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"Moe Goes From Rags To Riches"

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This episode was a real mess.

If you're going to do a whole entire episode about a bar rag, you had better make it a pretty funny episode. And this time, they didn't. That's the episode in a nutshell: it wasn't anywhere close to awesome enough to overcome the fact that it was about a bar rag.

I'm a pretty whimsical gal. But there isn't enough whimsy in the world for me to endure an entire half hour episode about a bar rag. And not a canonical bar rag, either. It's not as if we have seen the bar rag before and wondered, "What's his deal?" In other words, this isn't equivalent to a Moleman or Comic Book Guy episode. If anything, the rag is a quaternary character. Ranking below even the tertiary characters, as far as interestingness goes.

"The D'Oh-cial Network"

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The Winkelvoss twins making out with each other at the end? SUPER CREEPY. *Erika likes this.

I came to this episode biased from the start, because I hate Facebook more than anything. Well, not "anything," I guess. But I hate it more than a lot of things. Put it this way: I haven't seen the movie "The Social Network," because I know it wasn't as hard on Zuckerberg as I felt it should have been, and I know it would just make me angry.

At the same time, I have very little patience for people who make the same old litany of complaints: people just text each other! They don't talk anymore! Everyone's looking at their gadgets! Get a grip, elderly people of the world. Things change. We know you hate it. We know you want us kids off your lawn. Just relax, okay? Stop being so curmudgeonly!

"Politically Inept, with Homer Simpson"

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"And why is there moisture between the windows?"

The Simpsons has always walked a fine line whenever the topic of politics comes up. Instead of tilting the show either to the left or to the right, they always steer it towards easier topics - like corruption in politics, the stupidity of voters, and so forth.

In this case, the show takes aim square at the right wing, and some of the laughs are mighty uneasy. Part of the problem is that this episode pulls a lot of punches when it comes to Ted Nugent. The episode also suffers from the classic Simpsons problem with regards to current events, which is that the show's long lead time means that contemporary references go stale quickly. (The show mocked itself on this very point, earlier this season.)

Simpsons Jokes That Came True

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I'm keeping my fingers crossed for dogs with bees in their mouths, and when they bark they shoot bees at you.

There's a great list on Ranker of 13 Simpsons jokes that actually came true in real life. This is a great comprehensive list, but what really fascinated me was the way that they broke down into three basic categories: random chance, "I heard about it on the Simpsons so I want to try it," and the best category: the Simpsons accurately extrapolating from today's trends to predict the future.

Category 1: Random Chance

The Simpsons has been on the air for over two decades. With somewhere around 450 episodes under their belt, you would expect a few things to hit just based on statistical anomalies.

"The Falcon and the D'Ohman"

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What we have here is a portrait of Jack Bauer as a semi-retired, semi-broken man.

I guess reviews of this episode were kinda mixed, mostly because it isn't always as funny as it could be. And the plot rambles in some rather odd and unexpected directions. Which is a fair complaint, really. But when I re-watched this episode last Sunday, I was really struck by the way that the show seemed to understand something about Keifer Sutherland's character that the rest of us have never quite come to terms with: he is a bad man who has done (rather, been asked to do) bad things, and who suffers because of it.

"Holidays of Future Passed"

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Best Episode Ever?

I was pretty skeptical when I heard that the new episode was going to take place in the future. But we already know what happens! Lisa becomes president, and Bart is her no-good, slacker hang-on. AND it was what is widely regarded as "the worst Simpsons episode ever."

(Then again, that was eleven years ago. Gulp.)

Setting another episode in the future must have been a tall order, but the creators really outdid themselves. I love the wonderfully realized touches, the layers and layers of awesome. Like the way that Bart's life in his rented schoolroom includes grinding his coffee beans in the pencil sharpener and using his old desk as a beer cooler. Or the way that the painting behind the family couch changes from the familiar sailboat to a high-tech yacht, which is later replaced with a picture of a space ship. This is a future where Michigan is "still under Sharia law," Homer reads a kid's book called The Hardy Borgs, and the streets of London are populated by triffids and Daleks.

"The Ten Percent Solution"

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A satisfying episode, with a strong storyline and a lot of great meta-humor

Every once in a while, one of the show's secondary characters gets the spotlight. Principal Skinner, Ned Flanders, and Mr. Burns have all had their turn. Krusty has had his turn several times, actually, but that doesn't make this episode less engrossing. It's fascinating the way a show that has been around this long can keep adding new layers to its characters and lore.

Krusty is one of the world's greatest Sad Clowns. Despite his wacky "Hey hey!" catchphrase, Krusty is one of the most cynical and depressing characters on television. All of his relationships fail, he has a prominent scar from cardiac surgery, is estranged from his family, and is forever staging a career comeback only to see it fall flat.

The Evolution of Homer Simpson

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A part of American culture for the last 23 years

Homer Simpson has been a part of American culture for the last 23 years. We've watched him on television. He starred in a movie. We've bought Homer Simpson dolls, T-shirts and underwear. We say "Doh!" when we do or say something stupid. So, just who is Homer Simpson, besides the head of our favorite animated household?

"The Man In The Blue Flannel Pants"

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Proof that the definition of "a good episode" can go far beyond just the lulz.

Last night, both The Simpsons and Family Guy engaged in episodes that ran more on storytelling than on jokes. And while the laughs weren't as loud as a lot of people might have wanted, it made for a surprisingly engrossing night of television.

Guest starring John Slattery in essentially his role as Roger Sterling from Mad Men, this episode features drunken hijinks of a very different sort. From the first act featuring Absolut Krusty ("I used up my stuff poisoning deer") to Maggie's mock-DUI ("I got here after you did") this episode was as tipsy as it was effective.

Homer Said What?

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Memorable quotes from Homer Simpson

There's more to Homer Simpson than donuts and beer. Sometimes America's favorite animated father can be very insightful - or not. Here are some of the things Homer has said to his family and friends over the past 23 years.

Read more about Homer Said What?

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