(S21E11) This episode featured two surprises, though both rather short-lived. The band Coldplay appeared as themselves, and the winning character from the "Best. Character. Ever" contest was revealed. It's so much excitement, even a million dollars couldn't top it!

The animation looked a little more awkward than in most weeks for some reason. It's as if the characters were drawn in a slightly more abstract way, similar to Groening's 'Life in Hell' comic strip. There was a bit more distortion in their features than we're used to seeing. 'The Simpsons' has become a very crisp production.

The main plot this week involved Homer ditching Marge at a wedding because a fortune cookie told him he would be lucky that day. From there, things went into the realm of the absurd at a breakneck pace.

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.