Most episodes of The Simpsons revolve around a solitary story (or two if there’s a B-plot) about the titular family, but the writers have also developed a handful of anthology-style episodes that tell a few short stories within a single episode – usually three segments comprising a trilogy. These episodes have proven to be so popular that Family Guy has copied the format with episodes like “Three Kings” and “High School English.”
As the annual Halloween specials, the “Treehouse of Horror” episodes are more or less their own thing, so for the purposes of this collection, they don’t count as anthology episodes.
Simpsons Bible Stories (Season 10, Episode 18)
During one of Reverend Lovejoy’s typically boring sermons on a hot Easter Sunday morning, the Simpson family imagines themselves in their own versions of classic Biblical tales.
Marge imagines herself and Homer as Adam and Eve; Lisa imagines herself in ancient Egypt as the plagues hit; Homer imagines himself as King Solomon; Bart imagines himself as King David slaying Goliath.
The Wettest Stories Ever Told (Season 17, Episode 18)
The Simpson family shares three stories set at sea in season 17’s “The Wettest Stories Ever Told.” The first story takes place on the Mayflower’s voyage to the new world and the second story takes place on the Bounty leading up to the famous mutiny.
The third story steals the show with a parody of the disaster movie classic The Poseidon Adventure. The framing narrative sees the Simpsons’ trip to a seafood restaurant go awry when an octopus arms itself with knives.
Margical History Tour (Season 15, Episode 11)
Marge takes the kids to the library to study in season 15’s “Margical History Tour,” but finds that almost all of the books are gone, so she decides to tell her own accounts of various historical figures.
The episode’s segments feature Homer as Henry VIII in a chronicle of his marital woes, Lenny and Carl as Lewis and Clark (with Lisa playing Sacagawea), and Bart as Mozart in a historically inaccurate retelling cribbed from the movie Amadeus.
Simpsons Tall Tales (Season 12, Episode 21)
Since Homer refuses to pay for a flight to the Simpson family vacation, they have to ride the rails in season 12’s “Simpsons Tall Tales.” They meet a homeless man who tells them three folk stories.
The episode tells three familiar American stories – the tales of Paul Bunyan (played by Homer), Connie Appleseed (played by Lisa), and Tom Sawyer (played by Bart, with Nelson as Huck Finn) – with the show’s signature biting wit.
Tales From The Public Domain (Season 13, Episode 14)
In season 13’s “Tales from the Public Domain,” the Simpsons writing staff tackled three stories that any writer is free to adapt: Homer’s Odyssey, the life of Joan of Arc, and William Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
Like all the best anthology episodes, it ends with the strongest segment. The roles of Hamlet are perfectly cast with Simpsons characters: Bart as Prince Hamlet, Homer as King Hamlet, Moe as Claudius, Marge as Gertrude, Lisa as Ophelia, and Carl and Lenny as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
Revenge Is A Dish Best Served Three Times (Season 18, Episode 11)
The Simpson family offers up three tales of vengeance in season 18’s “Revenge is a Dish Best Served Three Times.” First, Homer stars in a hysterical sendup of The Count of Monte Cristo.
Then, Milhouse stars in a parody of Revenge of the Nerds in which he fights back against bullies and eventually becomes one. And finally, Bart plays a spoof of Batman aptly named “Bartman.”
The Seemingly Never-Ending Story (Season 17, Episode 13)
Instead of telling three separate stories in a row like most Simpsons anthology episodes, season 17’s “The Seemingly Never-Ending Story” jumps from perspective to perspective, unraveling a larger story as Homer is stuck in a cave and waiting to be saved.
Such disparate plot threads as Bart’s geography test, a scavenger hunt, a sheep chase, and Mr. Burns losing the power plant all come together across the episode’s complicated narrative.
The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase (Season 8, Episode 24)
Unlike other popular comedies like Friends and Family Guy, The Simpsons has managed to avoid the allure of spin-offs for its entire run. But in season 8’s “The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase,” the writers threw out three jokey pitches for spin-offs.
The first, Chief Wiggum, P.I., relocates Wiggum to New Orleans and partners him with Principal Skinner in a private detective agency. The second, The Love-matic Grampa, pairs up Moe and Grampa as Grampa possesses the love tester machine in Moe’s Tavern. The third, The Simpson Family Smile-Time Variety Hour, is a variety show featuring all the Simpsons except Lisa, who refused to participate.
Trilogy Of Error (Season 12, Episode 18)
Season 12’s “Trilogy of Error” is a different kind of anthology episode, because all three stories are technically the same story told from three perspectives: Homer, Lisa, and Bart. It's a clever take on something popularized in Run Lola Run.
Homer loses a thumb, Lisa wants to enter the science fair in time, and Bart is trying to get a hold of some illegal fireworks. Throughout the episode, Matt Selman’s masterfully crafted script reveals how all three stories interconnect with one another.
22 Short Films About Springfield (Season 7, Episode 21)
At the beginning of season 7’s “22 Short Films About Springfield,” Bart and Milhouse wonder about all the interesting stories going on in their town that they never get to see.
The episode then proceeds to jump from supporting character to supporting character, exploring new perspectives on the residents of Springfield. Principal Skinner invents “steamed hams” to cover up his disastrous dinner with Superintendent Chalmers and there’s even a great Pulp Fiction parody to riff on the anthology format.