Wet Saturdays and Summers where everything is far from summery mean only one thing, DVD reruns. Yesterday saw return visits to Peep Show and Futurama, while today is the predecessor, The Simpsons, Season 4. It's a bizarre choice, especially considering how little of a The Simpsons fan anymore. That said, these are the classic episodes, that are still thankfully funny in every area. It's interesting that, despite the show now being in it's twentieth-something year, the best episodes come from this very season.

Marge vs. the Monorail is my favourite episode, period. Originally aired in January 1993, fifteen whole years have passed since it premiered. With the show's continual failures and decline in quality, I think it's safe to say that this accolade will never be passed onto another episode. Sure, we can be hopeful this isn't the case at all, but lets not shit ourselves- I don't like change and the writers of the Simpsons nowadays have no standard of quality. No matter, here's some reasons why I love Marge vs. the Monorail though:

• Phil Hartman guest stars and has a huge role in the episode. Troy Mclure and Lionel Hutz are probably the two best recurring characters the show has, but in this episode Hartman plays Lyle Lanley a whimsical conman cross-breed of the two, and without gushing, is undoubtedly the best thing about the episode.
• There's singing, and dancing. Midway into the episode the entire population of Springfield breaks into song encouraged by the afore-mentioned Lanley. Musically, and lyrically, it's the best song the show's ever housed, laden with funny one-line cameos and incredibly catchy. To many, this song will immedieately be synonymous with the episode, and perhaps, classic Simpsons.
• There's random violence and quick-fire laughs. A popcorn truck blows up, conjoined twins are seperated because of a high-speed anchor and freuquent examles of the Springfield mob mentality and the ongoing rivalry and feud with neighbouring town, Shellbyville.
• Mr Burns' disguise as Mr Snrub, "yes, that'll do!" , the family of opossums, and Homer's all-time awesome line, "I call the big-one Bitey!". Really, ideas and scenes this random and nonsical needs nothing more said about them, they're legendary.
• The episode focusses largely on Marge, with the writers' desire for Bart to be cool and Homer's adventures into absurdity, thankfully both given a backseat. Marge's continued presence as the protagonist and driving force behind the episode is an interesting change, and the episode benefits from it.
• References, there's lots of them. Batman, Star Wars, Star Trek (thanks to the awesome inclusion of Leonard Nimoy) and most importantly, The Flinstones, the opening of the episode seeing Homer escape from work singing with so much reference and tribute to the music of the Flinstones theme-tune, before ending in, again, random quick-fire violence.

By the end of the episode everything is wrapped up neatly, with no future consequences (although EPA later reappear in the Movie), and it really is one of those episodes where you can tune in without previous viewing, laugh, tune-out, and remember. The amount of times i've watched it is silly, but with each viewing the episode retains exactly what made it so funny, endearing and exciting as previously, smiles not being effect of the humour, but a constant presence throughout the twenty minutes. I know what's going to happen, I know what the next line of the song is, and yet...yet it's pivotal viewing. It's the best episode of The Simpsons because it combines and mixes exactly what is so good about the show in the first place, and to great effect.

If you know someone who has never heard of or watched The Simpsons, simply, this is the episode you point them towards.