Well, technically, Homer says "annoyed grunt," in the scripts at least. Man, I am such a loser for knowing stuff like that while I constantly forget stuff like my Mom's birthday.
I also think that the involvement of Conan O'Brien (I/think/ he was a producer of the killer XMas story episode) is a good thing. Some of the best Simpsons episodes from a few years back were written by Conan (Marge vs. the Monorail, Homer Goes to College).
I definitely agree that the show has moved from a focus on the disfunctional American family to a focus on bizzare/surreal/absurd/weird plots. I'd guess this is a reaction to the explosion of shows focusing on "real" life in the early 90s. While Roseanne/Simpsons/Married With Children once stood out against the saccharine sitcoms of the 80s, most shows today focus on disfunction over function.
However, I don't think the Simpsons' shift away from the average American family look at life is a bad thing in and of itself. Some of the recent episodes are simply great: This year's Tomacco episode was absurd but still absolutely hilarious. The key seems to be, as you pointed out, focusing on a story vs. a string of jokes or random plot threads. I'd bet it's harder to write a "weird event" script vs. an "average family" script.--?
Slashdot Mirror
Could it possibly look something like the Anti-Mac interface?
Troy McClure (in a /very/ ironic role, since the passing of Phil H.): "Which two popular Simpsons characters have died in the past year?"
[After commercial break] Troy: "If you guessed Bleeding Gums Murphy and Dr. Marvin Monroe, you are wrong. They were never popular."
I also think that the involvement of Conan O'Brien (I /think/ he was a producer of the killer XMas story episode) is a good thing. Some of the best Simpsons episodes from a few years back were written by Conan (Marge vs. the Monorail, Homer Goes to College).
However, I don't think the Simpsons' shift away from the average American family look at life is a bad thing in and of itself. Some of the recent episodes are simply great: This year's Tomacco episode was absurd but still absolutely hilarious. The key seems to be, as you pointed out, focusing on a story vs. a string of jokes or random plot threads. I'd bet it's harder to write a "weird event" script vs. an "average family" script.--?
Frink: "Well, technically, yes, but the computer matches would be so perfect as to eliminate the thrill of romantic conquest. Ha-ho-ha-hey-hoo."