By its fourth season, The Simpsons had come far enough where Lisa could make a self-referential joke about Dustin Hoffman and Michael Jackson's pseudonymous guest voice appearances in seasons 2 and 3, respectively. In this season, no less than Elizabeth Taylor (in two episodes), Bette Midler, and even the reclusive Johnny Carson blessed The Simpsons with their iconic presences. Awhile back, Entertainment Weekly ranked The Simpsons' Top 25 best episodes ever. Five gems from season 4 cracked the top 12, including the (debatable) choice for No. 1, "Last Exit to Springfield." Other episodes that loom large in the Simpsons legend are "Mr. Plow" (you know the jingle: "Call Mr. Plow / That's my name / That name again is Mr. Plow"), "Marge vs. the Monorail," featuring a Music Man-style extravaganza, and "A Streetcar Named Marge," the episode that outraged New Orleans residents, who heard their fair metropolis referred to as "a city that the damned call home."

The Simpsons smartly subverts traditional family sitcom convention, but anyone who thinks the show doesn't have a heart is advised to watch "I Love Lisa" and "New Kid on the Block," two fourth-season gems that absolutely nail the agony and ecstasy of unrequited crushes ("You won't be needing this," a heartbroken Bart fantasizes his babysitter saying while dropkicking his heart into a wastebasket in "New Kid"). While the Simpsons' celebrated ensemble gets all the glory, we must pause now to praise the peerless writing staff, among them, George Meyer, Al Jean, Jon Vitti, John Swartzwelder, David Silverman, and Conan O'Brien. One can only marvel in astonishment at the alchemy that went into creating, week after week, such essential episodes as "Kamp Krusty," "Streetcar," the profane and profound "Homer the Heretic," and "Lisa the Beauty Queen" (And that's just disc 1!). The animators, too, rose to the occasion, particularly in "Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie," with its dead-on, ultra-violent sinking of the seminal Disney cartoon, "Steamboat Willie." And another benchmark in The Simpsons' rise to the TV pantheon: Its very first clip show. What Homer says about donuts in "Monorail" holds true as well for The Simpsons itself: Is there anything this show can't do? --Donald Liebenson
Season 4
60. 4-1 8F24 24-Sep-1992 Kamp Krusty
61. 4-2 8F18 01-Oct-1992 A Streetcar Named Marge
62. 4-3 9F01 08-Oct-1992 Homer The Heretic
63. 4-4 9F02 15-Oct-1992 Lisa The Beauty Queen
64. 4-5 9F04 29-Oct-1992 Treehouse Of Horror III
65. 4-6 9F03 03-Nov-1992 Itchy And Scratchy: The Movie
66. 4-7 9F05 05-Nov-1992 Marge Gets A Job
67. 4-8 9F06 12-Nov-1992 New Kid On The Block
68. 4-9 9F07 19-Nov-1992 Mr. Plow
69. 4-10 9F08 03-Dec-1992 Lisa's First Word
70. 4-11 9F09 17-Dec-1992 Homer's Triple Bypass
71. 4-12 9F10 14-Jan-1993 Marge vs. The Monorail
72. 4-13 9F11 21-Jan-1993 Selma's Choice
73. 4-14 9F12 04-Feb-1993 Brother From The Same Planet
74. 4-15 9F13 11-Feb-1993 I Love Lisa
75. 4-16 9F14 18-Feb-1993 Duffless
76. 4-17 9F15 11-Mar-1993 Last Exit To Springfield
77. 4-18 9F17 01-Apr-1993 So It Has Come to This: The Simpsons Clip Show
78. 4-19 9F16 15-Apr-1993 The Front
79. 4-20 9F18 29-Apr-1993 Whacking Day
80. 4-21 9F20 06-May-1993 Marge In Chains
81. 4-22 9F19 13-May-1993 Krusty Gets Kancelled