Two and a half months ago, when negotiations between 20th Century Fox and Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane reached a standstill, the writers for the series were told not to report to work. According to Variety, the suits at 20th Century Fox didn't want to stop production midway because a deal was never solidified, despite the fact MacFarlane's contract wasn't up for several months.

Vivica A. Fox will be joining the cast of Curb Your Enthusiasm for the show's sixth season, which kicks off next year. According to Hollywood Reporter, there's not much information, though information points to Fox playing the member of a black family who moves into the David's home after a natural disaster. So there you go, Vivica A. Fox will be playing a black woman, and frankly, I couldn't be happier. I was starting to grow tired of seeing her constantly playing an elderly Chinese man.

The storyline is meant to spoof the events of Hurricane Katrina, as well as race relations. I imagine we can look forward to Larry saying something incredibly inappropriate. The article doesn't mention whether Fox's character will stay on the show or whether she'll only be part of this specific storyline.

(S06E06) When I first started covering the sixth season of The Simpsons for Retro Squad, some of you asked why I didn't cover one of the earlier "better" seasons. Well, there is a reason I chose this season instead of say, the fifth season (which includes one of my top five episodes, "Rosebud") but that reason no longer applies. What the heck am I talking about? Let's just say we had something cool planned, but it didn't pan out.

Nevertheless, this season had some great episodes, so I'm not at all sorry I chose to revisit them. Besides, if I hadn't picked this season I wouldn't be able to talk about possibly one of the best Halloween episodes ever. So if you'll take my bloody, severed hand, we'll get started:

Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of your favorite shows, in order, every week.

(S06E02) In this episode, actress Winona Ryder guest stars as Alison, a new student in Lisa's class. Actually, "actress" isn't the right word. I think of Winona Ryder less as an actress and more as the one perfect entity through which all of Creation calibrates itself. I totally have a thing for her, that's what I'm saying.

Anyway, the episode starts off with Lisa trying to practice her saxophone but being yelled at everywhere she goes. Bart drives her away by kicking her wall, and when she tries to practice in the garage, Homer tells her to cut it out because he's trying to fix Marge's camera (with a hammer and a drill). Meanwhile, Marge is lost in her smutty book titled Love in the Time of Scurvy, and gets angry when Lisa's playing brings her out of her fantasy. There's a great moment during Marge's fantasy when she asks the rugged yet oddly effeminate sailor if his earring means he's a pirate. Implying he might have tastes that stretch beyond just women, he answers, "kind of." The moment is funny, but what I found especially hilarious about it is that Marge is just as naive in her fantasies as she is in real life.