Published Mar 24, 2026, 2:51 PM EDT

Jake is a journalist, editor, and critic with over a decade of experience covering entertainment, gaming, culture and more. His writing has been published in WIRED, The Ringer, Rolling Stone, Vice, Men's Health, HuffPost, and more. Before joining Polygon, he was the Executive Editor of Inverse.

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30 years ago, The Simpsons introduced a classic sci-fi movie to a new generation

Image: 20th Century Fox

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At its peak, The Simpsons excelled at speaking to two audiences at once: adults who appreciated the whip-smart comedy on every level, and kids who enjoyed cartoons and emulated Bart Simpson. For a large chunk of the '90s, I sat firmly in that second camp. I watched reruns religiously every day after school, but looking back, a lot of it flew right over my head.…