It did take me several years before I started watching The Simpsons. It didn't take long for me to get hooked on the show though and I continue to watch the new episodes now. DVD sets for the different seasons started to be released a few years ago and I started picking them up. I just watched The Simpsons - Season 8 set.
The main members of the Simpson family - Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie - were first created by Matt Groening to be used in short segments between sketches on The Tracy Ullman Show. The characters became so popular that FOX decided they deserved their own show. The Simpsons started airing in 1989 and the new episodes are still being made today with the older episodes showing in syndication. The 400th episode of the series aired in May of 2007. A full length movie, The Simpsons Movie, was released on July 27, 2007. Groening also created another animated show, Futurama, that began airing in 1999.
Most of the episodes of The Simpsons tend to focus in on the main members of the family. Homer and Bart do tend to dominate more episodes than Marge and Lisa. Homer has been a bit of a bumbling fool at times and several episodes have been about how he managed to screw something up. It really wasn’t surprising when he screwed up yet again, but the episodes were still very entertaining. Bart tended to get in trouble for various reasons. Lisa played a bigger part in Lisa’s Date With Density, My Sister, My Sitter, The Old Man and the Lisa, and The Secret War of Lisa Simpson. Marge received more attention in The Twisted World of Marge Simpson, Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala-(Annoyed Grunt)cious, and In Marge We Trust. Marge and Lisa were around in all the episodes, but it was nice to see them have more important roles in a few of them.
Marge’s two sisters Patty and Selma would turn up every so often without receiving much attention in the episodes for the eighth season. They have been the main focus of a few episodes during the previous seasons. Grandpa Simpson, Homer’s father, also was in some episodes as a supporting character. He’s been more important in some episodes in previous seasons as well. Many characters have been introduced over the course of the series, so the show has a huge cast of supporting characters. Mr. Burns tends to make several short appearances since he is Homer’s boss. Mr. Burns played bigger parts in a few episodes like Burns, Baby Burns, Mountain of Madness, and The Old Man and the Lisa. His assistant Smithers tended to be around whenever he was.
Moe runs the bar that Homer and a few other characters frequent, so he makes a lot of short appearances. He did receive a little more attention in The Homer They Fall. Bart’s best friend Milhouse and his parents had a whole episode devoted to them in A Milhouse Divided. Ned Flanders and his family have been in many of the episodes since they live next door to the Simpsons. A few interesting things about Ned’s past were shared in Hurricane Neddy. Grade School Confidential focused in on the budding romance between Seymour Skinner and Edna Krabappel. I do like all the main characters, but I also like it when the show gives more attention to some of the supporting characters.
For the most part, the episodes on The Simpsons have plots that are resolved by the end of each show and nothing from them carries into other episodes. Every so often, something will be mentioned or referred to in some way that was first introduced in a previous episode, like Lisa being a vegetarian. Really the only episode in season eight that dealt with any significant previous plots was The Brother From Another Series. In that episode, Sideshow Bob was once again back. This time he did seem to be reformed and was working with his brother Cecil. Some background on the relationship the two had was shared as well as touching on Sideshow Bob’s history with Bart and Lisa. I really enjoyed the episode. I tend to like all the episodes that feature Sideshow Bob. There is just something about the character I like. I really liked that fact that David Hyde Pierce, the man who played Frasier’s brother on the television show Frasier, provided the voice for Cecil. Kelsey Grammer, the voice for Sideshow Bob, played Frasier. The way Sideshow Bob and Cecil interacted was very similar to how Frasier and Niles interacted and made the show very entertaining. I also loved that fact that Cecil called someone Maris, the woman married to Niles but never seen on Frasier.
Treehouse of Horror VII, the annual Halloween episode, was the first episode of season eight. The show contained three short stories that had creepy themes, like how Bart and Lisa discovered an evil creature living in their attic. A later episode in the season, The Springfield Files, was also somewhat creepy. That episode was a take on the show The X-Files and even featured the characters of Mulder and Scully investigating something in Springfield. Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala-(Annoyed Grunt)cious was a version of Mary Poppins with a unique Simpsons twist. Bart After Dark had a little more risque theme and featured a song, The Spring in Springfield, that won an Emmy. There really weren’t any clip shows like have turned up in some of the previous seasons. The closest thing to a clip show would have been The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase which showed spin-offs from the show that were never made.
None of the characters in The Simpsons were normal and the Simpsons themselves weren’t a typical family. Many of the characters, especially Bart and Homer, ended up in some rather unique situations that tended to add humor. Every episode included funny things that made me laugh. Some of what was done to add humor was a bit silly, but I still felt it worked for the show. Bart and Homer tended to do the most silly things, but a few other characters also added to the silliness. People that don’t care for that type of humor may not want to watch the show. Certain things said or done were a bit adult in nature, so parents may want to watch before letting their children see the episodes.
The main characters and many of the returning supporting characters were voiced by the same group of actors with most of them providing voices for several characters. Marcia Wallace, who usually only did the voice of Edna Krabappel, was listed as a guest star even though her character was basically a regular. Julie Kavner only did the voices for Marge and her sisters. In previous seasons, she has also done the voice for their mother the few times she has been shown. Yeardly Smith only did the voice for Lisa. Phil Hartman was back as Troy McClure and Lionel Hutz, two characters who turned up frequently.
In addition to the regular group of characters, there were some characters who were introduced for only an episode and voiced by a guest star. Every so often, the guest stars would appear as themselves. Some of the guest stars did voices in several different episodes. Guest stars for the eighth season included Albert Brooks, Paul Winfield, Rodney Dangerfield, Jon Lovitz, Johnny Cash, Gillian Anderson, David Duchovny, Leonard Nimoy, Jack Lemmon, Joe Mantegna, Alex Rocco, John Waters, Kelsey Grammer, David Hyde Pierce, Dave Thomas, Bret Hart, and Tim Conway.
The animation used bright, vibrant colors that helped to give the characters and locations their unique looks. It looks crisp and clean and I think it was well done even though it isn’t as good as the animation being created for some of the newer animated movies. The show is created with hand drawn animation, so it won’t have the same look as computer animation. The animation has looked the same throughout the series, though the first two seasons did look a bit cruder and less polished. The opening sequence remained the same except for the changes to what Bart wrote on the chalkboard and how the family arrived in the last shot.
DVD Information
The Simpsons - Season 8 has twenty-five episodes on four discs. This was the third season to have two different cases. One was a special case shaped like Maggie’s head and the other was the more standard type of case and the one I have. I do have the special case shaped like Homer’s head for season six. The unique shape of that did make it a little more awkward to get to the discs and I figure the version shaped like Maggie’s head would have the same issue. Each of the discs is on a separate plastic holder that flips over like a page, making it very easy to get to all of the discs.
For season eight, the booklet was made to look like a photograph album with 1996 - 1997 on the cover. The second page has a message from Matt Groening in which he briefly mentions a few episodes. The third page has a list of all the episodes broken down by which disc they are on as well as a principal cast list. The next page has information about the extras for the set including the little icons that will turn up on the episode specific pages. The rest of the booklet has each episode on its own page with a short plot summary, original air dates, guest stars, scenes, and icons for any extras connected to the episode. Each page also had a different little graphic made to look like some kind of keepsake that had been added to a scrapbook.
Every disc had a different animated menu that showed some of the characters from episodes on the disc standing around. If a selection isn’t picked soon enough, different animations will play out, some which are rather cute. The episodes could be played one at a time or there was an option to play all the episodes on a disc one after the other. Every episode had a commentary and many of them also had at least one deleted scene. There were bits from the animators, a sketch gallery, promos with Matt Groening and something called The Simpsons House. That extra showed how a real version of the Simpsons house was built and given away as part of a contest.
Episode List
Treehouse of Horror VII You Only Move Twice The Homer They Fall Burns, Baby Burns Bart After Dark A Milhouse Divided Lisa’s Date With Density Hurricane Neddy El Viaje Misterioso De Nuestro Jomer The Springfield Files The Twisted World of Marge Simpson Mountain of Madness Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show Homer’s Phobia The Brother From Another Series My Sister, My Sitter Homer vs. The Eighteenth Amendment Grade School Confidential The Canine Mutiny The Old Man and the Lisa In Marge We Trust Homer’s Enemy The Simpsons Spin-off Showcase The Secret War of Lisa Simpson
The Simpsons - Season 8 was another very entertaining DVD set. Fans of The Simpsons will probably enjoy it.
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