Best. List. Ever. Ranking our 25 favourite secondary characters in The Simpsons

This was not an easy task.

Today marks the 25^th anniversary of the day that the first full-length episode of The Simpsons was broadcast on US TV and as regular JOE readers will know, we barely need an excuse to profess our undying admiration for the greatest TV show ever made. Considering the significance of this particular anniversary, we decided to make this tribute a big one, highlighting the characters that don’t always get the limelight, but who all play a huge part in making the show the masterpiece that it is. Because the term ‘secondary character’ is pretty difficult to define, we decided to exclude all of the characters classed as main characters on Simpsons database simpsonswikia.com, meaning that the entire Simpsons family, as well as the likes of Moe, Barney, Krusty, Otto and Mr. Burns don’t get a look in. Mayor Quimby, meanwhile, wasn’t included in that list but we consider him a main character so he’s not in our list either; besides, we paid our own special tribute to ‘Diamond Joe’ a little earlier this year. And finally, once-off characters and those who appear in only a handful of episodes are cut, so you can forget about your Hank Scorpios, your Rex Banners and your Frank Grimeses, who were the subject of another JOE tribute here. Now that we’ve got all the administration out of the way, here’s the list we’ve painstakingly compiled counted down from 25-1; your feedback on what we’ve come up with, of course, is more that welcome on Facebook, Twitter and editorial@joe.ie. Enjoy!

25. Squeaky-voiced teen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkB-rpAUbK8

24. The ‘Yessssss’ guy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rL5ZVljj4vg

23. Rich Texan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUTqW32gx9k

22. Kang and Kodos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CCh9sk-9l4

21. Blue-haired lawyer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVe3p1b2UAs

20. Duffman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZRcsoyu6Tg

19. Lou and Eddie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=is1LvmN985Y

18. Superintendent Chalmers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-yTpaESzkU

17. Johnny Tightlips

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIGUu0bvpMQ

16. Kirk Van Houten

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5izm9kHeHkg

15. Drederick Tatum

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBllBd8BHSE

14. Doctor Julius Hibbert

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaAP7J2eOtI

13. Snake Jailbird

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dceB3SKBw9w

12. Jasper Beardly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXQR-cPXlmY

11. Disco Stu

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHZ4lGG8dX4

10. Doctor Nick Riviera

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgqKv9rkAE0

9. McGarnagle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5TwOkuQCeE

8. Sideshow Bob

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yrEiuVVCqM

7. Kent Brockman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4m-lNi61Rk

6. Hans Moleman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mV1LWhNpTJU

5. Troy McLure

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY8SS_qlchk

4. Gil Gunderson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRWAQ255qhs

3. Captain Horatio Peter McCallister

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Maeli1EgBg

2. Rainier Wolfcastle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vyANa71gvU

1. Lionel Hutz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NL_pRiXov7Q