“

Lisa appears at a college football game to sing the National Anthem, but begins by saying, “Before I sing the National Anthem, I’d like to say that college football diverts funds badly needed for education and the arts!” What a badass.

“

She stopped and blinked and didn’t even notice the kind of detail I’d just put into recreating Lionel Hutz’s classic courtroom farce as an off-the-cuff moment of non sequitur reality. Most importantly, she didn’t laugh. She didn’t laugh because, growing up, she had never been allowed to watch The Simpsons. Not once. The reference was as alien to her as someone not understanding it was to me.

“

I don’t watch television all that much, but every so often I’ll sit down and commit to “vegging out.” And when that happens, I find myself consistently overwhelmed and disappointed – as our options have grown, the value to be derived from watching cable television has withered into nonexistence. Cable television has destroyed the sitcom.