sadida's Full Review: Simpsons - The Complete First Season
Maude's Dead, Sideshow Bob is in jail for the 6th? time, Mr. Burns is still excellent, and Homer is dumber than ever (that's a good thing). This is where the Simpsons are now, but how did they get here?
The journey starts with "The Simpsons - The Complete First Season". Now, I've been a Simpsons fan for quite some time, but even I haven't seen every episode. For years
I have wanted to have a collection of every Simpsons episode available so I could be sure I'd seen them all, and have my favorites on tap for when the mood strikes me. It seems that Matt Groening is finally granting that wish.
I quote from a foldout from this gorgeous, box set, "Welcome to the first of many deluxe overpriced DVD sets of The Simpsons". Reading that brought a smile to my face. It sounds like all of the seasons are coming, and from the looks of this first one, these are going to be some prime collectors items.
Box Set
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First off, I absolutely love the design of the box set. The colors and art are no nonsense, just like the animation in the show, but they also have a certain elegance to them. The box opens into a trio of DVDs sporting the Simpson family. Homer is on one disc, Marge and Maggie on the second, and Bart and Lisa on the third. Underneath each disc is artwork similar to the DVD labels. Also included is an information packed set of liner notes. Each of the 13 first season episodes are summarized, complete with original air date, and notes on which characters first appeared in that episode. That's really cool if you ask
me.
Video and Audio Quality
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If you are used to watching old syndicated Simpsons episodes, you are used to blurry video and scratchy audio. Buy this DVD set and you are in for a pleasant awakening. The video and audio has been cleaned up tremendously. The first few seasons of the Simpsons seemed to use colors that were a bit washed out compared to today. No longer, the episodes have been given a bath and polish. Colors are vibrant and edges are crisp. The video quality is truly spectacular.
The audio has received the midas touch as well. Dialogue is crystal clear and you have options of watching with 5.1 Dolby Digital, Dolby Surround, and even French language Dolby Surround. You can use this to impress any French speaking coworkers in your office :)
Episodes
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All 13th season one episodes are here:
* Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire - The Christmas special where we meet the main characters including Santa's Little Helper (The Simpson Dog)
* Bart the Genius - Martin Prince, Miss Krabappel, and Seymour Skinner. What more needs said?
* Homer's Odyssey - Quite possibly the worst episode ever. I'm not kidding. This had no point and hardly any jokes.
* There's No Disgrace Like Home - In my opinion, this is the episode that kept The Simpsons on the air. I remember everyone talking about the Simpsons after this episode first aired. You just never get sick of watching them shock the stuffing out of each other.
* Bart The General - A lesson on bullies. Nelson plays a big part in this episode.
* Moaning Lisa - A lesson on depression and fitting in. Man did they do a lot of preaching in season one :)
* The Call of the Simpsons - If for no reason else, buy this DVD set for the RV salesman scenes. Man is that good stuff. This is the one where Homer is mistaken for Bigfoot.
* The Telltale Head - A lesson on peer pressure and popularity. This is the one where Bart cuts the head off Springfield's most prized statue.
* Life on the Fast Lane - Marge deals with temptations of infidelity.
* Homer's Night Out
* The Crepes of Wrath
* Krusty Gets Busted
* Some Enchanted Evening
Extras
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To be honest, I was actually expecting more extras. It seems as though you could fill the 3 dvds with nothing but news spots on the Simpsons, making ofs, and Simpsons inspired commercials. Unfortunately, there is less than a single DVD devoted to the extras. I'm hoping that they are
saving some for the season 2 box set (when is that due out? :).
That said, there are some pretty cool extras in the set. One of my favorites was a bunch of early prototype drawings by Matt Groening. These detail the progression of characters from concept to final shape. One of
the coolest one is of Marge's Mom. One of the hand written notes points to her feet and says "Sensible Shoes". That's just cool!
Well, I truly hope this is the first of many season box sets for the Simpsons. Season one was just training camp. Things really got cooking in season 3 and beyond. I can't wait!
Recommended:
Yes
Viewing Format: DVD Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
All 13 episodes of the first season (1989-90) of the "The Simpsons" TV series on 3 discs. Set also includes a host of bonus materials including Matt G...More at HotMovieSale.com
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