(S21E20) From the inspired 'Tik Tok' musical opening sequence to the last gag, 'To Surveil With Love' ranks as one of the best 'Simpsons' episodes in years.

I never expected the rest of the episode to live up to that killer opening, but, unbelievably, it just got better as it went along.

The bit that had me laughing the hardest: After surveillance cameras are installed in every inch of Springfield, Bart marking the town's one blind spot by dropping his pants and drawing a line every time he doesn't hear Ned gasping, "Buttocks!" "Tushie! or "Boy cheeks!" A perfectly funny bit that got even funnier when Homer asks Bart, whose pants are still down around his ankles, what he's doing. "Experimenting with my butt," says Bart. "My little Einstein," Homer says proudly as he pats Bart's head.

(S21E16) It's always tricky to try and mix comedy with Jerusalem. Unless you're willing to throw caution to the wind and risk offending various religious groups and individuals, you almost always wind up with something that's bland and lame. For 'The Simpsons,' cutting edge and risque seems to be a thing long in their past, and the latter product is what we got.

Everything from Sacha Baron Cohen's aggressive tour guide to the jokes and the storyline in general didn't work this week. I'm not sure if it's because the writer, Kevin Curran, was trying too hard not to offend Muslims, Jews or Christians, but he wound up wringing every bit of humor out of the episode.

Normally, at least one or two jokes can hit, even in a bad episode of 'The Simpsons,' but this one actually got painful to continue sitting through.

Now that Shrek-mania, Spider-mania, Pirates-mania, Transformers-mania, Rat-mania, Potter-mania and Evan Almighty-mania have come and gone this summer it's time for Simpsons-mania to rev itself up in anticipation of The Simpsons theatrical release at the end of this month. What better way to get into the swing of things than to vote for your favorite Simpsons character.

That's easily done, courtesy of The Chicago Tribune's Redeye website. The first round of voting featured sixteen match-ups. Among those competing were Homer versus Selma and Patty, Marge versus Fat Tony, and Bart versus Principal Skinner. The best match-up, according to the website, was Comic Book Guy versus Apu. Out of nearly 10,000 responses Apu beat C.B.G. with 62% of the vote.

The wacky neighbor is a sitcom staple. Neighbors like Kramer from Seinfeld, Lenny & Squiggy from Laverne & Shirley, and Carl Brutanunanadilewski from Aqua Teen Hunger Force make for great entertainment. They're always part of some wild adventure or providing comic relief. But, let's face it: these people would make terrible neighbors in real life.

The real neighbors you want are ones who are courteous, quiet, and friendly. Or hot. Here are the seven television neighbors you'd want in real life:

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.

Quick but good Q and A with Harry Shearer over at The Boston Globe. Shearer, the voice of Mr. Burns, Principal Skinner, Ned Flanders, and others on The Simpsons, talks about his many years on the show, how they film the episodes, and even gets a little bit into the mistakes some of the writers have made to the characters over the years, stuff that he has spoken out about. He cites two examples: one from this season, where Ned Flanders tried to get creationism taught in the schools and there was a joke about the name Jesus Christ that Shearer felt Ned Flanders would never say, and the whole "Seymour Skinner isn't really Seymour Skinner" plotline. He thinks it was a horrible mistake that even the writers don't want to talk about now.

Shearer can be seen in the new movie For Your Consideration, and has a new book out, Not Enough Indians, a comic novel about how a depressed town tries to become an Indian reservation so they can open up a casino.

(S17E21)

Ned: We want you to teach alternative theories to Darwinian evolution.

Skinner: You mean Lamarckian evolution?

Last night The Simpsons took on creationism versus evolution, pitting Lisa against the rest of the town. This isn't the first time the show has tackled the issue of science and religion, most notably in the "Lisa the Skeptic" episode in which the supposed skeleton of a dead angel is found. Last night's episode had some good moments, but it did feel like they were treading upon somewhat familiar ground and not saying anything especially new.

As any true fan knows, The Simpsons' first episode wasn't the Christmas one where they got Santa's Little Helper. That was the first aired on Fox though, so many think of it as the first. Regardless, The Simpsons' Christmas episodes have a special place in many people's hearts, and are probably second only to their Halloween episodes. This year, they took a cue from the Treehouse of Horror, and broke the episode down into three smaller segments. Each a Christmas story to melt the heart-- or make you laugh. Your choice. On with the show!