The Simpsons: 10 Funniest Episodes Ever Made

9. The Springfield Files (Episode 10, Season Eight)

Despite being a crossover episode with that of The X-Files, The Simpsons manages to make would could have been an awkward quest for ratings really sing. Things kick off hilariously as it's revealed that - for reasons unknown - Leonard Nimoy is narrating the story. He talks of a town of Springfield, where an alien encounter once took place.

What follows is without a doubt one of the weirdest Simpsons episodes ever produced, but also one of the show's most consistently funny. It also contains one of the best jokes in Simpsons history when Homer is asked whether he understands how a lie detector works. "Yes," he says - and then lie detector catches fire and explodes.

The most memorable part of this episode, perhaps, is that of a creepy alien-like creature glowing in the woodlands (later revealed to be Mr. Burns, high on medication and glowing because he's worked at the Nuclear Power Plant for so long), but there are tons of great sci-fi sight gags packed into the runtime, too - not to mention a host of super guest stars.