Ranking All 25 The Simpsons Season Finales
The best and worst stings in the Simpsons tail.
It's getting close to that time of year again. With only a handful of new Simpsons episodes left in season twenty-six, which has been a balanced, decent season all around with a couple of standout episodes (Waiting For Duffman, for starters), the season finale is swinging into view.
Simpsons season finales have always been something of a mixed bag. Over the years, they have included cliffhangers, concept episodes that break from series continuity, and copious amounts of guest stars. That has led to an uneven landscape of classic finale moments, forgettable outings, and absolute missteps.
This year's outing could be any of the above, save a cliffhanger from the looks of things. The episode, entitled Mathlete's Feat and set to air on May 17th, focuses on Lisa taking part in a school mathematics team, and Springfield taking on Waverly Hill's Elementary School. While it's a concept that hasn't been done on the show before, how successful it will be, and how open fans will be to "the most complicated math jokes we could think of," according to Al Jean, remains to be seen.
The episode also features a couch gag starring Rick and Morty of Adult Swim fame in a bit of a crossover.
How it will fit in with the rest of the show's 25 series finales remains to be seen, but now is the perfect time to look back and rank those that have already aired...
25. Lisa Goes Gaga
Season: 23
Guest starring spots are best when they're short cameos or famous celebrities playing actual characters; when a celebrity actually plays themselves and is involved in a key point in the plot, it seems to go badly. There are some exceptions, as with Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger, but outside of a select few, it rarely works.
Case in point: Lady Gaga. Though the obvious meat-dress reference got a chuckle, the episode was painful to watch otherwise. It features the pop star making a stop in Springfield, the most depressed city around, and trying to teach Lisa the meaning of happiness.
Interestingly enough, many critics praised the show for not just relegating Gaga to a small cameo as they have with so many other celebrities, but in this case, it would have been a better call. Compare this episode to Dustin Hoffman's appearance as Mr. Bergstrom - which imparted a similar message - and it's not even a close fight.