12 Times The Simpsons Went Dark
8. Barney's Short Film
Barney's role on the show has always been something of dark humor on alcoholism. He's gross, overweight, brash and constantly found around town sleeping on the sidewalk. He's basically there to make Homer look good in comparison.
However, when we're given a deeper look into the character later on in the series, we see that he wasn't always known as the town drunk. He was an academic who took his studies very seriously and he had high hopes of a successful career. But that all changed when he was introduced to alcohol.
In the episode, "A Star is Burns," Marge organizes a film festival for Springfield in order to bring some more respect to the town. While a lot of them are played for laughs, one of the most notable ones was "Pukahontas" produced by Barney Gumble.
It shows that the character is actually capable of beautiful creativity and artistic talent while also showing his self-awareness about his addiction. It made the people of Springfield look at him as something more than a pathetic drunk and possibly a man of greater potential.
Hopefully, he can continue to surprise people in the future.