Season 2 of The Simpsons was another big step to the classic Simpsons we all remember & love. This season added more episodes, more characters, jokes that are actually funny & better writing with much more interesting stories. Season 2 improved pretty much everything that was wrong with the first season. While this season does have some faults we’ll discuss them as I go through this season.
Also if you haven’t read my review on the first season then I recommend checking that out so I don’t have to repeat myself. Please save me the time if you haven’t read that yet: https://theblogcomplainer.com/2018/05/08/the-simpsons-season-1-tv-review/
Improvement After Improvement: This season is an amazing improvement over The First Season. Firstly it no long looks ugly, the amination flows better than the one in the first season & the writing just got better. From what I remember from the first season it just had average episode after average episode it’s shocking that it in even won an Emmy. In my opinion all the episodes from this season I would put higher than any episode from Season 1. I’ll get more into the episodes in a bit but all I’ll say is I couldn’t find one bad episode. They also updated the opening sequence it now looks like the classic opening that we all familiar with except still using the first season’s soundtrack. Lastly this season actually has some funny jokes. (Some can be a miss) I remember a few times I would just chuckle away to some of the jokes.
The Supporting Cast Rises Up With The Mains: I mentioned in the previous season that the first season was just about The Simpsons & the other characters are just kind of there but this season the supporting cast finally get their chance in the spotlight. The one who gets the most attention this season is Mr. Burns who is finally voiced by Harry Shearer. After him would be Patty & Selma, Martin, Smithers, Principal Skinner, Flanders & Grandpa Simpson who all get an episode that focuses on them or they get to share a spot with the main characters. Then the old & new characters are just kind of there like in the first season.
Just like last season the men get all attention especially Bart this season because everyone was obsessed with him back in the early 90’s. That’s the reason why the producers made the premiere episode a Bart themed episode. Homer gets his an equal amount of attention & Lisa & Marge get their fair chance in the middle but this season they also have to share it with some supporting characters like Mr. Burns. I know why Bart & Homer get all attention because they’re more entertaining to watch while Lisa & Marge aren’t as exciting. I think as we go through the episodes you’ll find that episodes where Bart or Homer don’t get that much attention I find more interesting.
The 22 Episodes!!!: Enough stalling I want to go through these as quick as possible so firstly we have the premiere ‘Bart gets an F’ which is surprisingly a great episode. Bart keeps failing at school because he is Bart Simpson. So he has to pass this next test or he’ll have to repeat the fourth grade. This season also won an Emmy for one of the episodes & it’s not this one because it has Bart kiss his teacher at the end & that’s a deal breaker I guess. A more serious episode but is also very touching. Next is ‘Simpson & Delilah’ The plot of the episode is Homer wants hair & he has hair now & he’s rich & successful. I liked it when I watched it except I don’t remember much about it except the It’s A Wonderful Life reference & Homer’s assistant. (Who I think stole the episode)
Now we have the first Treehouse of Horror episode which is one of the best episodes of the season. This was back when it had its own intro & all the characters told different stories that led into the segments. The first one was a pretty funny then there was the first appearance of the aliens there segment makes no sense on multiple rewatchs. The best one of the lot is the parody on The Raven with James Earl Jones as the narrator. That was awesome. Now we’ve got ‘Dancin Homer’ I liked the first 10 minutes of it then it became really stupid with Homer becoming some legendary mascot for a small baseball team. It was very corny. After that is ‘Dead Putting Society’ there is no reference to Dead Poets Society but to The Karate Kid but with mini golf. It’s not a bad episode but I didn’t like Homer at all in this episode. He was really annoying.
‘Bart vs Thanksgiving’ I think should’ve been called Bart vs the responsibility of admitting he’s wrong & has to accept that he’s a brat. Another pretty good episode I liked Marge’s mum & Kent Brockman. What Mr. Burns send his killer dogs after Bart I think this could’ve been helpful three episodes down the line. Here we are at Bart centric episode number 3 ‘Bart The Daredevil’ where the main plot doesn’t kick off until 12 minutes into the episode. This has the first appearance of Dr. Hibbert (Sadly he doesn’t have that chuckle this season) & the most memorable part of episode is when Homer falls to his death while jumping over the gorge. That’s all I’ve to say about that one.
Next is ‘Itchy & Scratchy & Marge’ Maggie hits Homer on the head while referencing the only scene everyone remembers from Pyscho. Marge decides to protest against the creators of the violent cartoon. So the creators are forced to make the cartoon less violent & now terrifying. So with no cartoons all the kids are forced to do the unthinkable & go outside. So if there were no cartoons or movies to make fun of so does that mean I would have to go outside & actually do something with my life? (Hmmmm)
I doubt it will ever come to that.
Next is another Bart centric episode which is pretty entertaining. Mr. Burns hits Bart with his car & we are introduced to the legendary Phil Hartman as Lionel Hutz who makes Bart’s injury a much bigger deal than it actually is. After that is ‘One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish’ Homer is poisoned at a sushi restaurant & he is told he has 24 hours left to live. Well the ending is pretty damn predictable especially since there not at all subtle about it. I love this episode because of how touching it is & a good remind of Homer’s caring side. After that is the first flashback episode & it’s how Homer & Marge met up in high school. Not a bad episode but not very memorable.
(God this taking forever)
Now we have the Emmy winning episode ‘Homer Vs Lisa And The 8th Commandment’ It’s about Homer illegally having cable in his house (Sounds pretty dated today) & Lisa is haunted by the 8th Commandment. I think other episodes this season deserved to win it more than this. I liked it when Homer slowly lets the guilt overwhelm him but that’s about it. Phil Hartman returns as Troy McClure one of the best side characters on the show. Next is ‘Principal Charming’ its established Selma will happily date anything & Patty hates everyone. It’s also the first appearance of Hans Moleman (I Mean Ralph Melish) another one of my favorite side characters. After that is ‘Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?’ This one we meet Dr. Hibbert’s half-brother & Homer’s half-brother Herb Powell voiced by Danny DeVito. I never liked Herb he’s a horrible person & what happened to him at the end I think he had that coming. Not one of the best episodes because Homer Simpson is blamed for being Homer Simpson. (Thanks Herb)
‘Brush With Greatness’ is a Marge centric episode which is a good episode at showing how vile Mr. Burns is & it’s the first episode that shows that Smithers has … feelings for his boss. For a Marge episode it’s not really about her painting it’s more about the two men around her & her crush on Ringo Starr. (I’m guessing he was the cheapest Beatle they could get) Lisa’s Substitute’ is next & it’s another touching episode with one of the most memorable guest star performances from Dustin Hoffman as Mr. Bergstorm. (Ignore the fake name in the closing credits) This episode has one of the saddest endings with Mr. Bergstorm leaving Lisa that note which is a great character moment for her. The last two episodes are pretty decent to end this season. ‘Three Men & a Comic Book’ has nothing to do with the title until the last 6 minutes of the episode & ‘Blood Feud’ is another Homer wants all of Mr. Burns money & gets squat at the end.
Conclusion: Season 2 is another step to greatness & I cannot wait til next month to talk about Season 3. If you’re thinking of watching older episodes of the show I think you should start here. It’s got good episodes, quite entertaining in small doses & a good season all together.
So if you agree or disagree please let me know in the comments. If you can share it with your loved ones that would be great and if you haven’t notice I’m a huge fan of movies & TV Shows and I’m willing to suffer for my audience so let me know on what I should review next.
If you want to me to continue this series or have other series you think I should do similar to this then please let me know.
Thanks for reading this review and I’ll see you again in the next review. I’ll be back next month with Season 3.
Ranking
22. Bart’s Dog Gets An F
21. Dancin Homer
20. Dead Putting Society
19. Oh, Brother Where Art Thou?
18. Blood Feud
17. Bart The Daredevil
16. Simpson & Delilah
15. Three Men And A Comic Book
14. The Way We Was
13. Principal Charming
12. Bart Vs Thanksgiving
11. The War Of The Simpsons
10. Old Money
9. Bart Gets Hit By A Car
8. Homer Vs Lisa & The 8th Commandment
7. Brush For Greatness
6. Two Cars In Every Garage & Three Eyes On Every Fish
5. Treehouse Of Horror
4. Lisa’s Substitute
3. One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish
2. Bart Gets An F
1. Itchy & Scratchy & Marge
Season Rating: 7/10
