I think it speaks to my very long tenure as a Simpsons and King Of The Hill fan that I I'm starting to really enjoy new episodes whose plots retread familiar territory. Wait, what? Yes. Bear with me.
By this point in both shows' runs, it honestly feels that they've covered all the ground they were meant to cover, story-wise. This ain't Lost, this ain't The Wire, these characters and situations have really developed as far as they were meant to, 19 and 12 seasons in, respectively, so when the writers reach for a new twist on the old familiar, it can often (though not always) feel disingenuous. I realize from a critical standpoint it may seem odd to praise these shows for rehashing older material, but the fact is, I enjoy (in the vegging-on-the-couch-in-my-jammies-and-eating-chips sort of way) seeing another take on Lisa's latest fixation and another visit from a Souphanousinphone in-law than I do, oh, I don't know, learning how Homer invented grunge. Does anyone else feel this way, like it's better to ride out the receding waves of these long-in-the-tooth shows than to struggle to find anything new and innovative to get excited about? Or have I just been jaded by spending this season seeking out the faults in shows that I've loved for years?
So yes, it was a Lisa Learns A Lesson night tonight on The Simpsons. Upon discovering that she has "naturally perfect posture" (is that a thing people have?), Llewellyn Sinclair, I mean, Chaz Busby, enrolls Lisa in his ballet academy, where she quickly discovers the secret to all ballerinas' (and models, and actors, and writers) success: deadly, deadly nicotine. As is Lisa's wont, she faces a personal crisis when she discovers that secondhand smoke renders her a better dancer. Further complicating matters is Marge's instant ballet-mania and Homer and Bart's discovery of her new vice. There was also some nonsense with beef jerky and raccoons over in the Homer-Bart camp, though what initially seemed like throwaway side-hijinks worked its way into the main story when their new raccoon friends steal the dancers' sin-sticks mid-performance, leading to a silly climax and a Lisa Speech. Was it original and instantly memorable? As Mrs. Krabappel would say, "Hah!" No, it was exceedingly familiar, but it provided the framework for some pretty decent gags, from Marge's box of stethoscopes and shattered dreams to the fiending ballerina trying to smoke the "No Smoking" sign. Sure, they weren't all winners (Apu's crowbarred-in cameo), but the lack of a distracting, huh-inducing plot made it easier to sit back and enjoy a good ol' fashioned Simpsons Quotable ("Homer, I'm going to become a dancer!" "Go-go or boring?" "Boring!").
Now to throw a kink in the whole familiarity-breeds-success question: King Of The Hill has been treading water this season with one rehashed plot after another, to mostly underwhelming effect (hooray, Hank fixed everything, again, snore). With a show like KOTH, which distinguishes itself by its attention to plot and pacing more than its fellow Sunday-night shows, it's frustrating to see the storylines being phoned in. A lot of you have expressed disappointment with this season in the comments, characterizing it as an undignified, wheezing end to a great show. And I share that concern, to a degree–I'm getting pretty fed up with the ol' Hank vs. Jackasses routine. But, on the other hand, working within the old, familiar territory has led to some pretty great gags this season. This episode wasn't the best example of this, as it was a little light on the laughs, but it was still funny in a way that I can only describe as "comfortable."