There are a ton of popular characters on The Simpsons, from Krusty the Clown to Mr. Burns to Principal Skinner, but without a doubt the most beloved of all is everyone's favorite father, Homer Simpson. From Dan Castellaneta's many roles earning four Emmy wins to his catchphrase "D'oh!" being added to the dictionary, Homer is a cultural icon renowned across the world.

While some Simpsons episodes are built around a satirical premise and some revolve around the entire family, most of the show's installments are centered on one member of the titular family unit. Homer has been at the heart of some of the funniest Simpsons episodes.

Updated on January 21st, 2022 by Tanner Fox:Some of the best Simpsons episodes revolve entirely around Homer and his popularity throughout the decades has never waned, providing fans with a huge number of choices when searching for the funniest Simpsons episodes featuring the character.

With the show well into its 33rd season, there's likely even more yet to come from the beloved cartoon dad.

Homer The Smithers (Season 7, Episode 17)

This episode sees Homer try to take the place of Mr. Burns' assistant Smithers while Smithers is on vacation. It's a funny choice, as it's pretty clear that Homer is arguably the laziest and least competent employee at the power plant.

Mr. Burns quickly realizes this and starts doing things for himself because he can't rely on Homer to help him. Smithers is upset to return to a Mr. Burns that no longer needs him, and he confronts Homer about it. Seeing Homer attempt to take Smithers' place is hilarious in general, as the audience knows he won't be up to the task, and Smithers' memorable vacation scenes make this a fun and fairly standout episode.

Homie The Clown (Season 6, Episode 15)

Krusty gets into financial trouble and is in debt to the mob—in particular, Fat Tony. To get out of the red, Krusty starts a clown college in Springfield. Homer is too tempted by the idea that he could learn to become a clown, and he ends up applying. He's impressive and so good that Fat Tony accidentally mistakes Homer, when he's dressed up and performing as a clown, for Krusty.

Homer and Krusty look almost exactly the same, so the hilariously dangerous mix-up alone is a funny premise. Also, seeing Homer as a clown attempting Krusty's stunts on a mini trike never gets old.

Little Big Mom (Season 11, Episode 10)

When Marge breaks her leg during a skiing trip, Lisa takes it upon herself to run the Simpson household, but she quickly discovers that it's much more difficult than she assumed it would be. While the episode is mostly about Lisa, it also features some iconic Homer moments.

In the beginning, Homer encounters a "stupid, sexy" Ned Flanders in a skin-tight suit, disturbing him so much that he accidentally slides off the mountain. In the same episode, he spends months in a Hawaiian leper colony to avoid doing any kind of housework.

The Great Louse Detective (Season 14, Episode 6)

Someone tries to murder Homer as he's in the steam room of the local Springfield spa. Chief Wiggum doesn't have any idea who could have wanted to kill Homer, so he enlists the help of a real killer to help, Sideshow Bob.

Homer and Sideshow Bob work together in the episode to try to catch the killer, and Homer—along with the rest of the town—has to wonder if Sideshow Bob has gotten over his murderous ways, hoping that he doesn't go after Bart. Seeing fan-favorite evil genius Sideshow Bob interact more with the bumbling Homer made for a surprising and hilarious duo from the show's wide cast of characters.

D'oh-in' In The Wind (Season 10, Episode 6)

Homer looks into the origins of his middle name and is told that he got his middle name, Jay, after an incident at Woodstock when his mom took him there. He sees a mural painted in his honor that two friends of his mom, Seth and Munchie, have on their farm. Homer begins to live out his 1960s hippie roots in the episode and enjoys his carefree new life, but everything takes a turn for the worse when he realizes that his new life is hurting others.

The episode spoofed the 1960s, which is always a popular era to focus on, and seeing Homer as a carefree hippie made sense for his character. There were some great elements to the episode throughout, from Martin Mull and George Carlin voicing Seth and Munchie to the flashbacks of young Homer at Woodstock with his mom.

The Cartridge Family (Season 9, Episode 5)

After a riot breaks out in Springfield, Homer decides that the best option to protect his family is to purchase a revolver. Unfortunately, he's excessively careless with it, using it to do things like open beer cans.

Potential criminal negligence aside, one of the best moments of the season comes when Homer makes a spur-of-the-moment decision to rob the Kwik-E-Mart, believing that he'll become a rich senator if he goes through with it. Later in the episode, Snake nabs his weapon, but it's revealed to be unloaded—that is, until Homer gives him the bullets when threatened with a gun he knows to be empty.

Dancin' Homer (Season 2, Episode 5)

Homer gets a job as the new mascot for the local Springfield Isotopes baseball team when he impresses the fans with his dancing skills. The Isotopes win the game the drunken Homer danced at, which gets him the job in the first place, and the minor league team continues to win every game Homer performs at. Because of his track record, the confident Homer is promoted to the major leagues with disastrous results.

This season 2 episode was action-packed with an epic Homer-centric story and had hilariously classic moments from Homer's mascot routine to Mr. Burns attempting to throw the first pitch.

Boy-Scoutz N The Hood (Season 5, Episode 8)

Bart accidentally joins a group called the Junior Campers and is delighted when they allow him to carry a pocket knife. To stay in the group, he, Homer, and Flanders go on a camping trip which eventually gets sees them wind up adrift at sea on a raft.

While much of the episode focuses on Bart, Homer has some great moments. From the iconic "money can be exchanged for goods and services" line to his relentless slapping of Flanders, it's one of Homer's many early-season highpoints.

Homer's Barbershop Quartet (Season 5, Episode 1)

The fifth-season premiere of The Simpsons is a tribute to the Beatles. "Homer's Barbershop Quartet" begins with Bart and Lisa finding their dad on an album cover at a rummage sale. In flashbacks, he explains that he was once a member of a barbershop quartet called the Be Sharps.

The trajectory of the band's success closely follows that of the Fab Four, right down to Barney dating a Japanese conceptual artist and their final impromptu live performance being on a rooftop. This episode does whatThe Simpsonsdoes best, as it balanced parody with paying homage to pop culture. It was a memorable and hilarious Homer episode that spoofed Beatlemania and even had a cameo from George Harrison.

Team Homer (Season 7, Episode 12)

Homer, Moe, and Apu form a bowling team, but Mr. Burns joins in when Homer tries to swindle five hundred dollars from him, ruining the fun. Burns actually helps them win a match against a rival team, but he steals the trophy for himself. When Homer tries to reclaim it from Burns' mansion, he's mauled by dogs.

Homer is up to his typical antics here; from trying to extort the five hundred dollars from Marge in exchange for sex to referring to his favorite sports team as "the suckiest bunch of sucks that ever sucked," it's a quintessential episode for the character.

El Viaje Misterioso De Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage Of Homer) (Season 8, Episode 9)

With some mind-bogglingly surreal animation and a guest turn by Johnny Cash in the role of a space coyote, "El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer" is a different kind of Simpsons episode—and it's all the funnier because of it.

Marge makes Homer promise he won't drink any beer at a chili festival, but he eats a pepper that's so hot that he needs to grab the nearest beverage and pour it down his throat. Then, he runs into the desert as the peppers make him hallucinate and goes on a spiritual journey to reaffirm his love for Marge.

That '90s Show (Season 19, Episode 11)

This episode primarily consists of a series of flashbacks recounting the romantic struggles through which Homer and Marge endured in their first years together. Marge falls in love with a college professor, and, as a form of protest, Homer forms a grunge band called Sadgasm which attains an incredible amount of fame.

Meant as less of a comedy and more of a romantic drama, "That '90s Show" casts light on a sensitive side of Homer that's not often seen. Plus, fans of the genre of music being parodied will enjoy Homer's weird takes on famous songs by bands like Bush and Nirvana.

Homer's Phobia (Season 8, Episode 15)

When Marge and the kids befriend a gay man named John played by guest star John Waters, Homer is forced to confront his prejudices. The episode has a poignant message against homophobia.

"Homer's Phobia" was praised for openly and humorously addressing LGBTQ+ issues when they were still rarely discussed, and won a GLAAD Media Award in addition to an Emmy.

Homer The Great (Season 6, Episode 12)

Homer stumbles upon a secret society called the Stonecutters in season 6's "Homer the Great." He's initially rejected from joining, but, when the cult's insignia is seen in Homer's birthmark, he's declared to be the Chosen One destined to lead them.

Eventually, they all get sick of worshipping Homer and start a new secret society that Homer isn't allowed to be a part of, echoing the childhood trauma that made him want to be accepted into the Stonecutters in the first place. Again, The Simpsons successfully and hilariously spoofed pop culture this time focusing on secret societies, specifically the Free Masons, with a memorable guest spot from Patrick Stewart.

Homer Goes To College (Season 5, Episode 3)

When an inspection of the nuclear plant finds that Homer doesn't have a college degree, Mr. Burns pulls some strings to get him into a decent school to stop the plant from being shut down.

The episode hilariously subverts the usual college comedy tropes, as the dean is a cool down-to-earth guy who gives his students the benefit of the doubt—but Homer hates him anyway.

King-Size Homer (Season 7, Episode 7)

Homer starts binge-eating even more than usual when he finds out he's only a few pounds away from qualifying for worker's compensation in "King-Size Homer."

From muumuu shopping to the classic movie "Honk If You're Honry" to the search for the "any" key, Homer has a ton of classic moments in this episode.

Homer Loves Flanders (Season 5, Episode 16)

After spending half a decade wringing a ton of laughter out of the running gag of Homer's disdain for his next-door neighbor Ned Flanders, The Simpsons took a look at the other side of the coin in season 5's "Homer Loves Flanders" with hilarious results.

A kind gesture causes a change of heart, and Homer suddenly decides that Flanders is his best friend and wants to spend all his time with him. However, Flanders finds that Homer's love is far more dangerous and annoying than his hatred.

Homer At The Bat (Season 3, Episode 17)

With the power plant's softball tournament coming up, Homer is excited to get the rightfield spot on the team. However, when Mr. Burns brings on a bunch of Major League legends to fill out his softball team as ringers, Homer is benched, and his position is played by Darryl Strawberry.

In recent seasons, The Simpsons has relied too heavily on celebrity guest stars, but "Homer at the Bat" represents the best that this show can do with its guest voices.

Mr. Plow (Season 4, Episode 9)

Homer buys a snowplow, comes up with a catchy jingle in the iconic episode that's become one of the show's most famous songs, and quickly becomes one of Springfield's most beloved residents in the season 4 episode "Mr. Plow."

Alas, things get complicated when Homer encourages Barney to follow his own dreams and it backfires because Barney's dream is also to buy a snowplow, and he becomes even more popular as the Plow King than Homer was as Mr. Plow.

Last Exit To Springfield (Season 4, Episode 17)

Homer becomes the head of his workers' union when Mr. Burns threatens his dental plan around the same time that Lisa needs new braces.

As the union goes on strike and Homer's ineptness comes across as hardball negotiation tactics, Burns is pressured to meet his demands. In the episode's hilarious ending, Burns realizes Homer is "not the brilliant tactician I thought he was," and "Last Exit To Springfield" is frequently ranked by fans as one of the top-rated episodes ofThe Simpsons.

NEXT: Lisa Simpson's 10 Funniest Episodes, Ranked

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Ben Sherlock (3638 Articles Published)

Ben Sherlock is a writer, comedian, independent filmmaker, and Burt Reynolds enthusiast. He writes lists for Screen Rant and features and reviews for Game Rant. He's currently in pre-production on his first feature (and has been for a while, because filmmaking is expensive). You can catch him performing standup at odd pubs around the UK that will give him stage time. Previously, he wrote for Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop.

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