Television’s top humorists are always looking for new cultural elements to satirize, and two of the most popular subjects over the past year have been gadgets or social media — or both, as they’re increasingly intertwined.
If you flip through the channels on your cable or satellite TV receiver for just a few minutes, you’re bound to come across a reference to Google, Facebook or texting. But we’re interested in the deeper cuts, so we’ve collected five of the funniest (but not the only) TV episodes that make things like Facebook, Apple, FarmVille, or Chatroulette the focus of almost all the humor.
We’ve provided a short clip and description for each episode. If you’re interested in watching the complete episode, you’ll find links to places you can get them online at the bottom of each entry. Most of these links and videos are region-locked to the United States. Since we’re writing this story in the U.S. that’s our only choice. If you live in another region, please feel free to share video and download links for your region in the comments.
The Simpsons – “Mypods and Boomsticks”
The Simpsons go to the too-cool-for-normal-people “Mapple Store,” where they see “Steve Mobs” address his cult-like followers on a giant screen 1984-style. Oh, the irony. Lisa gets a “Mypod,” and that’s just the start of an episode that manages to be as sharp an Apple satire as you’ll ever see.
South Park – “You Have Ø Friends”
While The Simpsons hit the ball out of the park with “Mypods and Boomsticks,” South Park’s Facebook episode is the ultimate social media satire.
The generally crass animated series actually manages a certain degree of profundity as it explores the way social networks can be used to make us feel better about the shortcomings of our “real” relationships. Facebook isn’t the only topic to receive this treatment, either; podcasting, FarmVille and Chatroulette get some attention too. Throw in a killer Tron sequence and it’s a must-see episode.
South Park Studios
Amazon Video on Demand
iTunes
Modern Family – “Game Changer”
This episode of Modern Family is basically a half-hour of product placement for Apple’s then just-released iPad, but it doesn’t fail to make some jokes about the absurd lengths people will go to for the latest and hottest gadget.
The iPad is coming out on Phil’s birthday, so his wife volunteers to go stand in line to get him one so he can sleep in. She falls asleep instead of taking care of it, so she’s forced to go to extreme lengths to hide her failure while she tries other ways to nab the gadget for her husband.
Hulu Plus
Amazon Video on Demand
iTunes
30 Rock – “Secret Santa”
Bizarre acquisitions by NBC parent company GE are a running gag on 30 Rock. This time GE acquires “YouFace,” a social networking site that bears a striking resemblance to Facebook, only more absurd — sort of. NBC executive Jack Donaghy reconnects with his high school crush using the social site, and relies on advice from a young receptionist to draw conclusions from the woman’s news feed and photo activity.
YouFace plays a smaller role in the episode than tech does in these other episodes, but it’s such a great gag that we had to include it anyway.
Hulu Plus
Amazon Video on Demand
iTunes
The Simpsons – “Bart Gets a Z”
The Simpsons has been on the air for 21 years, so it has most of the satirical bases covered. While the “Mypods” episode mostly riffed on Apple, “Bart Gets a Z” goes after social media, texting and other tech topics. A new substitute teacher at Bart’s school uses technology to reach his students, texting assignments like “Homework: 20 minutes of Twittering.”
If you don’t get your Simpsons social media fix with this episode, stay tuned for the upcoming season because Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to have a cameo.
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