Round 11: BABF22 vs. 2F01.

BABF22: “HOMЯ” (Season 12 / January 7, 2001)
Written by Al Jean
Directed by Mike B. Anderson
Showrunner: Mike Scully

Aw geez. While writing this episode, the staff of “The Simpsons” noticed that they’ve had a crayon stuck up their brains for a while, which caused them to write dumb jokes, a lot of Angry Homer, and generally forget everything that made the show great. They remove the crayon and write some nice observational jokes and a sweet connection between Homer and Lisa, but in the end they decide that keeping up that kind of quality would be too much work, so they just cram the crayon back in. THE END.

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2F01: “Itchy & Scratchy Land” (Season 6 / October 2, 1994)
Written by John Swartzwelder
Directed by Wes Archer
Showrunner: David Mirkin

I don’t want to use words like “all-time favorite” here (this whole thing is, after all, designed to help me find just that), but, wow, this episode is just about perfect. Great joke after great joke, and even almost twenty years later this is one of the most quoted episodes among me and my friends. “Who are you, the narrator?” (Dan in top-form.)

• This must have been a tour de force for the animators, but it payed off. Love the family’s vacation clothes, too.
• The kids are acting like kids, which is great.
• One thing missing from an otherwise flawless episode: Alex Rocco.

The clear winner: 2F01: “Itchy & Scratchy Land.”