The Simpsons: 10 Golden Age Episodes That Foreshadowed Its Decline

A bit like Lisa The Vegetarian, this is a fantastic episode but marks the first step down a very rocky path. The Two Bad Neighbors in question are George and Barbara Bush (or more accurately, what George calls Homer and Bart). There are several hints at foreshadowing, but the episode gets away with them all by virtue that it is absolutely brilliant.

Firstly, The Simpsons is not a political satire show. This episode was more personal, as they’d had an on-running feud with the Bushes, culminating in George criticising them on the campaign trail. He ultimately lost that election. But the recent promo for Season 29 featuring Donald Trump fell horribly flat. And Trump’s a pretty easy target to make fun of.

Also, George and Barbara would simply never move to Springfield. All shows, especially animated ones, ask for suspension of disbelief, but come on. They do it because it fits the plot, which is the worst writing trope around. They get away with it here, but it’s not a pass for life. They try it with Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger, as well as Elon Musk. They never really pull it off again.