The Simpsons Season 4 (1992)
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The Simpsons Season 4 Review
The fourth season of The Simpsons has its terrific, classic episodes, but overall it is a bit inferior when compared to the great previous season.
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“Homer, it’s a deal.
Now if you’ll excuse me,
I have to appear in a tortilla in Mexico“
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Kamp Krusty is not that great of an opening, it’s overly messy and with a story that is slight and not offering much sophistication really. A Streetcar Named Marge is obviously, well, obvious in its parallels, but still it worked out very well thanks to an emotional ending, and a superb exploration of Marge’s suffering in this very problematic marriage. This is one quite important episode for her character and she’s so well fleshed out in it.
Homer the Heretic is by far the greatest episode of the show so far, and the one episode that needs to get much more love, especially in the confines of this uneven season. Homer doesn’t want to go to church during Sunday, so he stays, thus angering Marge. This episode explores faith and responsibilities beautifully, and it’s just so damn relatable.
Lisa the Beauty Queen is an odd episode that rang false in Lisa’s character, and this overall story is too weird and not well realized at all. Treehouse of Horror III is easily the best Treehouse of Horror episode so far as it succeeds in all three segments. The Krusty doll part was fantastic, so memorable and parodying that famous ‘Twilight Zone Season 5’ episode superbly. The ‘King Kong’ parody is also terrific, and perfectly cast across the board. Only the third zombie segment felt subpar, though solid overall.
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Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie explores the phenomenon of popular blockbuster movies excellently, and how hyped up the society and especially kids can get for these. It also succeeds as a genuinely phenomenal episode about parenting Bart. Marge Gets a Job sees her work for Mr. Burns. He falls in love with her, and the result is super amusing, though ending predictably.
New Kid on the Block is the worst episode of the season. I don’t get its appeal at all as it introduces boring new characters, and its overall plot is quite uninspired. Mr. Plow is also overrated, though this one is good, just not great. It’s quite fun at times, but rarely truly amazing. As for Lisa’s First Word, it succeeds as a very strong flashback episode, but particularly its ending with Maggie uttering her first word is indescribably adorable and just iconic.
Homer’s Triple Bypass is solid, but overall not that memorable episode on this well trudged subject. Words cannot describe my indifference toward Marge vs. the Monorail. This one is hailed almost unifyingly as the greatest Simpsons episode of all time, and I could not care less. It’s one of the weakest episodes of the season in my opinion as the musical format simply did not work, the entire episode was boringly plotted and I did not care for any of it, nor did I find it funny in the slightest.
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Selma’s Choice is another strong storyline starring these siblings, and in particular the emphasis on her wanting to be a parent was excellent, and so well explored. Brother from the Same Planet is not great in the Homer/Bart subplot, but it’s quite cute and endearing in Lisa’s subplot where she falls in love and obsesses over a boy.
I Love Lisa is a heartbreaking episode where Lisa turns Ralph Wiggum down. The entire episode works, but that particular scene is so sad and genuinely realistic and thus relatable to many who experienced the same kind of rejection. Duffless is one of the season’s highlights as it finally explores fully Homer’s drinking problem, and the result is one very dramatic, excellent and beautifully crafted in details installment.
Last Exit to Springfield is a worker strike episode, which led to it being more serious and dramatic than amusing, and I was thus not a fan. Mr. Burns is a great, iconic character who is one of my faves, but in this season he got the weaker episodes unfortunately. So It’s Come to This: A Simpsons Clip Show is just your regular filler clip episode that is recycled, though quite funny in the ending itself.
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The Front is an excellent animation-oriented episode that explores this industry superbly and quite cleverly. Whacking Day is such an odd episode about a strange tradition that did not appeal to me at all. Marge in Chains features a terrific, intriguing premise that was well executed as well. And Krusty Gets Cancelled is another serviceable Krusty episode that is sweet and engaging, but nothing truly original.
Overall, I found this season quite overrated. The episodes that worked really worked and were fantastic, but many are uneven or downright weak and overly praised. Some characters got superb episodes throughout, but some were left on the sidelines unfortunately.
Worst Episodes: New Kid on the Block, Marge vs. the Monorail, So It’s Come to This: A Simpsons Clip Show and Whacking Day.
Best Episodes: Homer the Heretic, Treehouse of Horror III, Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie, Lisa’s First Word and Duffless.
