Simpsons Top 100 Countdown

#57 Homer the Vigilante
Season 5, Episode 11 (Guide from the Simpsons Archive)

A cat burglar is striking across Springfield and the town wants action. Homer becomes the leader of a vigilante group that terrorizes the town more than it fights crime. Homer becomes disgraced when he fails to prevent the theft of the world’s largest cubic zirconia from the Springfield museum. Grandpa manages to figure out who the cat burglar is, redeeming old people and the Simpson family. The cat burglar tricks the town into going after his purported ill-gotten gains, but the treasure, such as it would be, is not there and he used the time to escape from jail. Memorable moments include Homer’s keys, the cat burglar in action, the assorted uniforms, the meeting that makes Homer leader, the megaphone, the tv (especially Homer’s appearance on it), Frink’s security system, vigorous head-nodding of the Dragnet form, Grandpa’s telling of the solving of the crime, hoe downs, Wiggum taking the kickback from Quimby, the It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World parody, and, of course, “Dig up, stupid.”