List of The Simpsons couch gags

The Simpsons is an American animated television sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The opening sequence of The Simpsons features a couch gag; a "twist of events that befalls the Simpson family at the end of every credit sequence as they converge on their living-room couch to watch TV."[1][2][3] The couch gag is a running visual joke near the end of the opening sequence and it is frequently used to make the show longer or shorter, depending on the length of the episode itself.

The couch gag changes from episode to episode and usually features the Simpson family's living room couch. A typical gag features the Simpsons running into the living room, only to find some abnormality with the couch, be it a bizarre and unexpected occupant, an odd placement of the couch, such as on the ceiling, or any number of other situations, such as to make a pop culture reference. Longer couch gags have sometimes been used to fill time in shorter episodes, such as in "Lisa's First Word", "The Front"[4] and "Cape Feare".[5] The show's 500th episode "At Long Last Leave" showcases each couch gag that was used in the series.

Seasons: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 · References · External links

Couch gags

Key

Season 1 (1989–90)

Ep # Original air date [7] Gag [8] Episode Production
code[7]
1 December 17, 1989 none (Christmas special) "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" 7G08
2 January 14, 1990 The Simpsons pile on to the couch; Bart is squeezed off of it, flies out of frame and lands in front of the TV. "Bart the Genius" 7G02
3 January 21, 1990 The Simpsons pile on to the couch; the sides of it give in, leaving the family sitting on cushions on the floor. "Homer's Odyssey" 7G03
4 January 28, 1990 The Simpsons pile on to the couch. Homer is squeezed off the couch and says "D'oh!" "There's No Disgrace Like Home" 7G04
5 February 4, 1990 none (opening credits shortened) "Bart the General" 7G05
6 February 11, 1990 The Simpsons pile on to the couch; Maggie pops up in the air and lands in Marge's arms. "Moaning Lisa" 7G06
7 February 18, 1990 The Simpsons pile on to the couch and sit in a normal manner. "The Call of the Simpsons" 7G09
8 February 25, 1990 Repeat of 7G02's couch gag "The Telltale Head" 7G07
9 March 18, 1990 none (opening credits shortened) "Life on the Fast Lane" 7G11
10 March 25, 1990 Repeat of 7G03's couch gag "Homer's Night Out" 7G10
11 April 15, 1990 Repeat of 7G04's couch gag "The Crepes of Wrath" 7G13
12 April 29, 1990 Repeat of 7G06's couch gag "Krusty Gets Busted" 7G12
13 May 13, 1990 Repeat of 7G09's couch gag "Some Enchanted Evening" 7G01

Season 2 (1990–91)

Ep # Original air date Gag [9] Episode Production
code
14 October 11, 1990 The Simpsons pile on to the couch. The couch falls through the floor as Homer says "D'oh!" "Bart Gets an "F"" 7F03
15 October 18, 1990 The Simpsons do an Egyptian dance before piling on to the couch. "Simpson and Delilah" 7F02
16 October 25, 1990 none (Halloween episode) "Treehouse of Horror" 7F04
17 November 1, 1990 The Simpsons pile on to the couch and it folds out to become a sofa bed. "Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish" 7F01
18 November 8, 1990 The Simpsons (except Maggie) pile on to the couch; Maggie peeks her head out of Marge's hair. "Dancin' Homer" 7F05
19 November 15, 1990 The Simpsons are joined by Santa's Little Helper and Snowball II as they pile on to the couch. "Dead Putting Society" 7F08
20 November 22, 1990 The Simpsons enter the living room to discover Grandpa sleeping on the couch. "Bart vs. Thanksgiving" 7F07
21 December 6, 1990 The Simpsons pile on to the couch; Homer's weight tips the couch over sideways and Maggie sits on a couch cushion on the floor. "Bart the Daredevil" 7F06
22 December 20, 1990 The Simpsons enter the living room to discover the couch missing. "Itchy & Scratchy & Marge" 7F09
23 January 10, 1991 The Simpsons pile on to the couch; Homer bumps the others onto the floor one-by-one and takes the couch for himself. "Bart Gets Hit by a Car" 7F10
24 January 24, 1991 The Simpsons pile on to the couch and it falls over backwards; Maggie pops up from behind it. "One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish" 7F11
25 January 31, 1991 Repeat of 7F03's couch gag "The Way We Was" 7F12
26 February 7, 1991 Repeat of 7F02's couch gag "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment" 7F13
27 February 14, 1991 Repeat of 7F01's couch gag "Principal Charming" 7F15
28 February 21, 1991 Repeat of 7F05's couch gag "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" 7F16
29 March 7, 1991 Repeat of 7F08's couch gag "Bart's Dog Gets an F" 7F14
30 March 28, 1991 Repeat of 7F07's couch gag "Old Money" 7F17
31 April 11, 1991 Repeat of 7F06's couch gag "Brush with Greatness" 7F18
32 April 25, 1991 Repeat of 7F09's couch gag "Lisa's Substitute" 7F19
33 May 2, 1991 Repeat of 7F10's couch gag "The War of the Simpsons" 7F20
34 May 9, 1991 Repeat of 7F11's couch gag "Three Men and a Comic Book" 7F21
35 July 11, 1991 Repeat of 7F03's couch gag "Blood Feud" 7F22

Season 3 (1991–92)

Ep # Original air date Gag Episode Production
code
36 September 19, 1991 The family sits; the couch tips over backwards and crashes into the back wall. "Stark Raving Dad" 7F24
37 September 26, 1991 The family sits on the couch. Homer pulls a distressed Santa’s Little Helper out from under him. "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington" 8F01
38 October 3, 1991 repeat of 7F02's gag "When Flanders Failed" 7F23
39 October 10, 1991 The family forms a human pyramid on the couch with Maggie on top. "Bart the Murderer" 8F03
40 October 17, 1991 A space alien is on the couch with a drink in hand. Before the family can come in, it escapes through a trap door in the floor. The family comes in and sits as normal. "Homer Defined" 8F04
41 October 24, 1991 Everyone (except for Bart) sits on the couch. Bart comes in moments later and lies stretched out on everyone’s laps. "Like Father, Like Clown" 8F05
42 October 31, 1991 none (Halloween episode) "Treehouse of Horror II" 8F02
43 November 7, 1991 Homer lies down on the couch and ends up getting sat on by the rest of the family. "Lisa's Pony" 8F06
44 November 14, 1991 Everyone sits on the couch, and falls in with their legs behind their heads. "Saturdays of Thunder" 8F07
45 November 21, 1991 Two burglars are in the process of carrying off the couch. The Simpsons come in and sit, but the burglars throw them off and leave with the couch. "Flaming Moe's" 8F08
46 December 5, 1991 Santa’s Little Helper is asleep on the couch. When the family comes in, he growls ferociously, and the family backs away slowly.[10] "Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk" 8F09
47 December 26, 1991 The family (except Maggie, who hops after failing to do a proper cartwheel) cartwheels to the couch and lands with a “ta-da” pose. "I Married Marge" 8F10
48 January 9, 1992 The family sits on the couch and end up bouncing over and under each other until they are in completely different places on the couch. "Radio Bart" 8F11
49 January 23, 1992 repeat of 8F01's gag "Lisa the Greek" 8F12
50 February 6, 1992 repeat of 8F03's gag "Homer Alone" 8F14
51 February 13, 1992 repeat of 8F04's gag "Bart the Lover" 8F16
52 February 20, 1992 The family runs to the couch, but knocks themselves unconscious in the process. Maggie (the only one who is not knocked out) ends up on the couch. "Homer at the Bat" 8F13
53 February 27, 1992 repeat of 8F05's gag "Separate Vocations" 8F15
54 March 12, 1992 repeat of 8F06's gag "Dog of Death" 8F17
55 March 26, 1992 repeat of 8F07's gag "Colonel Homer" 8F19
56 April 9, 1992 repeat of 8F08's gag "Black Widower" 8F20
57 April 23, 1992 repeat of 8F09's gag "The Otto Show" 8F21
58 May 7, 1992 repeat of 7F24's gag "Bart's Friend Falls in Love" 8F22
59 August 27, 1992 repeat of 8F10's gag "Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?" 8F23

Season 4 (1992–93)

Ep # Original air date Gag Episode Production
code
60 September 24, 1992 The Flintstones (Fred, Wilma, and Pebbles) are on the couch. When the Simpsons come in, Fred smiles at Homer and invites him to sit. "Kamp Krusty" 8F24
61 October 1, 1992 The family sits on the couch. The couch transforms into a monster and swallows the family.[1][10][11] "A Streetcar Named Marge" 8F18
62 October 8, 1992 The Simpsons sit on the couch. The wall spins around, leaving behind an empty couch. "Homer the Heretic" 9F01
63 October 15, 1992 Maggie is already on the couch. Homer, Marge, and Bart run off the edge of the film onto an empty white space and quickly run back. Lisa jumps in at the last minute.[10] "Lisa the Beauty Queen" 9F02
64 October 29, 1992 The Simpsons are now skeletons who rush to the couch and sit as normal. "Treehouse of Horror III" 9F04
65 November 3, 1992 The Simpsons sit on the couch. The couch deflates like a balloon. "Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie" 9F03
66 November 5, 1992 The family’s heads are mismatched. Everyone undoes the mistake by taking back their proper heads and Maggie takes her pacifier out of Homer’s mouth. "Marge Gets a Job" 9F05
67 November 12, 1992 repeat of 7F03's gag "New Kid on the Block" 9F06
68 November 19, 1992 The couch is replaced by a small wooden chair; the family sits on it. "Mr. Plow" 9F07
69 December 3, 1992 As the standard theme music stops, the family forms a chorus line, joined by a line of Rockette-like women, all high-kicking to a Vegas-like rendition of the main theme melody. The living room walls are lifted to make way for a large production number, featuring hand-standing elephants, magicians, Santa's Little Helper leaping through a ring of fire, and more all set to circus style music. The standard theme music then returns, concluding normally.[10] "Lisa's First Word" 9F08
70 December 17, 1992 The family is shrunk and climbs the “giant” couch.[10] "Homer's Triple Bypass" 9F09
71 January 14, 1993 The Simpsons sit down, followed by three rows of secondary characters (such as Kent Brockman, Apu, Krusty, Principal Skinner, Marge's mother Jackie, Mr. Burns, Smithers, a black-haired Princess Kashmir in her belly dancer costume, Nelson, Milhouse, Martin, and Mrs. Krabappel) from the show who obstruct the family's view.[10] "Marge vs. the Monorail" 9F10
72 January 21, 1993 The family is caught in a net trap set up on the floor. "Selma's Choice" 9F11
73 February 4, 1993 repeat of 9F01's gag "Brother From the Same Planet" 9F12
74 February 11, 1993 repeat of 9F08's gag "I Love Lisa" 9F13
75 February 18, 1993 repeat of 9F02's gag "Duffless" 9F14
76 March 11, 1993 repeat of 8F18's gag "Last Exit to Springfield" 9F15
77 April 1, 1993 repeat of 9F05's gag "So It's Come to This: A Simpsons Clip Show" 9F17
78 April 15, 1993 repeat of 9F08's gag "The Front" 9F16
79 April 29, 1993 repeat of 9F07's gag "Whacking Day" 9F18
80 May 6, 1993 repeat of 9F09's gag "Marge in Chains" 9F20
81 May 13, 1993 repeat of 9F11's gag "Krusty Gets Kancelled" 9F19

Season 5 (1993–94)

Ep # Original air date Gag Episode Production
code
82 September 30, 1993 A director does three couch gag takes. Take one: The Simpsons first run into the living room and shatter like glass, with Santa's Little Helper walking in to look at the mess on the floor. Take two: The Simpsons run in and coalesce into a multicolored, five-headed blob. Take three: The Simpsons run in and explode on contact, with Maggie's pacifier falling onto the blackened crater. (syndicated reruns use the “take one” couch gag and takes two and three are used as individual couch gags in different episodes) "Homer's Barbershop Quartet" 9F21
83 October 7, 1993 repeat of 9F08's gag "Cape Feare" 9F22
84 October 14, 1993 The family sits; the couch and family are crushed by the cutout foot from the opening of Monty Python's Flying Circus.[10] "Homer Goes to College" 1F02
85 October 21, 1993 The Simpsons run in and find an identical Simpsons family on the couch. (This scene is frequently used as the opening couch gag on syndicated versions of Simpsons episodes from seasons one to five.) "Rosebud" 1F01
86 October 28, 1993 The Simpsons are zombies who break through the floor and groan as they sit on the couch. "Treehouse of Horror IV" 1F04
87 November 4, 1993 The family runs in and crashes through the wall, as it turns out the couch and other living room furniture is painted on a backdrop. "Marge on the Lam" 1F03
88 November 11, 1993 The family runs in and finds an obese man taking up the entire couch. The man tries to give the Simpsons room to sit, but it's a tight fit. "Bart's Inner Child" 1F05
89 November 18, 1993 The lights are out as five pairs of eyes enter. The lights turn on revealing only eyes, as the eyeless family rushes in and sits down, reconnecting with their eyes. "Boy-Scoutz N the Hood" 1F06
90 December 9, 1993 The family sits, then realizes the couch is on the set of the Late Show with David Letterman; next to the couch, Dave spins in his chair to face forward at his desk. "The Last Temptation of Homer" 1F07
91 December 16, 1993 repeat of the first of 9F21's three gags "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)" 1F08
92 January 6, 1994 repeat of the third of 9F21's three gags "Homer the Vigilante" 1F09
93 February 3, 1994 repeat of the second of 9F21's three gags "Bart Gets Famous" 1F11
94 February 10, 1994 Homer, Marge, Bart, and Lisa poke their heads out from behind the couch; Maggie pokes out from behind the center cushion "Homer and Apu" 1F10
95 February 17, 1994 repeat of 1F02's gag "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy" 1F12
96 February 24, 1994 repeat of 1F05's gag "Deep Space Homer" 1F13
97 March 17, 1994 There are two identical couches in the living room. The Simpsons split themselves down the middle and each half sits on the couches. "Homer Loves Flanders" 1F14
98 March 31, 1994 repeat of 1F06's gag "Bart Gets an Elephant" 1F15
99 April 14, 1994 The Simpsons are balls that bounce onto the couch. Bart almost bounces away, but Homer reins him in and hurls him onto the couch. "Burns' Heir" 1F16
100 April 28, 1994 The Simpsons sit on the couch just as a translucent FOX station identification logo appears in the lower right hand corner of the screen. Homer sees it, gets up from the couch, peels it off, and stomps on it (with the family joining him in stomping it) before returning to the couch. "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song" 1F18
101 May 5, 1994 repeat of 1F07's gag "The Boy Who Knew Too Much" 1F19
102 May 12, 1994 repeat of the first of 9F21's three gags "Lady Bouvier's Lover" 1F21
103 May 19, 1994 repeat of the third of 9F21's three gags "Secrets of a Successful Marriage" 1F20

Season 6 (1994–95)

Ep # Original air date Gag Episode Production
code
104 September 4, 1994 The Simpsons sit down in midair; the couch builds itself on top of the family and makes them fall. "Bart of Darkness" 1F22
105 September 11, 1994 The living room floor is a shallow body of water. The Simpsons swim their way to the couch. Once on the couch, Bart removes his scuba mask and Homer dries out his ear by sticking his finger in it.[10] "Lisa's Rival" 1F17
106 September 25, 1994 repeat of 1F02's gag "Another Simpsons Clip Show" 2F33
107 October 2, 1994 The family is beamed onto the couch, Star Trek-style.[3] "Itchy & Scratchy Land" 2F01
108 October 9, 1994 repeat of 1F06's gag (original airing)/repeat of 1F01's gag (subsequent airings)/none on the Simpsons season six DVD set "Sideshow Bob Roberts" 2F02
109 October 30, 1994 The Simpson family members are built à la Frankenstein’s monster with each other’s body parts. They try to retrieve their own parts, but it’s not an improvement. "Treehouse of Horror V" 2F03
110 November 6, 1994 repeat of 1F06's gag "Bart's Girlfriend" 2F04
111 November 13, 1994 The Simpsons sit on the couch and get shot into the ceiling, with only their legs and feet showing. "Lisa on Ice" 2F05
112 November 27, 1994 In a loose parody of the film, Time Bandits, the family chases after the couch and the back wall as it slides down an endless hallway.[10] "Homer Badman" 2F06
113 December 4, 1994 The family run in from the side past a repeating background shot of the couch and TV. "Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy" 2F07
114 December 18, 1994 repeat of 9F08's gag "Fear of Flying" 2F08
115 January 8, 1995 The living room is at the center of an M.C. Escher's Relativity style environment with multiple staircases and conflicting perspectives; the family enters from various directions (and dimensions) and sits.[1] "Homer the Great" 2F09
116 January 22, 1995 The living room is seen through the barrel of a gun with music typically heard in a James Bond film playing. Homer walks in and fires at the unseen gunman. The screen “bleeds” red and falls. "And Maggie Makes Three" 2F10
117 February 5, 1995 The living room is shown in black and white. The Simpsons—animated as smiling, rubber-hosed cartoon characters of the early 1930s—come in and do a stiff dance.[10] "Bart's Comet" 2F11
118 February 12, 1995 repeat of 1F22's gag "Homie the Clown" 2F12
119 February 19, 1995 repeat of 1F17's gag "Bart vs. Australia" 2F13
120 February 26, 1995 repeat of 2F01's gag (except the Simpsons now appear on the couch in a burst of whitish-blue light as seen on the show Quantam Leap) "Homer vs. Patty & Selma" 2F14
121 March 5, 1995 The family’s heights are reversed; Maggie is now the largest while Homer is the smallest.[10] "A Star Is Burns" 2F31
122 March 19, 1995 repeat of 2F05's gag "Lisa's Wedding" 2F15
123 April 9, 1995 repeat of 2F06's gag "Two Dozen and One Greyhounds" 2F18
124 April 16, 1995 repeat of 2F09's gag "The PTA Disbands" 2F19
125 April 30, 1995 repeat of 2F31's gag (except the sound of Maggie sucking her pacifier is heard) "'Round Springfield" 2F32
126 May 7, 1995 repeat of 2F10's gag (only the James Bond music playing sounds different from the one heard in 2F10) "The Springfield Connection" 2F21
127 May 14, 1995 repeat of 2F11's gag "Lemon of Troy" 2F22
128 May 21, 1995 repeat of 2F07's gag "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)" 2F16

Season 7 (1995–96)

Ep # Original air date Gag Episode Production
code
129 September 17, 1995 The theme from Dragnet plays as the couch slides away and a police lineup height chart unfurls from above. The family lines up in front of it. "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part Two)" 2F20
130 September 24, 1995 Like a fax machine, the couch ejects a sheet of paper with a picture of the family, which then floats up into the air, before sliding beneath the couch. "Radioactive Man" 2F17
131 October 1, 1995 Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, Maggie, Grampa (who’s sleeping), Santa’s Little Helper, and Snowball II are in a Brady Bunch-style nine-square grid, with the couch in the center square. Everyone (except Grampa) runs to the center square. "Home Sweet Homediddly-Dum-Doodily" 3F01
132 October 8, 1995 The family drive around the room in go-karts, wearing fezzes. They line up in front of the couch and honk their horns simultaneously. "Bart Sells His Soul" 3F02
133 October 15, 1995 The Simpsons are colorless blobs. Mechanical arms color and detail the family. "Lisa the Vegetarian" 3F03
134 October 29, 1995 The family are hanged on nooses, staring blankly. Despite being dead from asphyxiation, Maggie manages to suck on her pacifier. "Treehouse of Horror VI" 3F04
135 November 5, 1995 The Simpsons are five malfunctioning wind-up dolls who buzz and waddle their way to the couch (or at least near it). "King-Size Homer" 3F05
136 November 19, 1995 A bowling pin clearing bar scares Snowball II off the couch, then a pinsetter places the family on the couch like bowling pins. "Mother Simpson" 3F06
137 November 26, 1995 The whole room is under water, the couch is made of clam shells, and a treasure chest is in place of the TV. Sea monkey versions of the family members swim in and sit on the clam couch. "Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming" 3F08
138 December 3, 1995 A montage of couch gags from 8F18, 9F02, 9F10, 9F09, 8F09, 1F02, 2F31, 2F09, 2F06, 1F17, 2F11, and 9F08. "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular" 3F31
139 December 17, 1995 The family sits on the couch. Homer notices a plug in the middle of the floor and pulls it. Everyone and everything gets sucked down the drain. "Marge Be Not Proud" 3F07
140 January 7, 1996 The family sits. The camera then zooms in through a mouse hole, where a family of mice with similar features to the Simpson family rush to the couch and sit as well. "Team Homer" 3F10
141 January 14, 1996 Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie are moose heads on the wall and Homer is a bearskin rug on the floor. A game hunter comes in, sits on the couch, and smokes a pipe. "Two Bad Neighbors" 3F09
142 February 4, 1996 The living room is bathed in black light, with the Simpsons in fluorescent colors while a hard rock guitar riff plays. Homer turns the light on and the normal music plays. "Scenes from the Class Struggle in Springfield" 3F11
143 February 11, 1996 repeat of 2F17's gag (but this time, the paper doesn't slide back under the couch) "Bart the Fink" 3F12
144 February 18, 1996 repeat of 3F01's gag "Lisa the Iconoclast" 3F13
145 February 25, 1996 repeat of 3F02's gag "Homer the Smithers" 3F14
146 March 17, 1996 repeat of 3F03's gag "The Day the Violence Died" 3F16
147 March 24, 1996 repeat of 3F05's gag "A Fish Called Selma" 3F15
148 March 31, 1996 repeat of 3F06's gag "Bart on the Road" 3F17
149 April 14, 1996 repeat of 3F08's gag "22 Short Films About Springfield" 3F18
150 April 28, 1996 repeat of 3F07's gag "Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in "The Curse of the Flying Hellfish"" 3F19
151 May 5, 1996 repeat of 3F09's gag "Much Apu About Nothing" 3F20
152 May 19, 1996 repeat of 3F11's gag "Homerpalooza" 3F21
153 May 19, 1996 repeat of 2F17's gag "Summer of 4 Ft. 2" 3F22

Season 8 (1996–97)

Ep # Original air date Gag Episode Production
code
154 October 27, 1996 The Grim Reaper is on the couch. The family runs in, but keel over and die one by one. The Reaper then puts his feet up on the corpses of the Simpson family. "Treehouse of Horror VII" 4F02
155 November 3, 1996 Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie deploy parachutes as they fall from the sky onto the couch. Homer comes down screaming and lands on his face from an unopened parachute pack. "You Only Move Twice" 3F23
156 November 10, 1996 The couch sits in the middle of a desert; the family, in western cowboy garb, sits on the couch, which gallops off into the sunset. "The Homer They Fall" 4F03
157 November 17, 1996 Clear blue bubble versions of the family members float into the room, land on the couch, and pop. "Burns, Baby Burns" 4F05
158 November 24, 1996 The whole scene is a Simpsons rendition of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper album, featuring a large crowd of regulars, several objects associated with the show, and wax statues of the Simpsons as they were on The Tracey Ullman Show. The last chord to the Beatles song, "A Day in the Life" plays instead of the traditional Simpsons music as the family comes in, standing front and center and dressed in Sgt. Pepper regalia. Homer looks around and turns to look at the crowded scene behind him. "Bart After Dark" 4F06
159 December 1, 1996 The family sits down, but now Bart is green. Homer fiddles with the TV antenna and Bart changes to red. Homer then returns to the couch, and smacks Bart in the back of the head in order to return him to his normal color (yellow). "A Milhouse Divided" 4F04
160 December 15, 1996 Everybody and everything is upside-down. The Simpsons (also upside-down) come in and sit on the couch, but end up falling on the ceiling/floor. "Lisa's Date with Density" 4F01
161 December 29, 1996 The couch is replaced with a coin slot and the words “Vend-A-Couch” written on the wall. Homer puts a coin in; nothing happens. Homer pounds on the wall four times before the couch falls on him. "Hurricane Neddy" 4F07
162 January 5, 1997 repeat of 3F23's gag "El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer)" 3F24
163 January 12, 1997 The family flies into the room wearing jet packs. Maggie spirals in last with the rest of the family staring at her, landing in Marge's lap. "The Springfield Files" 3G01
164 January 19, 1997 The couch is now a giant Whac-A-Mole game, with the Simpson family as the moles. The clown hallucination music from the season six episode “Homie the Clown” plays as an unseen player tries to hit one of the Simpson moles — and successfully gets Homer. "The Twisted World of Marge Simpson" 4F08
165 February 2, 1997 The couch is folded out into a bed with Grampa sleeping on it. The Simpsons fold the couch in (with Grampa shouting "Huh?" before he has folded in) and sit. "Mountain of Madness" 4F10
166 February 7, 1997 The living room is empty. Cut to outside where Homer is struggling with a locked front door while the other members of the family wait impatiently. "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious" 3G03
167 February 9, 1997 repeat of 4F06's gag (in syndication, this is replaced with the "Simpsons Meet The Flintstones" couch gag from 8F24, but the audio from 4F06's gag can still be heard) "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show" 4F12
168 February 16, 1997 The living room is in an “America Onlink” window on a computer screen. An unseen computer user tries to download the family, but the download shows no signs of progress after a few seconds and the user tries to exit the window (which also does not work). "Homer's Phobia" 4F11
169 February 23, 1997 repeat of 4F01's gag "Brother from Another Series" 4F14
170 March 2, 1997 The couch is on the deck of a ship at sea in rough waters, sliding back and forth with the tilt of the ship. The family, dressed in raingear, sits on the couch, before an enormous wave washes them away. The TV surfaces moments later. "My Sister, My Sitter" 4F13
171 March 16, 1997 repeat of 4F03's gag "Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment" 4F15
172 April 6, 1997 repeat of 4F05's gag "Grade School Confidential" 4F09
173 April 13, 1997 repeat of 4F10's gag "The Canine Mutiny" 4F16
174 April 20, 1997 repeat of 4F08's gag (only now, the sounds of the mallet hitting the family members is more aggressive) "The Old Man and the Lisa" 4F17
175 April 27, 1997 repeat of 4F07's gag "In Marge We Trust" 4F18
176 May 4, 1997 repeat of 4F04's gag (in some syndicated versions, the parachute couch gag from 3F23 and 3F24 is used) "Homer's Enemy" 4F19
177 May 11, 1997 none (special opening hosted by Troy McClure) "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase" 4F20
178 May 18, 1997 repeat of 4F01's gag "The Secret War of Lisa Simpson" 4F21

Season 9 (1997–98)

Ep # Original air date Gag Episode Production
code
179 September 21, 1997 The family comes in, dressed as the Harlem Globetrotters, passing a basketball to each other while Sweet Georgia Brown plays. Maggie dunks the ball into the basket above the couch, hitting Homer on the head. "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson" 4F22
180 September 28, 1997 The Simpsons are dressed as astronauts and sit on the couch just as it blasts off into space. "The Principal and the Pauper" 4F23
181 October 19, 1997 Homer runs in alone and stands in front of the couch. The top half of him pops off and on to the couch revealing a smaller Marge standing inside the lower half of Homer, like a Russian nesting doll. The top half of Marge pops off revealing Bart, whose top half pops off revealing Lisa, whose top half finally pops off to reveal Maggie, who stays in the middle of Homer’s body and sucks on her pacifier. "Lisa's Sax" 3G02
182 October 26, 1997 The Simpsons sit on the couch. Metal shackles restrain their wrists and ankles and a metal cap comes down on all of their heads. The family writhes in pain as they get electrocuted. "Treehouse of Horror VIII" 5F02
183 November 2, 1997 The couch is a trough filled with water. The Simpsons, with their butts on fire, rush to the trough and sit to extinguish the fire. They all sigh in relief as steam billows out. "The Cartridge Family" 5F01
184 November 9, 1997 The family sits. An auto-crusher compresses them all into a rectangular block. "Bart Star" 5F03
185 November 16, 1997 Bart runs in and spray-paints the family onto the couch, tagging it with an "El Barto" signature, then runs off. "The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons" 5F04
186 November 23, 1997 The living room is a sauna, with three men in towels relaxing. The Simpsons (also in towels) arrive, but leave sheepishly as the three men glare at them. "Lisa the Skeptic" 5F05
187 December 7, 1997 The family sits; Matt Groening's[12] live action hand spins the picture around, smearing the shot's paint. "Realty Bites" 5F06
188 December 21, 1997 The Simpsons sit on the couch as normal. The camera zooms out and reveals that the living room is part of a snow globe that two hands shake to make the snow fall. "Miracle on Evergreen Terrace" 5F07
189 January 4, 1998 The floor is a treadmill. Marge, Lisa, Bart, and Maggie run in place for a few seconds, then successfully dismount, while Homer gets stuck on it, yelling, “Marge, stop this crazy thing!” "All Singing, All Dancing" 5F24
190 January 11, 1998 The Simpsons go to sit on the couch, but fall on their butts when the couch gets pulled back. Nelson Muntz comes from behind the couch and laughs. "Bart Carny" 5F08
191 February 8, 1998 Similar to the couch gag on "Homer's Triple Bypass", the Simpsons are microsized and trying to get on the giant couch. Unlike the couch gag to "Homer's Triple Bypass," The Simpsons take a little longer to climb onto the couch and, once they reach the top, Santa's Little Helper grabs Homer and carries him away in his mouth. "The Joy of Sect" 5F23
192 February 15, 1998 The Simpsons are frogs (with Maggie as a tadpole) jumping to a lily pad "couch. Homer turns on the TV with his tongue. (according to the season 9 DVD commentary, Dan Castellaneta's daughter came up with the idea for this couch gag) "Das Bus" 5F11
193 February 22, 1998 repeat of 5F01's gag "The Last Temptation of Krust" 5F10
194 March 1, 1998 repeat of 5F03's gag "Dumbbell Indemnity" 5F12
195 March 8, 1998 A vine growns in the middle of the living room and sprouts into a tree bearing Simpsons family versions of various fruits and vegetables: Bart is a strawberry, Homer is a squash, Marge is an asparagus, Maggie is broccoli, and Lisa is a pineapple. "Lisa the Simpson" 4F24
196 March 22, 1998 repeat of 5F04's gag (but this time, Bart peeks from around the TV first to make sure the coast is clear) "This Little Wiggy" 5F13
197 March 29, 1998 In a parody of the Rocky & Bullwinkle bumpers, the Simpsons fall off a cliff during a lightning storm as the Rocky & Bullwinkle theme plays throughout. Their eyes are shown floating towards the heavens. The scene then cuts to The Simpsons sprouting from the ground amidst a garden of flowers. Bart spits up a clod of dirt. "Simpson Tide" 3G04
198 April 5, 1998 repeat of 5F05's gag "The Trouble with Trillions" 5F14
199 April 19, 1998 repeat of 5F06's gag "Girly Edition" 5F15
200 April 26, 1998 The Simpson family find themselves in Mrs. Krabappel’s classroom where Bart is writing the blackboard punishment phrase, “I Will Not Mess With The Opening Credits”. "Trash of the Titans" 5F09
201 May 3, 1998 repeat of 5F07's gag "King of the Hill" 5F16
202 May 10, 1998 repeat of 5F08's gag "Lost Our Lisa" 5F17
203 May 17, 1998 repeat of 5F11's gag "Natural Born Kissers" 5F18

Season 10 (1998–99)

Ep # Original air date Gag Episode Production
code
204 August 23, 1998 repeat of 5F08's gag "Lard of the Dance" 5F20
205 September 20, 1998 Similar to the couch gag from the season four's "Marge vs. the Monorail", the living room is filled with supporting characters from the show. Unlike "Marge vs. the Monorail," the living room is now a movie theater and the Simpsons are shuffling their way through to find a seat. After they sit down, Homer leans in and eats from the Comic Book Guy's popcorn tub. "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace" 5F21
206 September 27, 1998 Two firemen hold the couch like a safety net. Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie land safely on the couch. Homer, however, falls screaming through the floor. "Bart the Mother" 5F22
207 October 25, 1998 The family never makes it to the couch; Bart gets run over by Homer. Lisa gets catapulted into the garage roof, and Homer gets run down by Marge as she drives into the garage. Meanwhile, in the living room Freddy Krueger (of the A Nightmare on Elm Street movies) and Jason Voorhees (of the Friday the 13th movies) sit on the couch, wondering where the family is. "Treehouse of Horror IX" AABF01
208 November 8, 1998 Marge enters with a laundry basket, humming as she hangs wet sheet versions of Homer, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie on a clothesline. "When You Dish Upon a Star" 5F19
209 November 15, 1998 The family sits. a safety bar lowers over their laps and the couch zooms around the room like a roller coaster car. "D'oh-in' in the Wind" AABF02
210 November 22, 1998 The family sits. Salon-style hair dryers descend onto their heads, then lift up, revealing the family members all have swapped hairdos. Homer has Maggie's spikes, Marge has Bart's spikes, Bart has Lisa's spikes, Lisa has Homer's "combover," and Maggie has Marge's big, blue bouffant (the weight of which causes Maggie to fall off the couch). "Lisa Gets an "A"" AABF03
211 December 6, 1998 repeat of 5F11's gag "Homer Simpson in: "Kidney Trouble"" AABF04
212 December 20, 1998 repeat of 5F03's gag "Mayored to the Mob" AABF05
213 January 10, 1999 repeat of 5F06's gag "Viva Ned Flanders" AABF06
214 January 17, 1999 In a parody of the famous scene in Dr. Strangelove where Slim Pickens’ character rides the bomb, the Simpsons (wearing white cowboy hats) straddle the couch as it drops from a bomb bay door. The Simpsons scream, “Yahoo!” as they plummet into oblivion. "Wild Barts Can't Be Broken" AABF07
215 January 31, 1999 The living room is in shallow water and the Simpsons sit on the couch. When an iceberg floats by, the couch sinks vertically like the RMS Titanic and the family clings to dear life as it goes under. Maggie resurfaces on a couch cushion moments later with the remote control in hand. "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday" AABF08
216 February 7, 1999 repeat of 5F19's gag "Homer to the Max" AABF09
217 February 14, 1999 repeat of AABF03's gag "I'm with Cupid" AABF11
218 February 21, 1999 repeat of AABF02's gag "Marge Simpson in: "Screaming Yellow Honkers"" AABF10
219 February 28, 1999 repeat of 5F22's gag "Make Room for Lisa" AABF12
220 March 28, 1999 Marge and Homer are depicted as children while Bart and Lisa are depicted as adults (and Maggie is a baby doll in Homer’s arms). Homer reaches for the remote control, but Lisa slaps it away from him. "Maximum Homerdrive" AABF13
221 April 4, 1999 The family slips on banana peels on the floor, flipping upside-down in the air, but all land safely on the couch. "Simpsons Bible Stories" AABF14
222 April 11, 1999 repeat of AABF07's gag "Mom and Pop Art" AABF15
223 April 25, 1999 repeat of 5F21's gag "The Old Man and The "C" Student" AABF16
224 May 2, 1999 repeat of 9F08's gag "Monty Can't Buy Me Love" AABF17
225 May 9, 1999 repeat of AABF08's gag "They Saved Lisa's Brain" AABF18
226 May 16, 1999 The Simpsons sit on the couch, but get sucked inside and come out looking like a shredded piece of paper. "Thirty Minutes over Tokyo" AABF20

Season 11 (1999–2000)

Ep # Original air date Gag Episode Production Code
227 September 26, 1999 The Simpson family (as they are currently drawn) run in and find their crudely drawn counterparts from The Tracey Ullman Show. Both families look at each other and run screaming out the room. "Beyond Blunderdome" AABF23
228 October 3, 1999 The family comes in, colorless and marked with numbers. A group of Korean painters come in to color the family, but forget to outline the eyes on Homer and Marge. "Brother's Little Helper" AABF22
229 October 24, 1999 The family comes in. Marge notices Matt Groening's signature at the bottom of the screen and wipes it off. A caricature of Matt Groening (complete with graying beard, glasses, and a tacky orange and yellow Hawaiian shirt) comes in and resigns the scene. "Guess Who's Coming to Criticize Dinner?" AABF21
230 October 31, 1999 The family members (mostly) appear as they have in previous Halloween episodes: Homer is a jack-in-the-box (from 8F02), Bart is a mutant fly (from 5F02), Marge is a witch (also from 5F02), and Maggie is an alien (from AABF01); Lisa, an ax murder victim (the only one not based on a previous episode), comments on the lackluster Halloween special hosted by Kang and Kodos ("What do aliens have to do with Halloween?"). Maggie yells, "Silence!" and blasts Lisa with her ray-gun. As of 2014, this is the last Halloween episode to have a couch gag. "Treehouse of Horror X" BABF01
231 November 7, 1999 The living room is set up like a trendy nightclub (complete with a disco ball, a velvet rope, three 20-something club hoppers, and a bouncer). The bouncer lets Marge, Lisa, Bart, and Maggie in, but sends Homer away. "E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt)" AABF19
232 November 14, 1999 A cement truck pours out concrete statues of the Simpson family. The top half of Homer’s statue quickly breaks off and falls to the floor. "Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder" BABF02
233 November 21, 1999 The Simpsons sit on the couch and the wall spins around as seen in "Homer the Heretic." Instead of an empty couch, however, a Vincent Price-esque mad scientist and a shackled and scared Ned Flanders are on the other side of the wall. "Eight Misbehavin'" BABF03
234 November 28, 1999 repeat of AABF20's gag "Take My Wife, Sleaze" BABF05
235 December 19, 1999 Marge, Lisa, Bart, and Maggie slide down a fire pole that's next to the couch. Homer, however, gets stuck in the hole and flails about helplessly. "Grift of the Magi" BABF07
236 January 9, 2000 A crash test dummy version of the family sits. The couch slides forward and slams into the TV (simluating a car crash test), then pulls back into place. Crash test dummy Homer's head falls off from the trauma. "Little Big Mom" BABF04
237 January 16, 2000 A Sigmund Freud caricature is sitting in a chair next to the couch. Homer hops on the couch and yells, "Oh, doctor, I'm crazy!", then sobs everyone else stares sadly at each other. "Faith Off" BABF06
238 January 23, 2000 repeat of AABF13's gag "The Mansion Family" BABF08
239 February 6, 2000 The family leaps into the room, all dressed in white karate uniforms and black belts. They chop the couch to pieces while Homer does a spinning kick and clicks on the TV with the remote. "Saddlesore Galactica" BABF09
240 February 13, 2000 Everyone (save Maggie, who's with Marge) comes in on bumper cars and slams Homer into the wall repeatedly. "Alone Again, Natura-Diddily" BABF10
241 February 20, 2000 The couch is sitting in the Evergreen Terrace Subway Station. The family (seated on a bench) get on the next train that arrives on the track and leave. "Missionary: Impossible" BABF11
242 February 27, 2000 repeat of AABF21's gag "Pygmoelian" BABF12
243 March 19, 2000 repeat of AABF19's gag "Bart to the Future" BABF13
244 April 9, 2000 repeat of AABF23's gag "Days of Wine and D'oh'ses" BABF14
245 April 30, 2000 The Simpsons (save Maggie, who is in Marge's arms) are barefoot and briskly walking across a bed of hot coals. When the family sits on the couch, they prop their feet up, revealing their black and smoldering soles. "Kill the Alligator and Run" BABF16
246 May 7, 2000 Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie (dressed in jungle loincloths) swing into the room on a vine gracefully like Tarzan. Homer, however, swings by, fails to release the vine in time, and crashes offscreen like George of the Jungle. "Last Tap Dance in Springfield" BABF15
247 May 14, 2000 repeat of AABF22's gag "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge" BABF18
248 May 21, 2000 The family sits down. Bart puts a coin in the "Magic Fingers" slot on his side of the couch. The couch vibrates away, taking the family with it. "Behind the Laughter" BABF19

Season 12 (2000–01)

Ep # Original air date Gag Episode Production
code
249 November 1, 2000 none (Halloween episode) "Treehouse of Horror XI" BABF21
250 November 5, 2000 Bart puts a whoopee cushion under Homer's spot. When the family sits down, Homer sits on it and triggers its farting sound. Homer grins sheepishly at Marge, Lisa, and Maggie (who are frowning) while Bart laughs. "A Tale of Two Springfields" BABF20
251 November 12, 2000 The shot opens on the TV rather than the couch. The family runs in and freezes in mid-air. The camera pans around them in Matrix-style bullet-time. When the camera is angled on the couch, time resumes normally and they sit down without further incident. "Insane Clown Poppy" BABF17
252 November 19, 2000 Maggie is on the couch. The rest of the Simpsons waddle in dressed as The Teletubbies and Maggie applauds with delight. "Lisa the Tree Hugger" CABF01
253 November 26, 2000 A skating ramp is set up next to the couch. Marge (with Maggie in hand), Bart, and Lisa successfully do skateboard tricks off the ramp and onto the couch. Homer, however, falls off the ramp and, adding injury to insult, gets hit on the head with his own skateboard. "Homer vs. Dignity" CABF04
254 December 3, 2000 Santa’s Little Helper dances on his hind legs like Snoopy on The Charlie Brown Christmas Special while the popular "Peanuts" theme plays. When the family comes in, Santa’s Little Helper slowly stops dancing, sits on his hind legs, and barks. "The Computer Wore Menace Shoes" CABF02
255 December 10, 2000 The Simpsons swim to the couch in deep-sea diving gear. The camera zooms out to reveal that the living room is in a fish bowl. "The Great Money Caper" CABF03
256 December 17, 2000 A football is thrown in the center of the living room. The Simpsons, dressed as football players, tackle each other for the ball. Maggie squirms out with ball in hand, spikes it, and does a victory dance. "Skinner's Sense of Snow" CABF06
257 January 7, 2001 The Simpsons are placed on the couch by the transport tubes used on Futurama. A yellow-skinned Philip J. Fry is in on the couch for a split second before he’s sucked up and replaced by Bart. "HOMR" BABF22
258 January 14, 2001 repeat of BABF03's gag "Pokey Mom" CABF05
259 February 4, 2001 The couch is replaced by a valet parking spot. The Squeaky-Voiced Teen pushes a couch in place for the Simpsons to sit down. He then holds his hand out for a tip and leaves angrily when he doesn’t get it. "Worst Episode Ever" CABF08
260 February 11, 2001 The living room floor is frozen over. The Simpsons ice skate to the couch. When Homer sits down, his side of the couch falls through. "Tennis the Menace" CABF07
261 February 18, 2001 repeat of BABF06's gag "Day of the Jackanapes" CABF10
262 February 25, 2001 The couch is outside a prison wall. A siren wails and a searchlight moves as The Simpsons (dressed in striped prison jumpsuits) tunnel their way to the couch. "New Kids on the Blecch" CABF12
263 March 4, 2001 repeat of BABF09's gag "Hungry, Hungry Homer" CABF09
264 March 11, 2001 repeat of BABF10's gag "Bye Bye Nerdie" CABF11
265 April 1, 2001 repeat of 9F08's gag "Simpson Safari" CABF13
266 April 29, 2001 repeat of CABF04's gag "Trilogy of Error" CABF14
267 May 6, 2001 repeat of BABF02's gag "I'm Goin' to Praiseland" CABF15
268 May 13, 2001 repeat of BABF04's gag "Children of a Lesser Clod" CABF16
269 May 20, 2001 repeat of BABF11's gag "Simpsons Tall Tales" CABF17

Season 13 (2001–02)

Ep # Original air date Gag Episode Production Code
270 November 6, 2001 none (Halloween episode) "Treehouse of Horror XII" CABF19
271 November 11, 2001 The Simpsons are in the simplistically drawn sailboat painting located behind the couch. They jump out of the painting by going in the “water”. The living room is wet from the splash and Homer uses his finger to clean his ear out while clicking on the TV with the remote. "The Parent Rap" CABF22
272 November 18, 2001 repeat of CABF06's gag "Homer the Moe" CABF20
273 December 2, 2001 repeat of CABF12's gag "A Hunka Hunka Burns in Love" CABF18
274 December 9, 2001 repeat of BABF17's gag "The Blunder Years" CABF21
275 December 16, 2001 The couch is a slot machine that shows Homer, Marge, Bart, and Lisa in the tumbler windows. Maggie, however, is replaced by lucky number “7” as a pile of gold coins spill out. "She of Little Faith" DABF02
276 January 6, 2002 The couch is replaced by a hedge. A gardener comes in and creates a topiary of The Simpsons. "Brawl in the Family" DABF01
277 January 20, 2002 The Simpsons sit on the couch as normal. A crane game clamp comes down and picks up Homer. Homer screams, “Ow! My brain!” as he's being pulled out of frame. "Sweets and Sour Marge" DABF03
278 January 27, 2002 The living room is black and while (like in the couch gag for "Bart's Comet"). Homer, dressed as Charlie Chaplin’s The Tramp character, waddles to the couch and twitches his nose. When Tramp Homer sits down, the rest of the family, dressed as silent movie characters, join him. "Jaws Wired Shut" DABF05
279 February 10, 2002 The Simpsons come in just as two repo men take the couch away. Homer sobs loudly, Marge looks confused, and the kids sit on the floor to watch TV. "Half-Decent Proposal" DABF04
280 February 17, 2002 repeat of 9F08's gag "The Bart Wants What It Wants" DABF06
281 February 24, 2002 The Squeaky-Voiced Teen and an unknown adolescent girl are making out on the couch. The Simpsons come in. The Squeaky-Voiced Teen yelps and the unknown girl smiles uneasily. "The Lastest Gun in the West" DABF07
282 March 10, 2002 The family runs in to find the Blue Man Group performing on drums in front of the couch. Homer murmurs "What the--?!" "The Old Man and the Key" DABF09
283 March 17, 2002 The Simpsons rushing to and sitting on the couch is animated in pencil-drawn flipbook style, with the pages flipped by a pair of live-action hands. "Tales from the Public Domain" DABF08
284 March 31, 2002 The family are marionettes who get caught in each other's strings. The camera pans up to reveal Matt Groening as the puppet master, who throws the puppets down in frustration. "Blame It on Lisa" DABF10
285 April 7, 2002 repeat of DABF01's gag "Weekend at Burnsie's" DABF11
286 April 21, 2002 repeat of DABF02's gag "Gump Roast" DABF12
287 April 28, 2002 repeat of DABF03's gag "I Am Furious Yellow" DABF13
288 May 5, 2002 repeat of DABF04's gag "The Sweetest Apu" DABF14
289 May 12, 2002 repeat of DABF07's gag "Little Girl in the Big Ten" DABF15
290 May 19, 2002 repeat of DABF05's gag "The Frying Game" DABF16
291 May 22, 2002 repeat of DABF09's gag (but with different audio: the group plays more loudly/aggressively and Homer doesn't say, "What the...") "Poppa's Got a Brand New Badge" DABF17

Season 14 (2002–03)

Ep # Original air date Gag Episode Production Code
292 November 3, 2002 none (Halloween episode) "Treehouse of Horror XIII" DABF19
293 November 10, 2002 The living room is in an ocean. Homer is on water skis, with the others on him as everyone literally "jumps the shark". The family safely lands on the couch, except for Homer, whose legs have been bitten off and are now in the mouths of two sharks.[13] "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation" DABF22
294 November 17, 2002 In a parody of the opening of the 1960s sitcom, Get Smart, Homer goes through many futuristic doors and passageways until he reaches the phone booth, dials a number, falls through the floor, and lands on the couch (with the rest of the family already seated). "Bart vs. Lisa vs. the Third Grade" DABF20
295 November 24, 2002 Homer (unseen, but implied to be him) draws the family on the couch with a “Sketch-A-Etch” and yells, “Whoo-hoo!” when he’s done. "Large Marge" DABF18
296 December 1, 2002 In a parody of the Macintosh paint program, Kid Pix, a mouse cursor drags Homer from the left side of the couch to the right, changes the wall color to green, and replaces the boat painting with the Mona Lisa. "Helter Shelter" DABF21
297 December 15, 2002 The family sits on the couch. Homer clicks on the remote control and sends the family to the Stone Age where they sit in front of a fire, clicks it again to send them to the era of the Roman Empire where they watch a gladiator match, and clicks it a final time to return them to the present. "The Great Louse Detective" EABF01
298 January 5, 2003 Everybody is deep-fried in a fast-food fryer, then emptied onto the couch and salted. "Special Edna" EABF02
299 January 12, 2003 In a parody of the black-and-white photograph, Lunchtime Atop A Skyscraper, the family is dressed as construction workers of the early 20th century and are sitting on a girder watching TV. "The Dad Who Knew Too Little" EABF03
300 February 2, 2003 The couch is a novelty cardboard cut-out with holes where the family's heads would be. The family puts their heads through the holes and a photographer takes their picture. "The Strong Arms of the Ma" EABF04
301 February 9, 2003 The Simpsons sit down as normal. A giant baby picks them up and plays with them. "Pray Anything" EABF06
302 February 16, 2003 The living room is made of assorted candies and gingerbread. The Simpsons are gingerbread men (and women) who rush to the couch. Homer leans over and bites the top of Bart's head. "Barting Over" EABF05
303 February 16, 2003 repeat of DABF18's gag "I'm Spelling as Fast as I Can" EABF07
304 March 2, 2003 repeat of DABF10's gag "A Star Is Born Again" EABF08
305 March 9, 2003 repeat of EABF01's gag "Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington" EABF09
306 March 16, 2003 repeat of DABF08's gag "C.E. D'oh" EABF10
307 March 30, 2003 repeat of DABF22's gag "'Scuse Me While I Miss the Sky" EABF11
308 April 13, 2003 repeat of EABF02's gag "Three Gays of the Condo" EABF12
309 April 27, 2003 The Simpsons are mimes walking against the wind and sitting on an imaginary couch. "Dude, Where's My Ranch?" EABF13
310 May 4, 2003 repeat of EABF03's gag "Old Yeller Belly" EABF14
311 May 11, 2003 repeat of EABF04's gag "Brake My Wife, Please" EABF15
312 May 18, 2003 repeat of EABF06's gag "Bart of War" EABF16
313 May 18, 2003 repeat of EABF05's gag "Moe Baby Blues" EABF17

Season 15 (2003–04)

Ep # Original air date Gag Episode Production Code
314 November 2, 2003 none (Halloween episode) "Treehouse of Horror XIV" EABF21
315 November 9, 2003 The family runs to the couch as normal, only to rapidly decay and turn to piles of dust. "My Mother the Carjacker" EABF18
316 November 16, 2003 A camera shutter flash is heard as a blank Polaroid photo floats to the couch and develops into a picture of The Simpsons. "The President Wore Pearls" EABF20
317 November 23, 2003 There is a Play-Doh Fun Factory on the back wall; it presses Play-Doh versions of everybody out onto the couch. "The Regina Monologues" EABF22
318 November 30, 2003 repeat of DABF20's gag "The Fat and the Furriest" EABF19
319 December 7, 2003 The Simpsons slides down a pole into the Batcave, where everyone is dressed like someone from the 1960s Batman TV show (Homer is Batman, Marge, Lisa and Maggie are Batgirl, and Bart is Robin, the Boy Wonder) "Today I Am a Clown" FABF01
320 December 14, 2003 The couch is a street bench in Japan, and everyone is a famous anime character: Homer is Ultraman, Marge is Jun from Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, Lisa is Sailor Moon, Bart is Astro Boy and Maggie is Pikachu from the Pokémon series. "'Tis the Fifteenth Season" FABF02
321 January 4, 2004 The Simpsons sit on the couch as normal. Knives are hurled at the Simpsons' heads, but hit the wall. Homer tries to get a bowl of chips, but a knife aimed for the side of his head stops him. "Marge vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens, and Gays" FABF03
322 January 11, 2004 The couch is a white cake. The Simpsons are squeezed out of a pastry bag like frosting. "I, (Annoyed Grunt)-Bot" FABF04
323 January 25, 2004 The Simpsons’ heads pop out of a slice of apple pie. Homer takes a bite out of the pie. "Diatribe of a Mad Housewife" FABF05
324 February 8, 2004 The couch is replaced by a giant microwave. Someone puts a tray inside and presses a button. The Simpsons rise from the tray as it cooks. "Margical History Tour" FABF06
325 February 15, 2004 A woman throws some seeds into a plot of dirt where the couch usually is, and waters them; everybody sprouts up like plants. "Milhouse Doesn't Live Here Anymore" FABF07
326 February 22, 2004 Everybody is a bag on a moving dry-cleaning rack, which stops over the couch. "Smart and Smarter" FABF09
327 March 14, 2004 In a parody of the science short film, Powers of Ten, the Simpsons sit down on the couch as normal when suddenly, the camera pans out, revealing an overhead shot of the house, then of the neighborhood, and so on, zooming out further and further to show the United States, the Earth, the solar system, and Kang and Kodos standing next to their broken spaceship. Soon, many stars fill the screen as they form into the Milky Way. Other galaxies form and turn into atoms, and the view zooms out to show simple molecular structures, more complex molecular structures, then DNA helices, which pan out into a blank yellow expanse, which reveals to be Homer’s head and returns to the couch scene. Homer stares blankly for a few seconds, then utters, “Wow!” "The Ziff Who Came to Dinner" FABF08
328 March 21, 2004 repeat of EABF18's gag "Co-Dependent's Day" FABF10
329 March 28, 2004 repeat of EABF20's gag "The Wandering Juvie" FABF11
330 April 18, 2004 repeat of EABF22's gag "My Big Fat Geek Wedding" FABF12
331 April 25, 2004 repeat of FABF04's gag "Catch 'Em If You Can" FABF14
332 May 2, 2004 repeat of FABF01's gag "Simple Simpson" FABF15
333 May 9, 2004 repeat of FABF03's gag "The Way We Weren't" FABF13
334 May 16, 2004 repeat of FABF06's gag "Bart-Mangled Banner" FABF17
335 May 23, 2004 repeat of FABF02's gag "Fraudcast News" FABF18

Season 16 (2004–05)

Ep # Original air date Gag Episode Production
code
336 November 7, 2004 none (Halloween episode) "Treehouse of Horror XV" FABF23
337 November 14, 2004 The couch is in a clearing and mounted on a catapult. The Simpsons sit down and get launched over a mountain range. "All's Fair in Oven War" FABF20
338 November 21, 2004 The Simpsons run in and find that the couch is missing (similar to the couch gag from season two's Itchy & Scratchy & Marge), but this time, the couch falls from the sky and crushes everyone. "Sleeping with the Enemy" FABF19
339 December 5, 2004 All of the family members sit down as normal. The twist: The Simpsons now look like Moe Szyslak. "She Used to Be My Girl" FABF22
340 December 12, 2004 After the family takes their usual places on the couch. The couch rises into the air and is actually part of an anglerfish deep in the ocean. The family screams as the anglerfish swallows them whole. "Fat Man and Little Boy" FABF21
341 January 16, 2005 With no music playing, the Simpsons sit on the couch as normal. Nothing happens. Lisa stares at the camera and says, “What? Can’t we sit on the couch without something happening?” Homer is then impaled by a spear and yells, “D’oh!” with everyone staring in shock. "Midnight Rx" FABF16
342 January 30, 2005 The living room is made of sand (including the furnitures and fixtures). The family, looking haggard and dehydrated, crawls in, but ends up lying on their backs in a desert when the sand house collapses. "Mommie Beerest" GABF01
343 February 6, 2005 The family climbs on top of the other, forming a totem pole, with Homer at the bottom and Maggie on top. "Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass" GABF02
344 February 13, 2005 The family hops to the living room (with the floor as a chessboard) dressed as chess pieces: Homer is the king, Marge is the queen, Bart is a rook, Lisa is a knight, and Maggie is a pawn. "Pranksta Rap" GABF03
345 February 20, 2005 The family, dressed as bruised and beaten hockey players (Marge, Bart, and Lisa each have a missing tooth while Homer has a missing tooth and a black eye), skate around the couch as "Charge!" plays on an organ. Homer is carrying the Stanley Cup with Maggie (the only one who isn't hurt) sitting in the bowl. "There's Something About Marrying" GABF04
346 March 6, 2005 repeat of FABF08's gag (but this time, Kang and Kodos are heard laughing and Homer says "Cool!" instead of "Wow!" at the end) "On a Clear Day I Can't See My Sister" GABF05
347 March 13, 2005 The living room is dark, with many eyes present. The lights go up, and many secondary characters appear behind a banner that reads, “Surprise!” The Simpsons come in and the characters yell, ”SURPRISE!” Homer immediately collapses from a heart attack. "Goo Goo Gai Pan" GABF06
348 March 20, 2005 The Simpsons sit down as normal. Homer then unmasks himself, revealing himself to be Sideshow Bob, who brandishes a kitchen knife and chases after Bart. "Mobile Homer" GABF07
349 April 3, 2005 The Simpsons sit down on the couch. A roasting spit pierces through the couch and the floor below pulls back to reveal a fiery pit. The Simpsons are then spun around over the heat. Marge’s hair catches fire. "The Seven-Beer Snitch" GABF08
350 April 17, 2005 Several toy forms of transportation come into the living room, only to change Transformers-style into the family. "Future-Drama" GABF12
351 May 1, 2005 The couch scene is a near-complete jigsaw puzzle, with Homer’s and Maggie’s heads missing. Two hands (with five fingers on each hand instead of four and colored in a realistic peach skin tone instead of The Simpsons cartoonishly bright yellow) put the heads in place, then, noticing Homer and Maggie are switched, fixes them and says, "Woo-hoo!" "Don't Fear the Roofer" GABF10
352 May 1, 2005 repeat of FABF20's gag "The Heartbroke Kid" GABF11
353 May 8, 2005 repeat of DABF20's gag "A Star Is Torn" GABF13
354 May 8, 2005 repeat of FABF22's gag "Thank God It's Doomsday" GABF14
355 May 15, 2005 repeat of FABF21's gag "Home Away from Homer" GABF15
356 May 15, 2005 The Simpsons float in as parade balloons. Snowball II pops the one that looks like Homer. "The Father, the Son, and the Holy Guest Star" GABF09

Season 17 (2005–06)

Ep # Original air date Gag Episode Production
code
357 September 11, 2005 A metal detector and a security guard are on the side of the couch. Marge, Lisa, Bart, and Maggie make it past the detector, but Homer sets it off. After three failed attempts, Homer is stripped down to his underwear and inspected by the guard with a handheld scanning wand. "Bonfire of the Manatees" GABF18
358 September 18, 2005 Filmed in claymation, the Simpsons are colored balls that roll to the couch. A green ball rolls in along with them and forms into Gumby. "The Girl Who Slept Too Little" GABF16
359 September 25, 2005 The Simpsons sit down on the couch as normal. A TiVo menu pops up, asking the viewer if he’d like to save the recording or delete it. “Delete This Recording” is chosen and the screen goes black. "Milhouse of Sand and Fog" GABF19
360 November 6, 2005 none (Halloween episode) "Treehouse of Horror XVI" GABF17
361 November 13, 2005 The family runs in to sit on the couch, but it turns into a monster and chases them out of the house. Everyone's couches come to life and start attacking and swallowing the people sitting on them. The purple-haired twins, Sherri and Terri, are swallowed by their beanbag chair, policemen Eddie and Lou are trapped in their squad car as a band of couches rock it back and forth, Professor Frink is attacked by a futuristic flying couch with laser weaponry, and Moe takes a swig of booze and blasts his attacking booths and barstools with his shotgun. Meanwhile, Homer takes refuge in a store called "Couch World", and sits, sighing in relief—until the sentient couches in the store pile on top of him. "Marge's Son Poisoning" GABF20
362 November 20, 2005 The Simpsons sit on the couch as normal. The camera zooms out to reveal that the family and the living room are part of a zoo exhibit on Kang and Kodos’s home planet, Rigel IV. "See Homer Run" GABF21
363 November 27, 2005 The couch is replaced with a bird's nest and the family members take their usual places. A large bird flies in and feeds Homer a worm. "The Last of the Red Hat Mamas" GABF22
364 December 11, 2005 A pair of animated hands deals a wild royal flush [the jack of diamonds (Bart), the queen of diamonds (Marge), the king of diamonds (Homer), the ace of diamonds (Lisa), and a joker (Maggie)] onto the couch. "The Italian Bob" HABF02
365 December 18, 2005 A copy of "The Springfield Shopper" spins into frame, with the headline, "COUCH GAG THRILLS NATION" and a black-and-white photo of The Simpsons already seated. "Simpsons Christmas Stories" HABF01
366 January 8, 2006 The Simpsons sit on the couch as normal. A photographer comes in and snaps their family portrait, which sets off a slideshow of the family in 2006 (normal), 2007 (normal, yet weary-looking), 2008 (Homer is dead, somber music plays, Marge is dressed in black, and the kids are in their church clothes), 2009 (Marge is married to Lenny; the kids start to age), 2010 (Marge is gone; the kids continue aging; Lenny and Carl are now caring for the kids), 2011 (Marge returns and is now married to Jimbo Jones; the kids are still growing up), 2012 (Jimbo Jones is gone; Homer is now a robot; Bart and Lisa are now teenagers while Maggie is now a young girl), and 2013 (everyone in the Simpson family is a robot). "Homer's Paternity Coot" HABF03
367 January 29, 2006 In a parody of the Bonanza opening, a map of frontier-era United States is burned out in the center, revealing The Simpsons on horseback. The Bonanza theme plays instead of the usual Simpsons music. "We're on the Road to D'ohwhere" HABF04
368 February 26, 2006 repeat of GABF16's gag "My Fair Laddy" HABF05
369 March 12, 2006 The couch (with Bart, Marge, Lisa, and Maggie already on it) moves down a conveyor belt and stops in front of the TV. Homer is added by a robotic arm and the conveyor belt continues moving. "The Seemingly Never-Ending Story" HABF06
370 March 19, 2006 The living room is blocked by a laser security system. The Simpsons carefully slip through the beams and make it to the couch, but once the lasers vanish, Homer's head falls to the floor. "Bart Has Two Mommies" HABF07
371 March 26, 2006 The family (played by live-action actors and actresses from the UK) sit on the couch just as the animated Simpsons opening comes on. (repeat airings and syndicated reruns use the "Seven-Beer Snitch" couch gag from GABF08). "Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife" HABF08
372 April 2, 2006 repeat of GABF19's gag "Million Dollar Abie" HABF09
373 April 9, 2006 repeat of HABF02's gag (but this time Homer shouts "Whoo-hoo!" after the cards are dealt) "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bangalore" HABF10
374 April 23, 2006 repeat of GABF10's gag (but this time, Homer yells "D'oh!" when Maggie's and Homer's heads are switched and giggles when the mistake is fixed) "The Wettest Stories Ever Told" HABF11
375 April 30, 2006 repeat of GABF06's gag "Girls Just Want To Have Sums" HABF12
376 May 7, 2006 repeat of GABF12's gag "Regarding Margie" HABF13
377 May 14, 2006 repeat of HABF03's gag "The Monkey Suit" HABF14
378 May 21, 2006 repeat of GABF20's gag "Marge and Homer Turn a Couple Play" HABF16

Season 18 (2006–07)

Ep # Original air date Gag Episode Production
code
379 September 10, 2006 The couch is replaced by four wooden chairs. An instrumental version of “Pop Goes the Weasel” plays as the family plays musical chairs. When the music stops, everyone except for Homer grabs a seat. Homer groans in disappointment. "The Mook, the Chef, the Wife and Her Homer" HABF15
380 September 17, 2006 Everyone but Homer sits on the couch. King Homer, from Treehouse of Horror III, grabs Marge through a window and drags her to the top of the Empire State Building, where he is attacked by biplanes. "Jazzy and the Pussycats" HABF18
381 September 24, 2006 A vending machine filled with every castmember (including The Simpson family) from the show appears instead of the couch. Ralph Wiggum comes in, selects a Homer figurine, and bites the head off before leaving. "Please Homer, Don't Hammer 'Em..." HABF20
382 November 5, 2006 none (Halloween episode) "Treehouse of Horror XVII" HABF17
383 November 12, 2006 The family sits down and gets moved across the floor in a car wash, where they get sprayed with water, squirted with hot wax, and scrubbed with brushes. Marge's hair turns puffy, Maggie's pacifier turns up missing, and everyone looks sad as three men wipe them dry and one of them puts a new pacifier in Maggie's mouth. "G.I. (Annoyed Grunt)" HABF21
384 November 19, 2006 The Simpsons get dragged and dropped onto a desktop picture of the couch before getting dragged and dropped again in the recycle bin. "Moe'N'a Lisa" HABF19
385 November 26, 2006 The Simpsons’s eyes are visible in the dark. When the lights come up, the Simpsons are revealed to have the bodies of cockroaches. The Simpson roaches scatter (with Maggie hiding behind the couch). "Ice Cream of Margie (With the Light Blue Hair)" HABF22
386 December 10, 2006 A pair of cartoon hands cuts a piece of paper into the shape of Homer. The hands then pull out the paper to reveal a chain shaped like the rest of the Simpsons family members. Homer can be heard yelling, "Whoo-hoo!" "The Haw-Hawed Couple" JABF02
387 December 17, 2006 The family (in Christmas attire) sits on the couch, and the camera pulls out to reveal they are in a Christmas decoration which is on a Christmas tree, and Santa's Little Helper and Snowball II rest nearby. "Kill Gil: Vols. 1 & 2" JABF01
388 January 7, 2007 The family on the couch is pinned up, one by one, onto a bulletin board. "The Wife Aquatic" JABF03
389 January 28, 2007 All of the Simpsons are infants who crawl to the couch while "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" plays in the background. When they reach the couch, everyone reverts to their normal ages (save Maggie, who is already a baby). "Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Three Times" JABF05
390 February 11, 2007 The Simpsons are stand-up paper dolls in their underwear; a pair of hands puts clothes on them, after which they smile and sit on the couch. "Little Big Girl" JABF04
391 February 18, 2007 none/repeat of HABF22's gag (subsequent airings) "Springfield Up" JABF07
392 March 4, 2007 repeat of HABF20's gag "Yokel Chords" JABF09
393 March 11, 2007 repeat of HABF04's gag "Rome-old and Juli-eh" JABF08
394 March 25, 2007 Homer evolves from a single-celled organism which continuously divides to a more complex organism — first as a jellyfish, then a common fish that barely escapes the clutches of an octopus that looks like Mr. Burns. Getting out of the ocean, Homer evolves into a prehistoric lizard that extends his tongue to snack on an insect that resembles his power plant coworker, Lenny. Homer then evolves into a slightly larger lizard with a scale on his back that sees a pterodactyl resembling Principal Skinner's mother, Agnes, flying overhead. Homer then evolves into a rat that gets chased by a Tyrannosaurus Rex resembling Bart, who then gets into a battle with a stegosaurus resembling Lisa. Homer hides in a hole just before a large asteroid crashes on Earth, wiping out all dinosaur life. Homer comes out of the hole, passing the skeletal remains of T-Rex Bart, before changing into a sloth, then a monkey as he approaches a jungle, becoming more apelike as he swings through the trees. Leaving the jungle, a brief Ice Age occurs as he evolves from a Neanderthal, to a Cro-Magnon, to an upright walking caveman. Caveman Homer passes by Moe (who is also a caveman), the latter of which devolves into a rat creature. As Homer continues walking, he evolves into men from different historical eras (a nomad from the Middle Ages, a Spanish explorer, a Pilgrim, and a Victorian-era intellectual) until he finally enters the present day, evolves into his modern self, and comes home, stepping over Santa's Little Helper as he goes inside the house. With the rest of the family sitting on the sofa, Marge asks, "What took you so long?" Homer responds with an exhausted sigh. "Homerazzi" JABF06
395 April 22, 2007 repeat of HABF01's gag "Marge Gamer" JABF10
396 April 29, 2007 repeat of HABF15's gag "The Boys of Bummer" JABF11
397 May 6, 2007 repeat of HABF21's gag "Crook and Ladder" JABF13
398 May 13, 2007 Similar to the couch gag from the season five's "Rosebud", the Simpsons sit on the couch as normal. Then a second Simpson family crams themselves on the couch. Soon more and more Simpson clones overrun the house, spilling out of the chimney and upstairs windows. Homer can be heard yelling, “Hey, don’t shove!” "Stop or My Dog Will Shoot" JABF12
399 May 20, 2007 none (special 24-style opening) "24 Minutes" JABF14
400 May 20, 2007 none (special 400th episode opening featuring a showing of the Tracey Ullman Simpsons short Family Portrait) "You Kent Always Say What You Want" JABF15

Season 19 (2007–08)

Ep # Original air date Gag Episode Production
code
401 September 23, 2007 To coincide with the opening sequence (depicting a destroyed Springfield from The Simpsons Movie being rebuilt), the Simpsons run to their near-dilapidated house and find Plopper the pig on the couch. Homer cuddles it and says, "My summer love!" "He Loves to Fly and He D'oh's" JABF20
402 September 30, 2007 repeat of JABF06's gag (but this time, Marge's line after Homer enters the living room is "Did you bring the milk?") "The Homer of Seville" JABF18
403 October 7, 2007 The living room is made of Lego bricks and the family members are built one by one out of Legos. Homer can be heard shouting, "Woo-hoo!" when a long black Lego brick (representing a full head of hair) is put on his head, and "D'oh!" when a small black Lego brick (representing his two strands) is placed on his head instead. "Midnight Towboy" JABF21
404 October 14, 2007 The family sits down as normal, except Maggie is missing. Homer looks to the empty space where Maggie is, then gets lifted by a giant Maggie as the camera pulls out to reveal the living room being part of a dollhouse and the family as the dolls that live within. Maggie puts the miniature Homer in her mouth and sucks it like a pacifier. "I Don't Wanna Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" JABF19
405 November 4, 2007 none (Halloween episode) "Treehouse of Horror XVIII" JABF16
406 November 11, 2007 The family (already seated on the couch) appears on the cover of Modern Couch Gag magazine. "Little Orphan Millie" JABF22
407 November 18, 2007 A pair of cartoon hands opens up a book called "The Simpsons" and reveals a pop-up centerfold of the family sitting on the couch. "Husbands and Knives" JABF17
408 November 25, 2007 A magician walks into the living room and uses his cape to make the couch and family members appear. "Funeral for a Fiend" KABF01
409 December 16, 2007 repeat of FABF08's and GABF05's couch gag (but this time Homer says "Weird" instead of "Wow!" or "Cool!") "Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind" KABF02
410 January 6, 2008 A medieval tapestry (based on the famous Bayeux Tapestry) shows Ned Flanders and his family stealing the Simpsons's couch. The Simpsons then sail over to the Flanders' castle, fight them for the couch, and return with the couch and Ned Flanders' chopped corpse. "E Pluribus Wiggum" KABF03
411 January 27, 2008 The Simpsons are sitting perfectly still on the couch. The camera pans out to reveal the words, “Ceci n’est pas une couch gag” (French for "This is not a couch gag") written on the carpet. The camera pans out again to reveal that the couch scene is a painting at a museum. The debutante's mother from “Burns Baby Burns” and a man in a gray suit are staring at the picture. "That 90's Show" KABF04
412 February 17, 2008 A mobile is above the couch. The Simpsons run in and hook themselves onto it. Homer's weight tips the mobile. "Love, Springfieldian Style" KABF05
413 March 2, 2008 Two hands add pegs to a Lite-Brite picture of the family on the couch. The picture lights up and Maggie sucks on her pacifier. "The Debarted" KABF06
414 March 9, 2008 There are five dots on the couch. Professor Frink comes in with an eye dropper and squeezes water on all of the dots, which sprout into sponge doll versions of The Simpsons, except Homer isn't full grown. Professor Frink walks off and comes back with a bucket of water. He splashes it on Homer and Homer sprouts to his normal height. "Dial 'N' for Nerder" KABF07
415 March 30, 2008 In a parody of Chuck Jones's Roadrunner cartoons, Wile E. Coyote (drawn Simpsons-style) paints the couch on the wall of the living room and sneaks off. The Simpsons run in and smack face-first into the wall. Maggie runs in and does the Roadrunner's trademark "Meep, meep!" before speeding off. The rest of the Simpsons peel themselves off the wall and sit on the painted couch, but Homer falls through, leaving a hole in the wall. "Smoke on the Daughter" KABF08
416 April 13, 2008 Light flute music plays as a paintbrush dabs at the empty couch, making Homer, Bart, Lisa, Marge, and Maggie appear one by one. "Papa Don't Leech" KABF09
417 April 27, 2008 repeat of KABF03's gag "Apocalypse Cow" KABF10
418 May 4, 2008 repeat of JABF17's gag "Any Given Sundance" KABF11
419 May 11, 2008 repeat of JABF06's gag (with Marge asking Homer "What took you so long?" instead of "Did you bring the milk?" like she did in JABF18's version) "Mona Leaves-a" KABF12
420 May 18, 2008 repeat of HABF19's gag "All About Lisa" KABF13

Season 20 (2008–09)

Ep # Original air date Gag Episode Production Code
421 September 28, 2008 The Simpsons sit on the couch and are suddenly encased in a block of carbonite. Boba Fett (of Star Wars fame) appears and carries off the family.[14] "Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes" KABF17
422 October 5, 2008 The Simpsons rush in and find themselves in a national park viewing area overlooking a Mount Rushmore-esque mountain carving of the family sitting on the couch. Bart can be heard yelling, "Ay, caramba!" "Lost Verizon" KABF15
423 October 19, 2008 In a reverse parody of The Wizard of Oz, The Simpsons (in their colorful world) are sucked up by a tornado and put on a farmland shown in black and white. "Double, Double, Boy in Trouble" KABF14
424 November 2, 2008 none (Halloween episode) "Treehouse of Horror XIX" KABF16
425 November 9, 2008 Instead of a couch, there are five cuckoo clocks on the wall. Wooden cuckoo clock statues of The Simpsons pop out one by one. "Dangerous Curves" KABF18
426 November 16, 2008 Instead of the living room, the Simpsons (dressed in togas) are in the ancient city of Pompeii and race to sit on a bench. Suddenly, Mount Vesuvius in the distance erupts and covers the family in ash. "Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words" KABF19
427 November 30, 2008 Similar to the couch gag in the season 9 episode, "Trash of the Titans," The Simpsons run in and find Bart writing on the blackboard as punishment. Unlike the couch gag on "Trash of the Titans," the Simpsons are in their own living room, the blackboard is on wheels instead of on the wall, and Bart is writing "I will not bring the chalkboard home" instead of "I will not mess with the opening credits". "Mypods and Boomsticks" KABF20
428 December 7, 2008 repeat of JABF01's couch gag (only the music playing when the scene pans out to the Christmas tree is "O, Christmas Tree", not "Deck the Halls") "The Burns and the Bees" KABF21
429 January 25, 2009 The living room is encased inside of a plastic toy box labeled "The Simpsons Couch Gag #429". The Simpsons rush to the couch and sit down. A hand puts a price sticker on it that reads, "$19.99". The camera pans out to reveal The Comic Book Guy behind the counter of the Android Dungeon with his arms crossed. He looks at the audience and comments, "Worst...couch gag...ever!" "Lisa the Drama Queen" KABF22
430 February 15, 2009 The family rush into the living room to discover that the couch is missing. Through the window, Homer spots the couch escaping down the road, and the family gives chase. The Simpsons follow the couch to various destinations throughout the world, such as the streets of San Francisco, the water canals of Venice and inside a palace room in India before finally catching up with it in outer space. Homer directs the couch towards Earth, and the family (dressed as astronauts like in the couch gag to "The Principal and the Pauper") crashes through the ceiling into the living room. Homer pulls out a remote from underneath him and turns on the TV...which is now a wall-mounted flatscreen TV that ends up falling to the floor. "Take My Life, Please" LABF01
431 March 1, 2009 The Simpsons travel through a chain of past iconic American sitcoms: "The Honeymooners", "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (where Homer trips over the ottoman), "The Brady Bunch" (where Lisa gets hit on the nose with a football), and "Cheers" (where Sideshow Bob comes in dressed as Dr. Frasier Crane) until they finally reach their own sitcom and sit on the couch, sighing in relief. "How the Test Was Won" LABF02
432 March 8, 2009 The Simpsons come in and find their couch beaten and torn. Funeral music plays as they bury the couch in the backyard. The Simpsons then visit a ranch to pick out a new couch. The Simpsons sit on a black and white spotted couch, which throws Homer off it. The scene then cuts to The Simpsons in their living room, sitting on their new couch. Homer is in a body cast and turns on the wall-mounted flatscreen TV. "No Loan Again, Naturally" LABF03
433 March 15, 2009 The couch is strung up like a pinata. A blindfolded Ralph Wiggum comes in, swinging a stick and hits the couch, making the Simpsons spill out on the floor. "Gone Maggie Gone" LABF04
434 March 22, 2009 The Simpsons are dog show participants being led on leashes by men in fancy suits. A judge awards Bart the blue ribbon, and Homer attacks Bart. "In the Name of the Grandfather" LABF11
435 March 29, 2009 The Simpsons are a meal at a fancy restaurant (Homer is a garden salad, Lisa's face appears in a bowl of soup, Marge is a plate of spaghetti and meatballs, Bart is a T-Bone steak, and Maggie is the mint that comes with the restaurant bill), which The Comic Book Guy eats. After he wipes his mouth with a napkin, a stain appears that resembles The Simpsons sitting on the couch. "Wedding for Disaster" LABF05
436 April 5, 2009 The screen is white. A cartoon left hand flips an animation cel that has eyes on it, flips another that has Homer's skeleton sitting cross-legged, flips another that has Homer's stomach and a can of Duff beer on the lap, flips another that has Homer naked, another where the rest of the family are fully clothed and sitting in mid-air, and another where The Simpsons are in their living room and sitting on the couch. Marge notices Homer is still naked and pulls down an animation cel that has Homer's clothes. "Eeny Teeny Maya Moe" LABF06
437 April 19, 2009 The living room is covered in thick, jungle plants. The Simpsons slash their way through in order to reach the couch, and find an ape version of the Simpson family already seated. The ape-Simpsons hoot and screech, scaring off the human Simpsons. "The Good, the Sad and the Drugly" LABF07
438 April 26, 2009 There's an Olympic-sized pool leading to the couch. The Simpsons take their places on the marks and swim to the couch once a starter pistol goes off. Marge is first, Lisa's second, Bart is third, and Maggie is last. The family looks around, wondering where Homer is. Cut to a shot of an unconscious Homer floating facedown in the pool. "Father Knows Worst" LABF08
439 May 3, 2009 The living room is the seating area in the Colosseum during the era of the Roman Empire. The Simpsons (dressed in togas) rush to an empty space to sit down. The sounds of a gladiator match can be heard offscreen. The audience cheers as the head of a gladiator flies into the audience. Bart catches it. "Waverly Hills 9-0-2-1-D'oh" LABF10
440 May 10, 2009 A large marble rock is in the living room where the couch should be. A stereotypical French sculptor quickly chisels out a statue of The Simpsons sitting on the couch. The sculptor then turns the statue of the Simpsons into a statue of a Civil War soldier on a horse. "Four Great Women and a Manicure" LABF09
441 May 17, 2009 repeat of LABF02's couch gag "Coming to Homerica" LABF12

Season 21 (2009–10)

Ep # Original air date Gag Episode Production
code
442 September 27, 2009 Similar to the couch gag from the season 11's "Missionary Impossible", the Simpsons are at an underground train station where a train pulls in and opens its doors, revealing the living room, complete with couch. The Simpsons get in and sigh as the door closes and the train pulls off. "Homer the Whopper" LABF13
443 October 4, 2009 The Simpsons, wearing white cowboy hats, exchange gunfire around the couch. Maggie comes out from behind the sailboat picture on the wall and blasts the room with a machine gun. "Bart Gets a 'Z'" LABF15
444 October 11, 2009 repeat of LABF01's couch gag "The Great Wife Hope" LABF16
445 October 18, 2009 none (Halloween episode) "Treehouse of Horror XX" LABF14
446 November 15, 2009 The living room is a clearing during the Stone Age and the couch is a log floating on a tarpit. The Simpsons (dressed as cavemen and cavewomen) rush to the log and sit down, only to sink into the tar. Cut to the modern day where The Simpsons are well-preserved skeletons on display at a museum. "The Devil Wears Nada" LABF17
447 November 22, 2009 Instead of the couch, The Simpsons (dressed as Victorian-era Christmas carolers) appear next to a Christmas tree and sing a parody of "The 12 Days of Christmas," featuring twelve Grampas grumbling (as they stand in a customer return line), eleven Barneys belching (as they lie drunk in the snow), ten Lennys leaping (over a fence), nine Carls dancing (in a ballroom), eight Moes a-milking, seven Selmas smoking, six Flanders praying, five golden Frinks (Professor Frink's heads are on five gold coins), four crawling nerds (Database, Wendell, Martin, and Milhouse crawling from Nelson Muntz), three-eyed fish (Blinky from "Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish"), two special Ralphs, and (as the Simpsons walk to the couch), a Maggie in a Snuggly. "Pranks and Greens" LABF18
448 November 29, 2009 The Simpsons and Marge's sisters (Patty and Selma) gather around the dinner table for a Thanksgiving meal, but soon gather their plates and head for the couch where they watch a football game on TV. "Rednecks and Broomsticks" LABF19
449 December 13, 2009 The living room furniture (the couch cushions, the rug, the flat-screen TV, and the lamps) are all dancing to disco music just as The Simpsons come in. Once Homer yells, "Hey!", the furniture returns to normal and the Simpsons sit on the couch. "O Brother, Where Bart Thou?" MABF01
450 January 3, 2010 Homer is standing on a coiled platform, which launches him (and the rest of the Simpson family) through a pinball game called "Couch Gag Chaos." "Thursdays with Abie" MABF02
451 January 10, 2010 The couch is seen inside a human egg. Each family member is a sperm cell swimming towards and penetrating the egg to sit on the couch. The zygote then divides multiple times, forming a Mr. Burns embryo. "Once Upon a Time in Springfield" LABF20
452 January 31, 2010 Homer runs to the couch first. He pulls out a myPhone, presses the "Couch Gag" app and downloads Bart, Lisa, Marge, and Maggie. When Homer gets an incoming call from Mr. Burns, he screams and swallows the phone.[15] "Million Dollar Maybe" MABF03
453 February 14, 2010 A hand deals five tarot cards featuring Homer (the King of Cups), Marge (the Queen of Cups), Bart (the Fool), Lisa (the High Priestess), and Maggie (the Death card) on a blue table. Cut to reveal Grampa getting his fortune read by the gypsy from "Hex and the City". Grampa gasps and turns the Death card towards the gypsy. The gypsy drops dead. "Boy Meets Curl" MABF05
454 February 21, 2010 repeat of LABF08's gag "The Color Yellow" MABF06
455 March 14, 2010 repeat of LABF04's gag "Postcards from the Wedge" MABF04
456 March 21, 2010 The Simpsons are insects in the backyard garden. "Stealing First Base" MABF07
457 March 28, 2010 repeat of LABF11's gag "The Greatest Story Ever D'ohed" MABF10
458 April 11, 2010 In an homage to the house falling gag from the Buster Keaton films One Week and Steamboat Bill, Jr., the Simpsons rush to the couch, which is outside on the lawn. The facade of the house collapses on top of them, but does not crush them, thanks to the empty window pane. "American History X-cellent" MABF08
459 April 18, 2010 repeat of LABF05's couch gag (only this time, the Comic Book Guy says, "Terrible!" after eating his Simpsons family meal) "Chief of Hearts" MABF09
460 April 25, 2010 The Simpsons chase after the couch through the articles on The Springfield Shopper. The couch gives in and reunites with the family after seeing an ad about it in the classified section. "The Squirt and the Whale" MABF14
461 May 2, 2010 Special opening with Lisa (and several other characters—main, ancillary, and one-shot) lip-synching to Kesha's "Tik Tok," which culminates into The Simpsons sitting on their couch as everyone in town lifts them up. "To Surveil with Love" MABF12
462 May 9, 2010 Nelson constructs a miniature Simpsons toy, then blows it up with a firecracker. "Moe Letter Blues" MABF13
463 May 16, 2010 Harold from the children's book, Harold and the Purple Crayon draws The Simpsons' living room just as they run in to sit. Homer asks Harold to draw him a beer, and Harold obliges. Homer pats the child on the head. "The Bob Next Door" MABF11
464 May 23, 2010 Homer and Bart appear as hand puppets, and the puppets begin attacking each other. The view pans down, and Homer is shown choking Bart himself. "Judge Me Tender" MABF15

Season 22 (2010–11)

Ep # Original air date Gag Episode Production
code
465 September 26, 2010 The couch is below a banner reading "22 SEASONS – CONGRATULATIONS FROM FOX." A network executive comes out holding a cupcake with a candle on it, which Maggie blows out. The man eats the cupcake and walks off as the banner falls on the disappointed family. "Elementary School Musical" MABF21
466 October 3, 2010 The family finds a dead man on their living room floor, then run from the police in their couch. They are soon arrested, identified in a line-up, and executed on an electric couch. "Loan-a Lisa" MABF17
467 October 17, 2010 The family is seen seated on the couch. The camera pulls back to reveal this as a picture hanging in a sweatshop where Asian workers (most of which are women and children) are producing merchandise and animation cels for the show. The camera pulls back further to reveal that the sweatshop is in the 20th Century Fox Building (This special opening was animated by graffiti artist Banksy). "MoneyBART" MABF18
468 November 7, 2010 none (Halloween episode) "Treehouse of Horror XXI" MABF16
469 November 14, 2010 The Simpsons rush to and sit down on the couch. Daredevil Lance Murdock jumps his motorcycle over the family and crashes into the door. "Lisa Simpson, This Isn't Your Life" MABF20
470 November 21, 2010 In the style of the James Cameron film Avatar, the Simpsons get inside a transporter and are seen as members of the Na'vi tribe. Na'vi Bart tames a wild flying couch before the family sits down in front of the TV wearing blue and red 3D glasses. "The Fool Monty" NABF01
471 November 28, 2010 Professor Frink is on the couch and shoots the family with a shrink ray. Now microsized (once again), the Simpsons make their way to a mousetrap baited with cheese that they use as a couch, only for the mousetrap to snap on everyone seated. "How Munched is That Birdie in the Window?" NABF02
472 December 5, 2010 (Xmas 2011 special opening) "The Fight Before Christmas" MABF22
473 December 12, 2010 Different scenes of Springfield are shown on an Advent calendar. The December 24 section depicts the Simpsons on the couch, with Santa Claus. "Donnie Fatso" MABF19
474 January 9, 2011 The couch wakes up, shaves, has breakfast, rides a subway, clocks in outside of the Simpsons' back door, and takes its place as everyone runs in and sits on it. "Moms I'd Like to Forget" NABF03
475 January 16, 2011 The Simpsons are depicted as scoops of ice cream in a giant sundae, which Santa's Little Helper eats. "Flaming Moe" NABF04
476 January 23, 2011 repeat of MABF14's couch gag "Homer the Father" NABF05
477 February 13, 2011 Homer injures his leg as he runs to the couch with the rest of the family. As Homer is carried off in a stretcher, Mr. Burns signals for benchwarmer Barney Gumble to run in and take Homer's place. "The Blue and the Gray" NABF06
478 February 20, 2011 The Simpsons are hockey players (similar to the couch gag from season 16's "There's Something About Marrying") who get sent to the penalty box (couch) for fighting during a game. "Angry Dad: The Movie" NABF07
479 March 6, 2011 On a "The Simpsons Couch Gag Game" video game, the five family members are selected as players and sit on the couch. The words, "GAME OVER" appears on the screen. "The Scorpion's Tale" NABF08
480 March 13, 2011 Similar to the season six couch gag for "Lisa on Ice," the family sits on the couch, only to be sprung off by the cushion springs (in this version, the family springs into the viewer's TV screen rather than get shot through the ceiling). "A Midsummer's Nice Dream" NABF09
481 March 27, 2011 The entire couch scene is in ASCII art. Bart takes some of the letters and spells "FATSO" on top of Homer, who replies in a word balloon, "D'oh!" "Love Is a Many Strangled Thing" NABF10
482 April 10, 2011 (Without Opening Credits replaced by this episode) "The Great Simpsina" NABF11
483 May 1, 2011 The living room setting with the family seated on the couch is shown as a VHS cover inside an abandoned video rental store ("Million Dollar Video") that subsequently gets demolished. "The Real Housewives of Fat Tony" NABF12
484 May 8, 2011 The couch is on display at the Smithsonian Museum (much like Archie Bunker's chair). The Simpsons (dressed as burglars) sneak in and bypass security to get to the couch. "Homer Scissorhands" NABF13
485 May 15, 2011 Everyone and everything is represented as black words on a white void. "500 Keys" NABF14
486 May 22, 2011 none (opening credits shortened) "The Ned-Liest Catch" NABF15

Season 23 (2011–12)

Ep # Original air date Gag Episode Production
code
487 September 25, 2011 none (special introduction by The Comic Book Guy, followed by shortened opening) "The Falcon and the D'ohman" NABF16
488 October 2, 2011 The entire couch scene is drawn and animated by John Kricfalusi. "Bart Stops to Smell the Roosevelts" NABF17
489 October 30, 2011 none (Halloween episode) "Treehouse of Horror XXII" NABF19
490 November 6, 2011 repeat of NABF13's couch gag "Replaceable You" NABF21
491 November 13, 2011 none (opening credits shortened) "The Food Wife" NABF20
492 November 20, 2011 none (opening credits shortened) "The Book Job" NABF22
493 November 27, 2011 none (opening credits shortened) "The Man in the Blue Flannel Pants" PABF01
494 December 4, 2011 A sword with the label "Property of Ned Flanders" is stuck on the couch. Homer tries to remove it, but cannot. Flanders tries and is successful. Homer and the rest of the family sit on the couch as Flanders leaves. "The Ten-Per-Cent Solution" PABF02
495 December 11, 2011 The Simpsons are gingerbread people who run on a plate set out for Santa Claus. Gingerbread Homer eats his own arm. "Holidays of Future Passed" NABF18
496 January 8, 2012 In a Victorian-period setting, the lights go out and there is a gunshot. When the lights come up, Homer is found dead and Bart is arrested for his father's murder. Marge (the real culprit) sits on the couch and hides the smoking gun in her hair "Politically Inept, With Homer Simpson" PABF03
497 January 15, 2012 Similar to the couch gag from the season five's "The Last Temptation of Homer," the Simpsons find themselves on the set of The Late Show With David Letterman. Unlike the couch gag from that episode, the Simpsons are shown racing through New York City to get to Letterman's studio, David Letterman guest stars as himself, and Letterman actually speaks to the family "The D'oh-cial Network" PABF04
498 January 29, 2012 repeat of LABF02's couch gag "Moe Goes from Rags to Riches" PABF05
499 February 12, 2012 Moe and everyone else on the show come in to congratulate the Simpsons on completing 500 episodes, but Lisa (using a copy of Simpsons World) tells him that this is the 499th episode. "The Daughter Also Rises" PABF06
500 February 19, 2012 A frame-by-frame montage of every previous couch gag (starting with the one from "Bart the Genius" and ending with the one from "The Daughter Also Rises") is shown, followed by a new couch gag where the Simpsons sit on the couch, then the camera zooms out to reveal a "500" mosaic made up of stills from past couch gags. The mosaic falls apart and reveals Homer and Bart strangling each other in tuxedos. "At Long Last Leave" PABF07
501 March 4, 2012 A spoof of the intro to HBO's adventure fantasy series Game of Thrones, with the buildings rising out of the ground, being driven by cogs, and a giant couch overlooking the entire town. "Exit Through the Kwik-E-Mart" PABF09
502 March 11, 2012 The family lays on a layer of seaweed covered with rice on the floor in front of the couch, which is then rolled up and sliced like sushi. Maggie pops out from one of the pieces. "How I Wet Your Mother" PABF08
503 March 18, 2012 The Simpsons sit on a couch in 1989, where a banner that reads, "America: Most Powerful Nation in the World" hangs on the wall behind them. As the years pass, several popular recurring and one-shot Simpsons characters (e.g. Leon Kompowsky—the bald mental patient who thought he was Michael Jackson—from "Stark Raving Dad", Stampy the Elephant with Ralph Wiggum in his mouth from "Bart Gets an Elephant", Poochie the Dog from "The Itchy and Scratchy and Poochie Show", the Leprechaun from "Treehouse of Horror XII", Baron von Kiss-A-Lot from "Half-Decent Proposal", Maude Flanders' ghost from "Treehouse of Horror XIII", Goose Gladwell from "Fat Man and Little Boy", Chazz Busby from "Smoke on the Daughter" and Princess Penelope from "Once Upon a Time in Springfield") appear besides the family and the banner begins to show significant wear and tear. When 2010 hits, Bart and Homer turn over the worn-out banner and write, "Too Big to Fail – We Hope!" on the back of it. The couch gag ends when the year hits 2012 and Maggie holds a miniature Chinese flag. "Them, Robot" PABF10
504 April 15, 2012 An animated short by Bill Plympton in which a young Homer falls in love with the couch...until he meets Marge. The couch tries to reunite with Homer after having a "baby couch," but Homer casts it out. The couch is forced to support itself by stripping and selling its body after being thrown out of its apartment and nearly commits suicide by throwing itself in a garbage truck, only to be rescued by Homer. The "baby couch" then ends up being Maggie's play chair. "Beware My Cheating Bart" PABF11
505 April 29, 2012 repeat of NABF14's couch gag "A Totally Fun Thing That Bart Will Never Do Again" PABF12
506 May 6, 2012 The couch gag is on a card stunt (where people in an audience—usually at a baseball or football game—hold up cards to form a giant picture) showing the family on the couch, with one picture missing. Homer puts his picture up to cover the gap. "The Spy Who Learned Me" PABF13
507 May 13, 2012 repeat of NABF01's couch gag "Ned 'n Edna's Blend" PABF15
508 May 20, 2012 Everybody is playing the "Simpsons Couch Gag for the Funtendo Zii", but Homer is having trouble getting his video game avatar to sit on the couch, just as he keeps missing in real life. "Lisa Goes Gaga" PABF14

Season 24 (2012–13)

Ep # Original air date Gag Episode Production
code
509 September 30, 2012 In this homage to the short film, The Longest Daycare, the Simpsons are butterflies that come out of their cocoons. Baby Gerald tries to kill them and Maggie stops him and all four of them fly off into the sunset. "Moonshine River" PABF21
510 October 7, 2012 Halloween XXIII (Halloween episode) "Treehouse of Horror XXIII" PABF17
511 October 21, 2012 (Opening Credits Shortened by Canada and repeat of KABF16's openig sequence/International/Online airing/The Simpsons are bit by bit flipped onto the couch via animated cels (reruns) "Adventures in Baby-Getting" PABF18
512 November 11, 2012 In a parody of Wacky Races, the Simpsons race against many characters (all with bizarre racing vehicles), but all of them crash near the finish line and Grampa wins. "Gone Abie Gone" PABF16
513 November 18, 2012 The Simpsons are drawn as a tattoo on Marge's lower back. "Penny-Wiseguys" PABF19
514 November 25, 2012 Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie sit on the couch. An axe-wielding, maniacal Homer in a hockey goalie mask comes out swinging. The scene freezes and becomes the cover for a Tales from the Crypt-style horror comic book. "A Tree Grows in Springfield" PABF22
515 December 9, 2012 none (opening credits shortened) "The Day the Earth Stood Cool" PABF20
516 December 16, 2012 none (opening credits shortened) "To Cur with Love" RABF01
517 January 6, 2013 The Simpsons are various entertainment award trophies (Homer is an Oscar, Marge is an Emmy, Lisa is a Grammy, Maggie is the Stanley Cup, and Bart is a purple version of the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award). After they sit on the couch, they get crushed into a steel cube that reads "World's Greatest Grampa," which Abe accepts as his award. "Homer Goes to Prep School" RABF02
518 January 13, 2013 The couch sequence is a trailer for an action movie called The Couch. "A Test Before Trying" RABF03
519 January 27, 2013 The couch is the chair in a dunk tank. After the Simpsons sit down, Nelson hurls a ball at the target and the family falls into the water. "The Changing of the Guardian" RABF04
520 February 10, 2013 The Simpsons all look like Moe Szyslak (again) and announce that their new sitcom The Szyslaks has been cancelled. "Love is a Many-Splintered Thing" RABF07
521 February 17, 2013 A knight comes in and chops Homer's head (and most of Marge's hair) off (premiere airing)/repeat of the Game of Thrones couch gag from "Exit Through the Kwik-E-Mart," with the scene of the knight beheading Homer added (rerun) "Hardly Kirk-ing" RABF05
522 March 3, 2013 A parody of the Harlem Shake viral video called Homer Shake (original airing)/none in the international and online airings (opening credits shortened). "Gorgeous Grampa" RABF06
523 March 10, 2013 In another Bill Plympton-animated couch gag, Homer, Marge, Bart, and Lisa are in a 1930s gangster story, armed with several weapons. When Maggie turns on the light, the scene reverts to the present day with everyone carrying snacks to the couch. Maggie shoots off a Tommy gun. "Black Eyed, Please" RABF09
524 March 17, 2013 Homer, Marge, Bart, and Lisa are painted on Easter eggs and placed on a grass nest on a couch. Homer comes in and sits on the eggs. "Dark Knight Court" RABF10
525 April 14, 2013 Special intro parodying the opening to the AMC dark comedy/drama Breaking Bad in which Marge makes blue cupcakes for a church bake sale while Homer spies on her. The entire sequence is watched by Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) in live-action. "What Animated Women Want" RABF08
526 April 28, 2013 The Simpson family are skydiving. Homer's parachute breaks, the entire family crashes into the house and fall onto the couch, similar to the couch gag for "You Only Move Twice" and "El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer," only in this version, the couch gag is a plot point in the episode. "Pulpit Friction" RABF11
527 May 5, 2013 The Simpsons are carved into a block of ice by three men. Grampa Simpson comes in and turns on the heat, and the ice sculpture melts. "Whiskey Business" RABF13
528 May 12, 2013 Everyone and everything in Springfield is animated a la Robot Chicken, ending with the family getting strapped to the couch and forced to watch The Simpsons by the half-robot, half-chicken creature. "The Fabulous Faker Boy" RABF12
529 May 19, 2013 The Simpsons are sea creatures sitting on a shell couch. All of them get eaten by Blinky, the three-eyed fish. "The Saga of Carl" RABF14
530 May 19, 2013 Five dandelions bloom and turn white on the couch. The TV sneezes, blowing the white dandelion seeds in the air, which turn into multiple Homers, Marges, Barts, Lisas, and Maggies (This couch gag was submitted by Cheryl Brown, who won the Simpsons Create-A-Couch-Gag contest in America)/The family sits with a Canadian loon, a hockey player, John A. Macdonald, and a beaver while Maggie sucks on a hockey puck (In the Canadian version; submitted by Ray Savaya, who won the Simpsons Create-A-Couch-Gag contest in Canada)'' "Dangers on a Train" RABF17

Season 25 (2013–14)

Ep # Original air date Gag Episode Production
code
531 September 29, 2013 Similar to the couch gag for season 11's "E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt)" and season 22's "Elementary School Musical", the couch is roped off and a bouncer lets Marge, Lisa, Bart, and Maggie in, but not Homer in celebration of The Simpsons 25th season, a milestone. The end credits continue the couch gag by showing everyone in Springfield being let in (and the families from Family Guy, Bob's Burgers, American Dad!, and, after a brief protest over racism, The Cleveland Show) while Homer is still turned away, and ends up getting shocked with a tazer. "Homerland" RABF20
532 October 6, 2013 A horror-themed opening directed by Guillermo del Toro, featuring classic and contemporary horror and science fiction monsters and movie references, ending with Lisa falling through a hole à la Disney's 1951 Alice in Wonderlandand ends up in the end sequence to del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth after getting brainwashed by Futurama's Hypnotoad. "Treehouse of Horror XXIV" RABF16
533 November 3, 2013 A parody of The Hobbit in which The Simpsons trek to the couch. "Four Regrettings and a Funeral" RABF18
534 November 10, 2013 Everyone (except Maggie) tries to get to the couch as if they are climbing from a different direction, but gravity is pulling them away. Homer fails and falls up through the ceiling into the sky. "YOLO" RABF22
535 November 17, 2013 The Simpsons' take on the first Thanksgiving where The Simpsons (as Pilgrims) escape persecution by boarding the Mayflower (which looks like the simplistic sailboat Marge painted for Homer) and sailing to Plymouth Couch, where an Indian (Apu) offers them Thanksgiving dinner for $19.95 a person. "Labor Pains" RABF19
536 November 24, 2013 "MusicVille", a "Silly Simpsony" cartoon short featuring every character as a musical instrument (an homage to Disney's Silly Symphony short Music Land) "The Kid Is All Right" SABF02
537 December 8, 2013 The Simpsons are flailing tube man balloons on a used couch lot. Balloon Bart steals a pair of scissors and cuts Balloon Homer, who flies into some power lines. "Yellow Subterfuge" SABF04
538 December 15, 2013 Christmas version of the regular opening, this time, as a retelling of "The Night Before Christmas" "White Christmas Blues" SABF01
539 January 5, 2014 - "Steal This Episode" SABF05
540 January 12, 2014 Another Bill Plympton animated couch gag in which the family change reality as they channel surf. "Married to the Blob" SABF03
541 January 26, 2014 Homer sits down to watch the Super Bowl, only to have to get up to get his six-pack of beer...which Bart tossed over an overhead power line. When Homer retrieves it, he gets shocked – and keeps getting shocked until the town's power goes out (the couch gag itself is an ident for UK's Channel 4) "Specs and the City" SABF06
542 March 9, 2014 As the Simpsons rush to the couch, the lights go off. Marge leaves to fix the fuse, and when the lights go up, the characters are drawn Triplets of Belleville-style (as this couch gag is directed by Sylvain Chomet) and everything has a French aesthetic to it. Bart plays with a do-it-yourself foie gras kit, Lisa plays an accordion, Marge cries out, "Maggie? Où est Maggie?" and Homer gets up and eats a snail off the TV... oblivious that Maggie is stuck between his butt cheeks. "Diggs" SABF08
543 March 9, 2014 Earth's single large land mass breaks apart into five Simpsons-shaped continents, only for a Moe-shaped asteroid to destroy the planet. "The Man Who Grew Too Much" SABF07
544 March 16, 2014 Homer is the patient from the board game "Operation", with other characters as the pieces (Lisa is "Brainy" (the brain), and Moe is "Elbow Bender" (the elbow). When "Pain in the Butt" Bart is removed, he grabs the forceps and sticks it on the side, which causes Homer to buzz and scream in pain. "The Winter of His Content" SABF09
545 March 23, 2014 - "The War of Art" SABF10
546 March 30, 2014 The Simpsons are running through the streets of Pamplona, Spain as several couch bulls chase after them. Once the Simpsons reach the couch, a bull slams Homer and takes his spot on the couch. "You Don't Have to Live Like a Referee" SABF11
547 April 6, 2014 The whole intro, and the couch gag as done by Minecraft. Moe comes in as a green figure and says "How yo doin?" and part of the building explodes. "Luca$" SABF12
548 April 13, 2014 The couch and the floor are covered in bubble wrap, which everyone pops. "Days of Future Future" SABF13
549 April 27, 2014 The Simpsons travel inside Homer's body. At the end, the family falls onto Homer's couch-shaped brain (couch gag animated by Michal Socha) "What to Expect When Bart's Expecting" SABF14
550 May 4, 2014 none (opening credits shortened) "Brick Like Me" RABF21
551 May 11, 2014 Everybody is a pawn in The Game of Life, which ends with everybody (and a Grim Reaper pawn) on the couch. "Pay Pal" SABF15
552 May 18, 2014 The Simpsons (and Matt Groening) are part of a panel at the San Diego Comic-Con. When the Comic Book Guy asks whether or not they'll be another Simpsons movie, everyone except Maggie leaves. "The Yellow Badge of Cowardge" SABF18

Season 26 (2014–15)

Ep # Original air date Gag Episode Production
code
553 September 28, 2014 A surreal depiction of a future episode of the show created by Don Hertzfeldt "Clown in the Dumps" SABF20
554 October 5, 2014 The Simpsons find Itchy about to kill Scratchy on the couch. Homer intervenes by removing Itchy and allowing Scratchy to stay on the couch for several months, which ultimately starts annoying the family. Homer brings back Itchy who effectively murders Scratchy. "The Wreck of the Relationship" SABF17
555 October 12, 2014 A parody of the cover of the 1970 Cat Stevens album Tea for the Tillerman, with its title track playing over it "Super Franchise Me" SABF19
556 October 19, 2014 None "Treehouse of Horror XXV" SABF21
557 November 2, 2014 None "Opposites A-Frack" SABF22
558 November 9, 2014 The Simpsons sit on the couch, but it turns out to be Hedonismbot. "Simpsorama" SABF16
559 November 16, 2014 The couch is a ski lift. The family walks in, ready to go skiing. The couch rises up. Seconds later, the couch comes back down and the family are all injured. Except for Maggie, who comes in and has a medal and isn't injured. "Blazed and Confused" TABF01
560 November 23, 2014 The family are playing with their smartphones as they walk in. But, they don't pay attention to where they're going and bump into each other and fall over. They pick up their smartphones and carry on playing. "Covercraft" TABF02
561 December 7, 2014 There is a message that reads; “Now for obligatory Frozen reference”, before cutting to a snow couch, where Lisa, appearing as Frozen’s Elsa, is sitting. Bart hits her with a snowball and she immediately creates a giant ice palace, with Bart stuck at the top. Homer appears as Olaf, and bites his own nose, disappointed to discover it is simply a carrot. "I Won't Be Home for Christmas" TABF03
562 January 4, 2015 A piano version of "Great Gate of Kiev" is played in the background as the gag showcases artwork of each Simpson. The camera turns to the Simpsons sitting at an art gallery. Homer grabs the remote control, and all the artwork on the wall changes channels. "The Man Who Came to Be Dinner" RABF15
563 January 11, 2015 In an updated version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Homer, Marge and Bart are shown walking into their home. They find out that someone has been eating their porridge and broke their couches, but they catch Lisa, who is sleeping on Bart's couch. She wakes up to find the three of them surrounding her, causing a fight between them that ends with the Simpsons eating parts of Homer's body. The scene is revealed to be a story Homer told to a traumatized Maggie. "Bart's New Friend" TABF05
564 January 25, 2015 None "The Musk Who Fell to Earth" TABF04
565 February 8, 2015 People start to eat each Simpson off of a sushi plate that is sitting on a moving boat, except for Homer, who falls into the water and gets eaten by a fish after the boat flips over. "Walking Big & Tall" TABF06
566 February 15, 2015 A pixelated version of the opening sequence by Paul Robertson, Ivan Dixon (directors/animators) and Jeremy Dower (music). "My Fare Lady" TABF07
567 March 1, 2015 The printer gets jammed while printing out the couch gag. "The Princess Guide" TABF08
568 March 8, 2015 None "Sky Police" TABF09
569 March 15, 2015 The family is repeatedly sucked into a portal above the couch until Bart eventually separates from the rest, avoids getting beamed up, and closes the portal via a remote control. He then finds a severed Homer head. "Waiting for Duffman" TABF10
570 April 19, 2015 5 ears-shaped popcorns jumps on the couch, the couch burns up and the Simpsons pops. Homer is last and is all burned. "Peeping Mom" TABF11
571 April 26, 2015 repeat of SABF15's gag, except that the Grim Reaper pawn is replaced with an Abe Simpson pawn. "The Kids Are All Fight" TABF12
572 May 3, 2015 Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie appear as penguins sitting on an ice-molded couch, until they are eaten by walrus Homer. "Let's Go Fly a Coot" TABF13
573 May 10, 2015 Homer fails at making goal saves, as Maggie continues kicking soccer balls at him until he is buried in them. "Bull-E" TABF15
574 May 17, 2015 In a gag written and animated by Rick and Morty creators Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland,[16] the Simpsons sit down on the couch, but Rick and Morty suddenly crash their ship into the house, killing them. Panicking, Rick collects some of the family's gooey remains in a vial and sends Morty to have new Simpsons made while he cleans up the wreckage. While Morty travels to an alien world to get the materials needed to restore the family, Rick proceeds to ransack the Simpsons' home, stealing their possessions and freezing Ned Flanders. When Morty returns, Rick finishes the restoration process. However, because Rick cleaned the vial with his spit, the family members all resemble deformed versions of Rick. The two fly off, destroying the frozen Flanders in the process, and Bart declares "No more guest animators, man!" "Mathlete's Feat" TABF16

Season 27 (2015–16)

Ep # Original air date Gag Episode Production
code
575 September 27, 2015 A parody of several Beatles album covers. The last cover features the double decker bus running over The Simpsons who were recreating the Abbey Road walk. "Every Man's Dream" TABF14
576 October 4, 2015 None "Cue Detective" TABF17
577 October 11, 2015 Each Simpson parks a spot on the couch until a monster truck Maggie runs them over. "Puffless" TABF19
578 October 18, 2015 None "Halloween of Horror" TABF22
579 October 25, 2015 The episode opens with a Kricfalusi-animated couch gag where the Simpson children are trick-or-treating before being set upon by soul-hungry spirits with a monstrous Frank Grimes among them. The spirits chase after the Simpson children to their house with the Frank Grimes monster taking Homer's soul. "Treehouse of Horror XXVI" TABF18
580 November 8, 2015 The show opens with a short parody of the Disney short Feast entitled "Fat." Santa's Little Helper is fed scraps from the Simpsons' dinner table until he gets too fat and dies. He goes to Heaven and God offers him a choice between Fit Dog Heaven and Fat Dog Hell. Fat Dog Hell flashes a "Free Pizza" sign and Santa's Little Helper runs inside. "Friend with Benefit" TABF21
581 November 22, 2015 During the parody of Star Trek, all the couches surround the donut Starship Enterprise and destroy it. "Lisa with an 'S'" TABF20
582 December 6, 2015 Homer rolls the dice, which reveals all the Simpsons, but his side flips to Mr. Burns. "'Paths of Glory" VABF01
583 December 13, 2015 Homer and Bart complain about the animation in the gag. Lisa tells them it's called rotoscoping. "Barthood" VABF02
584 January 3, 2016 None "The Girl Code" VABF03
585 January 10, 2016 While sitting alone on the couch, Homer puts on his shades and descends into an opening sequence of "La-Z Rider" that pays homage to TV shows and films from the 1980s. "Teenage Mutant Milk-Caused Hurdles" VABF04
586 January 17, 2016 None "Much Apu About Something" VABF05
587 February 14, 2016 Marge picks up a letter from the couch which sets the Simpsons off on a journey to find it, but Homer eventually wakes up from the dream, only to find a goodbye letter from Marge. "Love Is in the N2-O2-Ar-CO2-Ne-He-CH4" VABF07

References

  1. 1 2 3 Turner 2005, p. 71.
  2. ↑ Irwin, William; Mark T. Conard (2001). The Simpsons and philosophy: the d'oh! of Homer. Aeon J. Skoble. Open Court. p. 265. ISBN 978-0-8126-9433-8.
  3. 1 2 Gray, Jonathan (2010). Show Sold Separately: Promos, Spoilers, and Other Media Paratexts. NYU Press. p. 73. ISBN 978-0-8147-3195-6.
  4. ↑ Reiss, Mike (2004). The Simpsons, The Complete Fourth Season audio commentary for the episode "The Front" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  5. ↑ Jean, Al. (2004). Commentary for "Cape Feare", in The Simpsons: The Complete Fifth Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  6. ↑ Turner 2005, p. 4.
  7. 1 2 Alberti, John (2004). Leaving Springfield: The Simpsons and the Possibility of Oppositional Culture. Wayne State University Press. pp. 311–326. ISBN 978-0-8143-2849-1.
  8. ↑ "The Simpsons: Episode Guide – Season 1". BBC. Retrieved December 22, 2012.
  9. ↑ "The Simpsons: Episode Guide – Season 2". BBC. Retrieved December 22, 2012.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Turner 2005, p. 103.
  11. ↑ Ott, Brian L. (2007). The small screen: how television equips us to live in the information age. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 81. ISBN 978-1-4051-6154-1.
  12. ↑ Season 10 DVD audio commentary "Viva Ned Flanders"
  13. ↑ Turner 2005, p. 41.
  14. ↑ Aughey, Dan (September 29, 2008). "The Simpsons Episode Recap: "Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes"". TV Guide.
  15. ↑ Axon, Samuel. "The Simpsons Couch Gag: There’s an App for That". Mashable. Retrieved February 8, 2010.
  16. ↑ "'The Simpsons': Couch Gag With 'Rick and Morty' Turns Deadly". The Hollywood Reporter. May 14, 2015.
Bibliography

External links

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