering just how many there are to choose from, it’s still somewhat intriguing to know which episode managed to top the site’s list.

Some, this writer included, would argue that “The Simpsons” was good all the way through to the 12th season. Though it had admittedly included some questionable installments by that point, for the most part it still felt like the same show it had always been. But for many, season 8 was the last great season, and for IMDb — or at least its users — it also produced the finest ever episode of “The Simpsons.”

In IMDb‘s list of all “Simpsons” episodes, “Homer’s Enemy” comes out on top with a user rating of 9.3 out of 10. This is, of course, the episode that gave us Frank Grimes, a new worker at the nuclear power plant who is instantly put off by Homer and his ineptitude. As the episode goes on and Homer introduces Frank to his family, the man’s incredulity is stretched to breaking point, culminating in him having a full-on mental breakdown that results in his untimely death.

Sounds a bit morbid, doesn’t it? But the episode is as hilarious as the show has ever been, essentially placing a character from the “real world” inside “The Simpsons” and watching him slowly unravel. Frank is absolutely disgusted to see that Homer, the incompetent boob from work, has a “palace” to come home to, while he lives above a bowling alley and below another bowling alley. It also gave voice actor Hank Azaria, who played Frank, a rare opportunity to provide an emotionally grounded performance. The other characters’ ongoing confusion at Frank’s disbelief makes for a truly hilarious dynamic, and an episode worthy of the “best ever” designation (as long as we’re giving out such honors) — though the bleak ending also makes “Homer’s Enemy” one of the nastiest installments in the show’s history.

If “Homer’s Enemy” is the best ever episode of “The Simpsons” according to IMDb, then what almost made the top spot? Well, right behind the tale of Frank Grimes’ grim demise is another season 8 classic, “You Only Move Twice,” which is rated 9.2 out of 10 and guest starred the great Albert Brooks as Hank Scorpio, a megalomaniacal Bond-esque supervillain who also happens to be Homer’s affable and charming boss. Hank Scorpio’s evil plans made our list of the funniest moments in “The Simpsons,” and this episode as a whole is more than deserving of a top spot.

In the third spot we have season 5’s “Cape Feare,” which also has a 9.2 rating but is only based on 6,100 ratings while “You Only Move Twice” has 6,700. The rest of the list is made up of episodes that fall between seasons 4 and 8, except for season 9’s “The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson,” which made the number nine spot with a 9 out of 10 rating.

All of which just proves what most already knew about “The Simpsons” and its best seasons being from 4 to 8. Still, it’s worth remembering that these lists are by no means the last word on anything. IMDb still lists “The Shawshank Redemption” as the greatest film ever made, after all.