Review of Simpsons, The: Season Six

Introduction

As we progress to season 6 of The Simpsons, the show is completely in its groove and is hitting its targets with even more alarming regularity than the previous seasons. Once again, the only episode that`s a bit below par is the clip show.

The Simpsons was the show that the kids at school who had Sky all talked about, but it became more widely known in the UK over time. Simpson-mania started, as did the huge wave of merchandising which is still with us today. Watching it on DVD reminds you of those halcyon days when it was broadcast on BBC 2 without adverts.

Here`s what we get on this set:-

Bart of Darkness

After breaking his leg attempting a stunt dive into the new Simpson swimming pool, Bart ends up in a Rear Window parody, spying on the neighbours with a telescope. He never dreamt that he would find Ned Flanders murdering his wife....

Lisa`s Rival

Lisa has a new rival for school swot as a new student (voiced by Winona Ryder) joins the school. Can she cope with someone who is cleverer, younger and a better musician? Homer thinks he has found a new money-making scheme with some sugar "borrowed" from an overturned truck.

Another Simpsons Clip Show

This one focuses on love and romance, with relevant clips from old shows.

Itchy & Scratchy Land

A trip to Itchy & Scratchy Land, "the violentest place on earth", turns into a Jurassic Park style nightmare when the Itchy & Scratchy robots turn against visitors to the park.

Sideshow Bob Roberts

That eternal favourite, Sideshow Bob, returns. Mayor Quimby is pressured into releasing Bob from prison, as he thinks it will be a vote winner. Bob then runs for Mayor and rigs the election so that he wins. Can Bart and Lisa find out how he did it? A classic episode.

Treehouse of Horror V

The annual Treehouse series contains two classics and one average tale. "The Shinning" (don`t really need to mention what it`s parodying do I) sees Homer go mad after living with no TV and no beer. Can Bart`s special "shinning" powers save the day?

"Time and Punishment" sees Homer caught in various temporal paradoxes as he travels back in time via an overloaded toaster. The more things he changes in the past, the crazier the future becomes.

"Nightmare Cafeteria" sees overcrowding in detention and budget cuts combine to make a novel solution - eat the pupils. The most average story of the three.

Bart`s Girlfriend

Bart falls in love with Jessica Lovejoy, who is home from school. This could prove to be a dangerous game, as she is very devious.

Lisa on Ice

Lisa takes up Ice Hockey to save her from failing gym class. All goes well until her team gets to face Bart`s team...

Homer: Bad Man

Another classic, featuring Homer getting into trouble after his attempt to retrieve the gummy Venus De Milo from his babysitter`s bottom is is seen as sexual harassment. Most of the town turn on him, but can he prove his innocence.

Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy

Abe`s patented love tonic saves Homer and Marge`s sex life, as well as that of the rest of the town. The children begin to wonder if their parents have been adbucted by aliens, as they seem to be never around....

Fear of Flying

Homer`s desire for beer leads him to a pilots only bar. When he is asked to fly a plane, things go wrong, meaning the family get a free plane trip in order to hush up the incident. Marge`s deep-seated fear of flying shows up and she visits a psychiatrist in order to try and resolve it.

Homer the Great

Homer finally gets to join The Stonecutters, Springfield`s secret society. Everything is going well and he is even revealed as the chosen one, but then something goes wrong, as it always does. Patrick Stewart voices the leader of The Stonecutters.

And Maggie Makes Three

The mystery of why there are no photos of Maggie in the family album is revealed, as Homer tells the story of how he had to go back to the power plant to work when Maggie was born. Contains the classic line from Mr Burns: "It`s company policy to give you the plague." Smithers: "No sir, that`s the plaque."

Bart`s Comet

Skinner punishes Bart by making him help out with his astronomy hobby. Whilst Skinner is out chasing a helium balloon of Bart`s, Bart finds a comet that`s on a collision course with Springfield...

Homie the Clown

Homer takes another job as a Krusty lookalike, but gets into trouble when some gangsters come looking for money fom Krusty.

Bart vs. Australia

A classic as Bart offends Australia again and again, all just to find out if the water goes round the plughole the other way in the southern hemisphere (it does, I`ve seen it). The Simpsons wreak havoc on the nation as Bart is asked to apologise in person.

Homer vs. Patty & Selma

Homer forgets to sell his pumpkin stock before Hallowe`en, and loses lots of money. He has to crawl to Patty and Selma for money. He is in their debt, so he is in their pocket (as Turkish from Snatch once said). Bart pays the price for missing gym class sign-up day by getting stuck with ballet. Maybe he will secretly enjoy it?

A Star is Burns

Another favourite of mine (despite being a bit of a cheap cross-over show). To boost popularity the town decides not to leech of the popularity of others by changing their name to Seinfeld. Instead they hold a film festival and invite cartoon critic Jay Sherman (from The Critic to be a judge. Everyone in town makes a film, including Mr Burns who hires Steven Spielberg`s non-union Mexican equivalent to make his film.

Lisa`s Wedding

A fortune teller looks into Lisa`s future to foretell her wedding...

Two Dozen and One Greyhounds

Santa`s Little Helper finds a mate, and soon the Simpsons find themsleves with 25 puppies. Mr Burns steals them to make clothes to add to his expansive wardrobe of items made from cute animals.

The PTA Disbands

The teachers go on strike over poor pay and conditions, with Bart stirring things up to prolong it. The PTA have a backup plan - local people become teachers.

`Round Springfield

Bart is hospitalised after eating a jagged metal Krusty-O in his cereal. Lisa meets Bleeding Gums Murphy in the hospital while visiting Bart.

The Springfield Connection

Marge joins the police in order to help clean up the town. Little does she know that suspicious activity is occurring in her own garage...

Lemon of Troy

The beloved lemon tree is stolen by boys from Shelbyville. Bart`s newfound civic pride inspires him to lead a rescue mission for the tree. If only he could remember his roman numerals....

Who Shot Mr. Burns? - Part One

The end of season cliffhanger, a first for the series. The school strike black gold when they find oil underneath. Mr. Burns soon steals it with his patented slant drilling technology. Then he hatches a new plan to block out the sun and make everyone use more electricity. This pushes the residents too far. Who could have shot him? Well, most of us know, but the writers did a lot of work to keep everyone in the dark until the next season.

Video

A standard full-frame transfer, as you would expect for an 10-11 year old TV show. The presentation of the source material is very good, even if the source material itself isn`t up to today`s standards. It`s bright and colourful, once again there`s more detail than in the episodes from previous seasons, and it`s definitely an improvement.

Audio

You can listen to a nice DD5.1 remix of the original stereo soundtrack. Whilst it`s not earth-shattering, it`s very good given the source material. It`s also nice to see that they`ve made the effort to remix the sound, as although it`s slightly false and forced at times, it does sound good overall. Purists will probably long for the original soundtrack as broadcast, but I think that this remix is fine and certainly wouldn`t opt for a soundtrack with less audio channels!

Features

Another nice little selection of extras.

As with other seasons, commentaries on each episode featuring various producers, directors, actors and writers. The commentaries cover technical material, as well as stories from production and discussions of the impact of the show. A nice way to watch some of the episodes that you`ve seen a million times before (I know I have!)

We also get an introduction to the set from Matt Groening, the `Springfield`s Most Wanted` TV special (first time I`d seen this), `Who Shot Mr Burns?` suspect profiles and a series of TV commercials for various products advertised by The Simpsons (some very funny bits here too).

There are also deleted scenes for several episodes (including the option to watch some episodes with the scenes restored), animation showcases, storyboards and animatics.

Watch out also for Easter Eggs.

Conclusion

The strongest season of the show released so far, and in the middle of a run of 4 or 5 excellent seasons in a row. This was another season where the team built on the success of previous seasons, and with more and more guest stars queueing up to be on the show, they were on to a winner.

My only slight gripe about the DVDs is the enforced copyright messages that appear on each episode if you watch them individually. When the disc starts up, fine, but not on every episode. And the special anti-piracy message that greets you on the start of the disc is annoying too!

The picture is probably about as good as it could be, and the soundtrack is very nice indeed. Add to that the usual selection of extras (including commentaries for every episode), and you get a great set.

As with previous seasons, this one is packed up in a very good DVD box set. It really is a must for fans, even though it`s always on the TV. To be able to watch without annoying adverts is great. An excellent showcase of the show for the more casual viewer. Very highly recommended.