I love it when someone pats themselves on the back and points out a plot hole in the story, which is actually answered pretty explicitly by the book. For instance, how often do you hear people say "Why didn't Frodo fly on the eagles and cast the ring into Mount Doom? Derp derp derp."  It's like they just read a…

Yeah, the Assange guest spot was surprisingly terrible.  Like the worst guest spots on this show, all of the jokes were as obvious as they could be - he is defensive about his own privacy!  he lives in seclusion!  his secret code is 1-2-3-4! - and will date the episode pretty quickly.

Yeah, this has long been Family Guy's problems.  You imagine the writers sitting around, shouting out random jokes, and shoving them into the script without any editing process whatsoever.  Then the guys who try to make a plot out of it just try to fit the jokes in as best as they can, and God bless them for trying…

Gervais gave a good performance, but none of the material was very funny.  The writers clearly had no idea how to get him into the story after his first scene, so his staying with the Griffins just kind of fizzled out until the half-assed ending.  I pretty much sat stone-faced through most of this episode.

That's why I specified 'creative', although I'm probably still being an optimist.  In the long-run, whenever people discuss MacFarlane's animated shows that were produced around this period, American Dad will be recognized for its genuine creative quality, whereas FG will be more commonly discussed in…

Yeah, the ant/dollhouse cutaways were pretty uninspired and not very funny.  It's telling when the one thing that post-quality FG used to be semi-consistent with is now declining rapidly in quality.

Don't worry, I'm sure they don't feel sorry about the money they make.

Family Guy is just unwatchable most of the time now.  The Griffins have morphed into one indistinguishable blob of assholes, the writers seemingly can't structure their plots and the gags are becoming less and less funny.  Just one or two decent gags every so often can't justify an entire show — My Stady, I'd argue…

I think the most disappointing thing is that, while some individual moments might have reminded the viewers why they at one point loved The Simpsons, the plot didn't justify why the town did well enough.  Everyone just deciding to appear at the end in a half-assed "well, we can't have the Simpsons be outcasts at the…

No, Grandpa Simpson disappeared after that.  I was hoping they would bring Flanders back and have him tie into the conclusion somehow too, but he was just good for the one gag at the town hall.

Meanwhile, American Dad's episode tonight was pretty damn great. It's all in the details: both AD and FG's episodes tonight had a fantastical premise, but whereas FG had no idea what the fuck to do with the dolphin, the hex in AD was well-handled, funny and just heartfelt enough in the third act to not be too…

Now I want to watch A Streetcar Named Marge.  Thanks!  ;P

I'll agree with you there, also at the risk of inviting ridicule for still thinking that some recent episodes are quality.  Last season, the episodes you named in particular being highlights, had winners and reminded me that, even though the golden age is long behind the show, it is still capable of some genuinely…

It will look and function exactly like the "old" Springfield, which has been moved before and then rebuilt, and never be mentioned again. Such is the ways of weekly cartoon canon.

Whoa whoa whoa.  Lenny and Carl?  The fuck have they ever done to you?

I was more charitable towards the episode than you are, but I agree that the ending was pretty mediocre for what was a decently strong middle.  Some of the residents show up, mostly Homer's inner circle, and then everyone else does too because…they miss the Simpson family, I guess?  Then they relocate the town?  It…

This would not be much of a remarkable episode if not for its numeric significance, but there were indeed some moments that made me remember just how much I love these crazy characters, especially Marge and Homer on the giant doughnut, watching the stars, Bart picking up Skinner at the end, etc. It seemed to embrace…