Even though this weekend's episode will be awful... there
IS a reason to tune in.
At least at the beginning (although it'll probably show up on YouTube shortly afterwards).
The couch gag to kick off the show is being put together by the crew at Robot Chicken.
They've created a bunch of 3D Springfield backdrops and have an entire sequence put together in their traditional stop-motion animation that looks like it could turn into something pretty special.
For some "making of" clips - which are worthwhile because it's nice to see what it's like for people to be creative and passionate about The Simpsons again instead of spinning their wheels - you can check out links
here and
here.