‘The Simpsons’ On Disney+: The Best HD Episodes to Watch Right Now
When The Simpsons premiered on Disney+, fans were disappointed the original versions of the first 20 seasons were not available in their original standard television format. Disney is working on it so you can watch the classic Simpsons episodes the way they aired in the ‘90s. In the meantime, there are still 10 seasons of Simpsons in HD that look beautiful on Disney+ and they include some all time classics.
The first 10 seasons of The Simpsons always get the most attention in retrospectives, and it’s hard to top episodes like “Bart Sells His Soul” or “Lisa the Vegetarian.” This HD streaming issue could be the perfect opportunity to discover latter year Simpsons episodes. As the writing staff rotated and the show evolved with the culture and TV landscape, The Simpsons did some landmark episodes in the last 10 years. Since they’re already in HD, give these episodes a try on Disney+.
‘Brick Like Me’ and ‘To Courier With Love’ show off ‘The Simpsons’ in HD
These two episodes are visual marvels. Season 25’s 20th episode, “Brick Like Me,” is an all LEGO episode of The Simpsons showcasing bold high-def animation, and a timely spoof of The LEGO Movie.
“To Courier with Love,” season 27, episode 20, sees The Simpsons visit Paris in a high definition animated depiction of the city of love.
‘The Girl Code’ saved The Simpsons from their own tweets
The Simpsons had already tackled social media when Lisa invented an app in “The D’oh-cial Network.” That season 23 episode tackled the craving for validation on social media, and people neglecting their real lives. This episode takes it exponentially further.
In season 27’s 10th episode, Lisa invents an app that can predict the consequences of any post on social media. In world where filmmakers and TV creators started getting fired for old tweets, this was prescient and relevant. In real life there is no app that can warn you not to post something. The Simpsons just pointed out that we all need to think before we tweet.
‘The Ned-Liest Catch’ brought Ned and Edna together
Ned Flanders and Edna Krabapple get together in the season 22 finale. This became a cliffhanger and fans got to decide whether they would stay together in the next season. They decided yes, revealed in the briefest of animated inserts in the following season premiere, until Marcia Wallace passed away and they retired her character.
Ned and Edna (Nedna to shippers) were perfect for each other. Edna never had luck in love, and Ned lost many of his loves, first his wife in a tragic T-shirt cannon accident, Christian rock star Rachel Jordan and movie star Sara Sloane. It wasn’t always easy for Ned and Edna given Ned’s conservative beliefs and Edna’s liberal lifestyle, but they were both better for accepting each other.
‘Homer the Whopper’ tackled comic book movies
Comic Book Guy is one of the best Simpsons characters. He’s voiced by the great Hank Azaria, and when The Simpsons began he was more of a reflection of the sarcastic Generation X-er, and he would be critical of the show itself in meta commentary. Within a decade, Comic Book Guy came true as online personalities emerged with his traits, and no irony. So an episode based on Comic Book Guy creating a comic book is great.
In the 21st season premiere, Comic Book Guy creates Everyman and Hollywood turns it into a movie. Homer lands the role because of course he does. Homer gets every job in every episode. This was a great spoof of Hollywood’s obsession with comic book movies back in 2009. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg wrote it, as they were working on The Green Hornet. Rogen voices a personal trainer who fails to keep Homer in superhero shape.
‘The Simpsons’ did triple duty on ‘Steal This Episode’
This episode hits Hollywood hard. First, The Simpsons try to go see Radioactive Man Re-Rises, Apparently Radioactive Man got rebooted but nobody liked it, so this was the deboot to return to the original franchise. That actually came true with sequels like Halloween and Terminator: Dark Fate. The Simpsons even did their own legacy sequel episode with Season 28’s “Kamp Krustier” which you can also watch on Disney+.
Then Homer complained about the cost of going to the movies, which had only gotten worse in the years since this episode. But the main plot of the episode is that Homer starts a pirate movie theater illegally downloading movies. Homer represents the silliest and most egregious of pirate culture in an episode that’s both relevant to the state of the movie industry and its audience, but also points out how petty it is.
‘The Burns Cage’ was a ‘Simpsons’ episode for equality
Smithers officially comes out in this landmark Simpsons episode. For most of its run, The Simpsons had implied Smithers was gay. He said, “Women and seamen don’t mix,” dreamed of Mr. Burns, discussed his choice of lifestyle and even sang with the Village People. It was always innuendo though.
The Simpsons supported Smithers by allowing him to be out and proud in season 27, episode 17. That doesn’t make finding a partner any easier, but it was a loving episode for Smithers that celebrated his sexuality.
‘The Simpsons’ predicted the immigration crisis in ‘Coming to Homeric’
The 20th season finale of The Simpsons tackled immigration right when the issue was heating up. A single episode managed to encapsulate the entire debate. People from Ogdenville start moving to Springfield. At first they welcome their new neighbors. Then the Ogdenvillians start taking jobs that Springfieldians don’t want to do.
Pretty soon there are no jobs left for Springfield and they start blaming Ogdenville immigrants. Springfield actually puts up a wall to keep Ogdenville out. The Simpsons are probably tired of predicting the future at this point.
