Episode 8F08
Written by Robert Cohen
Directed by Rich Moore and Alain Smart
Also starring: JoAnn Harris, Russi Taylor
Special guest voices: Phil Hartman (as Lionel Hutz), Marcia Wallace (as Ms Krabappel), Catherine O'Hara (as Colette), Aerosmith (as themselves)

Premise: 'It's like there's a party in my mouth, and everyone's invited!' Homer accidentally invents a marvellous cocktail. Moe proceeds to take the credit, turning his bar into Springfield's hottest nightspot and attracting the attentions of Harv Bannister, Vice President of Tipsy McStagger's Good Time Drinking and Eating Emporium. Moe's success drives Homer insane with jealousy.

Features: Kent Brockman, Moe, Patty and Selma, Barney, Martin Prince, Ms Krabappel, Nelson, Krusty, Mayor Quimby, Otto, Lenny, Carl, Jasper, Lou and Eddie, Dr John Frink, Lionel Hutz, Chief Wiggum, Dr Marvin Monroe.

Couch: The Simpsons rush in - to find the sofa's been stolen.

Trivia:

• Moe's Tavern is on Walnut Street.

Homage: Aerosmith and Moe perform Walk This Way, the 1986 hit single they performed with Run DMC. Aerosmith perform the closing track Young Lust. There's a brilliant tribute to the Cheers title sequence, as Moe's Tavern becomes Flaming Moe's.

The notion of a brewery buying out a bar for one drink is a nod to Cocktail (Roger Donaldson, 1988), while Homer plummeting from the rafters recalls The Phantom of the Opera. The sequence in which Frink analyses a Flaming Moe comes from The Nutty Professor (Jerry Lewis, 1963).

Notes for Brits: A Flaming Mo is American slang for a camp homosexual. Just thought you should know.

Hello, can I speak to: Hugh Jass. (This is one of the most satisfying prank calls in the series - watch the episode to see what we mean.)

Notes: 'He's squashed Aerosmith!' Possibly the best Simpsons episode, with a constant stream of gags, inspired animation (in particular the sequence when Homer begins to see and hear Moe everywhere, from Maggie's gurgles to the leaves on the trees), and a superb plot that twists about in every direction but the one you might expect.