While the show's original Christmas episode special aired in December 1989, this week marks the 25th anniversary of the premiere of The Simpsons as a weekly series, on January 14th, 1990. The show has remained a fixture on the airwaves ever since, chronicling the misadventures of the Simpson clan and lampooning countless bits of pop culture over the decades.

The Top 25 Simpsons Episodes

Angus Podgorny's Caber Toss

From the very beginning, The Simpsons has been poking fun at video games and game culture along with everything else. So to celebrate the show's big anniversary, we've picked out our favorite game parodies from the past 26 seasons (and the movie).

Assassin's Creed Summer of Love

Aunts vs. Zombies

Bonestorm

Cereal Killer

Dance Dance Evolution

Dash Dingo

Death Kill City II: Death City Stories

"Marge Be Not Proud" (1995)If you're not familiar with the sport of Caber tossing, it's basically the Scottish equivalent of javelin throwing. Only in this case, it involves kilt-clad Scottish athletes throwing long wooden poles called Cabers. Clearly this is the next Madden franchise waiting to happen. And while no one in our world has tried to cash in on the Caber tossing craze yet, Springfielders have the option to play what is surely a captivating digital recreation of a high-stakes sport.Aside from the obscurity of the sport, this fake video game also amused us because it referenced the character Angus Podgorny, a colorful kilt salesman from Monty Python's Flying Circus."The Flood Wife" (2011)This fake sequel was glimpsed as the Simpson family attended the E4 convention. With as many Assassin's Creed sequels and spinoffs as Ubisoft has churned out lately, it's probably only a matter of time before we do see a game set in the psychedelic '60s and starring a hippie assassin. Ubisoft clearly appreciated the joke. 2013's Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag references an ancestor of protagonist Desmond Miles that operated during the Summer of Love.The E4 show floor was a wealth of other amusing parody titles, including Guts of War: Entrails of Intestinox, World of KrustCraft, and Shaun White: Time Snowboarding."The Daughter Also Rises" (2012)The wildly popular Plants vs. Zombies series got its small moment of parody in this 2012 episode. But rather than being a tower defense-style game, Aunts vs. Zombies is apparently some sort of light-gun shooter. Homer used the gun controller to shoot the rival racers in a motorbike game he was playing. If only that worked in real life..."Marge Be Not Proud" (1995)Bonestorm might just be the most iconic video game parodies The Simpsons has ever conjured. It was also one of the few games to serve as a central plot device in an episode. Bonestorm parodied hyper-violent fighting games like Mortal Kombat. Much to Bart's chagrin, his mother refused to buy the game for him. Apparently, shouting "Buy me Bonestorm or go to hell!" doesn't work on all parents. So Bart resorted to shoplifting a copy, which didn't work out too well for him.Appropriately enough, Milhouse did wind up with a copy of the game, but quickly put it aside in favor of the vastly more entertaining "cup and ball." This was the show's way of reminding us that violence and spectacle are no substitute for actual fun.The Bonestorm series was also referenced in the video games The Simpsons Hit & Run and The Simpsons Game."Dangerous Curves" (2008)Handheld consoles are a godsend when it comes to passing time on road trips. Good thing Bart had his Game Boy handy when the Simpsons picked up the hitchhiking Squeaky-Voiced Teen and his girlfriend. This first-person-shooter (featuring improbably good 3D graphics for any iteration of the Game Boy) allowed Bart to lay waste to cereal mascots like Captain Crunch and Toucan Sam.These days, iPhone users can actually download a real version of Cereal Killer from the App Store."Moe Letter Blues" (2010)The Dance Dance Revolution series is pretty ripe for parody given its nature. The Simpsons has spoofed the games several times, but our favorite instance occurred in this episode. When Manjula accidentally left her son Gheet at Moe's Tavern and came to retrieve him, the trio wound up firing up Moe's Zii and dancing along to Lady Gaga's "Just Dance.""Lisa Gets an 'A'" (1998)Bart may be the resident game fanatic in the Simpsons household, but when Lisa falls in love with a game she really goes all out. She spent three days straight playing this amusing Crash Bandicoot parody while home sick from school. By the time Marge forced her to return to school, Lisa was forced to cheat on a test to make up for all her lost study time."Yokel Chords" (2007)In this episode, Bart's latest prank (creating a fictional boogeyman named "Dark Stanley") winds up landing him in school-mandated counseling. But lucky for him, his therapist relied on Mad Libs and violent video games to analyze her patients. This over-the-top Grand Theft Auto parody was rated "Bad for Everyone" and boasted a first-level goal of destroying every human life on the planet. We'd like to see what an end-game mission is like.

Check out more Simpsons video games on Page 2!