The Simpsons

10 Best Episodes of The Simpsons - Season 17

The Simpsons is an iconic American show that has been airing since 1989 on FOX. Set in the average American town of Springfield, the show follows the antics and everyday adventures of the Simpson family. Over the 36 seasons of the show, there have been many memorable episodes that have made The Simpsons a household name. Here we will rank the best episodes of The Simpsons, from the highest to the lowest rated.

The Simpsons is filled with comedy, satire and commentary directed at politics, media and American life. It has attracted hundreds of celebrities to guest star in the show, making it even more popular. With so many great episodes, it can be hard to pick out the best. Here we will rank the top episodes based on their ratings, reviews and overall popularity.

So sit back and enjoy this list of the best episodes of The Simpsons, ranked from highest to lowest. There is sure to be something here to satisfy everyone, so let’s get started!

Written by Sophie and last updated on dec 20, 2024.

PS: The following content contains spoilers!

PPS: I will admit that parts of this page was written with the help of AI - it makes my work so much easier to not start from a blank page!

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The Simpsons - S17E3

#15 - Milhouse of Sand and Fog (Season 17 - Episode 3)

Never one to miss the opportunity to make a quick buck, Homer cashes in on Maggie's bout of chicken pox. He decides to host a Pox Party and charges parents to infect their children.

The episode was rated 7.33 from 475 votes.

The Simpsons - S17E10

#14 - Homer's Paternity Coot (Season 17 - Episode 10)

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Mail from forty years earlier is discovered, and a letter from Homer Simpson's mother's old boyfriend states that he is Homer's true father. Homer sets out to find his supposed new father, leaving Abe behind.

The episode was rated 7.34 from 400 votes.

The Simpsons - S17E15

#13 - Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife (Season 17 - Episode 15)

Homer is stoked for a party, where Lenny shows off his new plasma screen HD TV. Three days later and Homer still hasn’t left Lenny’s apartment. Lenny eventually gets him to leave and Marge enters them in a contest where they can win a plasma TV of their own. They don’t win, but 3rd place gets them a tour of the FOX studios, where Homer learns about a wife-swapping show where he can win enough money to buy his own plasma TV. Marge agrees to appear and they exchange wives with the Heathbar family. Charles Heathbar winds up falling in love with Marge (who is giving him what he needs), while his real wife Verity finds Homer detestable.

The episode was rated 7.34 from 383 votes.

The Simpsons - S17E9

#12 - Simpsons Christmas Stories (Season 17 - Episode 9)

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The Simpsons re-enact the Nativity; a World War II tale stars Grampa, Mr. Burns and Santa; a musical features "The Nutcracker Suite."

The episode was rated 7.35 from 413 votes.

The Simpsons - S17E6

#11 - See Homer Run (Season 17 - Episode 6)

Homer becomes Springfield's safety guru and before long he's challenging Mayor Quimby for office. Until, that is, there's an embarrassing mishap with his costume.

The episode was rated 7.35 from 411 votes.

The Simpsons - S17E21

#10 - The Monkey Suit (Season 17 - Episode 21)

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Working through their checklists of things to do before summer ends, Lisa gets the family to go a museum. At the Springfield Museum of Natural History there is an exhibit Lisa is excited to see on Women’s History turns into an exhibit on the history of weapons, which excites Homer and Bart. When Flanders sees the exhibit of evolution and another that mocks creationism, he raises an alarm. Reverend Lovejoy gets Skinner to have creationism taught in school. Lisa is the only one who holds onto the scientific theory. She brings the topic up at the town meeting and the town votes to teach only one theory, creationism. Lisa decides to hold her own class on evolution, until she is arrested. The ACLU gives her a lawyer who is up against a slick Southern lawyer, but ultimately it’s a family member that is a key to her defense.

The episode was rated 7.38 from 366 votes.

The Simpsons - S17E4

#9 - Treehouse of Horror XVI (Season 17 - Episode 4)

Bart ends up in a coma after attempting to jump from the roof to the swimming pool at Spinster Arms Apartments, while attending a hunting party at Burns Manor, Homer panics and believes the prey is the hunting party, and after losing a Halloween costume contest to Dr Hibbert as Dracula, a real witch puts a spell on the people of Springfield.

The episode was rated 7.39 from 604 votes.

The Simpsons - S17E17

#8 - Kiss Kiss, Bang Bangalore (Season 17 - Episode 17)

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At the power plant a movie is shown where the workers endorse outsourcing and Mr. Burns announces that he is closing the plant and moving the work to India. Homer is the only union employee left on the payroll and he is sent to India to train the replacement workers, when he succeeds beyond expectations, he is given total control of the plant and declares himself a god. Meanwhile, Selma & Patty take Bart and Lisa to their MacGyver convention. When they discover Richard Dean Anderson doesn’t like MacGyver and much as they do, they kidnap him in retaliation. Anderson escapes only to enjoy the thrill and he turns himself back in so that he can escape again. When it happens over and over again, soon Patty and Selma are the ones who need a means of escape.

The episode was rated 7.39 from 382 votes.

The Simpsons - S17E20

#7 - Regarding Margie (Season 17 - Episode 20)

Marge goes on a cleaning frenzy before the housekeeper she’s won the services of comes to the house. One spot remains and she mixes a number of toxic cleaners together to tackle the job. The noxious mixture knocks her out and she wakes up suffering from amnesia. Marge is taken home and the family tries to bring back her memory. She starts to get back memories of her children and other insignificant things, but when it comes to remembering her husband, nothing he does seems to jog her memory. When he can’t get her to remember him, he tries to win her all over again, especially after Patty and Selma get her back out on the dating scene.

The episode was rated 7.40 from 352 votes.

The Simpsons - S17E7

#6 - The Last of the Red Hat Mamas (Season 17 - Episode 7)

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Marge is shunned after Homer has an altercation with the Easter Bunny at the mayor's egg hunt. A lonely Marge joins a women's group who plan to steal $1 million from Mr Burns.

The episode was rated 7.42 from 421 votes.

The Simpsons - S17E11

#5 - We're on the Road to D'ohwhere (Season 17 - Episode 11)

After Bart steals a key from Principal Skinner's office and gets himself into hot water, Marge and Homer send him to a behavior modification camp.

The episode was rated 7.42 from 453 votes.

The Simpsons - S17E14

#4 - Bart Has Two Mommies (Season 17 - Episode 14)

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The family is at a church fund-raiser, where Homer tries to ensure his rubber duck onto victory, but Flanders wins the big prize, which he doesn’t want and gives it to Marge. In return Marge agrees to watch Rod and Todd while Ned is attending a left-handed convention. While Marge is spending all her time with the Rod and Todd and trying to let them learn how to be boys; Homer takes Bart and Lisa to a home for former celebrity animals and a monkey kidnaps Bart. Marge’s ability to be a mother comes into question when Ned discovers what she is doing with his boys and the local news covers Bart’s current predicament.

The episode was rated 7.43 from 389 votes.

The Simpsons - S17E5

#3 - Marge's Son Poisoning (Season 17 - Episode 5)

When Bart decides to spend a bit of time with Marge, it's not long before he's buying tea sets and singing duets. Has he turned into a mummy's boy?

The episode was rated 7.46 from 454 votes.

The Simpsons - S17E19

#2 - Girls Just Want to Have Sums (Season 17 - Episode 19)

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The family attends "Stab-A-Lot: The Itchy and Scratchy Musical." The musical's director is a graduate of Springfield Elementary and Principal Skinner puts his foot in mouth when he makes sexist comments about her education and that of women in general. He tries to make the situation better, but only buries himself deeper and deeper until he is fired and replaced by Women's Educational Expert Melanie Upfoot. The first thing she does is split the school into girls and the boys. Lisa dislikes the way girls are being taught math and she ventures over to the boy's side of the school in search of a challenge. Disguising herself as Jake Boyman she starts attending the boy's school but while she finds the math problems more interesting, it is being a boy that is a greater challenge.

The episode was rated 7.49 from 370 votes.

The Simpsons - S17E13

#1 - The Seemingly Never-Ending Story (Season 17 - Episode 13)

The family is on a nature walk through “Carl’s Dad Caverns,” when Homer tries to get a piece from a stalactite. This results in the family falling through the cave floor and winds up with Homer getting stuck in the ceiling of one of the lower chambers of the cave. Marge, Bart and Maggie go off to find help, while Lisa stays behind and tells her father a story to pass the time. Her story involves running from a bighorn sheep and into Mr. Burn’s mansion. The pair evades the tenacious sheep by finding refuge in the mansion’s attic, where Mr. Burns tells her the story of how he came to work at Moe’s Tavern by losing a scavenger hunt with a rich Texan. While there he learned (and tells to Lisa) the tale of the Moe’s treasure. The stories within stories culminate in the fate of the treasure being determined in the cave.

The episode was rated 7.59 from 450 votes.

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