The Simpsons: 10 Best Episodes From The Past 15 Years

9. Politically Inept, With Homer Simpson

Season 23, Episode 496 - January 2012 How many times have the Simpsons -really- been political over the years? Over the course of an entire episode? Kang and Kodos replacing Bill Clinton and Bob Dole in a Halloween segment aside, the only major one that immediately comes to mind is the roasting George Bush Sr. received on the show (and a well-deserved roasting it was). That, however, for the most part left actual politics out of it, and focused on the character faults of the elder Bush. That in mind, it's a pleasant surprise that Politically Inept, with Homer Simpsons works as well as it does. The plot: Homer's bad behaviour on an air plane becomes a viral video, and soon enough he winds up with his own show, Gut Check with Homer Simpson. His show and every-man, good ol' U.S.A. persona soon have him involved with the Republican party, where he winds up endorsing Ted Nugent. Before all is said and done, Homer realizes the error of his ways - he's just another blowhard who shouldn't be in politics - and drops out of politics. The early airline scenes are full of quotable lines, mostly from Homer. They're not just jokes, or an angry rant (though they are both), but valid criticisms of the modern airline industry while at the same time poking fun at fussy fliers: "Airlines don't treat people like people any more." "All I want is what everybody wants, preferential treatment!" "Don't wake me up to land, just land!" "I regret nothing! Except this part..." (while being beaten by security guards). The Barney Fife style Air Marshall worked well too. Then later, when the episode shifts to its more political focus, the lines work equally well: "Marge, don't worry. People know I'm doing a character, like Stephen Colbert or Newt Gingrich." "I'm an entertainer. And you can't entertain and inform at the same time. And if you're Access Hollywood, you do neither." Homer in this episode is an amalgamation of everything wrong with the extreme political talking heads on western TV, and the episode shows that modern Simpsons can be topical and still funny.