Plot: What’s it about?
For the last two decades “The Simpson’s” has been my favorite television show. It’s hard to believe that the show first aired when I was a freshman in high school and I now approach my late 30’s. Is the phrase “time flies” applicable here, because it should be. Look, there’s nothing I can say that hasn’t already been said several times before by me and every other rabid fan of the show. “The Simpson’s” did so much for animation and has been such a long-running staple of a show that it’s hard to imagine life without it. The day will come, I’m sure, but hopefully it’s a long way off. With the release of “The Simpson’s Movie” a couple years ago, it’s evident that there’s still much demand for America’s favorite yellow family and I’m more than certain that a sequel is in the works. Now, admittedly, I don’t keep up with the newer episodes like I used to. I catch a couple of reruns every night, but there always seems to be too much going on Sunday evening for me to catch a new episode (I know, I know..DVR it). Still, after watching the twentieth season, it’s clear that they haven’t lost their touch.
One thing “The Simpson’s” has always been known for is the ability to comment on public events and the show stays ingratiated in pop culture like nothing else. Watching some of the earlier seasons we see people like Bill Clinton and Bob Dole, flash in the pan bands and references to things that even I can’t seem to remember the context for. This twentieth season again taps the very best of pop culture and in episodes like “Lost Verizon” Bart accidentally is bestowed with Dennis Leary’s cell phone. Lenny wins the lottery and uses the winnings to splurge on a party for his friends in “Double, Double, Boy in Trouble”. And then there’s the always classic “Treehouse of Horror” episode that’s appoaching number twenty as well. I’m tempted to say “Love it or hate it” but I’ve really not met someone who doesn’t get some semblance of pleasure out of watching “The Simpson’s”. With twenty seasons under their belt, I can only hope there are twenty more.
Video: How does it look?
Having caught a few of the latest (season 21) seasons on TV, I assumed that season twenty was shown in widescreen as well. This isn’t the case as it must have been the last season to be “drawn” in full-frame. Still, the image benefits from an AVC HD transfer and the colors pop like you wouldn’t believe. The animation changes every few years so certain shots look a bit different. They use shading differently on some of the characters that gives the flawless image more of a “realistic” look and feel to it. I’m hard-pressed to find anything lacking from this transfer. The image is razor sharp, colors are bold and the only thing that I’ve seen that even rivals how this looks is “The Simpson’s Movie”, which is in widescreen. Top marks here and a good, solid effort.
Audio: How does it sound?
One wouldn’t think that an animated cartoon would require a DTS HD Master Audio track, but yet we have one on this Blu-ray set. Admittedly, they probably could have gotten by with a standard Dolby Digital 5.1 track, but better to have than have not, I always say. One thing I’ve always been impressed with is the sound on these box sets. Danny Elfman’s amazing score in the opening sequence sounds great and dialogue is very strong. Surrounds are used surprisingly more often that you’d think and though it’s no action movie soundtrack, “The Simpson’s” sports a fairly robust soundtrack.
Supplements: What are the extras?
What’s really got fans miffed is the fact that this season was very thrown together. The past seasons of “The Simpson’s” on standard DVD have been loaded with supplements including many great commentary tracks, storyboards and the like. This season we pretty much get nothing. Well, no, I take that back we get a four minute preview of “The Simpson’s Twentieth Anniversary” by Morgan Spurlock. Yep, that’s it. The season sets are currently at season twelve, so Fox jumped ahead for whatever reason to get this set out. Maybe by the time they actually get to this season, they’ll do it right. If you simply must have every season of “The Simpson’s” in your collection, then I guess you’ll probabaly have this but if you like getting the most for your money, you’ll want to pass this one over and hope Fox gives it the treatment it deserves later on down the road.
