Introduction

Season Three saw “The Simpsons” waltzing into what many hardcore fans dub its ‘classic era’. Although the transition between seasons two and three was nowhere near as surprising or revolutionary as the switch from year one to two, the leaden moralising of the previous episodes was happily consigned to history. With less attention being paid to an obvious take-home message, the show’s wit and humour became its main focus. The general gag rate of each episode increased and managed to maintain a consistently high number of laughs, yet kept within the boundaries of realistic plots and likeable, believable characters. This DVD box set provides an excellent opportunity to recall the days when “The Simpsons” was one of the best shows on the air, and proves an invigorating (and frequently hilarious) watch.

Episode List
(Highlights in bold, lowlights in italics)

1) Stark Raving Dad; 2) Mr. Lisa Goes To Washington; 3) When Flanders Failed; 4) Bart The Murderer; 5) Homer Defined; 6) Like Father, Like Clown; 7) Treehouse of Horror II; 8) Lisa’s Pony; 9) Saturdays of Thunder; 10) Flaming Moe’s; 11) Burns Verkaufen Der Kraftwerk; 12) I Married Marge; 13) Radio Bart; 14) Lisa The Greek; 15) Homer Alone; 16) Bart The Lover; 17) Homer At The Bat; 18) Separate Vocations; 19) Dog of Death; 20) Colonel Homer 21) Black Widower; 22) The Otto Show; 23) Bart’s Friend Falls In Love; 24) Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?

Brief Discussion

If season two was the year in which “The Simpsons” truly broke out of its shell, season three was home to thoughtful, careful grooming. With the show’s characters and locales firmly established, more time could be spent on making each episode as funny and clever as possible. Anyone with even a passing knowledge of the series should be able to recognise its hallmarks here, with the characters of Bart, Homer and Lisa all at the top of their game. Although I’ll confess that I personally prefer the comedy/drama mix of season two to the straight-up laughs presented here, it’s a very minor preference, and just about every episode is great. It may not have pieces that hit the heights of previous editions such as “The Way We Was” or “Lisa’s Substitute”, but season three is amazingly consistent, with absolutely no bad episodes – and that makes it an excellent purchase for hardcore fan and newbie alike.

Detailed Discussion

Season Three begins with one of the oddest episodes of the early years, “Stark Raving Dad”. After wearing a pink shirt to work, Homer (Dan Castellanetta) ends up in a mental institution with a man who believes he’s Michael Jackson (voiced by the singer himself). Although both are released, news travels fast and Bart (Nancy Cartwright) inadvertently causes a media frenzy. The episode has a good number of laughs, but is the first one to really pander to a guest star, with a disconcerting midsection that seems like little more than an exercise in massaging Jackson’s ego. Thankfully, things get back to reality with second episode “Mr Lisa Goes To Washington”, which is a great character study of the Simpson’s resident child prodigy as she pens a pro-American essay, only to uncover a decidedly undemocratic cover-up. It’s an excellent piece, with other editions such as “Lisa The Greek” being strong outings that explore the dynamics of the Homer/Lisa (Yeardley Smith) relationship. “Lisa’s Pony” is especially good, with Homer attempting to win back the wavering love of his daughter by purchasing her the animal she’s always wanted. The resulting lengths he’s forced to go to pay for the new addition provide a lot of laughs, and the ending is warm and human as Lisa disregards her own desires in order to preserve her father’s health (and sanity!)

Of course, no season of “The Simpsons” would be complete without a healthy dose of Homer. The third year sees everyone’s favourite buffoon taking a larger role than ever before, but keeping all of the elements that made him an appealing character in the first place. Although the resulting switch saw Marge (Julie Kavner) forced into a thankless ‘straight (wo)man’ role that she’s remained in to this day, a slew of top-notch episodes more than make up for it. The best of the bunch is “Colonel Homer”, which sees the Simpson patriarch becoming the manager of a beautiful country and western singer named Lurleen Lumpkin – who soon develops a romantic interest in him. While Homer remains loyal to his wife, the episode remains a funny and touching showcase for the character’s warmth and depth. Other editions fare strongly too, with Homer overcoming his innate laziness to help out Bart in “Saturdays of Thunder”, his unforgettable visit to the land of chocolate in “Burns Verkaufen Der Kraftwerk”, and the excellent finale “Brother Can You Spare Two Dimes”, which sees the welcome return of his half-brother Herb (excellently voiced by Danny DeVito).

Bart is also the recipient of a number of character-defining episodes. While “Radio Bart” has him ironically learning about the dangers of crying wolf, “Separate Vocations” sees the delinquent ten-year-old working on the side of the law, to surprising results (the Lisa story in the episode is equally interesting). I’m also a fan of “Bart The Lover”, which shows the writers lovingly expanding the show’s universe by focusing on the lonely teacher Mrs. Krabappel. After dealing with a divorce, she places a personal ad only to be caught out by Bart, who creates a fictional persona and writes back to her. The ending of the episode is spot-on, with the Simpson family thinking of a way to let her down gently and penning a last goodbye, including Homer at his dim best as he gives advice on what to include: “Dear Baby, Welcome to Dumpville. Population…You.”

Other episodes continue to explore the auxiliary characters. There’s an excellent back-story for Krusty the Klown in “Like Father, Like Clown”, while stoner bus driver Otto and school kid Milhouse Van Houten get the fleshing-out treatment in “The Otto Show” and “Bart’s Friend Falls In Love” respectively. On top of that, the murderous Sideshow Bob makes the first of many reappearances in “Black Widower” when he gets engaged to Marge’s sister Selma, and even family pet Santa’s Little Helper gets a plot in “Dog of Death”.

Taken as a whole, I think that season three is a solid and incredibly consistent year. The single thing I disliked was a number of gratuitous celebrity cameos, which served no real plot or purpose besides mutual back scratching (e.g. Sting in “Radio Bart”, Aerosmith in “Flaming Moe’s”, and a host of baseball players whose names won’t mean anything to those outside the US in “Homer At The Bat”). Still, the payoffs from the rest of the season are worth the odd clumsy moment or ridiculous plot twist (“Bart The Murderer”), and help make another strong and easily recommendable outing for “The Simpsons”.

DVD Extras

As is standard for the series’ box sets, the 24 episodes are spread across four discs. The packaging is easy to work with, and includes a booklet with plot and guest star information, which is a nice addition. The menus are clear and easy to navigate, with the welcome arrival of a ‘play all’ feature. Commentaries are included for every episode, and are improved from those on the first two sets, with fewer uncomfortable pauses and obvious statements, and more interesting background information being provided. A few more extras would have been nice, but you won’t hear me complaining when the episodes are as entertaining and humorous as they are here.

Conclusions

Overall, Season Three is rightfully heralded as part of the golden age of “The Simpsons”, boasting witty and skilled writing that provides an enjoyable mix of believable characters, realistic plots and funny humour. With a strong foundation built for the show, the writers were able to exercise their imaginations and came up with a lot of interesting ideas that explored both the highlights and flaws of the characters in a compelling manner. It’s one of the few years of the show where a large number of people could sit together and laugh at different things, and has a genuinely appreciable amount of wit, satire and depth alongside its character development. These factors combine to produce another hit for “The Simpsons”, and one that no fan’s collection is complete without. Highly recommended.

***
“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:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older