10 Incredibly Subtle Jokes From The Simpsons You Might Have Missed

8. Simpson DNA ('The 138th Episode Spectacular')

As clip shows go, this episode is certainly one of the better ones- if only for the line they sneaked in below. Troy McClure is our host for this meaningless but studio-mandated milestone, guiding us through a faux-celebratory story of The Simpsons with selected highlights and previously unaired clips. This includes an array of alternate endings to the ''Who Shot Mr Burns?'' two-parter, in which practically half of Springfield is shown holding the gun. The ending we 'weren't meant to see' reveals the culprit to be Smithers. Says resident spoilsport McClure: ''But of course, for that ending to work, you would have to ignore all the Simpson DNA evidence. And that would be downright nutty.'' McClure then laughs, blinks a couple of times and, after the slightest of pauses, stares straight at the camera. At first, it appears that the joke is on the show's writers, with McClure drawing attention to just why this particular idea doesn't quite work. But if you consider the fact that the episode originally aired in December 1995, only two months after O.J Simpson had been acquitted of murder charges, then it takes on a completely different meaning...