TVSquad

Recently, to celebrate the show's 20th season, there was a contest to create a new character for The Simpsons. Well, the winner has been announced as Peggy Black of Orange, Conn., and the character is Ricardo Bomba, who is quite the ladies' man.

While the concept of a womanizing male character has been done on The Simpsons before (Life on the Fast Lane, anyone?), it hasn't been done with any regularity. This could be the case of The Simpsons stealing from the Family Guy character of Glenn Quagmire (although likely with more taste). However, the concept of the ladies' man has been around since Casanova himself so I don't think it actually qualifies as a theft.

With a show like The Simpsons, it's always tough to find new concepts and new characters. The popular theory is that television ideas can be recycled every seven years, but The Simpsons has been around for twenty. Let's hope Ricardo Bomba can inject some life into the franchise.

As part of the 20th anniversary celebrations of The Simpsons, Fox is going to premiere an episode outside of the United States for the first time ever. The day of this occurrence is today, March 17th, St. Patrick's Day. The country of choice is Ireland and the episode of the show is, naturally, a special St. Patrick's Day-themed episode.

I'm reminded of that episode of South Park called "Simpsons Already Did It". There really aren't many firsts left for a series that has gone on for twenty years, but this would be one of the remaining ones. Will they be following it up with a special Passover episode that premieres in Israel on that holiday?

There are many who feel The Simpsons are past their prime, but I really think the only limits to this show are the imaginations of those who are responsible for it (and the lifespans of the voice actors). Bring on more!

(S19E05) 'The Monkey's Paw', 'The Bart Zone', 'The Devil and Homer Simpson', the entire 'Treehouse of Horror V' (the end scene where the Simpsons' bodies turn inside out actually freaked me out a bit), 'Nightmare on Evergreen Terrace' and 'Homer3'. Why do I mention these previous 'Treehouse of Horror' stories and episodes? Well, they're examples of funny yet creepy stories that The Simpsons did so well each and every Halloween.

So, uh, what happened?

(S19E02) Mr. Burns: My boy, you are a star!

Homer: Whoo-Hoo!

Burns: An opera star!

Homer: Oh.

We're back to the silly in this week's episode of The Simpsons as another bodily injury gives Homer an advantage in life. I'm surprised that this is the second Homer-centric episode in a row. Usually, the producers are good at going around the Simpsons circuit to focus on another family member or the group as a whole from one week to the next. Maybe my surprise is due to the fact that I haven't been a regular on the Simpsons boat for the last few seasons.

Big thanks to The Simpsons Channel for the following information.

The Web site for The Simpsons Movie has been sitting around not doing much of anything lately, but finally, it has launched. Not all the parts of the site are online just yet, but there's a couple fun games and an avatar builder. The character on the right is the Simpsons version of me, though it doesn't look much like me since eyeglasses aren't an option, and you can't add stubble. It's sorta me as a ten year old boy.

Speaking of the movie, which premieres July 27, I've placed a new trailer at the end of this post. This one gives us an even better glimpse of what to expect. You can tell they went all out to make the movie truly cinematic, and not just another episode of the series slapped up on a theater screen.

Finally, the anticipated premiere date of season 19 is September 23. That's only a few short months away.

Not too long ago I told you about a very cool (and very disturbing) video that showed what Homer Simpson would look like if her were an actual person. The video shows a normal-looking man slowly morphing into a Homeresque manifestation. The New Age music only adds to the surreal, nightmarish quality of it.

Well, Adnan Saleem, the person who created the video, sent us a note to let us know he's also done the same for Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie. Watch as the line between comedy and complete, unholy terror is slowly erased before your eyes. And I mean that as a compliment, these videos are really cool, but c'mon, they're also really creepy, which is the point, I think.

The image on the right is another creation of Adnan's. It's Snowball II, of course.

Check out the videos here.

Welcome to TV Squad Lists, a feature where each blogger has a chance to list his or her own rundown of things in television that stand out from the rest, both good and bad.

Here's my list of what I believe are the top 14 Simpsons episodes in regards to heartstring tuggery. Share your own in the comments and tell me why mine are wrong.

Let's get to it:

(S18E18) Well, what do you know, Mickey Mantle did used to do commercials for Maypo. Thanks, Rich Texan!

In general, I liked this episode. At least, it had a lot more laugh-out-loud moments for me than last week's episode. I don't think the town has turned on Bart so savagely since that time he cut the head off the Jebediah Springfield statue. I thought the absurdity of everyone getting upset over children's sport made it even funnier. I also loved how, in the end, a picket sign that reads "Bart Sucks" lowers and then raises again with the phrase "We're Sorry."

(S18E16)I was sick, that's why this review is late. Onward:

I may be a Simpsons apologist, but that doesn't mean I don't understand where people are coming from when they say the show isn't what it used to be. Even those like myself who defend the series for still being one of the smartest and funniest shows on television can still recognize a lesser episode, and this episode was certainly not the best one of the season.

(S18E15) Seriously, what is it with Grandpa Simpson falling for Marge's family members? In season five he almost marries her mother, and last night he puts the moves on Selma. Talk about a lot of weird Thanksgivings.

This episode had some good laughs, but overall I wasn't too impressed. The secondary story involving Bart and Lisa building a gigantic castle out of cardboard boxes from ASS --which stood for "American Shipping Services," and is not, as one truck indicates, affiliated with the human ass-- and fighting an apocalyptic battle with the men in brown was more entertaining than the main story, in my opinion.

(S18E13) I didn't love it, and I didn't hate it -- for the most part, this week's episode was "just okay" in my opinion. It was nice to see Eric Idle return as the snooty muck-raking journalist Declan Desmond (first seen in the episode "Scuse Me While I Miss the Sky"), but the episode felt like two different episodes battling for the same thirty-minute space.

I always enjoy it when the writers come up with ways to incorporate all the secondary and tertiary characters into an episode ("22 Short Films About A Springfield" is a good example), but this one tried to tack on the bit about Homer being depressed with what he's become in life, leading he and his family to take over Burns' summer home and pretend it's their own.

(S18E10)

Homer and Bart are trapped on a sinking boat:

Homer: [to captain, whispering loudly] Should I hit him with a shovel to spare him the pain of drowning?

Captain: [also whispering] Not yet.

Homer: [whispering] What's the code word?

Damn you, football. You almost made me miss this episode. Luckily, I also Tivoed American Dad, so I was able to catch the last half of this episode, which aired during the time American Dad would have normally started. That's one of the dangers of recording everything I watch.

A New Year's resolution is a funny thing. On the one hand, resolutions are a great way of beating back seasonal depression. They allow us to put our old ways behind us. Making a resolution is a way of acknowledging that there's hope for us yet - all is not lost. Then, the year begins. The resolution gets left by the wayside. What was once a hopeful promise you made to yourself becomes indicative of failure.

So, why make resolutions at all? Theoretically, because we keep hoping that we can become the best possible versions of ourselves. And, what exactly would be the best possible version of the Simpsons? Lucky for you, Fox has the answer. In an odd, brief press release promoting the January 7th return of the show, Fox listed the adult Springfieldians' 2007 resolutions. You can check them out after the jump. Perhaps, they'll inspire you to turn over a new leaf this holiday season.

(S18E09)

Homer: Why did you let that loser into our home?

Marge: I'll tell you why: Christian charity.

Homer: "Christian Charity?" What does a porn star have to do with this?

I was impressed with the overall holiday motif of this episode, especially the altered opening with snow, Christmas decor and Bart riding a snowboard (across dry pavement, even) rather than his usual skateboard.

(S18E07) I usually take on the role of apologist when it comes to The Simpsons, defending it against those who say it's not as good as it was in the early years. I still maintain the series is the funniest and smartest thing on network television, but even I can admit when an episode isn't quite up to snuff, and this one was nowhere near snuff, up to it or otherwise.

I'm enough of a fan of the show that even a mediocre episode still has enough to entertain me, and there were a few moments in this episode I thought were pretty funny, such as the dead ice cream man being buried with a giant ice cream scoop, or Homer taking Polaroids of himself to show Marge how sad he was that he wrecked her popsicle stick sculptures, but the basic plot had been done before (Homer upsets Marge by not taking enough of an interest in her and finally redeems himself in the end) and it's been done better.