The Top 25 Episodes of The Simpsons [12-1]
When the first official episode of The Simpsons, "Bart the Genius" aired on Fox on this day 25 years ago, it changed my life quite a bit. Through strife, laughter, and love, this series has done so much for me over the years. To honor the series' 25th Anniversary, I've listed my favorite 25 episodes of the series.
Picking up where I left off with the first half, there are just far too many episodes I want to talk about and so little time. It was near impossible to boil it down to 25 (and this half especially) but with a few hours of work I did just that. Enjoy!
Honorable Mentions: Treehouse of Horror V, Thank God, It's Doomsday, A Star is Burns, Gump Roast, Homer vs. The Eighteenth Amendment, Marge vs. The Monorail, Lemon of Troy, And Maggie Makes Three, I Married Marge, Marge Be Not Proud, Flaming Moe's, The Mansion Family, Brick Like Me, 'Round Springfield, 22 Short Films About Springfield, Homer the Whopper, Stark Raving Dad, Lisa the Beauty Queen, Homer's Phobia
The Top 25 Episodes of The Simpsons [25-13]
On January 14th, 1990, the first official episode of The Simpsons, "Bart the Genius," aired on the Fox network. Who knew that 25 years later, we'd still be getting brand new episodes every Sunday? While most folks see the show as an ailing series in steady decline (I won't lie, it was rough around Season 18), I've been hanging on for those 25 years. See, The Simpsons is a very, very special show to me. It started five months after I was born (the show and I are the same age), it was my first word (a garbled mix of Homer and Bart, sounding like "Hort"), and a little piece of me is going to break when it finally ends.
In honor of this monumental anniversary for my favorite TV series, I've perused my DVD sets and VHS tapes and formed a list of my Top 25 episodes. I've set no rules for myself (so unfortunately there's a lot of love for season six), and tried my hardest to fully utilize my experience as a Simpsons junkie. I've broken up this list into two parts, with the second half located here.
The Weekly Swarm: 1/5 - 1/11
With the first full week of 2015 in the books, it's safe to say our team has a pretty good idea of the site's direction going forward. We're still holding tight on pulling the trigger on all of the changes, but slowly but surely, you'll see some of our new ideas surface over the weeks to come.
This past week was a very TV-heavy week, given the beginning of the new year. Travis revisited Six Feet Under and how it had an impact on him, Bridjet shared her top/bottom 10 TV shows to watch/avoid in 2015, and Travis also argued why Shameless is the most overlooked show on cable right now. Outside of TV, Hubert does what he does best, editorializing on everything under the sun, with this week's entries on the Charlie Hebdo situation out in France and the trials and tribulations of adapting real life for films.
Check out all of this and more below.
We Were Promised Hoverboards
Top 10 TV Shows to Watch in 2015
On Six Feet Under and Dealing with Death
Nick's Top 10 Pop Songs of 2014
10 TV Shows to Avoid in 2015
Nous Sommes Charlie Hebdo: Terrorism's Losing Battle Against Satire and Artistic Expression
The Taylor Swift Takeover
Why You Should Watch Shameless, Cable's Most Overlooked Series
[The Friday Five] What to Know in Music This Week (1/5 - 1/9)
Lead Actors in The Raid to Appear in Star Wars: The Force Awakens
[Trailer] Ant-Man
[Weekly Netflix Fix] Welcome to 2015
Based on a True Story: Foxcatcher, Selma, and the Controversy of Adapting Real Life
Dutch Photographer's Incredible 20-Year Project
10 TV Shows to Avoid in 2015
Continuing from yesterday's list of the top TV shows to watch in 2015, these are my choices for the worst tv shows of the early part of 2015. With some returns, some new, and some scrutiny by me, these are the possible (and definite) stink bombs of the year. Enjoy.
Top 10 TV Shows to Watch in 2015
With the New Year approaching, TV fanatics are getting their recliners ready as January marks the beginning of fresh television. I’ve compiled a list of new seasons of your favorite tv shows with their air times as well as some new shows that may surprise you. Give ‘em a whirl.
The Weekly Swarm: 12/29 - 1/4
As I've written plenty of times over the past year, 2014 was a year of growth and development here at Ruby Hornet. We toyed with ideas, tested others, and came upon a framework in which we could develop and focus on in 2015. It might be some time until the scope of what we're exploring is visible, but the wait will be well worth it.
Over the past couple of weeks, we've been sharing some of our year-end lists, which made up the majority of last week's content. In addition to those, we also have a recap from American Football's New Year's Day show, Paul Feig's plans for his Ghostbusters film, and more! Check everything out below.
What The Hell Just Happened? The Biggest Stories of 2014
[RH Recap] American Football at Lincoln Hall (1/1/2015)
The Uncanceled Interview: Obama Weighs In, Sony Backtracks, and Everything Gets Even Weirder
[Trailer] It Follows
Paul Feig Shares Ghostbusters Vision, Defends All-Female Cast
Geoff's Top 10 Trailers of 2014
Geoff's Top 10 Films of 2014
The Most Impactful Photos of 2014
The Weekly Swarm: 12/22 - 12/28
2014 was a great year of progress here at Ruby Hornet. 2015 will see even more progress and evolution, and while it might take some time for all of the moving parts to gel together, I can promise the final product will be well worth the wait. Thank you to everybody that's been along for the ride - you're awesome.
With the holiday last week, we had a bit of a half-week. I also imagine this week will be more of the same. However, we'll still be rocking some quality content. If you missed out on any of our stuff last week because of family get-togethers, The Weekly Swarm has you covered!
Pallbearer and the "Hipster Metal" Phenomenon
FDA Will Now Accept Blood Donations from Gay and Bisexual Men
Silicon Valley: Best Show on TV?
[Trailer] Focus
Netflix to Exclusively Release Pee-Wee Herman Film
Sony Authorizes Select Screenings of The Interview
[Weekly Netflix Fix] Happy Holidays
Silicon Valley: Best Show on TV?
Silicon Valley was easily the best show of 2014. While I’m a little biased when it comes to HBO (I think I’m the only person who doesn’t care for Game of Thrones), the show has regained my faith in premium television since the end of Eastbound & Down.
Silicon Valley follows a small group of coding nerds who live in Silicon Valley, California. Living in a technological world, most people don’t see the faces behind the screen. Lo and behold, they are just as nerdy as you could’ve imagined them to be; and cynical to boot. The main character, Richard, bands his friends together to start Pied Piper; an internet startup of many different functions. In the beginning, the app is used for one thing that leads to another idea to a different use and so on and so forth. Along the way to finding success he loses money, networking opportunities, friends, lawsuits, and at times, his sanity. Behind Pied Piper stands two of Richard’s favorite tech companies who fight the whole season over who will lay claim to Pied Piper’s upcoming fame.
Encompassing the real life struggles of many HTMLers, Java Script geniuses, CSS freaks, and C++ dorks, the show is comically flawless. Finding any lull in dry wit will prove to be impossible as the show’s creator Mike Judge is a master of comedy. With years of Beavis and Butt-head under his belt as well as King of the Hill, Judge proves taking a different route pays off tenfold. Judge takes backburner comics like T.J. Miller, Kumail Nanjiani, and Martin Starr to the center stage (where they so rightfully belong) to whip the audience with their quick wit and well-seasoned stand-up worthy material. While still using the grab bag of lowbrow comedy (e.g. drug use, dick jokes, little kids cursing), Judge ties the show together by following the dynamic relationships of the group. Like everything else good on television, this show is definitely underrated for what it puts out. Also, the second coming of Martin Starr (Bill Haverchuck from Freaks and Geeks) is a prime example of why this show rules. Check out a trailer from the first season below.
[youtube id="69V__a49xtw"]
Take that, Big Bang Theory.