DVD Panache

The Simpsons: The Complete Sixth Season



Am I the only one who secretly hoped that the packaging for Season Six would not suck? Well I did, and those feelings evaporated when I picked it up off the shelf. All my fears were realized: It is made of cheap, Burger King-quality plastic, there is no spine information (so when you put it on your shelf next to all your other neatly packaged Simpson seasons, all you see is a big block of Burger King plastic), and because it is hinged at the bottom, you cannot even stand it up for display purposes.

But as you may have heard, Fox is letting consumers send away for a regular package for this season. This both excited and confused me. Excited because I will get to have another elegant-looking Simpsons season next to my five others (oooh, I wonder what color it will be? God I'm an idiot) and confused because it really doesn't make sense for Fox to do this. How will they benefit from making thousands of alternate packages and sending them to people for merely the price of shipping (thankfully only $2.95)? And will this option be available for the next seasons?

But of course this season set is about more than packaging. Season six, along with seasons 4 and 5 are pure television comedic gold. The sixth season represents the summit of Simpsons creativity, with no inkling of the series' eventual slow ride into mediocrity, you get the first inkling of that in the seventh season. And once again The Simpsons is riding their own trend of a new creative style of menus with each successive season. Season Five brought us a Simpsons location with characters from that disc's episodes walking in and out, and Season Six gives us a suspects lineup (is that what they're called?) composed of characters from each respective episode (i.e. for "Sideshow Bob Roberts," Sideshow Bob is dressed in an American flag). This is an obvious nod to the season's finale, "Who Shot Mr. Burns?"

I haven't had a chance to listen to any commentaries yet, but I'm sure they will be just as entertaining as the previous seasons. This is a great tribute to the Simpson DVD creators and collaborators, that they are able to consistently supply engaging commentaries even after five seasons worth of episodes.

Well, if you would excuse me, I have to watch "Lemon of Troy," my favorite Simpsons episode ever. I'll have more on this fantastic DVD set later.