The seventh season follows the strength of the sixth, as it begins where the previous season concluded. The comedy central episodes are on point, and slightly more grounded than the previous season. The series balances a primary focus on the core family and exploring the world and side character that give the show so much vitality. No episode epitomizes this better than the classic "22 Short Films About Springfield," where an "ordinary: day featured that somehow feels completely natural. All of the core family have their own moments, but no character has a more significant growth than Lisa, as she becomes a vegetarian. Outside the core family, the exploration of Grandpa Simpson's past allowing him for once to play outside senile fool or bad father character. Perhaps one of the most prescient episodes in the season, "Much Apu About Nothing" focusing on immigration and anticipating attitudes that remain in the current day. The increasingly self-referential humor is taken to subversive levels in "The Day the Violence Died," Other standout episodes include "Two Bad Neighbors," "King Sized Homer," "Bart on the Road," and the strongest holiday episode "Marge Be Not Proud." ( )