The world's favourite family are back again...

Introduction

Wow, doesn't time keep on flying by! We are now up to season 12 of The Simpsons on DVD, and the show itself is now 20 years old! As we reach season 12 the show is utterly in its groove and is knocking out lots of classic episodes just like the last 5 or 6 seasons did. There are one or two misses in this season, and a few more start creeping in after this.

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:-

Treehouse of Horror XI

"G-G-Ghost D-D-Dad" - Homer's spirit must perform a good deed to get into heaven, after he chokes to death on a piece of broccoli...
"Scary Tales Can Come True" - Some fairy tales have a darker side...
"Night of the Dolphin" - Do-gooding Lisa frees a dolphin, and they take over the world...

Nerdy, pedantic note: Treehouse of Horror XI was broadcast before the official season opener so some people do not consider it to be part of season 12.

A Tale of Two Springfields

Springfield gets two telephone area codes and Homer leads a campaign to split the town in half along the new area code line. Guest starring The Who.

Insane Clown Poppy

Krusty learns that he is a dad and takes parenting lessons from Homer. Guest starring Drew Barrymore and Stephen King.



Lisa the Tree Hugger

Lisa wants to join campaign group "Dirt First" and attempts to prove her value to them by trying to save a giant redwood from being cut down. Bart joins the logging team to earn money to by a new games console.

Homer vs. Dignity

Homer asks Mr Burns for a token raise. Mr Burns agrees, so long as Homer becomes his personal jester...

The Computer Wore Menace Shoes

Homer gets on the internet and creates his own web site. When his visitors lose interest, he makes up rumours about the residents of Springfield. Guest starring Patrick McGoohan.

The Great Money Caper

The Simpsons are short of money again, so Bart & Homer try out various scams to try and raise some.



Skinner's Sense of Snow

A huge snow storm traps the pupils inside Springfield Elementary for the holidays. Principal Skinner is soon the target of their rebellion.

HOMR

Homer has a crayon removed from his brain and his new found intelligence builds a strong relationship with Lisa. He also brings his new skills to the workplace, which leads to big trouble at the nuclear Power Plant.

Pokey Mom

Marge makes friends with a prison inmate and helps to get him released. Guest starring Michael Keaton.



Worst Episode Ever

Comic Book Guy suffers a heart attack, and Bart and Milhouse take over his shop for a while...
Tennis the Menace

Homer builds a tennis court, and the family are soon battling it out to see who will be crowned champion. But they need a few ringers first. Guest stars Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras.

Day of the Jackanapes

Sideshow Bob finds out that Krusty has erased all of the episodes of his show from the Sideshow Bob era. Once again, he decides to plot his revenge and blow up Krusty live on the air... Guest starring Kelsey Grammer.



New Kids on the Blecch

Bart, Nelson, Milhouse and Ralph become a boy band. But there's an agency who has other ideas for them. Guest stars N'Sync. Remember them? No? Didn't think you would!

Hungry, Hungry Homer

Homer discovers that his beloved Springfield Isotopes are being moved to Albuquerque. He tries to stop this by staging a hunger strike outside the stadium.

Bye Bye Nerdie

Lisa tries to make friends with a new student at school. She ends up trying to find out just what makes bullies do the things they do.

Simpson Safari

The Simpsons win a safari from a box of animal crackers. They're off to Africa...



Trilogy of Error

A day in the life of the Simpsons is told from different viewpoints. Marge cuts off Homer's thumb, and Lisa enters her linguistic robot in the science fair. Guest starring Joe Mantegna.

I'm Goin' to Praiseland

Ned discovers that one of Maude's dreams was to build a bible-themed amusement park, so he builds it... Guest starring Shawn Colvin.

Children of a Lesser Clod

Homer injures himself, and when recovering at home, he discovers a new caring side and starts a daycare centre. His good works lead to an award nomination, but his own children are feeling neglected...



Simpsons Tall Tales

The Simpsons retell some tales of American legends, Homer as Paul Bunyan, Lisa as Connie Appleseed and Bart and Nelson as Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn...

Video

A standard full-frame transfer, as you would expect for an 8-9 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 HD 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!

Extra 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, and deleted scenes for several episodes, animation showcases, storyboards, animatics, foreign language items and more besides.

Watch out also for Easter Eggs.

Conclusion

Another great season of The Simpsons on DVD.

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. A season like this is also an excellent showcase of the show for the more casual viewer. Very highly recommended.