TVSquad

Holy frik! We've only just started to embrace the return of our shows after a shortened strike season. Now, they are almost over. In the next few weeks all of our network favorites will say good-bye for the summer to be replaced with reality shows, reality game shows, reality soap operas, and Regis on primetime (again).

Needless to say, I'm a bit depressed. As I am sure you are as well. But, we will do our duty and press on. Thusly, we here at the sprawling lakefront offices of TV Squad (you choose the lakefront) have compiled list of when your favorite, and not so favorite, shows will be saying good-bye for their summer vacation. As usual, taking the fickleness of the networks, these times and days can change at a moment's notices. We will try to update you of those changes as quickly as our little fingers can type it out.

So, with a leaden heart, here are your season and series finales.

(S19E18)"No more Simpsons' movies! One is enough." -- Marge Simpson

Add Utah to the list of states that the Simpsons have visited since the series began. And, no, they weren't there for some wacky episode about Homer being married to multiple women. They were at the Sundance Film Festival, thanks to Lisa and her wonderful documentary about the family she lives with.

Wonderful to the visitors of the festival, that is. For her family it was a bit humiliating -- as much of Lisa's artistic work is. Being such a free spirit Lisa doesn't think too much of the consequences she wreaks when the creates these various projects. Which is weird coming from someone as smart as her. Then again, she's only 8-years-old. So, should we really be expecting more from her?

(S19E17) "Sorry, Lise. I can't be a vegetarian. I love the taste of death." -- Bart Simpson

Another Bart-centric episode, which means another decent installment of The Simpsons. It's unfortunate that these types of episodes couldn't have been dispersed more evenly throughout the season. This would have made for a less Homer-centric run of shows during the first half of the year -- something that many fans (or maybe just me) were expressing concern about.

As AOL Television continues their look at the 50 Best TV Comedies -- Ever with numbers 20-11, we here at TV Squad are also looking at television comedy, but with a slightly skewed difference. Last week, we took a look at the Saturday Night Live cast members from 1975-1985 that made it to the big time. This week, we focus on the SNL casts from 1986 to 2006.

Aside from the first season of Lorne Michaels' return to the show he created and the 1994-95 season, this period was a very successful one for SNL, introducing a slew of characters and sketches that fans of the show still talk about today. It also produced a good number of Not Ready for Prime-Time Players who went on to bigger things in television and the movies (and some theater as well). Sometimes those bigger things were movies or television shows based on characters developed on SNL.

Here's just another example of how Americans suck at world history. An episode of The Simpsons has upset some folks in Argentina because it takes a shot at beloved former president Juan Peron. The episode already aired in the U.S. (number 10 this season) and is about to air in Argentina.

All the fuss is over one tiny, little scene where Carl tells Homer that Peron was a military dictator and, "When he disappeared you, you stayed disappeared." The statement is just a set-up for a joke from Lenny, who says, "Of course, his wife was Madonna." Referring to Madonna's role as Eva Peron in Evita.

Here's the problem: Peron wasn't a brutal dictator. It was the regime after Peron that was blamed for the disappearance of 30,000 Argentinians.

(S19E16) SPRINGFIELD: GOOD -- The new town slogan that cost Mayor Quimby the entire treasury of Springfield.

When it comes to supporting characters The Simpsons have them up the proverbial wahoo. Many, like Flanders, Mr. Burns, Apu, and Millhouse, are distinct personalities with lengthy back stories that we the fans know quite well. Others, like Bumblebee Man, Cletus, Kent Brockman, and Comic Book Guy, are known, but only by the stereotypes that they have been given. Fortunately, most of them have been given spotlight episodes to flesh them out a bit more.

While these episodes have been hit or miss I have always found them to be quite interesting because they gave a different perspective on life in Springfield.

I guess if Venezuela had a choice, it would be David Hasselhoff over Homer Simpson. A Venezuelan TV channel has yanked episodes of The Simpsons from their network with the reasoning that the show is "inappropriate for children." It's replacement? Baywatch: Hawaii.

The show was being broadcast at 11 A.M. daily. My first question is: shouldn't the kids be in school in the first place? Granted, I'm unaware of how the Venezuelan school system works. Probably not very well if the kids are home at 11 A.M.

(S19E15) "I'm not a nerd. I'm a jock who's too cool for sports." -- Bart Simpson

From the outside, the Family Simpson comprises a group of people who go from one wacky adventure to another. Yet, when you go beneath their four-fingered exteriors, each member of the family is actually fighting their own little battle. For Bart it's the fight against the establishment; for Marge it's finding order withing the disorder of her life; for Maggie it's getting through an entire day on one pacifier; and for Homer it is the philosophical dilemma of whether or not death brings forth life or life brings on death. That, or just trying to get between breakfast and lunch without starving to death...it really depends on the day.

I remember when I was a kid and I saw a bald man I always thought, "He must be old." As I've become an adult, I have been lucky enough to keep my thick head of hair but it's clear that baldness is no longer something to be embarrassed about. In fact, there are a number of bald men on television who are quite adept at getting things done. Here are my top ten toughest bald guys on television.

10. Chris Turk (Scrubs)
While Turk wouldn't be considered a tough guy by most standards, I think he deserved to be on this list for a couple of reasons. First, Turk chooses to be bald. Sure, his hair is thin but at some point he decided to shave his head and I applaud his choice. More importantly, Turk is a surgeon, a father and the husband of a very hot lady. If that isn't an example of how to get it done, I don't know what is.

(S19E14) "Oh boy, dinnertime! The perfect break between work and drunk." -- Homer J. Simpson

Before I get to the review as a whole for this week's installment of The Simpsons I want to talk about one of the most disturbing scenes that has ever graced this program. It involves Homer, who is breaking his one millionth diet or something. In one scene he's shown entering a room of a sleazy motel with what looks like another woman. Turns out it's just a rack of meat (I think it was lamb, I couldn't hear Homer) dripping in its own juices. He then goes about treating the meat like a lover, sucking on the juices, caressing it, and even bringing it to the shower with him. I was in total agreement with the host of Sneakers -- the fictitious television show that was a parody of the real-life show Cheaters -- when he asked the guys in the control truck to turn the hidden cameras off. Brrr!

Other than that, this was a pretty good episode.

For years now fans of The Simpsons have broken the pause buttons on their DVD and, back in the olden days, VCR players in order to get a glimpse of the intro to that long-running program. Particularly the section between Marge and Maggie driving home from the supermarket, and Homer pulling into the garage, which seems to just whip by in a blur. We've been able to catch glimpses of what actions are taking place, but we never got the full panoramic picture.

Until now, that is. Thanks to an apparently anonymous source, this entire scene has been made into a panorama showing everything that goes on.

(S19E13)"Young man, I'm going to be on you like a numerator on a denominator" -- Principal Skinner to Donny the informant

It's been a looong time since we had an episode of The Simpsons that focused on that young rapscallion Bart and his status of Prankmaster at Springfield Elementary. Frankly, I was starting to get a bit worried that we wouldn't see one at all this season and that all we would get is one episode after another focusing on Homer and his hi-jinks. Luckily, someone at FOX or the offices of The Simpsons realized this and gave us an installment that not only reignited the feud between Bart and Principal Skinner, but parodied the Martin Scorsese film The Departed. Plus, it was actually a good episode.

(S19E12) "Happy Valentine's Day, and shut your gum" -- Homer Simpson.

No complaints about The Simpsons scheduling (although it's terribly erratic) or debates with myself on continuity (Rich: You bastard. Now I have nothing to do this week). Let's get right to this week's programme, which featured three different stories of love.

Story Bridge -- Homer actually does something nice for Valentine's Day and takes Marge, Bart and Lisa to the carnival, where the kids run free. This gives Homer and Marge some quality time in the Tunnel of Love. I have never been in a Tunnel of Love before, so I will have to take as fact that it features scary creatures dropped from the ceiling to allow couples to hug each other for comfort.

So, we've got this promotional thing going on with this new zero calorie sparkling drink from Pepsi called Tava. Haven't heard of it yet? Well, from what I can tell, you certainly will. What did they give us to give away? How does this sound:

• Two (2) 80GB iPod Classics.
  
• Five (5) swag bags containing TAVA Canvas tote bag, TAVA t-shirt and TAVA pen.
• Seven (7) sample packs of TAVA.

What do you need to do? Well, to accompany this post I'm listing a bunch of memorable fictional drinks from TV. All you need to do is list your favorite, either from this list or one I missed. More details on the giveaway are at the end of this post, after the jump.

Entertainment Weekly announced earlier this week that Zooey Deschanel and Glenn Close would lend their voices to upcoming episodes of FOX's hit animated series The Simpsons. Deschanel will appear in an episode that will air in April, while Close will reprise her role of Mona, Homer's mother, in an episode that is set to air in May.

Spoilers warning!