‘The Simpsons’ Fans Are Naming The Best Characters To Only Appear In One Episode

The Simpsons has been on for nearly 800 episodes. Take a moment to let that sink in: nearly 800 episodes! (760 specifically.) That puts any show not named One Piece to shame.

Since premiering in 1989, The Simpsons has established a deep bench of supporting characters who, due to the whole longest-running-American-scripted-primetime-TV-show-ever thing, have basically become secondary leads. Is there an entire episode about Groundskeeper Willie getting married? You better believe it. But there are select characters who have only appeared once — many of whom have left an indelible mark.

Former Simpsons writer Josh Weinstein (who was also co-showrunner with Bill Oakley) shared one of his favorites. “The 27th anniversary of ‘The Twisted World of Marge Simpson’ means it’s the 27th anniversary of when you met this guy, Royce McCutcheon,” he wrote on X. “Perhaps my favorite totally random Simpsons one-off character (tied with Handsome Pete).” Royce is on screen for less than 20 seconds in the season eight episode, but Homer threatening to keep all his “moon money” for himself is unforgettable.

The replies to Weinstein’s tweet are filled with other fan favorites:

Hank Scorpio is the obvious choice (although naming a character voiced by a guest star feels like cheating), but I also have to give it up for the annoyed “back to Winnipeg” dad and the Queen of the Harpies.