The Simpsons Season 5 (1993)
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The Simpsons Season 5 Review
The fifth season of The Simpsons is easily the best season so far as it has so many amazing and even hilarious episodes under its belt. This is where the show reached its true peak for me.
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“Oh. And how is education supposed
to make me feel smarter?“
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It started of weakly with Homer’s Barbershop Quartet. This episode is very bland, annoying and unfunny in its numerous Beatles references. I am not a fan of them so I thus did not care for this installment. Cape Feare is one of the greatest Simpsons episodes of all time! I adore this one to pieces and it was such a nostalgic piece for me as I watched it so many times during childhood. Sideshow Bob has never been better used, his plans are all memorable here, many action set pieces here are bloody fantastic and his slapstick gag with the rakes is a classic. It’s the most entertaining Simpsons episode ever.
Homer Goes to College is a very weak, forgettable episode with such an uninspired ‘Animal House’ parody storyline. Rosebud is a pretty good Mr. Burns episode where he longs for his long-lost favorite toy, and his moments with Maggie were quite endearing.
Treehouse of Horror IV is probably the best Treehouse of Horror episode of them all. The first part with the devil is an absolute classic with the doughnut part being unforgettable, and Lionel Hutz being an indispensable comic relief. The second part parodies ‘The Twilight Zone’ once again brilliantly and is a great mix of horror and comedy whereas the third part with vampires and Burns is also a lot of fun.
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Marge on the Lam is also one of my favorite episodes that follows Marge on the run from the police along with her friend Ruth Powers. It’s such a fun, endearing, hugely entertaining ‘Thelma and Louise’ parody, and a great feminist episode that finally gives Marge something great to do. Bart’s Inner Child is a particularly potent social commentary that is truthful in what it preaches – that the society has to have boundaries in order for it to run properly – but it needed more humor and entertainment factor as it’s overly serious.
Boy-Scoutz ‘n the Hood is an excellent adventure episode which is hugely entertaining and quite hilarious in that sea voyage part with Homer killing it there with his enormous stupidity. The Last Temptation of Homer is yet another episode where he is infatuated with another woman, but it’s one of the better such episodes as it is nuanced and the love interest is very interesting.
$pringfield (or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling) is the episode where Marge for once has a problem – gambling. It’s solid and well crafted, but not among the best of the season. Homer the Vigilante is a very forgettable crime storyline, but Bart Gets Famous tackles quick fads and famous personalities in a very realistic manner.
Homer and Apu starts the second half of the season where the greatest episodes lie. This one is probably the quintessential Apu storyline which develops him so well while giving him a great story and a terrific redemption arc. His relationship with Homer here is mutual powerful as they have a lot of respect for one another.
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Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy is another overly serious, but admirably feminist episode that gives Lisa a great cause to fight for. Deep Space Homer does a good job spoofing ‘2001’ and it’s a lot of fun, but it’s also way too implausible and cartoony even for this show. Homer Loves Flanders finds Flanders getting annoyed with Homer for once and the results are very amusing.
Bart Gets an Elephant is a wonderful animal-centric, pro-animal rights episode that is different than many other such cartoon episodes as it portrays the elephant in question highly realistically and that is where most of the humor comes from. Burns’ Heir is a terrific Burns episode where he wants Bart to be his heir. It’s both amusing and quite moving in a way.
Sweet Seymour Skinner’s Baadasssss Song is a wonderful, quintessential Principal Skinner episode where he gets fired, and Bart tries to get him back to school. It features a wonderful relationship between the two. The Boy Who Knew Too Much is a Skinner episode that came at a wrong time after the last great one, but it does benefit from excellent ‘Westworld’ homages, and a solid courtroom drama at its center.
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Lady Bouvier’s Lover focuses on Grampa and Marge’s mother and the potential relationship between the two. It’s a solid, amusing episode that could have been stronger overall. But the finale is absolutely amazing. Yes, Secrets of a Successful Marriage gives us some of the best jokes ever from this show, and a terrific Homer being a teacher storyline that was ripe for laughs, and utilized to the fullest degree possible.
When all is said and done, this season has its weaker parts, but overall I was amazed by it. Many of its episodes are beyond great, and even hilarious as this is where the humor reached its peak as well as the character moments and the quality writing.
Worst Episodes: Homer’s Barbershop Quartet and Homer Goes to College.
Best Episodes: Cape Feare, Treehouse of Horror IV, Marge on the Lam, Homer and Apu and Secrets of a Successful Marriage.
