Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

The Simpsons is thought of as one of the greatest shows ever on televison by many. Their original brand of comedy, top notch animation teams (after a while), and well structured character personality makes it the most popular animated series ever. And it's so easy to see why. However, over the years, the show has lost its special touch. People argue what it is that is different with the show, but the main difference is the comedy. It's no longer crisp. After 300 episodes, it's only inevitible that they wouldn't be able to keep the comedy at such an enjoyable rate. However, almost anyone can agree that the third and fourth seasons were the best of the best. Not just of The Simpsons, but of television in general.

The third season contains some of the most classic episodes of The Simpsons. From the invention of the Flaming Moe (originally the Flaming Homer), Lisa getting the Pony, Homer winning a softball game by getting hit on the head, Bart tricking the town into thinking there is a kid trapped down a well, and the phrase "pulling a Homer" was bagged. If you haven't heard of any of these episodes, just know that they are all greats.

In the early days of The Simpsons, characters were still being developed. The whole town is filled with a diverse group of people, many of which were started out as extras, and turned into some of the main characters of the series. Fans of the series will see early forms of Professor Frink, The Comic Book Guy, Apu (becoming more of a major character), Fat Tony, and Otto. These are back in the days when Homer was more of a realistic, believable stupid, and less of a exagerrated kind of stupid. Most of the characters (and events) are more realistic, yet still constantly funny. This is one of the many things that made the early episodes of The Simpsons so classic.

The early days of The Simpsons were filled with experiments that worked out wonderfully. The third season includes the second appearance of Sideshow Bob (which would lead to almost an appearance every series). The return of Homer's brother, Herb (the first time they had a guest star come back for another episode), and the second Tree House of Horror. There are so many great things, it's almost impossible to get it all down.

Though it's not loaded with extra features, it has enough to please. There are many scenes on the episodes that were deleted for TV (because they needed room for commercials) which are now included! It's fun to go through all of the episodes and see all of the scenes you've never seen before. Plus, there's commentary by every episode, where you can learn many interesting secrets behind episodes, and jokes they thought of using, but ended up cutting them out (plus, sometimes some of the voice actors do commentary, like Dan Castellaneta singing "Spanish Flea" in Homer's voice). There are also Butterfinger commercials, Jukebox (with all of the songs sung in any episode of the third season), and a video of the Bart Simpson Macy's Day Parade. It's all lots of fun.


*----Below are highlights of the DVD----*

Funny Quotes:

"My mom won't let me be your friend anymore." -Milhouse
"Why not?" -Bart
"She says you're a bad influence." -Milhouse
"Bad influence my butt, how many times have I told you not to listen to your mother?"
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"A nuclear reactor is like a woman: you just have to read the manual and press the right buttons." -Homer
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"We salute you, our half inflated dark lord." -Spinal Tap, saluting a half inflated balloon of the devil.
--
(Jimbo and Curly, stealing from Flanders' left-handed store, Leftorium)
"What'd you swipe?" -Jimbo
"Left-handed pinking sheers." -Curly
"Pinking sheers? Let's go to the food court and steal some baked potatoes!" -Jimbo
--
"If something's hard to do it's not worth doing." -Homer
--

Episodes:

Stark Raving Homer: Homer is sent to the mental institution for wearing a pink shirt (thanks to Bart's rad cap being in the whites), where he meets a man who claims to be Michael Jackson.

Mr. Lisa Goes To Washington: Lisa and the rest of the Simpsons go to Washington DC so Lisa can compete in an essay contest.

When Flanders Failed: Flanders opens a left-handed store, and Homer wishes that Flanders's store will go out of business.

Bart The Murderer: When Bart starts working for Fat Tony, they pay a visit to principal Skinner a visit after Bart is late for work because of detention. Afterwards, Skinner disappears, and all evidence points to Bart.

Homer Defined: Homer saves the nuclear power plant from a meltdown by randomly picking a button using "Eeny Meeny Miney Moe." Afterwards, he becomes a hero of the town.

Like Father, Like Clown: Krusty reveals to the Simpson family that he and his father are not close, since his father didn't want him to become a clown. Bart and Lisa try to reunite them.

Treehouse Of Horror II: Homer gets a monkey's paw which grants wishes, Bart has magical powers and turns Homer into a Jack-in-the-box, and Mr. Burns puts Homer's brain into a robot in 3 chilling, Halloween tales.

Lisa's Pony: Lisa gets a Pony when Homer finds it's the only way she will love him. Homer gets a night time job at the Kwik-E-Mart to pay for the pony.

Saturdays Of Thunder: Homer finds out that he knows nothing about Bart after taking a test, so he helps Bart build and race a soap box racer, only to find that Bart later races Martin's racer.

Flaming Moe's: When Moe runs out of beer, Homer gives Moe the secret behind a drink he invented called the "Flaming Homer." When Moe starts serving the drink under the name "Flaming Moe," the drink becomes highly popular.

Burns Verkaufen Der Kraftwerk: Mr. Burns sells the nuclear plant to Germans, and Homer is fired for performing his job poorly.

I Married Marge: Homer tells Bart and Lisa about the wedding of him and Marge when Marge thinks she's pregant. He reveals how Bart was born, how he proposed, the casino wedding chapel (just out of the border of whatever state Springfield is in) they were married in, how he got his job, and the birth of Bart.

Radio Bart: Bart fools the town into thinking there is a child trapped down a well by using a mircophone he recieved for his birthday. When he discovers he will be caught if they find the radio he threw down the well, he goes down to get it, only to fall in for himself.

Lisa The Greek: Lisa spends more time with Homer, and he discovers that Lisa is good at picking winning teams for betting. When she discovers he is using her for money, Homer doubts she loves him.

Homer Alone: When Marge has a breakdown, she leaves on a trip alone, while Homer has to be left alone with Maggie, and Bart and Lisa have to stay with Patty and Selma.

Bart The Lover: When Bart discovers Mrs. Krabapple is trying to find love through the mail, he sends in a fake letter, pretending to be the man of her dreams. However, he discovers that he has gone too far, too late.

Homer At Bat: When the nuclear plant's softball team has made it to the play-off's, Mr. Burns bets a million dollars on the team. To ensure victory, Mr. Burns hires professional baseball players (Wade Boggs, Jose Canseco, Roger Clemens, Ken Griffey Jr., Don Mattingly, Steve Sax, Mike Scioscia, Ozzie Smith, Darryl Strawberry).

Separate Vocations: After taking scholastic tests, Bart finds out he will be a cop, and becomes hall monitor. Lisa finds out she will be a homemaker, and takes her anger out by becoming a bad girl.

Dog Of Death: When Santa's Little Helper needs surgery, the Simpsons all save money to pay for it, and find out that everything they avoided buying was truly necessary (Marge's lottery numbers were picked the week she didn't buy a ticket, Lisa had a report on Copernicus when she didn't buy a book on him). The family then resents him, and he runs away.

Colonel Homer: After being insulted by Marge, Homer drives to a hick town, and discovers a beautiful country singer. He helps her get her music career off the ground, and Marge becomes jealous of all of the time he is spending with her.

Black Widower: Selma falls in love with a jail bird through pen pal letters, and it turns out that it is Sideshow Bob, the man who framed Krusty the Klown. He soon proposes to her, but there is something suspicious about him, and Bart is on the case.

The Otto Show: After going to a Spinal Tap concert, Bart wants to become a musician. When he brings his guitar into the bus, Otto plays it, losing track of time, and gets fired for being late and endangering the children (and not having a license). He then shacks up with the Simpsons and tries to get his license.

Bart's Friend Falls In Love: Milhouse gets a girlfriend, and Bart becomes jealous, since his friend is always with his girlfriend. Bart tries to break them up.

Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?: Homer's newly poor brother, Herb, comes up with an idea to make money fast. However, he has to use some of Homer's newly gained $2000 that he won in an award show, so he is forced to come back to the brother that he hates so much, and try and get Homer to give him the money.
*----End----*

To conclude, The Simpsons really took time to get to its peak. At the peak, the laughs couldn't be stopped. The DVD for the third season (and fourth, later on) is a MUST HAVE for anyone, whether you're a die hard fan or not. They are some of the best episodes in the series, and for only $35.00, you can own 24 of them!

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 - 12