Troy McClure hosts a behind-the-scenes look at the show, including clips of the series' beginnings as shorts on "The Tracy Ullman Show," Simpsons trivia questions, and unaired scenes from popular episodes.
Season 7's meta celebration lands 54 jokes in 22 minutes—pure escalation-driven absurdism.
Directed by David Silverman · Written by Jon Vitti
WAR
55.4
Wins Above Replacement
“The Simpsons 138Th Episode Spectacular” ranks #52 of 226 The Simpsons episodes on the Humor Index, scoring 83.6 — Elite. The episode packs 54 scored jokes at 3.3 per minute, averaging 7.2 on craft and 6.9 on impact, with Homer landing the most laughs. Every joke is ranked below with its individual craft and impact scores.
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Top Jokes
Homer: You think you're tough, Mr. Burns? I'm not afraid of you!
Mr. Burns: Oh really? What if I unleashed my hounds upon you?
Homer: Dogs? I laugh at dogs!
Mr. Burns: What about dogs AND bees?
Homer: You don't scare me!
Mr. Burns: Dogs AND bees AND dynamite?
Homer: Still not scared!
Mr. Burns: Alright then... dogs AND bees AND dynamite AND cats!
Homer: Oh why you little!
Homer Escalation Absurdist ★ Rewatch Bart: Dad, you're going to go crazy.
Homer: Oh, thank you for inviting me!
Homer Character Comedy Escalation ★ Rewatch Mr. Burns: Bee dogs? That's nothing. I've got something far more sinister: a division of my factory devoted entirely to training attack llamas in the art of competitive ballroom dancing.
Mr. Burns: Smithers, you attempted to murder me. For this heinous crime, I'm forced to dock your pay... ten cents per week.
Smithers: Ten cents, sir? But sir, that's only thirty dollars a year!
Mr. Burns: Yes, and I expect you to make up the difference by working weekends. Unpaid, of course.
Marge: I treat Satan like any other person Bart shouldn't bother.
Marge Character Comedy Absurdist All Jokes — 54 analyzed
Show all ↓ Hide ↑ Troy McClure: You may remember me from such films as 'Alien Nosejob' and the short-lived Chevy Chase Show.
Troy McClure: You may remember me from such films as 'Radioactive Man' and 'The Contrabulous Fabtraption of Professor Horatio Humperdink.' But today I'm here to talk about America's favorite non-prehistoric animated family — The Simpsons!
Troy McClure: You may remember me from such DVDs as 'The Simpsons: Uncensored Collection' and 'The Simpsons: Director's Cut.' But I'm here to tell you that the episodes you're about to see have been heavily edited for content and time. Many scenes involving alcohol, violence, and adult language have been removed. Some characters' names have been changed. And several jokes that might offend have been replaced with safer alternatives. So sit back, relax, and enjoy The Simpsons — now with 40% less Simpsons!
Troy McClure: You may remember me from such autobiographical comics as 'Life in Hell.' But you probably don't know about Matt Groening's other works, like 'Death in Suburbia,' 'Agony in the Afternoon,' and my personal favorite, 'Suffering: It's Not Just for Breakfast Anymore.'
Troy McClure: You may remember me from such prestigious television programs as The Tracey Ullman Show.
Troy McClure: Where I performed in a little sketch called 'The Simpsons.'
Bart: Dad, if a tree falls in the forest and no one's around to hear it, does it make a sound?
Homer: Well, Bart, that's like asking if a hot dog is a sandwich. The answer is yes... and no... and also pants.
Homer Wordplay/Pun Setup/Punchline Marge: Don't let the bedbugs bite.
Bart: Wait, bedbugs are real?!
Marge: Of course they are, dear.
Bart: Why didn't anyone tell me this before?!
Bart Reaction Beat Cringe/Discomfort Troy McClure: You may remember me from such educational films as 'Firebat: Avenger of the Deep' and 'Pukahontas.' But you probably don't remember that these Tracy Ullman Show shorts are where The Simpsons began!
Troy McClure: Notice how Homer, Marge, Bart, and Lisa looked exactly the same thirty years ago. Nothing's changed! Same design, same jokes, same eternal stagnation.
Maggie: Sucking on pacifier while eating cookies
Maggie: Realizes she's been caught, looks at camera with knowing expression
Maggie: Removes pacifier and says: But I learned something today — if you're gonna do something wrong, just don't get caught.
Maggie Character Comedy Absurdist Lisa: Okay, everyone. I've assigned space patrol roles based on your personalities.
Homer: What's my job?
Lisa: You're the ship's cook, Dad.
Marge: And me?
Lisa: You're the communications officer, Mom.
Bart: What about me?
Lisa: You're the evil robot bent on destroying the ship and killing everyone aboard.
Bart: Excellent!
Lisa Character Comedy Escalation Lisa: It's just regular Bart described as 'horrible, mutant boy'
Lisa Setup/Punchline Character Comedy Homer: Wake up! Wake up, everyone! It's World War III!
Marge: Homer, what are you talking about?
Homer: I'm just trying to get you guys out of bed!
Homer Absurdist Character Comedy Homer: Well, if this were a real emergency, we'd already be dead.
Homer Dark/Subversive Deadpan/Understatement Bart: Sacré bleu! I am Jacques Cousteau, explorer of ze deep!
Bart: Zis bathtub, she is ze ocean, non? And zese rubber duckies, zey are my crew!
Bart: We must descend into ze mysterious depths to discover ze secrets of ze sea!
Bart Character Comedy Absurdist Troy McClure: You may remember me from such films as 'Radioactive Man' and 'The Simpsons.' Did you know that liberal Matt Groening secretly inserts right-wing propaganda into every episode?
Troy McClure: Why, just last week, I spotted a subliminal message hidden in the background that said 'Buy more guns and cut taxes!'
Troy McClure: It's the only explanation for why America keeps voting Republican!
Troy McClure: Let's see here... 'Dear Troy, you're a huge jerk.' Well, that's not really a question, but I'll answer it anyway. No, I'm not.
Postal Worker: I need a signature from Mr. Burns.
Homer: That's me, I'm Mr. Burns.
Postal Worker: What's your first name?
Homer: Uh... B?
Homer: Oh sure, I'll just make everyone happy by taking them to a magical candy land where the trees are made of lollipops, the rivers flow with chocolate syrup, and the clouds rain gumdrops.
Homer: And then we can all skip through the gumdrop meadows, past the licorice forests, and swim in the marshmallow lakes!
Homer: Why, we'll ride on candy canes down the caramel mountains and sleep in beds made of cotton candy!
Homer Character Comedy Escalation Homer: I was being sarcastic.
Bart: Yeah, well, nobody cares.
Homer Bart Character Comedy Deadpan/Understatement Homer: Hey, can I bring my potato chips on the spacecraft?
Astronaut: Sure, go ahead.
Astronaut: Oh no! The salt from the chips is corroding all our instruments!
Homer: D'oh!
Homer Reaction Beat Physical/Slapstick Homer: All work and no play makes Jack a dull... uh... dull what? I forget.
Homer: Wait, who's Jack?
Homer Callback Character Comedy ★ Rewatch Callback Bart: Dad, you're going to go crazy.
Homer: Oh, thank you for inviting me!
Homer Character Comedy Escalation ★ Rewatch Matt Groening: Get out of my office!
Interviewer: But we just wanted to ask you a few questions about—
Matt Groening: I said GET OUT!
Mr. Burns: That blasted dog won't stop barking at me. Keeps jumping up, licking my face, following me everywhere.
Smithers: Sir, with all due respect, that sounds... rather nice.
Smithers: Oh, what a day. Time to unwind with my computer.
Computer: Good evening, Smithers. I'm ready to... process your requests.
Smithers: Oh my, yes. I do hope you're adequately... equipped for this.
Computer: I assure you, my hard drive is fully... operational.
Mr. Burns: I have this recurring dream where I'm on a great ship, and the water is made of semen.
Mr. Burns: And these beautiful mermaids come up to the side of the boat, and they wave at me with the flimsiest of fins.
Troy McClure: Well, you may remember me from such educational films as 'Accepting An Incredible Bribe' and 'Kick Me.' But today, I'm here to set the record straight about Mr. Smithers. You see, viewers have been asking, 'Is Smithers the real deal?' Well, let me tell you some completely bland, obvious biographical facts. Smithers was born on a day. He has a first name. He wears clothes. And yes, he does exist. You may have seen him before. I'm Troy McClure, and you may remember me!
Troy McClure Deadpan/Understatement Meta/Self-Referential ★ Rewatch Troy McClure: You may remember me from such episodes as... well, actually, I haven't been in many lately. But that's not because I mysteriously disappeared — I was just unpopular!
Troy McClure Meta/Self-Referential Deadpan/Understatement ★ Rewatch Troy McClure: You may remember me from such films as 'Dial M for Murderer' and 'Firecrackers 2: The Burning.'
Troy McClure: But you haven't seen everything! I've got plenty more where that came from!
Krusty: Offering inappropriate sexual material to children
Krusty Dark/Subversive Escalation Krusty: Wait, wait, let me explain this better. You get paid in Krusty Bucks, which you can redeem at participating Krusty locations for merchandise or food items...
Krusty: ...and by participating locations, I mean my office. And by food items, I mean the stuff I don't sell because nobody wants it.
Krusty: Please, I'm desperate! I'll do anything for work!
Director: Well, we're casting for a hemorrhoid commercial.
Krusty: Hemorrhoids?! I'm your guy! I know those things intimately!
Krusty: Do I get the part? Do I?!
Krusty Cringe/Discomfort Physical/Slapstick Homer: Here's your card, pal.
James Bond: A joker? This ruins everything.
Homer: What? It's still a card.
Homer Simpson: Go fish.
James Bond: That's not a card, that's an instruction card.
Homer Simpson: Yeah, well, you gotta follow the instructions first.
Mona Simpson: You eating that candy I brought you?
Homer Simpson: Yeah, Mom, it's delicious.
Mona Simpson: Good, because I found it in my purse from 1985.
Homer Simpson: 1985?! That's... that's over 30 years old!
Mona Simpson: So?
Homer Simpson: So nothing. It's great, Mom. Really great.
Homer's Mother: I'm so disappointed you don't work for NASA anymore.
Homer: Well, Mom, if it makes you feel any better, I'm lazy.
Homer: Don't worry, Mom. I'm very careful at the nuclear plant. Safety is my number one priority.
Mona: That's good, Homie.
Homer: Yeah, I follow all the rules. Well, except for that time I deliberately loosened the coolant valve to leave early on Fridays. And when I rigged the backup generator so it wouldn't work. And that incident with the uranium... but other than that, safety first!
Homer Escalation Irony/Sarcasm Bart: I'd sell my soul for a donut.
Devil: Done deal.
Bart: Whoa, whoa, whoa! I was just talking!
Marge: I treat Satan like any other person Bart shouldn't bother.
Marge Character Comedy Absurdist Lionel Hutz: Yes, well, I may have won the case, but justice doesn't pay the bills. So I'm delivering free pizza to the community.
Marge: That's very generous of you, Mr. Hutz.
Lionel Hutz: Well, I should mention... the pizza box is empty.
Marge: Empty?
Lionel Hutz: I couldn't afford the pizza.
Apu: I have been studying American comedy, but I do not understand. You reduce all humor to superficial clothing differences?
Apu Observational Deadpan/Understatement Homer: You think you're tough, Mr. Burns? I'm not afraid of you!
Mr. Burns: Oh really? What if I unleashed my hounds upon you?
Homer: Dogs? I laugh at dogs!
Mr. Burns: What about dogs AND bees?
Homer: You don't scare me!
Mr. Burns: Dogs AND bees AND dynamite?
Homer: Still not scared!
Mr. Burns: Alright then... dogs AND bees AND dynamite AND cats!
Homer: Oh why you little!
Homer Escalation Absurdist ★ Rewatch Mr. Burns: Bee dogs? That's nothing. I've got something far more sinister: a division of my factory devoted entirely to training attack llamas in the art of competitive ballroom dancing.
Robotic Richard Simmons: You can do it! Feel the burn! Come on, sweetie, push through the pain! I believe in you! You're a beautiful butterfly emerging from your cocoon of laziness and chardonnay!
Homer: Ow! Ow! Ow!
Smithers: He's going to explode!
Smithers: It was me, sir! I shot you!
Mr. Burns: You?
Smithers: Yes, sir. I was so distraught over your affair with Lola Bunny that I came to the office that night, and in a fit of passion, I shot you. But... but I thought you were dead, sir. You mean you've been alive all this time?
Mr. Burns: Yes, you idiot.
Mr. Burns: Yes, my plan for world domination is proceeding splendidly. Soon the entire planet will be under my control, and I shall use this power to... get better lunch reservations.
Mr. Burns: Smithers, you're drunk!
Smithers: No sir, I'm just a little tired.
Mr. Burns: Tired? You can barely stand! You're swaying like a buoy in a hurricane.
Mr. Burns: Smithers, you attempted to murder me. For this heinous crime, I'm forced to dock your pay... ten cents per week.
Smithers: Ten cents, sir? But sir, that's only thirty dollars a year!
Mr. Burns: Yes, and I expect you to make up the difference by working weekends. Unpaid, of course.
Troy McClure: Of course, this ending makes no sense whatsoever.
Troy McClure: But then again, what doesn't these days? You might say the laws of logic are just too... nutty.
Troy McClure: You may remember me from such reflective moments as 'The Simpsons: A History' and 'Looking Back at Looking Back.' Well, did you know that Matt Groening's original concept for the show was much darker? In fact, the Simpsons were originally supposed to be a cannibalistic family living in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, and Homer was meant to be a sentient blob of nuclear waste. Marge's hair was actually a separate parasitic organism, and Bart was going to be 47 years old. Lisa would communicate only through saxophone solos played in morse code. It's true! I read it on the internet, which as we all know, is never wrong!
Troy McClure: You came here to see me promise you completely inappropriate content, and boy, do I deliver!
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