Worst Episode Ever #13: Unwanted Bestiality

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Worst Episode Ever #13: Unwanted Bestiality

S12E05 - Homer Vs. Dignity

What better way to break in the new year than panda-on-man sexual assault? Yes, WEE've sobered up since New Years, and are ready for Season 12's "Homer Vs. Dignity," one of our most requested episodes. Homer needs money, Mr. Burns hires him as his "prank monkey," and nothing is resolved in an episode that just kind of ends. Maybe we do need another drink... We debate the existence/goodness of Lindsay Naegle, illuminate the weird sexual undercurrent in the episode, and discuss Mr. Burns' misunderstanding of what a prank is. When did Moe become so creepy? Why does no one in Springfield mourn the great hobo genocide? And why is a Simpsons podcast in 2015 talking about hit 80s sitcom "Empty Nest?" All that, plus, Jack forgets the planets, Dan nerds out about Spider-Man, and much, much more. (And if anyone from Marvel is out there, we are available to write that "Spider-Man/Vulture: The Empty Nest" limited series...)

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Worst Episode Ever #12: Bourbon, Please

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Worst Episode Ever #12: Bourbon, Please

S23E16 - How I Wet Your Mother

It's New Year's Eve and we've put out our least new listener friendly episode yet! Yes, as promised (threatened?) we watch Season 23's "How I Wet Your Mother" but only after we knock back a few cocktails. You'd need a drink too if you watched an episode where Homer wets the bed, so the family goes inside his dreams to figure out why. Oh and also they are chased by the specter of Death for some reason. And yes, we go way off the rails talking about "The Terminator" and Jack's junior high adventures, but if you skip to 25 minutes in, we do talk about the actual episode. How did Homer become garbage made flesh? Which character voices have changed the least in 25 years? And should we ever do another drunken podcast? Plus, a new game where Dan guesses which Simpsons episode titles are real and which ones Jack made up. We expect some hate-filled emails, but we like this episode and hope you do too. If you actually listen and enjoy it, let us know! Business as usual in 2015, and thanks everyone for a great 2014!

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Worst Episode Ever #11: Over-Explainy Angry Whisper

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Worst Episode Ever #11: Over-Explainy Angry Whisper

S18E09 - Kill Gil, Volumes 1 & 2

Happy Holidays, WEE listeners! Let's ruin them by talking about this episode. Widely regarded as the worst Christmas episode, we're watching Season 18's "Kill Gil, Volumes 1 & 2," an episode that manages to include senseless violence, animal abuse, and tired gay jokes on top of its loose Christmas plot. But it's not all bad! This is also the debut episode of the Grumple. Ok, so it is all bad... We perform a deep psychoanalysis of said Grumple, dig into whether Gil works in large doses, and ponder why this episode was so intent on making jokes about Scottsdale, Arizona. Why does the show insist on beating gags to death, especially with Homer's aggressive whisper? Why can WEE not stop talking about Marge? And why aren't you spending your holiday watching "The Stand" miniseries from 1994? All that, plus, an extensive discussion about Jerry Van Dyke and the 1997 TGIF line-up, our hatred for leprechauns, and another of Dan's delightful and violent Simpsons stories from the late 90s. Enjoy our gift to you, our faithful listeners (and apologies to Al Jean, who apparently created "Teen Angel"...). 

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Worst Episode Ever #10: The Skinner Labyrinth

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Worst Episode Ever #10: The Skinner Labyrinth

S09E02 – The Principal and the Pauper

Our 10th anniversary episode! No? Ok, just our tenth episode…ery. We bend our rules to watch an infamous 90’s episode, Season 9’s “The Principal and the Pauper.” Many think this began the end of an era, an era that continues for 17 more years (and a movie) with no signs of stopping. It’s a strange story with secret impostors, shocking revelations, and America balls. But is it as bad as its reputation? We overanalyze this episode’s symbolism, speculate how badly this plot would be done in the HD era, and wonder if it would be better with a B-plot where Marge goes to space camp. Is this the start of shoehorning in the Simpsons at every possible point in a story they have no stakes in? Did they miss out by not making the real “fake” Skinner more different from the fake “real” Skinner? Does anyone named Tamzarian listen to this show? Who cares? Do any of you care? Hopefully the answer is yes, yes you do. Plus, Quantum Leap talk because we are not nerds! (Though you probably are…) Enjoy!

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Worst Episode Ever #9: Lady Gaga Like Iron Man

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Worst Episode Ever #9: Lady Gaga Like Iron Man

S23E22 – Lisa Goes Gaga

The rumors are true, we are a NEW and NOTEWORTHY podcast on iTunes. Suck it, Mr. and Mrs. Money Cast! Today, Lady Gags comes to Springfield?! Is it true?? AND special guest Dan Ozzi from the VICE music blog “Noisey?” That must mean it’s time for season 23’s finale, “Lisa Goes Gaga.” And boy does she, in a “joke” filled episode where there’s no time to feel anything. Because, damnit, we must reference every outfit Lady Gaga has ever worn, then cram in a few musical numbers. We discuss the evolution of celebrity appearances on The Simpsons, wonder what the show might look like if it started today, and extensively compare this episode to its much better predecessor, “Stark Raving Dad.” Do you really need to have Flanders meet Gaga? Why wasn’t this episode just a remake of the seminal Chuck Norris classic, “Sidekicks?” And how come no one has seen Michael Jackson’s body lately (#wheresthatbody)? All that, plus fetal moonshine, the many deaths of Moe, and (ugh) “Homer Face.” Enjoy “Worst Episode Ever” although maybe we should have cut all of this…

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Worst Episode Ever #8: Bang Clunk

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Worst Episode Ever #8: Bang Clunk

S18E15 – Rome-Old and Juli-Eh

This week on what some have called “the ‘Serial’ of Simpsons podcasts” we expect a horrible trainwreck and instead find a slightly less worse one. Must mean it’s time for Season 18’s “Rome-Old and Juli-Eh,” an infamous episode where Grampa marries Selma, his son’s sister-in-law. Took 18 years, but finally that sexual tension gets addressed. We examine scaling back freeze-frame gags in newer episodes, perform “episode alchemy” to see what older episodes combined to get this one, and talk Jane Kaczmarek with Jack, our resident Kaczmarekspert. Is Gandalf better than all of “Star Wars?” Are you sick of us talking about the over-sexualization of Marge? Do you also create fantasy sound design jokes in your head? All that, plus Popeye’s chicken, dark jokes about senility, and a literal dragon. If you read all of this without listening first, you are very confused. Enjoy!

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Worst Episode Ever #7: Shoehorned In

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Worst Episode Ever #7: Shoehorned In

S24E05 – Penny-Wiseguys

This week on an over-stuffed “Worst Episode Ever,” it’s Season 24’s “Penny-Wiseguys” starring Steve Carrell, the Thanksgiving of actors. Carrell plays a mafia accountant who gets put in charge, an okay story idea that makes a fairly terrible Simpsons episode. We examine the fanboy-ization of modern era jokes, tackle the disturbing over-sexualization of Marge, and prove how little we know about TV professionals by reverse-engineering the modern Simpsons episode writing process. Why does the Simpson family barely appear on their own show? When did Bart become an actual criminal and not a mischievous scamp? And did they really bring Alex Trebek into the studio for this? All that, plus insectivorians, bogons, and a brand new feature where Dan reads his old Simpsons fan fiction. Either listen to WEE or enjoy getting coffee for Roy Disney III…

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Worst Episode Ever #6: Back to the Sexual Thing

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Worst Episode Ever #6: Back to the Sexual Thing

S12E10 – Pokey Mom

Our sixth episode is a perfect introdoockshun for new “Worst Episode Ever” fans. We jump into Season 12 for an episode that the hosts actually saw back in the pre-9/11 days of “The Simpsons.” Jack, Dan, and returning guest Nick Noga dig into “Pokey Mom,” the episode where Michael Keaton, a recently released criminal, moves in with the Simpsons. So, the whole town has lived with the Simpsons at some point, right? We look at the differences in the opening animation over the years, the glory of Charles Napier’s voice over work, and Jack continues his unending love of Marge. What was this episode trying to say about chiropractors? How does Snake not make a single appearance in an episode about prison? And can someone please make us a re-cut trailer about Marge slowly losing her mind? Plus, we add “Pokey Mom” to our ever-expanding list of the worst episodes ever and where it ends up may shock you. But probably not. Check it out in the latest and greatest “Worst Episode Ever” and please don’t mind the sirens and the honking…

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Worst Episode Ever #5: Playful Deceit

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Worst Episode Ever #5: Playful Deceit

S21E04 – Treehouse of Horror XX

We’re back with the hit “Simpsons” podcast that our mother’s have attempted to listen to! And what kind of “Simpsons” show would we be without a Halloween episode airing well into November? So today we watch and dissect “Treehouse of Horror XX” with our guest, Mr. Nick Noga. Three chilling tales of references to better material that almost kind of work if you ignore the holes. We’ll discuss the lazy trope of the nagging wife, whether Groundskeeper Willie has been immune to change in later years, and the intricacies of the “got your nose” game for children. Are quality jokes about religion the only constant on the show? Was the world clamoring for the two most nasal and gravelly characters to share a song? Do vampires even have their own blood? We figure it all out and make it to the safe zone in the latest “Worst Episode Ever.”

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Worst Episode Ever #4: Alf's Back... In Pod Form

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Worst Episode Ever #4: Alf's Back... In Pod Form

S15E21 – Bart-Mangled Banner

Jack and Dan look out the window at the old cemetery, then watch “Bart-Mangled Banner,” a season 15 episode that skewers post-9/11 patriotism in George W. Bush’s America. Surely mid-series “Simpsons” does political satire with deftness and subtlety, right? We discuss the show’s reliance on episode-ending musical numbers, how dark is too dark for a Moe joke, and start writing an episode called “Bart Goes Deaf at the Talent Show.” Why did we not cut out a lot of crazy nonsense about “ALF” from this episode? Does anyone else measure American history by the Harold and Kumar films? And was suspending civil liberties in a charged post-9/11 world a necessary evil to protect the American citizenship? (Why would they put a real one in with the joke ones?) Enjoy our latest “Worst Episode Ever” and see if you agree with our assessment of “Bart-Mangled Banner.”

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