The Simpsons: 10 Underrated Episodes No One Talks About
The Simpsons has loads of classic episodes, but what about the underrated tales of Springfield?
Over the last 30 plus years, The Simpsons has become more than just a TV show. It is a staple of modern pop culture, and an iconic creation that is recognisable even to those who have never seen the show. Everyone knows who Homer Simpson is.
The decline in quality of The Simpsons is legendary, and not every episode is a winner. That said, on the other side of that coin we have the episodes that don't get as much credit as they deserve.
With hundreds of episodes to the show's name some are bound to fall through the cracks, and this could happen for a number of reasons. Some strong episodes in the later seasons are automatically written off without even being given a chance, while some are surrounded by some of the most popular, classic episodes that divert attention elsewhere.
There are so many episodes from The Simpsons that deserve to be talked about more than they are currently - even if they don't feature Sideshow Bob, a monorail, or a murder mystery that would keep the world guessing for months and months.
10. Barthood
There's no denying that season 27 is a poor one for The Simpsons. The show is at this point way past its prime, and it opens with one of the worst episodes of all time in 'Every Man's Dream'. However, there is one diamond buried in the rough that deserves better than to be thrown in with the rest of season 27.
Barthood is based around the life of arguably the second greatest character in the history of The Simpsons, from childhood through the awkward teenager phase, all the way to adulthood.
The episode touches on why he is the way he is as a 10 year old, as he is somewhat forced to live in Lisa's shadow. We've really only looked at Bart as a rebellious kid before, but when we see why he does what he does as a child starved for praise, it really is quite heartbreaking. Equally though, his reconciliation with his sister at the end of the episode is wonderfully wholesome.
Bart's relationship with Grandpa is also explored as something with real substance, which he haven't really seen since they retrieved the treasure of the Flying Hellfish together. For the majority of the show, Homer's dad is seen as an annoying inconvenience for the family, but how he is with Bart in this episode is quite sweet, and it's genuinely emotional when Bart goes to visit his grave to talk to him.