TVSquad

(S11E11) As much as I like to poke fun at the "Simpsons already did it" crowd for not realizing that everything has pretty much been done already, I must admit that I sometimes fall into that same mindset a little too easily.

Yes, the Simpsons did do an episode where Homer starts working out and becomes, not unlike Bill does in this episode, about half flabby and half muscular. Coincidentally, that Simpsons episode is actually titled "King of the Hill." However, that particular Simpsons episode was about Homer trying to win Bart's respect, whereas this episode of King of the Hill was about Bill obtaining a body never thought he could have, and becoming so self-centered he pushes all his friends away.

(S18E08) At first glance, these newer episodes of The Simpsons are like a box of unbuttered popcorn mixed with M&Ms: even if the whole snack is rather bland, there's plenty of great bits tossed in. I loved Marge uncharacteristically whacking Bart with a wooden spoon, Homer's cry of "Woo hoo! Marital sex!", and Milhouse telling Bart it's better to walk in on both parents being intimate instead of just one of them.

(S18E06)

You'll never take me alive, Grim Reaper! --Grandpa Simpson

Damn, this episode had a lot of guest stars: Tom Wolfe, Michael Chabon, Jonathan Franzen and Gore Vidal*. Oh yeah, and John Updike and Thomas Pynchon both make cameos on a writer's panel, sans dialogue. Pynchon, whose book Gravity's Rainbow I actually heaved to the ground and did victory laps around because I finally made it through the damn thing, was decked out in his usual paper bag mask. The best guest appearance of all goes to J.K. Simmons, who reprised his role as the fast-talking editor from the Spider-Man movies, this time as the editor of a poetry publication. The man should do more voiceover work. Hell, bring him back for more episodes of The Simpsons, give him a reoccurring character like Fat Tony or Sideshow Bob.