After 18 seasons and 400 episodes, it's clear that "The Simpsons" holds a special place in TV viewers' hearts. The "stars" of TV's longest running sit-com—dim-witted Homer; optimistic, bouffant-haired Marge; troublemaking, 10-year-old Bart; eight-year-old brainiac Lisa; and pacifier-sucking infant Maggie—have become pop-culture icons.

Now, Matt Groening's yellow-skinned cartoon creations leap onto the big screen with "The Simpsons Movie," opening July 27. In celebration of their multiplex debut, here's a roundup of some of the most quotable characters and an admittedly Homer-centric top ten list of the series' standout episodes.

Or, as Comic Book Guy would designate them: Best. Episodes. Ever.

10. "A Star is Burns" (Season 6)
A crossover episode that works. Jon Lovitz's Jay Sherman character from the gone-too-soon animated comedy "The Critic" arrives to judge a Springfield film festival. The prime fest competitors: a self-glorifying, DeMille-sized epic from Mr. Burns; town drunk Barney's poetic black-and-white document of his sadness; and a slapstick short featuring decrepit Moleman taking a football in the groin. Let's hope "The Simpsons Movie" is better than all three.

9. "The Dad Who Knew Too Little" (Season 14)
After a birthday present to Lisa goes over disastrously, Homer hires a private eye to snoop on her so he can get to know his daughter better. In addition to memorably strengthening the Homer-Lisa bond, the details of Homer's "personalized" video to his daughter make for one of the funniest episode openings.



8. "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show" (Season 8)
A dead-on commentary on how corporate thinking waters down creative endeavors, this episode introduces a backwards-cap-wearing, "exxxtreme" canine (voiced by Homer) into Bart's favorite show, the "Tom and Jerry"-plus-gore cartoon "Itchy & Scratchy." How could anything but backlash result?

7. "The Last Temptation of Homer" (Season 5)
The biggest challenge to Homer and Marge's happiness together arrives in the form of a new plant employee who attracts Homer with her donut-scarfing, work-neglecting ways. As the potential home-wrecker, Michelle Pfeiffer gives arguably the best celebrity guest-vocal performance in series history (beating stars as diverse as Michael Jackson, Dustin Hoffman and Mel Gibson).



6. "The Seemingly Never-Ending Story" (Season 17)
This Emmy-winning mind-bender outlines the backstory of a treasure coveted by Moe the bartender, heartless power-plant owner Mr. Burns, and an OCD-suffering Texas millionaire. By stacking narratives within narratives like Russian nesting dolls, the episode outdoes even hour-long TV dramas in storytelling complexity.



5. "There's No Disgrace Like Home" (Season 1)
A candid acknowledgement of the Simpsons' dysfunctional core, this early triumph ships the family off to psychiatrist Dr. Marvin Monroe, who subjects them to a shock-therapy exercise as hilarious as it is appalling.

4. "Summer of 4 Ft. 2" (Season 7)
Any self-proclaimed nerd can relate to Lisa's ongoing struggle to fit in with her peers. never more honestly rendered than it is here. She adopts a hip persona to fit in with the beach bums near neighbor Flanders' vacation home, leading to an upbeat ending that celebrates being true to yourself in lovely, non-preachy fashion.

3. "Homer's Enemy" (Season 8)
Sure, Homer has a cozy house, a secure job at the nuclear power plant, and a generally supportive family, but he's not exactly a poster boy for the American work ethic. When pitted against someone who is but who has nothing to show for it, the conscientious Frank Grimes (voiced by series regular Hank Azaria), Homer still comes out on top, in a truly haunting, darkly comic finish.

2. "Homer: Bad Man" (Season 6)
The news media turn Homer into a town pariah, based on a babysitter's accusation that he groped her, in a pointed episode that delivers some of the series' sharpest laughs. His ridiculous alibi perfectly encapsulates the show's delightfully random humor: he was grabbing for a gummy Venus de Milo candy that happened to be stuck to the babysitter's bum.



1. "And Maggie Makes Three" (Season 6)
Hard to believe that a show so silly could move an audience to tears, but that's exactly what this episode accomplishes, when Homer reveals why there are no photos of Maggie around the Simpson house. It's the best of the flashback-centered origin stories, which always deliver comfort-food warmth alongside the expected laughs.

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