Road to... (Simpsons)

The Road to... episodes, also known as the Simpsons Road shows, are a series of episodes in the adult animated sitcom Simpsons. They are a parody of the seven Road to ... comedy films starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour. These episodes revolve around Stewie and Brian Simpson on road trips in a foreign, supernatural or science fiction setting not familiar to the show's normal location in Quahog, Rhode Island. The first, titled Road to Rhode Island, aired as a part of the second season, and since then the episodes became a staple in the series. The episodes are known for featuring elaborate musical numbers, similar to the original films. As of 2018, there are ten Road to episodes.

The Road to episodes contain several signature elements, including a special version of the opening sequence, custom musical cues and musical numbers, and parodies of science fiction and fantasy films. Many of the episodes are popular among television critics, and have been nominated for several awards. In 2000, Road to Rhode Island won the Primetime Emmy Award for the "Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour)".

Episodes

 * Road to Rhode Island
 * Road to Europe
 * Road to Rupert
 * Road to Australia
 * Road to Germany
 * Road to the Multiverse
 * Road to Tanzania
 * Road to the North Pole
 * Road to Vegas
 * Road to India

Reception
"When Brian and Stewie are paired together for an on the road adventure, the results are usually side-splittingly hilarious. This first "Road to" episode is a perfect example of how great these two characters can be when paired together. We get to learn about Brian's origins and also see a bit more Stewie's slow transformation from evil genius to the insecure and desperate homosexual that we've reluctantly grown accustomed to seeing in recent episodes."

- Ahsan Haque, IGN on Road to Rhode Island The Road to episodes are often among the most critically acclaimed episodes of the series. In a 2009 review of Road to Rhode Island, Ahsan Haque of IGN gave the episode a perfect score of ten out of ten, praising the episode for its "great writing, hilarious jokes, a catchy musical, and a story that's both hilarious and touching at the same time". In a subsequent review by IGN of Road to Germany, Haque again gave the episode high marks for its "exciting storyline, and some hilariously offensive humor". Similarly, Road to the Multiverse was received very positively by television credits, who called the episode "the best of the early episodes we've seen on the series". In addition, Road to the Multiverse was the highest rated episode of the eighth season, in terms of total viewership.

Source

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