Well, to each their own. The group I went with laughed from Ralphie's "da-da-da-daaaaaa!" pretty much until the credits rolled. I though that it WAS more than a string of jokes. Julie Kavner's VO for the wedding video scene was lovely and moving. I thought that it worked very well as stretched-out episode with interesting A, B and C storylines intertwined. And the quotes ("clap for Alaska, Lisa!" among them) were perfectly quotable.
The Simpsons, to me, has never tread the line that South Park does. And I'm OK with that. Where both are critical of society, one uses a subtle wit and one uses bombastic wit, and there's room for both. But I don't see how pushing the subtler one to a more bombastic place would stay true to the Simpsons' form. Bart's doodle was edgy relative to your standard episode (season 1-10.)
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