As everyone knows, The Simpsons has some of the most incredible characters in the history of television. One of those characters is Mr. Montgomery Burns, the evil head of the Nuclear Power Plant. While he (and often his sidekick, Smithers) are present in a lot of episodes, we’re sometimes lucky enough to get an episode focusing exclusively on the incredible old millionaire.
These are the ten best episodes that focus on Mr. Burns, whether he’s displaying his typical personality or taking on one of his rare moments of kindness.
The Mansion Family
By season eleven of The Simpsons, you’d be hard pushed to find an episode that meets the once incredible standard of the show’s golden era. ‘The Mansion Family,' in which the titular family housesits for Mr. Burns after he is crowned the oldest man in town, is one of the few that allows us to reminisce on just how great the show once was.
Burns’ Heir
It seems that everyone in Springfield is destined to have a go at being the next in line for Monty’s enormous fortune. The original, and the best, attempt at this storyline came from season five.
Burns almost dies (again) and ends up recruiting Bart as his heir. In order to inherit an incredibly large fortune, Bart has to spend time with the aging tycoon.
A Star Is Burns
This very strange episode of season six is a weird crossover between The Simpsons and The Critic, with Jay Sherman coming to Springfield to judge a filmmaking competition. Of course, the wealthiest man in town is able to monopolize the whole thing and pump a huge budget into making massive blockbusters that sweep away the competition.
Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)
It’s incredibly rare that The Simpsons takes on a plot so interesting that they have to split it into two parts, but the famous episode Who Shot Mr. Burns did exactly that. Everyone in town hates Mr. Burns already, but when he decided to steal oil from underneath Springfield Elementary to further add to his wealth, they definitely feel able to kill him if they could.
At the end of the episode, we are treated to something very rare for an episode of the show: a cliff-hanger.
Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part Two)
After Burns was shot at the end of the previous episode, the whole world was debating who it might have been.
Was it Homer? Smithers? Moleman? After an episode full of humor that lands perfectly in the shows golden age, we find out that it was Maggie all along.
The Old Man And The Lisa
Despite having an enormous fortune with which he seems to be able to do just about anything (from making films to blocking out the sun) the start of this episode sees Mr. Burns going bankrupt. He asks Lisa to help him get rich, but she ends up turning his plant into a recycling plant.
It’s a success for a while, but in the end, Mr. Burns’ evil ways come in-between their ethical mission, and he sells the plant to a company who makes fish sticks, resuming the abundance of animal killing Lisa was trying to remove.
Burns Baby Burns
One of the classic ways to add a new layer to a show that is running out of storyline is to introduce new characters. In this episode, we meet Mr. Burns’ son, Larry (voiced by Rodney Dangerfield). He’s a happy man, but Burns certainly isn’t and doesn’t really want anything to do with him.
Thankfully, Homer and Larry really hit it off, and he moves into the Simpsons’ basement.
Homer Vs Dignity
It isn’t much of a surprise that Homer doesn’t really feel an overwhelming desire to hang onto his dignity where he can. There have been a lot of examples of Homer making a fool of himself for a variety of reasons, but becoming Mr. Burns’ ‘Prank Money’ really seems to come out on top.
Burns pays Homer to do everything from fling pudding into the eye of Lenny, to literally have sex with a panda...
The Springfield Files
Another one of the very strange crossover episodes The Simpsons likes to experiment with every now and again brings Mulder and Scully from The X-Files into the mix.
It has one of the most iconic Mr. Burns moments within, where the entire town seems to think he is an alien after one of his many medical mysteries leaves him glowing green.
Last Exit To Springfield
Often considered one of the greatest episodes of The Simpsons ever, ‘Last Exit To Springfield’ is also the best Burns-centric half-hour.
The workers at the plant strike in order to get a dental plan that will play for Lisa’s braces. Homer’s morals are a little corrupt, but it does bring the town together against the evil owner.