Sunday Night TV

The Simpsons season premier aired last night, and the show continued its trend of the past few years of completely random storytelling. Rarely does the end of an episode have anything to do with the beginning. In last night's episode, Marge discovered herself by helping the manatees, only to decide that Homer needed her more at home.

I've liked the Simpsons for years, and it's still better than 98% of anything else on TV, but does anyone else think the show has been stuck in a rut for a while now? I've found that I can watch reruns of recent episodes without remembering until halfway through that I've seen them.

Also, are we the only ones who noticed that Homer lost Maggie halfway through the episode and never found her again? Or did we miss something?

*****

As a side note, we watched the opening moments of the show that followed, The War at Home. It was NOT FUNNY. The clueless dad (what other kind is there on a sitcom?) gave a monologue about modern parenthood, so the subject at least had my attention. But instead of offering any insights or stinging truths, he proceeded to bring out cliche after cliche. Unrealisitically pretty wife, check. Bratty teenage daughter shrieking "I hate you!", check. Hostile sons, check. My husband commented that it seemed to be a show written by someone who got their ideas about life from watching sitcoms. The Boston Herald sneered, "The only new network show for Sunday night, Fox's The War at Home is sandwiched between two animated shows --The Simpsons and Family Guy--and is less realistic than either one." Let's hope it goes away soon.