Mr. Burns replaces all of Springfield Power Plant's employees with robots but decides to keep Homer as the sole human worker. With unemployment at an all-time high and mechanical arms operating the workplace, Springfield becomes a dismal and humorless place. But when Homer's machine-programmed peers start to turn on the community and his former real-life employees come to the rescue, they all realize that robots can't replace human friends.
FAN DESK VERDICT A top-shelf entry. Not quite canon, but you’ll be quoting it all week — the fan desk says don’t skip.
The Simpsons S23E17 (“Them, Robot”) first aired on March 18, 2012.
In the US, The Simpsons season 23 — including this episode — is available on FX, Hulu, Disney+, fuboTV, DirecTV On Demand, Spectrum On Demand, YouTube TV, FOX One Amazon Channel, Hulu on Disney+, Amazon, Fandango at Home, and AppleTV.
Fans rate The Simpsons S23E17 (“Them, Robot”) 8.2/10, which puts it in the great tier for The Simpsons.