"THE SIMPSONS: THE COMPLETE 20th SEASON"
Blu-ray Review
by Kevin Carr
| MOVIE: ***** (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: ** (out of 5 stars) STARRING Dan Castellaneta as HOMER SIMPSON Julie Kavner as MARGE SIMPSON Nancy Cartwright as BART SIMPSON Yeardley Smith as LISA SIMPSON Hank Azaria as VARIOUS Harry Shearer as VARIOUS Not Rated Studio: FOX Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
A legacy of our American pop culture, “The Simpson” have made history by being the only prime-time animated series to reach the 20th season milestone. Now that they’re heading into their third decade of television production, the 20th Anniversary celebration still continues with the release of “The Simpsons: The Complete 20th Season” on DVD and for the first time on Blu-ray.
In this season, Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie continue their shenanigans in the city of Springfield, welcoming a variety of guest stars, finding a new opening sequence, getting broadcast in HD and taking the couch gag to a whole new level.
WHAT I LIKED
If you haven’t had a taste of “The Simpsons” by now, you have to have been living under a rock. Over the years, they have had their ups and downs, but most of those times have been ups. Now that it has become an institution rather than a subversive show (which many of you might remember it being pegged as back in the early 1990s), “The Simpsons” has a rather broad appeal.
Coming off their successful film a few years back, the series has gotten a little bolder with its sexual innuendo in some of the series. Heck, it lauches into blue territory with the first episode of the seasons in which Marge gets a job baking pornographic cakes. Other taboo subjects include the overuse of prescription medication on kids to make them feel better and quite a few instances in which Homer and Marge (and a few others) become amourous. (So those parent out there who think this is for kids because it’s a cartoon might want to at least review the episodes before you let the children watch it.)
The best part of the season, from a fan perspective, is the upgrade of the series to high definition in the middle of the 20th season. Not only does this provide a much better at-home picture with crisper animation, it also paves the way for a new credit sequence, complete with new chalkboard topics and some awesome couch gags. Beginning with the upgrades, the couch gags went from one-shots to longer mini movies in themselves.
I can’t say that the stories were anything that topped previous seasons, but the writing itself seems so much sharper. It’s as if the staff sat down and declared that this season would have to be extra awesome because it’s such a milestone for the show.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
The only complainted about this season would be from people who aren’t into the series or parents who are shocked at the PG-13 humor that creeps into many of the episodes. If you’re a fan of the show, you know what you’re getting into.
The only problem with this release is the near vacuum of bonus material. See below for more on that.
DVD FEATURES
Unlike the rolling releases of the complete seasons of “The Simpsons,” this out-of-order release of the 20th Season doesn’t have any of the standard special features. This means no commentaries, no featurettes and no deleted scenes. There is, however, a four-minute preview of Morgan Spurlock’s documentary about the 20th anniversary celebration.
Ultimately, the reason to pick up this set is for the hi-def experience, which is available for half of the episodes, which were originally broadcast in high-definition. Don’t worry, “Simpson” fans... they’ll release a whiz-bang awesome DVD/Blu-ray set after seasons 13 through 19 hit the streets.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Fans of “The Simpsons” who want to see a monumental season.
