Top 5 Simpson Parodies

The Simpsons is the nerdiest show ever made. From these episodes, it's clear that the writing staff are a bunch of film buffs and broadway heads. Here are the top parodies ever featured on the greatest show ever made!

5. A Streetcar Named Desire (A Streetcar Named Marge)

The brilliance of converting A Streetcar Named Desire into a musical is that it totally defeats the entire purpose of Tennessee Williams' play. When Blanche says "I've always depended on the kindness of strangers," it's supposed to be naive and pathetic. In the universe of The Simpsons, it becomes a show stopping musical number. Remember, "a stranger is just a friend you haven't met."

4. Great Escape/The Birds (A Streetcar Named Marge)

Yes, both the A and B plot of "A Streetcar Named Marge" were parodies. In this episode's B plot, Maggie tries to escape her crib in a prison like day care center. What's insane is that there are more parodies fit into this single scene. For instance, the day care center is named after Ayn Rand and the babies are depicted like the birds from Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. There's even a Hitchcock cameo. Yes, The Simpsons did this all in a B plot to an overall episode that was already a full on parody of a play.

3. The Music Man (Marge vs. the Monorail)

This episode captures the very essence of what The Simpsons is about. This episode was utterly absurd and off the walls. It also heightened the absurdity of Broadway shows, including the Music Man. Can a man really convince people to buy his sham product through song? Well, as The Simpsons point out, you can on Broadway.

2. Merry Poppins (Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious)

Almost the entire episode was a Merry Poppins parody. Sharry Bobbins, not Poppins, comes to help the Simpson family. She ends up not making a difference at all, learning that the family rather be dysfunctional than perfect. Bobbins then leaves the family in shambles, only to fly away with her magic umbrella and brutally killed by an airplane turbine. Somehow The Simpsons manage to keep it silly and never reach disturbing territory.

1. Planet of the Apes (A Fish Called Selma)

Finally, The Simpsons decided to give Troy McClure his own episode. It's surprising how complex they made him. Even if Troy had a crazy fish fetish, A Fish Called Selma may have been one of the sweetest episodes The Simpsons have ever produced. Troy's turn as Charlton Heston was one of the shows best moment in all 25 years. The scariest thing is that we are this close to having a Planet of the Apes musical in reality.