“The Simpsons” has been going strong for what feels like about 100 years. They’ve had their hits and misses, but as a whole, they’ve delivered the goods a vast majority of the time. For the few and far between clunkers they’ve had (notably: The clip shows, and when Sideshow Bob [as much as I love the character] hypnotizes Bart [and yes I’m aware that I used a bracket inside a parentheses, just wait until I have a point within a point within a point, your head might explode]), they’ve had classics.

There’s one episode that stands out above them all, and that’s Cape Feare.

This episode aired in season 5, right as the Simpsons were hitting their golden age.  Most people my age were small children when this episode aired all the way back in 1993. (The Simpsons have been on a long time.) The plot had been set up by episodes in the previous four seasons, setting up Sideshow Bob’s homicidal hatred of Bart. For a quick recap: Bart not only foiled Bob’s attempted takeover of “The Krusty the Klown Show” by uncovering Bob framing Krusty, but also dissected Bob’s attempt to murder Selma for her money (When did Selma get rich? Oh well, suspend your disbelief for fictional TV shows, right?). This leads to Sideshow Bob devoting his life to plotting and executing his revenge against Bart, with hilarious consequences.

There are a lot of great reasons to love this episode, but here are a few, in no particular order:

• Sideshow Bob’s parole officers: Despite being questioned about his hatred of Bart, and having a tattoo of “Die Bart Die,” Bob is paroled.  His reasoning? “No, that’s German for ‘the Bart, the.”’ Apparently this is good enough to get you released from prison, as the parole board reasons, “No one who speaks German could be an evil man.”
• The Rakes: I’ll cover this one more in the next paragraph.
• Bob’s Announcement:  “The following Springfield residents will not be killed by me: Ned Flanders, Rod and Todd Flanders, Marge Simpson, Homer Simpson, Lisa Simpson and little baby Simpson. That is all” The ridiculousness of Bob broadcasting his murder plans to the entire town slay me for some reason. Though Homer’s reaction may take the cake. “HEY BART DID YOU HEAR….oh yeah”
• Homer’s thick head: How hard is it to get the fact that you’re changing your last name? Homer can’t seem to get it through his head after hours of practice and claiming that he gets it.
• Gilbert and Sullivan: Seriously, what animated cartoon comedy in the history of the world would have successfully incorporated the “H.M.S. Pinafore” into an episode about murder and revenge? Kelsey Grammer was on full display here as a talented actor, as he completely nailed the song and the enigma that is Sideshow Bob.

The rakes, though, the rakes.  I don’t think there’s ever been a better sequence of nonsensical humor. Other shows have tried to copy it (Family Guy with the chicken fight) but none have nailed it quite as perfectly as The Simpsons writers did in this scene. After strapping himself onto the bottom of the Simpsons’ new car from the witness relocation program, riding over rocky roads, getting hot coffee thrown on him, and driving through a cactus patch, Bob is noticeably annoyed. Then he steps on the teeth of a rake, and whacks himself in the face, and lets out an audible groan of pain and annoyance. He turns, another rake. He turns again, another rake, 9 in total. When the camera pans out, all you can see is rakes.  Writing this doesn’t even do it justice, it’s one of those things that get better the more you watch it. The groan never gets old, and they even were brilliant enough to throw one more rake smack as Bob gets onto the houseboat to take out the family and Bart. The scene was hastily thrown together, as the episode’s run time was originally about 1 minute short. Kelsey Grammer didn’t even know that the rake scene would go on as long as it did; he only recorded the groan once. It’s the unexpected things in life that end up being some of the best things.

The Simpsons have a litany of episodes to choose from that are amazing to watch and re-watch, but this one has a special place in my heart (and my DVR) for years to come. It’s amazing that this show has been on as long as it has been, and while it may have declined in the past few years, it’s still the signature TV show of our generation.

(And besides, it’s about a million times better than any reality show nowadays, right?)