The Simpsons: 15 Most Underrated Golden Age Episodes

15. Bart's Friend Falls In Love

The opening to this one alone should be spoken of more highly. It’s easily one of the most creative parodies that the Simpsons was known for, and it's only the beginning of what turns into a truly underrated classic.

Everything in this episode is classic Simpsons. The witty and zany humour perpetuated by series veterans like Skinner, referencing his own traumatic veteran past in the Vietnam War that and evoking some sinister laughter. This dark bit of self-referential humour is actually more pivotal than it seems, as this is the first time we meet the episode’s one time central character: Samantha Stanky, the girl that later becomes the Milhouse's girlfriend and Bart's unsuspecting nemesis.

Naturally, as Milhouse's girlfriend, she's the girl whom Bart views as nothing more than a life-ruining succubus, sucking the life out of the two boys' friendship. This leads Bart to conspire against their relationship in an indecent manner.

Throughout it all, the episode remains strong on all fonts. Other than in regards to its passively uninspired b-plot...

...A completely forgettable storyline which only commences roughly halfway through - if not later - giving it nowhere near enough time to leave any impression on the viewers. It does lead to a now worn-out, one note joke in which Homer’s intelligence becomes elevated far beyond the average man.

It's still of a higher quality than most modern a-plots at least.