Introduction

As “The Simpsons” completed its first decade on the air, it also rounded off its second season under the tenure of much-maligned executive producer Mike Scully. While the series’ generally defined ‘classic era’ tends to vary depending on the preferences of the individual, even hardcore fans usually see season ten as the beginning of a major decline in the show’s quality. Although the year saw the Fox network pruning back its episode order (and theoretically placing less strain on the writing staff), the toxic Scully influence continued to seep through every pore, with embarrassing efforts from newbie and stalwart alike that render a good half of the episodes on this box-set completely useless.

Episode List
(Highlights in bold; lowlights in italics)

1) Lard of the Dance; 2) The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace; 3) Bart The Mother; 4) Treehouse of Horror IX; 5) When You Dish Upon A Star; 6) D’oh-in’ In The Wind; 7) Lisa Gets An ‘A’ 8) Homer Simpson In: Kidney Trouble; 9) Mayored to the Mob; 10) Viva Ned Flanders; 11) Wild Barts Can’t Be Broken; 12) Sunday, Cruddy Sunday 13) Homer To The Max; 14) I’m With Cupid; 15) Marge Simpson In: “Screaming Yellow Honkers” 16) Make Room For Lisa; 17) Maximum Homerdrive; 18) Simpsons Bible Stories; 19) Mom and Pop Art; 20) The Old Man and the ‘C’ Student; 21) Monty Can’t Buy Me Love; 22) They Saved Lisa’s Brain; 23) Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo

Brief Discussion

As semi-morbid as it might sound, I’m always interested in going back and performing post-mortems on media products that have gradually voided themselves of artistry, and serial television is one of the best things to carry them out on. Looking over “The Simpsons”, close examination shows several different eras shaped by the vision of its executive producer, from the emotionally realistic storytelling of seasons 1-4 to the garish satire and dark humour of 5-8. However, Mike Scully’s promotion to top position saw the series become a parody of itself; a bland mishmash of token elements led by pointlessly zany plots, characters being yanked in whatever direction was required at the time, and a huge lack of clever jokes. Of season ten’s 23 episodes, about five actually feel like “The Simpsons” of old, with the rest being an uneasy combination of sloppy satire, forced emotion and gags that flop far more often than they hit the mark. As such, this stuff’s for the casual or obsessed fan only, as most other viewers are likely to spend more time cringing than laughing.

Detailed Discussion

Given my general aversion to pretty much any “Simpsons” from the Scully era, I was pretty apprehensive in going back to watch season ten – and due to my rusty recollections of the year, the first disc lulled me into a false sense of security. While none of the episodes within come close to the series’ best pieces, there’s a reasonable amount to like there. For example, although “Lard of the Dance” uses a story that ultimately became a noose around the show’s neck (the ubiquitous and irritating ‘Homer gets a new job; wackiness ensues’ stock plot), it’s one of the best in this oeuvre. As Homer decides to become a grease recycler, we get treated to some decent jokes and a cute sub-plot with Lisa behaving like an actual eight-year-old might, complete with some examination of the pressures put on kids to grow up quickly. The two disparate elements overlap appropriately at the episode’s climax, and end up producing a good ‘bad’ edition. The run continues with the silly but entertaining “The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace”, while “Bart the Mother” even has a bit of emotion as its title character kills a bird and takes it upon himself to look after its young (featuring the series’ final guest spot from Phil Hartman as Troy McClure).

With those pleasant shows out of the way, the misery slowly starts piling on. “When You Dish Upon A Star” is plotless tripe with no goal beyond capitalising on the names of guest stars Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger, and lowbrow nonsense like “Viva Ned Flanders” (Homer and Ned go to Las Vegas; sample gag – Oklahoma spelt as Okla-Homos) drags on for twenty minutes while knocking ten points off your IQ for each one. Long-term writer John Swartzwelder also reaches his lowest point, churning out generic wacky tedium like “Maximum Homerdrive” and “Homer To The Max”, which fail to provide even a single witty line or clever joke. His nadir ends up being a choice between “Homer Simpson In: “Kidney Trouble”” (in which Grampa Simpson’s kidneys explode(!) due to Homer being a malicious jerk, and we’re expected to laugh at his leaving his father on his deathbed) and “Monty Can’t Buy Me Love”, where Mr. Burns decides to bring the Loch Ness monster to Springfield. Both episodes plumb the depths of Saturday-morning-kiddie-cartoon garbage, and it’s a huge disappointment to witness how a show that used to be funny, creative and fresh in every episode has lost all that made it great.

As so much of season ten dwells on the mind-numbing antics of the Simpson patriarch, it’s nice to be able to occasionally break off and visit the other characters. Lisa remains the series’ most dependable and consistent protagonist, and her three shows are among the better ones here. In fact, the thoughtful main plot of “Lisa Gets An ‘A’” (Lisa cheats on a test and aces it, then is pressured to keep quiet about it when her grade qualifies Springfield Elementary for extra funding) is probably the most interesting one on the set, and the obligatory Homer stuff in the sub-plot actually works for a change. “Make Room For Lisa” is also pretty enjoyable, and has a nice bit of Homer/Lisa bonding even if its ultimate theme is at odds with the conflict presented within the story. Still, at least there’s some tangible effort in these eps and “They Saved Lisa’s Brain”, and when things get as bad as so many pieces here, you have to take what you can get.

Exploring the remainder of the year, I suppose “Mayored to the Mob” is one of the best Homer editions (mainly because it portrays him as a human being instead of a brain-dead caricature), while the Halloween and Easter ‘trilogy’ shows indicate that the then-staff’s talents were better applied to three short stories than a pair of long ones. Just make sure to avoid wastes of space like “Sunday, Cruddy Sunday” (a bunch of useless running around at the Superbowl) and the dreary “Marge Simpson In: “Screaming Yellow Honkers”” – which proves that the writers should just avoid penning Marge stories until they get a proper handle on her personality – and you’re set.

DVD Extras

In keeping with “The Simpsons”’ box set history, season ten comes complete with a wealth of additional features, and is available in either an attractive gold case or a plastic Bart ‘head’. The DVDs are housed in a flipbook digipack that keeps them secure and scratch-free, and a booklet is included with synopses of each of the episodes. The set has a movie-set tour theme, with each of the four discs’ main menus showing various characters sat in studio chairs while crazy events go on around them. As always, the menus are very simple and intuitive, and commentaries are available for every episode including discussion from Matt Groening, Mike Scully and various writers and cast members. Elsewhere, there’s a reel of Bart’s crank calls to Moe, a cash-in sneak peek at “The Simpsons Movie” DVD, and a handful of commercials from the time period – in all, a very pleasant set of bonuses stuck on undeserving episodes.

Conclusion

I had a pretty hard time deciding what rating I wanted to give this box-set, as I usually don’t like to stick something with one star until I’ve done some real comparisons. However, I’ll point out that the two star rating I settled for is way below those I gave to seasons eight and nine – and the only reason it’s not lower is because the next two years are even worse (and we have the comedic ‘delights’ of Marge farting, Homer getting raped by a panda and “Uh-oh! The doctor said not to let him get a boner!” to come). Still, I wouldn’t take that as any kind of commendation for the season – it’s mostly a mess, and you can get the good episodes just by taping/TiVo-ing them when the show plays in syndication. Ultimately, “The Simpsons” is like having a great starter and main course followed by an unbearable dessert, which is so bad it taints everything that came before it. If you haven’t seen the season it might be worth a quick look, but everyone else is best off avoiding it – chances are, you’ll think better of the series as a whole if you do.

***
"The Simpsons" On DVD
Season One; Season Two; Season Three; Season Four; Season Five; Season Six; Season Seven; Season Eight; Season Nine; Season Ten

Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: DVD
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older