I love(d) the Simpsons. I have to put the "(d)" in there because I think that for the last couple of years, the show has been an empty shell of it's former self with little more than hollow slapstick humor, lame celebrity cameos, and a new writing team that hasn't the faintest idea what satire is. But the Simpsons was, at one time, a brilliant satire. I'd say during seasons 3-7, it was at it's best. And that's a good enough run to make it an excellent series, but it's excellence is sandwiched between two periods of mediocrity: the beginning, and the end.

Right now, I believe we are at the end, be it a long and painful one. and from around 1990-1992, we were at the beginning. The beginning wasn't actually so bad, but it pales in comparison to the good years, although it has it's charm...

The Simpsons first DVD collection captures the earliest of the early years - season one to be exact. This wasn't exactly a full-fledged season, as the Simpsons was just a mid-season replacement series and began airing at the end of the 1989-1990 television season. Only eight episodes comprise this short run.

There are a couple factors that keep these episodes back: The show was new and couldn't get away with much yet, and even the minute themes that are there were pretty groundbreaking for a network series at the time. Plus, the key writers were either not in place yet or hadn't found their balance.

The Good: "The Crepes Of Wrath"­ is actually a top-notch episode. I think this is where they got the idea to make Homer a little dumb, because it works - and Bart's escapades in a French sweatshop are sad, but hilarious. "Bart The General" is also a classic, and introduces Nelson & the one-armed gun nut Herman, and Grampa Simpsons shines for the first time. "Life on the Fast Lane", in which Marge almost has an affair with a man at a bowling ally, is subtly amusing. And who could forget the very first Sideshow Bob episode, "Krusty Gets Busted", featuring guest voice Kelsey Grammer.

The Mediocre: The rest of the episodes have their moments, but ultimately lack in subtle wit. The jokes are few and a little too obvious.

The Bad: "Moaning Lisa" - the episode with that anti-climax featuring Bleeding Gums Murphey. This is where the 'Lisa' episode got a bad rap, though the ones that followed were significant improvements over this. Great if your a Lisa fan or like extended Sax solos, bad if you want something to make you laugh.

However, I do recommend this to the people that would have interest in it: Simpsons fans. There are enough brilliant moments and classic episodes to make it worthwhile - even if you don't really like some of these episodes on TV reruns, you might like them on the DVD better, as there are no "syndication cuts" and more jokes are left in. See, for the reruns, many scenes and lines are cut to make room for commercials - sometimes the best moments in an episode. On DVD, you get the whole thing and it's almost like watching them for the first time.

I wouldn't recommend this set though, if your just a fan of their newer work; the sloppy animation will alienate you from the get-go, Homer isn't the focus and isn't even that stupid yet, and it's a little more about the characters than the comedy. The comedy that is here stands head-and-shoulders of the lame attempts at humpr in any current Simpsons episode, but isn't quite up to the high standards set by the 1993-1997 run of the show.

So fans, grab it. It won't disappoint, and theres lots of extras such as scripts from every episode (markings and all), deleted scenes, and commentary from the creators.

But no doubt, future DVD collections from this series will be a lot more entertaining.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8