Fox renews "The Simpsons" through its 22nd season

I'm not really surprised by the news, but find it exciting nonetheless: Fox has renewed its animated institution, The Simpsons, for a record-breaking two more years. Currently in its 20th season, The Simpsons is now tied with Gunsmoke as the longest-running show on television. With at least two more years guaranteed, it will officially break the long-standing record.

I can remember when The Simpsons premiered. It was outlawed by most parents, and thought by many to be the end of civilization as we know it (an honor that now belongs to the gays, apparently). While the show is certainly not reverent, it feels tame compared to many other shows on television today (such as its raunchy Fox cousin, Family Guy), and often continues to have a "moral of the story" narrative that endears it to me even today. While I seldom catch the brand new episodes that air on Sunday nights, last year's The Simpsons Movie had enough charm and humor to make me believe that there's still life in Springfield even after all these years.

Any other shows you'd like to see last 22 seasons?

Critics are digging "Lost" and "24" this year...are you?

I'll be the first to admit that this hasn't been my favorite season of Lost so far (time travel is a fickle friend), although I'm still watching religiously and will do so to the bitter end. Some people, though, are really loving it, to which I'd like to note that their brains are likely much more developed than mine.

24, however, has been fantastic from the get-go. True, several of the expected plot contrivances remain (ever-present moles, terrorists with unlimited resources, etc.), but the new location and mixture of faces (both fresh and familiar) has made for another wild ride with America's favorite action hero. If you're not watching it yet, tune in on Monday...don't worry about everything that happened in the first nine hours and just enjoy the rest of Jack Bauer's latest crazy day. (Or catch up on Hulu.com).

My favorite TV critic, Robert Bianco from USA Today, comments today on the creative resurgence of both Lost and 24, and calls them "the two best shows on TV." While my enthusiasm for Lost's current direction pales to his, I would agree that 24 and Lost are among the best shows on TV, maybe only rivaled by another great installment of The Amazing Race (flying cheese wheels...brilliant!).

What do you think? Are you as committed to 24 and Lost as I am?

"Transformers 2" trailer

Michael Bay is the king of explosions and bigger-is-better action sequences. His Pearl Harbor was a visually-arresting disappointment, and Armageddon still gives me motion sickness, but I thought the original Transformers was a great roller-coaster ride, because I wasn't expecting Shakespeare from a movie based on action figures.

Now comes the trailer for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, which frankly looks like a bigger, louder version of the original. And I can't wait. Watch the trailer (as well as the shorter clip that aired during the Super Bowl) here.

By the way, as hinted in the trailer, word is that producers were actually given permission to film on the pyramids near Cairo, which had better be amazing. Revenge hits theaters on June 24.

Joaquin

He was brilliant as Johnny Cash in Walk the Line and creepy in Gladiator, but I think his performance on last night's Letterman show was right up there with the strangest. Watch portions of it for yourself:



It was David Letterman at his best...makes me want to start staying up late to watch him more often. (Thanks to Aaron M. for telling me about this.)