Advance Review: The Simpsons opens Season 21 with an episode written by the duo that brought you Superbad, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. Word got out some time ago that the pair would be writing an episode of the series, and when I first read this I was quite excited. Certainly they would be able to bring a fresh voice to the two-decade old series. Now that their episode has arrived, does “Homer the Whopper” live up to these expectations? Not exactly. Instead of bringing in something fresh and new, the writing partners deliver something familiar: a solid, funny, good old episode of The Simpsons.

“Homer the Whopper” feels like an episode from Season 8 or 10, which makes complete sense. Rogen and Goldberg are self-proclaimed fans of the series, so it’s no surprise that they would take their cues from the stronger eras of the show. The majority of the episode pokes some serious fun at the entertainment industry at large and more specifically the film industry. But things start with a comic book referencing geek fest. The first act, in fact, is the strongest portion of the episode and if it could be graded alone it would likely be very close to a ten.

It starts with Bart and Milhouse taunting Comic Book Guy on his home turf and discovering his secret comic book “Everyman.” We’re taken inside the pages of “Everyman” and learn that this mild mannered citizen has the ability to absorb the powers of every superhero whose comic book he touches. Thankfully, the episode plays on this set up with actual superheroes and not some generic ones created for the show. This gives the jokes an added wink to fans of the genre. When Comic Book Guy learns that Bart and Milhouse really liked the comic, he decides to self-publish and the character becomes a hit. The episode really uses this situation to great comedic effect. There are a number of comic book, sci-fi and general geek references, from jokes about superhero products (look for the Hulk hands) to summer franchise blockbusters. There are sight gags galore, which I don’t want to give away, so keep your eyes peeled and your TiVo remotes at the ready. One in particular to watch for is the giant movie posters outside of Ginormous Studios.

The success of the comic leads to a movie deal, and through an interesting course of events, Homer is chosen for the role of Everyman. From here, the episode falters a bit as the focus shifts from the geek world to Homer’s struggle to get into and stay in shape for the hero role. Writer Rogen also guest voices Homer’s Hollywood trainer. This portion of the episode is clearly inspired by Rogen’s personal experience as he has shaped up to star in the latest version of The Green Hornet. Unfortunately, these are the weaker moments of the episode. This is likely due to the fact that we’ve seen Homer struggle with his weight countless times, and Rogen’s trainer, though funny much of the time, will likely never be remembered as a classic guest role. But they are still able to find a few new angles with the weight jokes, so it’s not a complete loss.

“Homer the Whopper” starts incredibly strong and then settles in for a familiar, funny ride. Some of the ideas might not exactly be new (certainly we’ve seen our share of comic book jokes and movie star aping in episodes like “Radioactive Man” and “Beyond Blunderdome”), but Goldberg and Rogen do add freshness to the proceedings. This is a fun way to kick off the anniversary season.