“I just got a bunch of fruity Easter eggs.” – Kearney
“Eww, another liver transplant!” – Dolph
“Oh, no, not again! . . . You’re not getting away that easy, little fella.” – Barney Gumble
It’s been almost a year since the last time I sat down for an extended Simpsons-Beer marathon, and it’s about time I did so again. Having already done every Season through 7, it’s time I got to the last two single digit Seasons: 8 and 9. As we’ve done in the past, there is now a poll in the sidebar at right so you can vote on which season I get to watch. Voting will be closed at 9pm Eastern (US) time on Friday.
As with previous marathons, I will watch the season from start to finish, drinking one beer per episode. I’ll start at 8:00am Eastern time, and drunkenly finish up around 5:00pm. (The episodes total about 8h:30m, plus pauses for typing and bathroom breaks.) While I reserve the right to pause or reverse a little to get a screen grab or a quote, the fast forward button absolutely, positively will not be pressed.
When I did the Season 7 marathon, I didn’t include “Marge Be Not Proud” because these are supposed to be about relaxing and just enjoying the show, and I find “Marge Be Not Proud” to be far from enjoyable. In that vein, I’ll also be skipping two episodes on Saturday, regardless of which season gets chosen. If it’s Season 8, I’m going to pass over “The Homer They Fall” and “Burns, Baby Burns”; if it’s Season 9, I’ll excise “The Principal and the Pauper” (obviously) and “Lost Our Lisa”.
Season 25 is just four days away. If one thing can fortify me for another year of forgettable mediocrity, it’ll be revisiting a year that was neither.
[Update 26 September 9:00pm EDT: I’ve been taking some well justified flack in the comments for wussing out on not doing the entire season. Having given it some thought, I can’t come up with a good counterargument, so, point taken. Season 8’s well ahead at the moment, which means that Larry and Lucius are back on Saturday morning’s course. I left them off because they are the only episodes in Season 8 that I rarely ever watch, but plenty of you seemed surprised by my choices, so maybe that’s just me. Besides, I actually like both of them better than “Marge Be Not Proud”, so screw it. And, yes, if Season 9 stages a comeback, I’ll do both Tamzarian and Risk Homer.]
Dead Homer Society 
11 responses to “Idiot to Damage Perfectly Good Liver For Your Amusement Again [Updated Thursday]”
I never thought you’d be marathoning seasons 8 and 9. In my book they’re great, underrated seasons that hold up pretty well today. Anyways, hope you have fun with the booze!
Season 8 may have been when the wheels were starting to come off, but it still had a lot of classic episodes. Plus, a good number of those episodes went uncovered when you did your Crazy Noises on Season 8 (understandably. Those were just some of the really good ones), so it will be interesting to see your thoughts on those.
I’m glad to hear The Homer They Fall is a genuinely shitty episode in someone else’s mind. I always thought I hated it because I was young when it first aired and boxing is boring and I didn’t get any of the references.
Most of the Season 8 Episodes are great and some of my faves of all time, I also don’t see why you should skip any, even the shitty ones, but oh well. I’m Diabetic and cannot drink much, so have fun, try not to get alcohol poisoning though! Drink light beer or have some Highballs instead. Peace out.
burns baby burns and lost our lisa are pretty good. why skip them? :(
Why make a big deal about doing a marathon of an entire season and not hitting the fast forward button if you’re going to skip entire episodes? Man up and tackle the entire season!!
The Homer They Fall, Lost Our Lisa and Principal and the Pauper are pretty lame, but apart from that silly party ending, what’s wrong with Burns, Baby Burns?
I bet after watching Season after Season of ZS, even the Principal and the Pauper will seem good. You might actually enjoy it!
And I am not ashamed to say that I like Marge Be Not Proud! To me it was where Marge, after years and years and years of putting up with and excusing Bart’s behaviour finally has to come to terms with what he’s done. The way she portrayed her exasperation by being cold and distant hit close to home. Anger shows emotion, shows that she still cared. This almost civil neutrality meant that she pretty-much gave up. After all his antics, Bart finally gets his comeuppance – and it’s worse than any punishment that Homer or Skinner could mete out.
And the panic that Bart felt when he realized that maybe this time, he went over the line – the emotions were on the ball. He actually goes through some stages similar to those of grief – denial, fear, etc.
And finally in his last attempt to make amends, he does what any kid in the real world might do. it’s not some hackneyed hollywood sitcom gimmick like you would see on ZS. It’s something that a real live kid would do. Band aid a wound. Heck I did something like this (I taped wrestling over my parents’ favourite movie – and it took me literally years to find a replacement – this was years ago before the Internet and Amazon – think pre-Season 1 Simpsons – except I got no hugs at the end – only an dismissive eye roll).
And then at the end, when Bart gets the crappy game, he does what any good kid would do (compare that to what the spoiled kid was doing at the store at the beginning of the episode): he sucks it up, thanks his mom, and attempts to enjoy the game. Again, happened to me all to many times.
Maybe this episode hits too close to home, and that’s why i really like it
I agree with all of this (In case you couldn’t tell.)
“If it’s Season 8, I’m going to pass over “The Homer They Fall” and “Burns, Baby Burns”; if it’s Season 9, I’ll excise “The Principal and the Pauper” (obviously) and “Lost Our Lisa”. ”
*cue Troy McClure* if that’s what he’s leaving out, what he’s leaving in must be pure gold! Seriously though, not a single one of those episodes is, in any way, bad. A step or two down from classic, maybe, but I have seen shitty Simpsons episodes (they’re called season 11+), and these aren’t it.
Whoo, you’re not gonna wuss out and instead you’re gonna do the whole run!
Anyways, I voted for Season 8, because shit, might as well do it chronologically, right?