D: Disco Stu

D: Disco Stu

Much like disco itself, Disco Stu was a passing fancy that ended up having a surprising shelf life. Stu was introduced as as a throwaway gag in “Two Bad Neighbors”—as the only guy who could possibly be interested in Homer’s bedazzled jean jacket, if he felt the need to advertise—yet became a fully fleshed-out character, albeit one whose chief interests remain severely limited. In “Springfield Up,” it’s revealed that he was once known as Nautical Stu, having abandoned the sea for the dance floor, and further glimpses into Stu’s inner life have included his cocaine-like addiction to sugar and the admission in “How I Spent My Strummer Vacation” that he doesn’t even really like disco anymore, but feels consumed by his Disco Stu identity all the same. His attempts to free himself from disco—like when Professor Frink transforms him into “Normal Stu,” or the glimpse of a lobotomized “Nothing Stu” in the dystopian “Days Of Future Future”—only deepen that somber soundtrack to which Disco Stu can’t help but dance.



Runner-up: Duffman. As the “guy who creates awareness of Duff,” Duffman serves an invaluable party purpose to the citizens of Springfield—even if he’s destined just to be replaced by another actor once he inevitably dies. [Sean O’Neal]