Stay at Homer

Happy Halloween to all ghosts, skellingtons and draculas!

Annoyingly, it's the fifth Halloween special of The Simpsons, despite being part of Season 6.

WARNING. This episode contains descriptions of axe murder, cannibalism and dinosaur murder.

OH MY GOD! DON'T LOOK BEHIND YOU!!

Sideshow Bob is released from prison, thanks to radio personality and staunch Republican Birch T Barlow. 

Andrew and Tim re-live and review the most overtly political episode of the Simpsons.

The family take a trip to 'the violentest place on Earth' - a theme park tribute to the work of a quasi-fascist who's definitely not based on Walt Disney.

DIE, BAD ROBOTS!

The Simpsons family 'riff' on the theme of love, through the medium of clips from old episodes.

Andrew and Tim 'jam' on the details and share their transient joys with listeners.

Lisa's academic superiority is threatened by a clever classmate who sounds like Winona Ryder. Homer is The Sugarman. Millhouse is a wanted man. Ralph's cat's name is Mittens.

An incapacitated Bart believes he's witnessed a murder, just like in the film Rear Window. Andrew and Tim reflect on a hot summer and bemoan Britain's lack of democracy.

Homer accidentally becomes a teacher after he's accused of being slow by his friends. But he reveals marital secrets to gain respect from the class, to Marge's annoyance.

Andrew and Tim review the finale, and share their favourite episodes from Season 5.

Homer's dad falls for Marge's mum, but Monty Burns threatens to steal her away - to Smithers' chagrin.

Elsewhere - an update on the torturous Episode 100 NFT fiasco, and exciting news about Pete Doherty from 2011.

Bart is the only witness to an alleged assault. But he can't testify, as it would mean confessing to playing truant from school. 

Meanwhile, Tim struggles with NFT technology, while Andrew is appalled by a Simpsons make-up tie-in.

Santa's Little Helper gets stuck in the school vents. Principal Skinner gets fired and Ned takes over.

It's the hundredth episode of The Simpsons!

And it's not very good.

Bart becomes the sole heir to Monty's vast fortune. But he must pay the terrible price of rejecting his family forever. That sounds dark, but it's actually very funny.

Andrew and Tim discuss a timely feature in GQ and mumble about NFTs some more.

Bart wins a full-grown African elephant in a radio competition. Homer entirely fails to capitalise on this development.

Elsewhere, we go on about Danny Elfman's torso.

Ned Flanders treats Homer to a football game, kick-starting an unlikely bromance between the two neighbours. But Flanders' nerves start to fray when he realises how annoying Homer can be.

Andrew and Tim discuss friendship, food politics, religion and the rise of NFTs.

The one where Homer goes into space, as a token blue collar chair moistener.

But the mission goes wrong, due to potato chips and ants. Luckily, an inanimate carbon rod is at hand to spare humanity's insectoid enslavement.

Lisa has high expectations for the talking Malibu Stacy doll. But rather than inspiring rhetoric, her new toy delivers a stream of sexist drivel, and she resolves to create a better role model for young girls.

Andrew and Tim return refreshed from their break and get their ugly pie hooks into a new season.

Apu poisons Homer twice with rancid food, leading to his dismissal from the Kwik-E-Mart. They work together to help him recover from his trauma. 

Andrew and Tim negotiate a minefield of sensitivity around the representation of Indian culture in the Simpsons. 

After a tiresome trip to the box factory, Bart accidentally becomes famous.

But, according to John Updike, celebrity is a mask that eats into the face...

Also - exciting news about a trainer that looks a bit like Snowball 2.

A cat burglar terrorises Springfield, stealing everything that's dear to them. 

Homer forms a vigilante group to apprehend the villain, but they're soon seeking world domination.

Andrew and Tim avoid important current events stories by mulling over amusing Simpsons-related news items.

Marge gets the hots for the slots. Not in that way.

Mr Burns boosts the town economy by opening a casino. But it drives him insane so he bins it.

Andrew and Tim continue their halting re-entry into post-lockdown UK society. But we cut all that because the episode came in too long.

Homer falls for new employee Mindy Simmons, who shares his love of doughnuts and napping in the afternoons.

Andrew and Tim indulge in further distractions from pressing global catastrophes. 

Bart and Millhouse party hard on sugar and join the Junior Campers.

Homer joins Bart on the JC father-son rafting trip. It doesn't go well.

Andrew and Tim do their usual recap and review, with a bit too much laughing and wheezing.

Marge tries to cure her 'nagging complex' by attending a workshop with self-help 'guru' Brad Goodman. 

Andrew and Tim spend a joyous forty-nine minutes exploring a work of prescient genius.

In which the tall-haired Mrs Simpson is drawn into a decidedly Thelma & Louise-esque escapade with bad-girl neighbour Ruth.

This episode also features an under-edited aside on the delights of the Devil's Coach Horse beetle.

The Simpsons 'celebrate' Halloween with three segments of non-canon stories, with varied results.

Tim and Andrew struggle to understand current UK petrol shortages and obscure US movie references.

Burns pines for his childhood bear Bobo. Getting it back will be like taking a cuddly toy from a baby.

Andrew and Tim find themselves in mellow mood, pondering the coming of Autumn and the tedious but terrifying UK supply chain crisis.

Homer's gross incompetence as safety inspector at a nuclear power plant leads to him having to attend university, where his distorted view of college life leads to a string of increasingly dangerous pranks.

Andrew and Tim revel in the majesty of one of their all-time favourite episodes.

Sideshow Bob tries to kill Bart again, but he's thwarted by a child's guile and a lot of rakes.

Andrew and Tim briefly debrief their summers and settle in for an autumn of Omega Variant.

Homer tells the kids about his time with the Be Sharps, a vocal group with more than a passing resemblance to a certain popular beat combo.

This week Andrew and Tim form a fab four with Jacob Balcom and Matt Howell to discuss the episode.

Krusty tries to get his career back on track after the ventriloquist dummy Gabbo appears out of nowhere. 

Andrew and Tim assess the season 4 finale, and choose their favourite episode from the entire season.

A pandemic sneaks into Springfield via dubious juice-loosening machines, and Marge is sent to prison for shoplifting. Andrew and Tim reminisce about May 1993 and give cautious cheer to the slight flattening of UK virus numbers.

Bart gets expelled from school, while an unethical holiday involving violence against snakes grips the Springfield community. Plus Barry White!

Meanwhile, Andrew and Tim struggle to cool down during Britain's heat wave, and marvel at the staggering stupidity of this fair Isle's politicians. 

Bart and Lisa write an episode of Itchy & Scratchy, but Abe gets the credit. Homer and Marge attend their high school reunion. Tim and Andrew prepare for the fifth series and the third wave.

Bart's April Fool prank nearly kills Homer, prompting the Simpsons to reminisce over past episodes. 

Meanwhile, Tim grits his teeth through the last minutes of his self isolation, while Andrew bemoans the British government's lockdown exit plan.

Homer battles with Burns to retain the power plant workers' DENTAL PLAN because LISA NEEDS BRACES. Andrew suffers an attack of Rush, while Tim goes outside to eat food.

Homer takes a sneaky day trip to the Duff brewery. But after getting caught drunk driving, he must give up booze for 30 days.

Meanwhile, Andrew and Tim navigate the confusing interim summer lockdown continuum.

Lisa choo-choo-chooses Ralph Wiggum as her pity valentine, but he takes it as a pledge of lifelong devotion. We've all been there.

Also - Andrew and Tim peer nervously out of the window at all the new vaccinated people.

Bart gets a surrogate father to compensate for Homer's neglect. Andrew and Tim continue to walk the tightrope of loosening coronavirus restrictions. 

Marge's sister aspires to motherhood, but then she endures a disastrous day out with Bart and Lisa. Andrew and Tim embark on The Great Covid Unlocking in the UK, and stress about  variants.

The town of Springfield opts to spend a $3m fine on a monorail transport system, with disastrous and hilarious results. Andrew and Tim discuss the best way to use utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham's effigy.

Homer goes under the knife, with tonally problematic results. Andrew and Tim refuse to embrace the current air of COVID-vaccinated smugness in the UK.

While trying to prompt baby Maggie to speak, the Simpsons go back to the early '80s and the story of how Lisa came to say her first word. Andrew and Tim marvel at one of the most perfectly structured and warm-hearted episodes of their favourite show.

Homer wars with Barney over a snow plow business in Springfield. Andrew and Tim are joined by Jacob Balcom, co-host of the Werewolf by Night Podcast, to discuss one of the all-time greatest Simpsons episodes. 

Bart falls for a cool new neighbour. Homer eats a lot of shrimp. Andrew and Tim catch another tantalising glimpse of the end of UK lockdown.

Monty Burns kidnaps Tom Jones to impress Marge. Tim and Andrew inhale coffee and stare at things for slightly too long.

Bart's bad behaviour gets him banned from the defining event of his generation. Andrew and Tim look forward to emerging from lockdown. Again.

Tim and Andrew appraise the third Simpsons Halloween special, while simultaneously tackling a vaccination scandal, the music of the Electric Light Orchestra and dodgy Whoopi Goldberg gags.

Homer enters a selfconscious Lisa into the Little Miss Springfield contest. Andrew and Tim pass the time by staring at tennis and walking differently.

Homer skips church, with consequences that rock the Simpson family to its very core. Tim and Andrew wrestle with issues of religion, community and earlobes.

Marge takes a role in an am-dram musical, leading to a deeper bond with Homer. Tim and Andrew talk self-monitoring and micro-behavioural adjustments, while swearing quite a lot.

Bart and Lisa go through hell at the bafflingly evil Kamp Krusty summer camp. Meanwhile, Andrew and Tim find joy wherever they can during these 'unprecedented times'.

The Season 3 finale. Homer's brother Herb returns, and Andy keeps calling him 'Abe'. Also features our two essential episodes of Season 3.

Miilhouse falls in love with new girl Samantha Stinky, sorry, Stanky. Andrew and Tim try to banish the real world for a precious 40 minutes of talking about the Simpsons.

School bus driver Otto stays with the Simpsons. Andrew and Tim stay at home.

Sideshow Bob returns and he has evil intentions. Meanwhile, Andrew and Tim consider improvements to the local tier restrictions in the UK. 

Homer takes on the management of a C&W singer. Andrew and Tim ponder the third coming of COVID.

1990s Springfield experiences lottery fever. Meanwhile, in present-day UK, Andrew and Tim battle lockdown fatigue.

Bart and Lisa feel the effects of a botched career aptitude test. Andrew and Tim continue their descent into lockdown-induced psychosis.

Homer plays softball, or baseball, we're not sure which. Andrew and Tim try to figure out whether or not the country is in lockdown.

Bart adopts a lothario alias to catfish his teacher. (Sort of.) Homer builds a doghouse. Andrew and Tim stare into the existential maw.

Marge takes a much-needed break at Rancho Relaxo. Andy and Tim gird themselves for the second wave of lockdown. 

Homer exploits Lisa's talent for predicting the outcome of football games. Andrew and Tim get their nails done, then go bowling and skating.

Andrew and Tim are joined by Jayden Libran, the voice actor creating waves around the world with his Simpsons voices. 

As the world tries to go on summer holiday with a deadly virus still flying around, we flash back to Homer and Marge's marriage.

Burns sells the powerplant. Tim and Andrew wallow in the land of chocolate.

Moe almost gets rich from stealing Homer's idea for a new cocktail. Andrew and Tim feel uncomfortable with the new situation which nobody is calling Unlockdown.

Homer learns what it takes to be a father. Andrew and Tim consider the fate of their country after lockdown eases. 

Homer tries to fix some shoddy parenting with an extravagant gift. Andrew and Tim remain socially distanced but mentally bemused.

Andrew and Tim re-live Halloween 1991 via the Simpsons, in which Homer fails to make the most of the monkey's paw, and Moe falls for the worst prank call ever.

Krusty suffers an existential crisis. Andrew and Tim develop a Stockholm Syndrome relationship with lockdown.

Through sheer luck, Homer avoids a nuclear powerplant meltdown. Tim and Andrew manage their own personal meltdowns by living another episode of the Simpsons.

Bart falls in with some dubious legitimate businessmen. Andrew and Tim lockdown something something nobody reads this bit anyway.

Homer acts like a total jerk when Flanders' business fails. Andrew and Tim revel in a bit of good news at last.

Lisa smashes the system. Andrew and Tim question the realness of lockdown reality.

Andrew and Tim dissect everything that's wrong with the official worst episode ever, and talk about the current prevalence of cancel culture. 

Burns needs a blood transfusion. Andrew and Tim reach the end of both Season 2 and their tethers.

Andrew and Tim contend with the imminent arrival of an asteroid. Bart covets a rare comic book.

Homer and Marge get marriage counselling. Andrew and Tim ponder the pleasures of ice-cream and retweets.

While the world around them dissolves into chaos, Andrew and Tim rewatch an episode of the Simpsons in which Lisa meets an inspirational substitute teacher.

Burns commissions Marge to create a portrait. Andrew and Tim keep their distance.

Grandpa Simpson finds and loses a new love. Tim and Andrew try to make sense of their lives.

Santa's Little Helper's behaviour puts him at risk of expulsion from the family. Andrew and Tim fail to stop watching the news.

Homer finds a long lost brother. Andy and Tim are learning how to cope with prolonged lockdown.

Selma needs a man. Skinner needs a woman. Andrew and Tim need to leave their homes.

Homer steals cable TV in one of the all-time great episodes of the Simpsons.

The TV packs up, so Homer and Marge tell the kids the story of how they met and fell in love. Andrew and Tim experience isolation-related depersonalisation.

Homer learns he has 24 hours before his heart explodes. Andrew and Tim use the Simpsons to mitigate more depressing news about coronavirus lockdown.

Homer pursues an injury claim against Burns. Andrew and Tim stay alert or safe or home or something.

Andrew and Tim are asked to 'stay alert'. Marge forms SNUH to combat cartoon violence.

Bart risks all with a death-defying jump over Springfield Gorge. Andrew and Tim silently rock backwards and forwards.

Andrew does some historical research on Thanksgiving, while Mrs Bouvier wins the episode.

Homer wields Bart's golf skills as a weapon against Ned Flanders. Andrew and Tim sightlessly gaze into the abyss.

Andrew and Tim grapple with American cultural values, while Homer becomes a mascot for the Springfield Isotopes baseball team.

'Hi ho, faceless employees...' Burns runs for political office. Andrew and Tim remain socially distant and emotionally bereft.

Andrew and Tim endure Coronavirus lockdown by going back to October 1990 and re-living the first ever Simpsons Halloween special. 

'Let the fools have their tartar sauce...' Homer gets hair - and unwarranted respect. Andrew and Tim consider ordering new loungewear.

Bart fails spectacularly at school. Andrew goes on about how this is the first episode you should show to someone who's never seen The Simpsons before.

The first season of The Simpsons comes to a close with a faintly flat episode. Andrew and Tim continue to go nowhere.

Tim and Andrew relive the moment the Simpsons introduce the glory that is Krusty the Clown to the world.

Bart heads to France on a cultural exchange trip. Andrew and Tim stay at home.