The Simpsons: 10 Greatest Apu Moments
5. The Octuplets
New parents can be stressed out at the best of times. But seeing Apu and Manjula trying to juggle eight of them is comedy gold.
As well as being one of the relatively few Springfield storylines with a lasting effect, the episode is crammed with laughs to boot. There’s the pregnancy test revealing like a slot machine (pirates are wild!), the revelation that everyone had been slipping Manjula fertility drugs and the way Dr Hibbert shows Apu all of his children by having them inside the pockets of his huge doctor’s coat.
The Nahasapeemapetilons become media darlings after the octuplets are born, though fortunes quickly change when the Shelbyville Nine enter the world. There’s a lot of laughs to be had with how quick fortunes turn around, gifts literally being ripped from Apu and Manjula’s arms.
Without a doubt though the finest moment is Apu’s searingly sarcastic thank you when Marge brings banana bread over. Banana bread?! What were you thinking?!
This episode is one of the best at showing how important Apu is in The Simpsons’ world. With the exception of the family themselves and possibly Ned Flanders, few can claim to have had such meaningful arcs.