Fans Have Crowned The Best Fox Network Fourth Wall Break On The Simpsons
For fans of "The Simpsons," one of the show's best running gags is whenever it takes a shot at its broadcast network, Fox. "The Simpsons" has done this practically since the show premiered in 1989.
"The Simpsons" went on the air just three years after the Fox network itself launched in 1986. At the time, Fox was considered an upstart TV network that had to make bold programming choices to stand out–which is how we got shows like "The Simpsons" and "Married with Children." For "The Simpsons," being broadcast on the fourth-most popular network, (out of four), was easy fodder for humor.
Then, as "The Simpsons" and Fox both became more popular, the jokes started to shift. The Fox News division began to develop a reputation for its right-leaning political commentary. "Simpsons" writers, many of them left-leaning, were all too eager to lampoon their parent company's sensibilities.
So, Fox has been a ripe target for fourth-wall breaking jokes for years. Recently, "Simpsons" fans on Reddit nominated their favorite Fox-themed jokes, and this one was the winner.
Ugh, Lisa is such a goodie two-shoes
Redditor u/chickachickabowbow nominated the winner, which appeared in the Season 5 episode "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy," which first aired in 1994 (via The Simpsons Wiki).
The joke comes during a dinner table scene, when Lisa (Yeardley Smith) is complaining about the Malibu Stacy doll and how it depicts women. Marge (Julie Kavner) is reluctant to encourage Lisa to protest it, because lately Lisa has been protesting so many other things. Bart (Nancy Cartwright) complains about the time when Lisa made the family march in a gay pride parade. Then, Homer (Dan Castellanetta) sarcastically complains that Lisa won't let the family watch Fox because they "own those chemical weapon plants in Syria."
It's a classic Fox-basher, and it beat out several other contenders. The original poster, Redditor u/G-Unit11111, shared a GIF of the moment from "Deep Space Homer" when an embryonic Homer is bonked in the head by a Fox broadcasting satellite. u/G-Unit11111 also nominated the moment when Sideshow Bob appears on Larry King. Larry King says, "Even though we're being broadcast on Fox, there's no need for obnoxious hooting and hollering." Then, of course, the studio audience does just that.
The "Syrian chemical weapon factories" joke might have received the most upvotes, but whenever "The Simpsons" dunks on Fox, we're all winners.