In comedy, timing is everything. And in a wonderful bit of planning (TV production schedules, particularly for animation, are laid out months in advance), last week's episode of The Simpsons ("Take My Life, Please") was the first ever in high-definition, timed just two days before Digital TV Transition was officially slated to hit on February 17th.

Well thank you for ruining the joke, Washington!

Even so, the opening credits have been completely overhauled for the first time in the show's near-20-year history, reformatted for HDTV's 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio while at the same time adding a few subtle, DTV-friendly touches: If you look closely, you'll notice that Homer apparently upgraded to a flat-panel, replacing the family's old Carnivale CRT, perhaps with one of the more popular knockoff brands (Panaphonics? Magnetbox? Sorny?) They also appear to now have a converter box under their antenna! (Think he was smart enough to redeem a government coupon?)

Check out the new Simpsons opening sequence here.

Come to think of it, those animated rabbit ears have seen better days, and who knows how close Springfield is to the nearest broadcast tower? Maybe they could benefit from a nifty new RCA Model ANT1500 Flat Antenna ($59.99). The compact, wall-hugging (or tabletop) ANT1500 is just over ten-inches-square and less than an inch thick, with an included removable metal stand. It incorporates VHF and UHF reception (ideal for the entire digital band) on a single multi-directional antenna element, to pick up more stations than a conventional antenna, while minimizing "cliff effect."

Hmm, I wonder if this thing picks up the new digital feed of Channel Ocho…?

Where to Buy:

• RCA ANT1500 Flat Indoor Antenna (White) on Amazon.com

More information:

• www.audiovox.com
• www.staytuned2tv.com