I�ve seen the latest three episodes now, here are as usual my personal comments. All three episodes were IMO pretty good, I like that.
EABF08 "A Star Is Born Again"
A surprisingly good episode about Ned, which finally shows him more like a character and not just like a flat self-caricature. We have a well-done structure, the main plot starts after a very short time and there are little unnecessary jokes and filler material. We have a stable story for all 3 acts. Good references and good satire about tabloids and movie industry, especially Ned�s "Hollyweird" fantasy is inspired.
The story also deals (despite a larger number of sexual implications) with the character�s emotions and is never direction- or tasteless like "Praiseland". There are only a few scenes with the Simpsons and Homer doesn�t (or rarely) appear as slapstick clown. Nice use of guest stars (including James L. Brooks himself) without forced cameos. The Benny-Hill-reference with Helen Fielding seems rather wacky but also imaginative with its satirical look at British "culture". Yep, I like that episode.
EABF09 "Mr Spritz Goes To Washington"
A modern episode that tries to be a political satire? Is it possible? It is, with some usual problems. I can use my standard criticism for EABF09: less wackyness in the long first half would have brought more time for real satire in the second half. I�d say the wacky visual gags in the first minutes weaken the effect of the political commentary.
However, EABF09 is a well-done episode for modern relations - many inspired jokes (partly a little too mean for my taste) and the serious try to make a social commentary, notice for example the final line of the episode. The FOX subtitles and the interview with Krusty and his Democratic opponent are truly brilliant satire about strong right-wing tendencies in the media. That�s how The Simpsons should be - exactly like such scenes. On the whole, the episode is a good satire but IMO not as good as classics like "Sideshow Bob Roberts".
EABF10 "CE D�oh"
Another good episode, but the weakest of the latest three. Nice humor and good use of characters, but partly some unnecessary jokes or too wacky material (e.g. radioactive Legoland). We can also notice a slight division into three parts - the story flow is more or less fluid, but the episode comes pretty late to its main point.
A lot of good material (imaginative I&S, good dialogue humor, more classic visual humor) meets certain modern elements in a somehow unbalanced mixture. Outstanding are of course jokes and scenes like the "I�m looking for a patsy" "Hello"-scene or the (maybe a little predictable) scene with Burns who tries to wall Homer in. Good stuff, but the episode has subjectively the strongest modern feel.
On the whole, three episodes I�ll watch more than one time and where I can even notice more details and ideas the more often I watch them. Different to the modern mainstream, the episodes are about characters, social commentary, and stable storylines and not just flat sketch rows with caricatures. There are a lot of good ideas but also some of the old problems from the Scully era, especially noticeable in the first act of EABF09 and in EABF10.
After some bad episodes and mediocre stuff, Season 14 finally develops into a positive direction. One can hope it�s a new awareness of quality and a turn towards more classic concepts. I�d say the show is still pretty far away from the class of truly good episodes, but it�s now on the right way.
Chris