Simpsons, The: Season Two (UK)

Collectors Edition four-disc boxset
Certificate: PG
Running Time: 634 mins
Retail Price: £39.99
Release Date:
Content Type: TV Series

Synopsis:
By Season Two, the popularity of The Simpsons was growing and the evolution of the show is marked by the introduction of new characters (Ralph Wiggum, Groundskeeper Willie, Professor Frink, Dr. Julius Hibbert, aliens Kang and Kodos, Blinky the three-eyed fish, Comic Book Guy, Lionel Hutz and Kent Brockman), more celebrity guest stars (Jon Lovitz, Danny DeVito, Tony Bennett, Ringo Starr), and the debut of the `Treehouse Of Horror` Halloween specials.
"Bart Gets An F"
After failing a history test, Bart strikes a deal with Martin Prince to make him cool in exchange for tutoring. Bart successfully transforms Martin into a regular kid, but Martin reneges on his side of the bargain and Bart is once again in danger of failing. After an all-night study session, Bart still fails but he manages to impress Mrs. Krabappel with his grasp of history and she gives him a D-minus, a grade Homer is proud to hang on the fridge.

"Simpson and Delilah"
When Homer gets an experimental hair treatment, he grows a shaggy new mane. Marge finds the new Homer sexy and Mr. Burns mistakes his most incompetent employee for a hungry up-and-comer and promotes him. As part of his promotion, Homer gets an overly attentive assistant named Karl who ensures that his every step is correct and his every move successful. When Homer`s hair begins to fall out again, his success goes down the drain as well.
Guest star: Harvey Fierstein as Karl

"Treehouse of Horror"
In this first installment of the yearly Halloween special, the Simpsons move to a haunted house, beam into outer space and take on a chilling literary classic. In the first segment, the family checks into a mansion that tries to make them kill one another. In the second segment, Kang and Kodos bring the Simpsons aboard a spaceship, and then proceed to entertain and feed them in preparation for what might prove to be their last supper. In the final segment, Lisa reads Bart Edgar Allan Poe`s frightening poem, "The Raven."
Guest star: James Earl Jones as The Narrator

"Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish"
Bart and Lisa catch a three-eyed fish in a polluted stream near The Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, bringing scads of negative publicity to Mr. Burns. In order to fight the bad press, Burns decides to run for Governor, enlisting a team of spin doctors. But all the spin doctors in the world can`t fix Mr. Burns` major blunder when, on live TV, Marge serves him a three-eyed fish for dinner and he finally coughs up his true feelings about pollution.

"Dancin` Homer"
Homer becomes a local celebrity when he is named the mascot for the Springfield Isotopes, a local minor league baseball team. With a repertoire of dance moves and specialised routines, Homer attracts the attention of the team`s owner, who recruits him to become the mascot for Capital City Capitals. Homer discovers that his moves don`t play in Capital City as well as they did in Springfield and retires from the mascot business.
Guest star: Tony Bennett as himself

"Dead Putting Society"
In a bout of over-the-top neighbourly competition, Homer and Ned Flanders pit Bart and Todd against one another in a miniature golf competition. Both boys train incessantly for the big day, but it`s clear that the tournament is more important to Homer and Ned, who have made a side bet for the loser`s father to mow the other`s lawn in a dress. On the day of the big tournament, Bart and Todd face off until the final hole, when they agree to throw the match and tie. Because of their bet, Ned and Homer are both forced to mow each other`s lawn in dresses.

"Bart vs. Thanksgiving"
Lisa spends the days leading up the Thanksgiving building a centerpiece dedicated to female heroes of American history. In order to make room for more food on the table, Bart accidentally throws Lisa`s centerpiece into the fireplace, destroying it. Sent to his room with no Thanksgiving supper, Bart escapes out his window and, with Santa`s Little Helper, wanders the city, eventually landing at a homeless shelter where he is filmed by a TV crew. Returning home, Bart apologises to Lisa for destroying her centerpiece.

"Bart the Daredevil"
At a Monster Truck event, Bart spots his hero Captain Lance Murdock, a daredevil who attempts to jump his motorcycle over a tank filled with great white sharks, electric eels, piranhas, alligators, a ferocious lion and one drop of blood that drives all the wild animals insane. Inspired to follow in Murdock`s footsteps, Bart attempts increasingly risky skateboard jumps until he sets his sights on Springfield Gorge. Homer tries to stop Bart from jumping, only to find himself in danger of accidentally skating off the ramp and into the gorge.

"Itchy & Scratchy & Marge"
Convinced that the images on "The Itchy & Scratchy Show" are a bad influence on kids, Marge wages a one-woman campaign against the show that eventually forces the creator, Roger Meyers, Jr., to curb the violence in favour of bland, lovey-dovey plots. The new format bombs and the show`s ratings plunge. Meanwhile, Marge is asked to comment on The Springfield Art Museum`s exhibition of Michelangelo`s "David." Not finding it at all objectionable, Marge loses her standing with the anti-free speech brigade that once supported her.

"Bart Gets Hit by a Car"
Mr. Burns hits Bart with his car, sending him on a trip to heaven and hell while he`s unconscious. After consulting the crooked attorney Lionel Hutz, Homer and Marge attempt to sue Mr. Burns for a million dollars. Burns is prepared to settle for $500,000, but promptly withdraws the offer when he discovers that the Simpsons have exaggerated Bart`s injuries.
Guest star: Phil Hartman as Lionel Hutz

"One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish"
Homer discovers the wonders of sushi, trying a piece of every fish on the menu of the Happy Sumo restaurant. But when he eats a bad piece of blowfish, he is poisoned and given 24 hours to live by Dr. Hibbert. With one day left on earth, Homer makes a list of everything he ever wanted to do but didn`t and tries to pack it all in before he succumbs to the blowfish poison. After staying up all night, Homer survives and goes on to live his life exactly as he did before--watching TV and eating salty treats.
Guest star: Larry King as himself

"The Way We Was"
When the TV breaks, Marge takes the opportunity to share the story of how she and Homer met with Bart and Lisa. Flashing back to 1974, we see Homer as ne`er-do-well high school student and Marge as a budding feminist. Homer becomes smitten with Marge and tries to get close to her by enlisting her as his French tutor. After several hours of verb conjugation, Marge falls for Homer too, only to become enraged when he admits that he`s not even a French student and only said he was to get her to spend time with him. Marge rejects Homer`s invitation to the prom and goes with Artie Ziff, a nerdy debate club colleague of hers. Artie turns out to be a terrible date and Marge realises that it`s Homer who she really wants
Guest star: Jon Lovitz as Artie Ziff and Mr. Seckofsky

"Homer vs. Lisa and the Eighth Commandment"
Homer becomes the most popular guy in town when he gets an illegal cable hook-up. But Lisa doesn`t approve and fears that Homer will go to hell for violating the Eighth Commandment. Lisa seeks advice from Reverend Lovejoy, who simply tells her not to watch the stolen cable. Later, Homer invites all of his new friends over to watch a big fight, but he begins to feel guilty about stealing the transmission and, to lessen his guilt, cuts the cable line.

"Principal Charming"
Marge enlists Homer`s help to find Aunt Selma a husband. During his search, Homer is called into Springfield Elementary to meet with Principal Skinner and decides that the principal is the man for Selma. Skinner agrees to meet Selma but mistakenly falls in love with Aunt Patty instead, causing Selma to grow even more depressed about her life. Even though Patty enjoys Skinner`s company, she eventually gives him up to make her sister happy.

"Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?"
Homer discovers that he has a long-lost half brother, Herb Powell, who is the wealthy CEO of a car company. When Homer and Herb meet, they instantly hit it off and Herb takes in the Simpson family as his own. Herb hires Homer to help design a car for regular guys, but Homer`s design proves so disastrous that it bankrupts Herb`s company and forces the brothers apart once again.
Guest star: Danny DeVito as Herb Powell

"Bart`s Dog Gets an F"
After a series of destructive acts, the entire Simpson family loses patience with Santa`s Little Helper. Marge and Homer insist on sending the dog to Emily Winthrop`s Canine College but Santa`s Little Helper proves too unruly and stupid to learn anything. Homer and Marge threaten to give the dog away if he doesn`t pass his obedience training, so Bart tries as hard as he can to train him, but Santa`s Little Helper refuses to lie down or do any of the other tricks he was taught. Somehow, Bart finally gets through to the dog, who ultimately passes Canine College and stays with the family.
Guest star: Tracey Ullman as Emily Winthrop

"Old Money"
Grandpa Simpson falls in love with Bea Simmons, a fellow resident of the Springfield Retirement Castle. During the course of their brief romance, Bea passes away and leaves Grandpa her entire savings, $100,000. Grandpa decides to give the money to charity but can`t decide which one is worthiest. Eventually, he donates the money to the Retirement Castle to buy new easy chairs and equipment.
Guest star: Audrey Meadows as Bea Simmons

"Brush With Greatness"
Marge`s interest in art is reawakened when she finds some of her old paintings in the attic. Signing up for a painting class taught by Professor Lombardo at Springfield Community College, Marge eventually develops enough confidence in her work to enter the Springfield Art Fair and win. Her winning painting catches the eye of Mr. Burns, who hires her to paint his official portrait, a task that proves very difficult because Marge finds Mr. Burns to be excessively ugly. Eventually, she paints a picture that emphasizes Mr. Burns` flaws. But rather than embarrassing him, the portrait humanises him in the eyes of the public and he is forced to accept the painting as a success.
Guest star: Jon Lovitz as Professor Lombardo; Ringo Starr as himself.

"Lisa`s Substitute"
When Lisa`s teacher Miss Hoover gets Lyme Disease, Mr. Bergstrom takes over the class. Lisa finds Mr. Bergstrom`s teaching methods incredibly inspiring and discovers an entirely new love for learning. When Miss Hoover returns to her class, Lisa is devastated to lose her most positive grown-up role model. Eventually, she realises that while Mr. Bergstrom was one of a kind, she can find role models in other people, including her own father.

"The War of the Simpsons"
When Homer humiliates Marge at a party they`ve thrown for their friends and neighbours, the only thing that can save their marriage is a weekend retreat for married couples run by Reverend Lovejoy up at Catfish Lake. Marge is determined to fix their marriage, but Homer is more determined to catch General Sherman, the freakishly large catfish that lives in the lake. Marge tells Homer that if he really loves her, he won`t spend any time fishing, but while taking a walk along the lake one morning, Homer finds himself unable to resist the chance to catch General Sherman. When Marge finds him wrestling the gigantic fish into a boat, she scolds him for lying to her. Homer proves his love for Marge the only way he can: He lets General Sherman go.

"Three Men and a Comic Book"
Bart becomes obsessed with buying the first issue of Radioactive Man, but can`t scrape together the $100 he needs to make it his own. Enlisting Milhouse and Martin Prince, Bart is finally able to buy the comic, even though he only possesses one third of it. But things get hairy when none of them can decide who gets to keep it or for how long. The three enter into a dangerous confrontation that threatens to destroy not only their precious investment, but their friendships as well.
Guest star: Daniel Stern as The Narrator (adult Bart voice)

"Blood Feud"
When Mr. Burns gets sick, only a transfusion of Bart`s blood, which is a special type, can save him. With the boy`s blood coursing through his veins, Mr. Burns is more alive than ever and writes a thank-you note to Bart. Homer is convinced that Burns has not shown his boy enough gratitude and writes his boss a nasty letter. Realising he`s made a mistake, Homer tries repeatedly to stop Burns from getting the note, but can`t do it in time. Reading the letter, Mr. Burns vows to ruin Homer`s life, but after some strong words from Mr. Smithers, the mogul realises that he is wrong and shows his gratitude by buying the Simpson family a huge, frightening Olmec Indian statue for their house.

Special Features:
4-Disc Set - Over 8 Hours of material !
Commentaries on each episode
Interview with James L. Brooks and Matt Groening
"Do The Bartman" director`s cut music video (with optional commentary)
"Deep Deep Trouble" music video (with optional commentary)
David Silverman on the "Creation of an Episode"
Emmy Awards Presentation
Bart on the American Music Awards
3 Butterfinger TV commercials
5 Foreign language clips
Easter eggs
Gallery (animation, magazine covers and much more)
Early drawings