Top TV Memes: The Best Meme Formats From 'The Simpsons'

The Simpsons is the longest-running show ever. When it first aired in 1989, the world had no idea what had just been unleashed upon it.

Setting the standards for all the animated adult family dramas that would follow (and there’s a lot of them, which could never achieve the same status they sought to copy), The Simpsons follows Homer Simpson (voiced by Dan Castellaneta) and his family as they experience a relentless cycle of embarrassments, misadventures and never aging a day over the span of three decades.

Whether you think The Simpsons predicted 9/11 or you only remember the one meme of Lisa Simpson and her presentation, there’s no way to deny the huge impact this series has had on internet culture over time.

As one of the most popular animated shows out there, as well as the inspiration for more jokes than we can ever hope to remember, The Simpsons has created lots of memes, from "Not Today, Old Friend" to "That's a Paddlin.'" Here are the best episodes to find them.

Most Popular Memes: Season 4, Episode 21: "Marge in Chains"

For years, the internet has been torn over whether or not The Simpsons is accurately predicting the future. The legend says one of the writers, though no one knows who, is pitching these ideas for plot points that eventually resemble real-life events in the future. Of course, the show has been going on for so long that history was bound to repeat its fictional self at some point. But as of 2020, an episode that aired back in 1993 has ignited thousands of discussions, and the resemblance it has to the events of last year is disturbingly striking. First, it begins with the spread of a virus that originated in an Asian country. Next, the virus spreads to the United States and causes panic.

A pandemic episode happens on every show eventually, but this one is eerily similar to the COVID-19 pandemic due to what happens next. A group of people frantically looking for a cure accidentally unleash a bunch of violent bees, similar to the murder hornets that arrived in America in early 2020.

Next, Marge is arrested without a good reason, leading to riots in the streets seeking justice for Marge. There’s even a point where angry rioters topple a statue, which became a common practice regarding Confederate statues last year. The only way the episode could be any more like 2020 would be a giant monolith appearing in the middle of Springfield with no explanation, so it’s pretty obvious why there are so many memes about this episode still floating around on the internet in 2021.

Most Meme Potential: Season 5, Episode 16: "Homer Loves Flanders"

This episode is for everyone who hates socialization, and judging by the fact that you’re currently reading an article about memes and The Simpsons, that probably includes you. In this episode, Homer decides to befriend Ned Flanders, an unlikely move that confuses Ned and leads to a number of awkward encounters many of us can, unfortunately, relate to. However, while we may have been left on read for asking friends if they wanted to hang out, Homer makes the situation a whole lot worse by stalking Ned.

At one point, Homer emerges from the bushes of Ned Flanders’s yard in an attempt to join him on a family trip. When this idea is understandably rejected, Homer slinks back into the bushes, giving us one of the best memes from The Simpsons the world has ever known, especially considering it’s still a prevalent format in 2021.

The scene and the implications of awkwardness surrounding it are so timeless that we can’t stop joking about it even now. At another point in the episode, another viral joke appears after Homer prays to a waffle on the ceiling he believes is God, asking for baseball tickets. After Marge knocks the waffle down from the ceiling, Homer eats it, calling it "sacrelicious." This scene, while overshadowed by the rest of the episode, has led to a number of GIFs and memes surrounding his interpretation of God as a stale waffle.

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