Hey, hey, hey! Kids!
The Simpsons have always been about humor than about everything else. Starting with The Tracey Ullman show way back in the day, the animated family has always charmed and never failed to please. Well, they have done it again. The eleventh season of the hit show seems to show a large spark of maturity, if you can truly say there is any. The show really starts to shift from having a funny purpose to having a funny purpose that makes everything right at the end. For example, there is an episode completely dedicated to Homer and his ‘habits’ and how they affect the family. The episode has its funny moments with Homer, but does touch upon a serious issue regarding neglecting your kids and its affect. It takes Homer nearly three-fourths of the episode to finally realize that his time away from home is distancing his kids from him. For a show that once had Homer yelling at Bart during a putt-putt tournament, “Remember what Vince Lombardi said! If you lose, you’re outta the family!” to this, that’s quite a change. It truly shows the improvement of the show and the balance between giving a proper message to the audience, while still making them laugh. There are so many shows that fail to do that; Thank God for The Simpsons. Please don’t get me wrong, I’m not someone who demands morals in their television shows, but I do enjoy seeing a long-standing show progress in some way. Anyway, let me get off my soapbox here and tell you a few fantastic episodes to expect in this season:
Treehouse of Horror X: There’s nothing quite like the annual Treehouse of Horror episode on the show. This episode features a spin-off of We Know What You Did Last Summer (who runs on a foggy street?) and an episode where Lisa and Bart gain powers and fight crime (it features Xena). Excellent episode!
Beyond the Blunderdome: Some days you just have to wonder how movies are really made and who really decides how they should go. Starring Mel Gibson (prior to his legal troubles) as Mel Gibson, he and Homer strive to put together the ultimate action version of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. I personally would love to see this made. That’s just me though.
Days of Wine and D’OH’ses: When Barney gets pushed to the brink by his fellow friends, who think he’s worthless, he ends up getting it together and proving them wrong. With the help Homer, who only attends AA to help Barney — but still drinks, Barney gets clean and flies high in a helicopter. Again, this is a perfect example of humor and maturity. I love how the writers do their business!
The Mansion Family: Okay, one of the last episodes I’ll mention (there are so many funny ones) is an episode where the Simpsons are asked to watch Mr. Burns house while he’s away visiting the Mayo clinic. Creepiest part? When Marge finds the embryos of Mr. Burns and one Smithers. Funniest part? When Homer taunts the Coast Guard and they taunt back. Excellent stuff. It looks familiar though… didn’t Family Guy do something… oh, wait. Nevermind.
Now not all the episodes lived up to their billing, like most seasons there are a few that stumble. With that said, the overall season is good. It’s mature nature shines through and the humor is nearly non-stop. So you have the laughs and everything else goofy you would expect from The Simpsons in its eleventh season. Clearly there is enough here to entertain again, which is just perfect for your Simpsons need. The maturity and humor are there for you; Be happy.
Features for the features that are featured in this feature
The presentation value for the DVD set is superb. You get great video and audio that is completely cleaned for your visual and audio pleasure. Now, the one knock I do have about the presentation, if I can knock it, is that the box is so darned awkward. I wish that 20th Century Fox or whoever is deciding the design would just stick to one shape. I know this might sound petty, but I have heard so many people who are huge fans of the show express disdain for the different shape of boxes. I love the Krusty face, don’t get me wrong, but it doesn’t fit neatly by the other seasons. I wish it would just be one style so that I could expect my DVD shelf to be one way or another. That’s my only complaint. Now on to more good stuff. (Oh, and Blu-ray would be nice too)
Yeah, there are just a few features on this disc set. I’m just kidding, there are an ass-ton! Here’s what you get:
Disc One:
o Beyond Blunderdome
• Commentary by Mike Scully, Ian Maxtone-Graham, George Meyer, Ron Hauge, Matt Selman and Steven Dean Moore
o Brother’s Little Helper
• Commentary by Mike Scully, George Meyer, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Matt Selman, Mark Kirkland and Tim Long
o Guess Who’s Coming To Criticize Dinner?
• Commentary by Mike Scully, Al Jean, George Meyer, Dan Greaney, Matt Selman and Nancy Kruse
o Treehouse Of Horror X
• Commentary by Mike Scully, George Meyer, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Ron Hauge, Donick Cary, Tim Long, Matt Selman and Pete Michels
o E-I-E-I (Annoyed Grunt)
• Commentary by Mike Scully, Ian Maxtone-Graham, George Meyer, Matt Selman and Rob Baur
Additional Bonus Features Include:
• “In Line With Matt Groening” Introduction
• Animation Showcase
• Special Language Feature
• Deleted Scenes
o That Engine Sure Is Quiet
o Mel Relax
o Alternate Ending
o Security Breach
o Can Someone Scratch It?
o Cable Guy All Over My Hands!
o No Lesson To Be Learned Here
o Poor Lenny/Carl
o Fire And Blood Squishy
Disc Two:
o Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder
• Commentary by Mike Scully, Al Jean, George Meyer, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Matt Selman and Mike B. Anderson
o Eight Misbehavin’
• Commentary by Mike Scully, George Meyer, Matt Selman, Julie Thacker, Gary Marshall and Steven Dean Moore
o Take My Wife, Sleaze
• Commentary by Mike Scully, George Meyer, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Julie Thacker, Dan Castellaneta and Neil Affleck
o Grift Of The Magi
• Commentary by Matt Groening, Mike Scully, George Meyer, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Tom Martin, Matt Selman, Tim Long and Lance Kramer
Disc Two Continued:
o Little Big Mom
• Commentary by Mike Scully, George Meyer, Matt Selman, Carolyn Omine and Mark Kirkland
o Faith Off
• Commentary by Mike Scully, George Meyer, Matt Selman and Nancy Kruse
Additional Bonus Features Include:
• “The Many Faces Of Krusty” Featurette
• Original Sketches
• Deleted Scenes
o The Pin Boys Escape
o Homer Simpson Blvd.
o Hey, Are Those Hookers?
o You’re Not Cashew Material
o Cootie Catcher
o Baby Tagging
o My Old 53 Chevy
o I’m Gonna Gouge My Eyes Out
o Narnia Is For Wussies
o In The Penthouse
o Baby Luge
o A Tip For Lisa
o Diet Snapple!
o Wedgie
Disc Three:
o The Mansion Family
• Commentary by Mike Scully, George Meyer, Ron Hauge, Matt Selman, Tim Long, Michael Polcino, Donick Cary and Pete Michels
o Saddlesore Galactica
• Commentary by Matt Groening, Mike Scully, George Meyer, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Tim Long, Matt Selman, Tom Martin and Lance Kramer
o Alone Again, Natura-Diddily
• Commentary by Mike Scully, George Meyer, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Matt Selman, Jim Reardon and Mark Kirkland
o Missionary: Impossible
• Commentary by Mike Scully, George Meyer, Ron Hauge, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Matt Selman and Steven Dean Moore
o Pygmoelian
• Commentary by Mike Scully, George Meyer, Larry Doyle, Matt Selman, Caroline Omine and Mark Kirkland
o Bart To The Future
• Commentary by Mike Scully, George Meyer, Dan Greaney and Matt Selman
Additional Bonus Features Include:
• Animation Showcase
• Deleted Scenes
o Oldest Man In Town?
Additional Bonus Features Continued:
• Deleted Scenes
o Smudge!
o My Windowla!
o Run For It!
o Chocolate Stream!
o No Cheering
o Clean Sinuses
o Better Than Hope Floats
o Where’s My Show?
o Tad? Where Are You?
o I Can Hear You Winking
o I’d Make You VP
Disc Four:
o Days Of Wine And D’oh’ses
• Commentary by Mike Scully, George Meyer, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Dan Castellaneta, Deb Lacusta and Neil Affleck
o Kill The Alligator And Run
• Commentary by Mike Scully, George Meyer, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Matt Selman, Julie Thacker, Dan Castellaneta, Diedrich Bader and Steven Dean Moore
o Last Tap Dance In Springfield
• Commentary by Mike Scully, George Meyer, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Julie Thacker, Yeardley Smith and Nancy Kruse
o It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge
• Commentary by Mike Scully, George Meyer, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Matt Selman, Larry Doyle and Steven Dean Moore
o Behind The Laughter
• Commentary by Mike Scully, George Meyer, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Matt Selman, Tim Long and Mark Kirkland
Additional Bonus Features Include:
• “A Star On Hollywood Boulevard” Featurette
• “And Then There Were Menus” Extra
• Original Sketches
• Deleted Scenes
o Your God Is Not On Trial
o Glasses In An Hour?
o We’ll Catch That Mall Rat
o Work That Wishin’ Well
o Who Needs Tickets?
o Show Us Your Boobs
o Alligator Funeral
o I Cheat Death And Save . . .
o Drown Her In The Bathtub
o It’s Our Duty
I love it when people actually care about what they do. You can clearly see how much the creators of the show want to share with their audience. You’ve got commentary out the ying-yang and tons of deleted scenes. For a television show this is unheard of. It’s clearly remarkable and very nice to see the time they took to entertain the audience just a bit more. Score one for The Simpsons crew.