Only impulsive anger is funny

The gag always starts the same way: a sudden cry of Why you little and a grab. Bart often reaches for a frying pan and hits him, and Homer gets his comeuppance.

In one episode, Homer came over very slowly and strangled Bart. It was freakish enough that the writers cut it. What makes the gag work is anger that flares and passes in the same instant.

The same reasoning kept spanking off the show, because that's too real. The strangling is very silly, and the silliness depends on its being impulsive.