 According to Matt Groening , people often include this episode among their top 10 favorites . In Entertainment Weekly 's top 25 The Simpsons episodes ever , it was placed third . To celebrate the show 's 300th episode " Barting Over " , USA Today published a top 10 chosen by the webmaster of The Simpsons Archive , which had this episode at a ninth place . In 2006 , IGN named " Cape Feare " the best episode of the fifth season . Vanity Fair called it the show 's fourth @-@ best episode in 2007 , as " this episode 's masterful integration of filmic parody and a recurring character puts it near the top . " James Walton of The Daily Telegraph characterized the episode as one of " The 10 Best Simpsons TV Episodes " , while the Herald Sun placed it in their " The Simpsons Top 20 " . Karl Åkerström of the Swedish newspaper Borås Tidning called it his " all @-@ time favorite " episode of the show . Michael Moran of The Times and Todd VanDerWerff of Slant Magazine both ranked " Cape Feare " as the fourth @-@ best in the show 's history . Cast member Hank Azaria cited this episode as his favorite in the series . 
