The 10 Best The Simpsons Couch Gags

When people tune into "The Simpsons," there are a few things they expect: social commentary, everyone staying the same age, and couch gags. Since the show's first season, audiences get to see the titular family arrive home and then sit down on their brown couch in some humorous fashion. At first, the gags were simple, like the couch falling apart as soon as they sit down. But after over three decades on the air, "The Simpsons" has needed to up the ante by getting more surreal and complex, like Homer going through a portal and winding up in "Bob's Burgers."

Sadly, anyone who watches a new "Simpsons" episode may be dismayed to find that the couch gag has largely gone away. Season 36's "Shoddy Heat" may have answered how Homer has never lost his job, but the story just starts, which feels... wrong. Couch gags still pop up every so often, but they're becoming fewer and farther between. That means we need to cherish every new couch gag we get.

Even if "The Simpsons" never does another couch gag, which we pray isn't the case, it's worth it to appreciate what we've gotten so far. Here are the best "Simpsons" couch gags in the show's history, mostly due to their sheer elaborateness or getting an amazing guest animator to come aboard. 

It feels odd to kick off this list with what's arguably the saddest "Simpsons" couch gag ever, storyboarded by none other than Banksy, the infamous political street artist. Once the family arrives on their couch, the camera pulls back to reveal a bleak building filled with Korean animators working on "The Simpsons." But the commentary on capitalism and consumerism doesn't end there, as we also see a worker throwing cute animals into a grinder so that their fluff can be shoved into Bart Simpson dolls. The sequence ends with a character putting holes into DVDs via a malnourished unicorn before the whole thing pulls back to reveal the 20th Century Fox logo surrounded by barb wire. 

It's something of a minor miracle this couch gag even exists, if for nothing else that "The Simpsons" team had to track down Banksy in the first place. Showrunner and executive producer Al Jean talked to The New York Times about tracking down the artist, "I asked Bonnie Pietila, our casting director, if she could locate him, because she had previously located people like Thomas Pynchon. And she did it through the producers of ['Exit Through the Gift Shop']." 

While Fox's standards and practices asked them to change certain aspects of the Banksy-submitted storyboards (Jean didn't specify what specifically was cut), but for the most part, it stayed true to the artist's vision. "The Simpsons" frequently bites the hand that feeds it, whether it's under 20th Century Fox or now Disney. It's probably the only sitcom on the air that could get away with something so dismal as its opener. 

Most "Simpsons" couch gags are an opportunity to offer a quick joke before getting into the episode properly. However, there have been times where the gag goes on for over a minute to really drive home the bit. The other more likely explanation is that these longer couch gags are necessary when an episode's running a little short, and they need to hit a precise runtime. That's the case for the evolution couch gag, which debuted in season 18's "Homerazzi." It begins with Homer as a single-celled organism before evolving into a fish that walks on land and then going through various mammalian stages until he reaches humanity. 

It's an incredibly detailed sequence. Clearly, a lot of work went into something that didn't even factor into the plot. That's not even accounting for plenty of great singular jokes within the overarching gag, like Homer passing by Moe on his evolutionary journey, only for Moe to begin to devolve. 

There are layers upon layers of jokes, and eagle-eyed "Simpsons" fans may be aware there are a couple of different versions of the evolution intro. The first version with "Homerazzi" ends with Homer as himself arriving at his house only for Marge to ask, "What took you so long?" This particular couch gag would be used again in "The Homer of Seville" and "Mona Leaves-a," the latter of which also includes a poorly-aged Lance Armstrong cameo. Those two episodes end with Homer sitting on the couch while Marge asks, "Did you bring the milk?" After both lines, Homer lets out an exasperated sigh. Can't a guy just evolve in peace?

Don Hertzfeldt wrote, directed, and produced 2015's "World of Tomorrow," which redefined animation in the 21st century. It consists of three separate films, the first of which was nominated for Best Animated Short Film at that year's Academy Awards. The story involves a young girl, Emily, meeting a clone of herself from centuries in the future, and the pair travel to the clone's time period together. It's a story about hope amidst a chaotic, deteriorating world, and Hertzfeldt brought those precise sensibilities to the couch gag for season 26's "Clown in the Dumps." 

The sequence begins with Homer traveling to the past and morphing into the version of himself from 1987 when "The Simpsons" were still just shorts on "The Tracey Ullman Show." Then he goes into the far-off future of Septembar 36.4, 10,535 where the family are horribly mutated versions of themselves. Homer has tentacles and mispronounces "D'oh" while everyone else is relegated to catchphrases. The Lisa mutant says, "I am Simpson," which feels like a sad version of the note Lisa received from Mr. Bergstrom that read "You are Lisa Simpson." Bart is a blob that painfully lets out, "Don't have cow, man." Maggie finally talks, but it's a call to consumerism: "Make purchase of the merchandise." 

Like the Banksy couch gag, this one also criticizes the commercialization of "The Simpsons" and how these characters are doomed to never age, never learn lessons, and repeat what's been successful before. The sequence also begs the question of how much of "The Simpsons" can you strip away and they still be recognizable. With Hank Azaria concerned about AI replacing him and others in the near future, it may be something the world needs to reckon with sooner rather than later.

There are some truly outstanding "Treehouse of Horror" installments from "The Simpsons," but for "Treehouse of Horror XXIV," the standout was the elongated couch gag from horror maestro Guillermo del Toro. The entire opening stretches three minutes and includes a who's who of horror and fantasy icons. Once we get to the couch itself, Homer is a zombie from "The Devil's Backbone" while Marge is a creature from "Mimic," both of which are films del Toro himself directed. 

Lisa then falls through the couch itself a la "Alice in Wonderland," and upon meeting Hypnotoad from "Futurama," she's greeted by her family as characters from "Pan's Labyrinth." It may be unfair to categorize the entire opening as the "couch gag," but it's impossible not to watch the entire thing and not immediately want to rewatch it to catch all of the references. It's truly a love letter to horror as a genre across all mediums, from film to television to novels. 

If nothing else, it's really cool to see del Toro put all his references on the table like this. Even something as simple as Lisa dressed up as Alice from "Alice in Wonderland" before entering the "Pan's Labyrinth" world. Those two stories share similar themes, and it clearly inspired del Toro's film, at least a little bit, so for anyone who loves their media with ample Easter eggs, this is a must-watch even if you tap out once the actual "Treehouse of Horror" segments start. 

"The Simpsons" has had its share of crossovers over the years. Season 6's "A Star is Burns" saw the family meet Jay Sherman from "The Critic," and creator Matt Groening thought the entire thing was a mistake. That didn't stop the show from crossing over with another Groening creation, "Futurama," years later, but in season 26's "Mathlete's Feat," the show did something of a mini-episode with "Rick and Morty" for the couch gag. 

The sci-fi duo crash into the Simpsons' house, turning the family into puddles of goo. Rick tasks Morty with cloning the family while he steals all their stuff. Once Morty comes back, the Simpsons are regenerated into horrific clones of Rick, making him realize he shouldn't have cleaned his DNA vials using his spit. 

Groening may not have been a fan of crossovers in the past, but he was a big fan of the "Rick and Morty" team putting their mark on the show. He told The Hollywood Reporter, "I loved it. You certainly can't see where it's going, except you might think something bad might happen to The Simpsons. The sequence also cemented "Rick and Morty" as a new cartoon behemoth, because when "Mathlete's Feat" came out, only season 1 of the sci-fi sitcom had been released, so it was a big deal for the show to get such a prolific stamp of approval.

"The Simpsons" has rightfully earned its place among the best sitcoms ever made. When it first came out, the show presented a more realistic look at how dysfunctional American families can truly be, and in the years since, the series has continued to deconstruct common sitcom tropes. Starting with season 20's "How the Test Was Won," the show paid homage to what had come before by taking the family through various other influential sitcoms over the decades. 

They run through the sets of "The Honeymooners," "The Dick Van Dyke Show," "The Brady Bunch," and "Cheers" before finally arriving at their beloved couch. Like the Guillermo del Toro couch gag, there are plenty of references for those with extensive knowledge of sitcom lore. For instance, Lisa gets hit in the nose with a football during "The Brady Bunch" bit, calling to mind the time Marcia Brady (Maureen McCormick) suffered the same injury. When they visit the "Cheers" set, they see Sideshow Bob, who's voiced by Kelsey Grammer, who originated the role of Dr. Frasier Crane on "Cheers."

It may come as no surprise this couch gag was so popular it popped up again in "Coming to Homerica," "Moe Goes From Rags to Riches," and "D'oh Canada." Maybe starting with season 40 "The Simpsons" can make another sitcom parodies couch gag with the most popular sitcoms post-"Cheers."

"The Simpsons" has gotten some of the most prolific animators of the 21st century to work on their couch gags, and for season 25's "Diggs," the team got Sylvain Chomet to put a French spin on the all-American family. Chomet directed "The Triplets of Belleville" and "The Illusionist," both of which received Academy Award nominations for Best Animated Feature, and with just over a minute, he puts his stamp on "The Simpsons" with a glorious sequence animated similarly to "Belleville."

It starts normally enough, but once the lights come on after a power outage, the family is animated in Chomet's aesthetic. French stereotypes abound, like Homer eating an excessive amount of escargot while Lisa plays the accordion and Bart attempts to make foie gras. It ends with Homer getting off the couch to eat a snail off the TV set, only to reveal that Maggie, whom Marge has been looking for, is trapped between Homer's buttocks. 

Chomet spoke with Animation World Network about his goal with the couch gag, "The American Simpsons is full of stereotypes, it's what makes it funny and Americans are able to laugh at themselves and how others see them through the show. I wanted to do the same for the French." It's an ultimately charming segment that demonstrates how "The Simpsons" could benefit from whimsy every now and then. 

Animator Steve Cutts came aboard season 27's "Teenage Mutant Milk-Caused Hurdles" to provide the intro sequence called LA-Z Rider. Homer descends into pure 1980s mayhem as an action hero driving through the city on his personified couch, named Chaise Long, which helps him out in a pinch by sprouting muscled arms and mowing down bad guys with gunfire. 

It's a lot of fun to see a ton of "Simpsons" characters get '80s-fied, like Ned Flanders being the crime kingpin, who's tattooed with all of his unusual sayings like "Hi-diddly-ho neighboreeno." There are plenty of other inside jokes for hardcore "Simpsons" fans to catch, like Homer pushing the couch into "Max Power," which you may remember as the name Homer gave himself in season 10's "Homer to the Max." The whole thing being underscored with Paul Engemann's "Scarface (Push It to the Limit)" is the icing on the cake.

To be honest, this couch gag is so cool it would make a great elseworlds-style "Simpsons" episode. It could easily be something like "A Serious Flanders" that takes place outside the show's standard continuity to deliver even more mayhem. It's the kind of sequence we just need to see more of. 

Given the sheer popularity of "Breaking Bad" in the early 2010s, perhaps it's no surprise to see "The Simpsons" honoring the show with its own couch gag in season 24's "What Animated Women Want." In it, Marge bakes blue cupcakes (in reference to the blue crystal meth on "Breaking Bad"), while Homer tries to get his hands on that sweet, sweet frosting. The pièce de résistance is the end where the couch gag pulls back to reveal live-action Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) watching "The Simpsons" while in their hazmat suits. 

The couch gag is a lot of fun, especially if you're a "Breaking Bad" fan with all of the Easter eggs. But the thing that really sets this intro apart is that it's the rare couch gag that actually ties into the episode itself. During the sequence, we see Milhouse purchase one of Marge's blue cupcakes. Later in the episode, Lisa asks Milhouse if she can have his cupcake, which he refuses after watching "A Streetcar Named Desire" and realizing girls like jerks. 

It's a small thing, but it's kind of surprising that, especially in more recent seasons, "The Simpsons" hasn't done these types of connections more often where the couch gag factors into the actual plot. Probably only the most dedicated of "Simpsons" fans would appreciate that, but at this point, those are likely the only folks watching new "Simpsons" anyway. 

Michal Socha is a Polish filmmaker who has worked on many short animated projects. His films have been known for their hyperkinetic style and emphasis on abstraction. He may not have been a household name, but he created one of the most visually striking couch gags ever on season 25's "What to Expect When Bart's Expecting." The episode as a whole may be one of the worst "Simpsons" storylines ever, but this couch gag makes up for it. 

We witness the family going on an odyssey through Homer's body. Bart takes a look through Homer's eyes, and Homer himself has a beer at his liver, which quickly shrivels up. It ends with the entire family meeting at Homer's brain, which is in the shape of a couch. There's a nice touch of a pencil being lodged in Homer's brain, a nod to the episode "HOMR," where it's revealed that Homer's stupidity is a result of a crayon getting lodged into his brain when he was younger. 

Socha also spoke with Animation World Network about his couch gag and revealed that it originated with a different concept. He explained, "The origin of the idea for 'inside' couch gag was just two simple drawings: Family laying on the couch. Tomato slice fells down from the top of the screen, then cheese, ketchup and top of sandwich. Big hand grabs sandwich with family, and we see that it is Homer that eats family sandwich." The sandwich part was cut, and we get everyone inside Homer's body. 

Say what you will about modern "Simpsons," but the recent couch gags have shown how the series can still be inventive decades into its run.