'Homer the Smithers' is a perfectly fine episode of the Simpsons. There are some great character revelations as we see the murky depths of the dependency that Smithers has for Burns, and there are some hilariously esoteric gags such as the revelation that Homer likes to get up and watch the Little Rascals first thing in the morning. Not to mention of course Burns' famed telephone greeting we have all used at least once, 'Ahoy-hoy'. What is mind blowing though is that this episode is the number one highest ranked episode at the IMDB as this article is being written. Out of 583 episodes some of which that forever altered the very landscape of television itself this is the one that has been ranked the highest by thousands of internet users. It is a complete mystery because as good as this episode is, it really is at the end of the day an excellent version of what is primarily bog-standard sitcom narrative. The emotion present in the episode is lovely, and considering how irritating Smithers was when he was first introduced, the writers do extraordinarily well to really highlight the fact that he loves being with Mr Burns, no matter how strange other people might find it. It is a very, very strong episode. But is it the best? Absolutely not. It could possibly be in the to 25, but the esteem the internet holds for this one is way out sync with its actual influence and quality.
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