The Simpsons: 10 Most Important Episodes Ever Made

6. El Viaje Misterioso De Nuestro Jomer (9.8)

El Viaje Misterioso De Nuestro Jomer, otherwise known as "The Mysterious Voyage of Homer," is one of the show's outright weirdest episodes. The plot sees Homer eating a bunch of Guatemalan insanity chillies, which subsequently sends him on a hallucinogenic vision quest and into a strange and bizarre mystery world. As far as "pushing the envelope" goes, El Viaje Misterioso De Nuestro Jomer is a defining work of Simpsons' magic. The reason that it's so important, then? Because it was a plainly unconventional and unbelievably surreal episode of the show - one which opened up new possibilities and avenues for the writers in its later years. With its warped artistic style and psychedelic flourishes (Johnny Cash providing the voice of a "Space Coyote," for example), El Viaje Misterioso De Nuestro Jomer emerged as an experiment that broke the Simpsons mould. When this episode first aired back in 1997, The Simpsons was yet to go quite this weird. In turn, its existence - and success - led to episodes of the creatively unconventional kind being made in future seasons, some of which - "The Springfield Files" and "Lisa's Wedding," to name two examples - are deemed to some of the show's greatest ever.