The Simpsons: The Complete Fifth Season

The complete fifth season of the Simpsons is presented here in box set, spread across four dvds.One of those seasons that nobody tends to argue about the quality of.Episodes are as follows:Homer's Barbershop Quartet.Cape Feare.Homer Goes to College.Rosebud.Treehouse of Horror IV.Marge on the Lam.Bart's Inner Child.Boy Scoutz 'N The Hood.The Last Temptation of Homer.Springfield [or how I learned to stop worrying and love legalised gambling].Homer the Vigilante.Bart gets Famous.Homer and Apu.Lisa Vs Malibu Stacy.Deep Space Homer.Homer loves Flanders.Bart gets an elephant.Burns' Heir.Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss song.The boy who knew too much.Lady Bouvier's lover.Secrets of a successful marriage.These episodes are eighteen years old now so the animation can look a bit basic and the voices can sound slightly different at times, but that doesn't take anything from the quality of the scripts.Each episode has direct scene access and a commentary.Some have the option to play them with deleted scenes reinstated.One episode on each disc has an animation showcase which shows you the various stages of the making of it.Languages and subtitles are as follows:Languages: English.Subtitles: English, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish. [All accessible via the language options menu for the individual episodes rather than any main one]One episode each disc has a special language feature which allows it to be heard in either Czech, Italian, Polish or Hungarian.On the extras on disc one there's a short introduction from show creator Matt Groening.Plus a handful of tv commercials involving Simpsons characters that can be watched all in a row or individually.Disc four gives you the chance to watch all the deleted scenes for the season [the ones that as mentioned can be added into the episodes] in one long twenty minute batch. These can be watched with or without a commentary.The fourth disc also has a short look back from one of the producers. To the time when this season was originally broadcast and the show was becoming a phenomenon.Each disc does remove some of the slight problems of earlier season dvds in that you can select play all to watch all the episodes on a disc in a row. And you just go straight into the titles of an episode when you select to play it, rather than having to get through a copuright message.An anti piracy ad and a subsequent logo screen at the start of each disc can be skipped via the next button on the dvd remote.So all in all it's a great collection for a great season of a great show.

Having 3 other UK Simpsons Boxsets, I must say that this fifth season box set is definitely better. Maybe it is just me but it seems like more effort has been put into it, presentation wise. For instance the menu screen for each individual DVD are now more detailed and have animation which, whilst not being staggering, is quite amusing at least initially.The DVD's and case are much more colourful. I now this is not essential but it gives it more of a polish.Also there seem to be more extras. Most of the episodes now have deleted scenes which if you wish can be played as you watch the episode. A small pair of scissors appear in the bottom right and if you click play on the remote it will then play the deleted scene where it was intended in the episode. I like that. There are also the usual commentaries, interviews etc...The episodes themselves are amongst some of my favourite Simpsons episodes. Some of the highlights are:Cape FeareBarts Inner ChildDeep Space HomerLisa vs Malibu StacyHomer the VigilanteThere are many more excellent episodes to enjoy. Even though this is a fairly early season I would say that it stands up to and even surpasses many of the later seasons. Not that I am saying that The Simpsons is starting to tire. I still love it but it has fallen in standard a little recently.I would recommend this boxset to any fan and hope that the UK version is the same.I was recently sent an Asian boxset of Season 4 and whilst the content is the same as UK/USA the difference in quality is marked. Avoid anything other than the UK/USA versions.

The supposed 'golden age' of The Simpsons lasted from season two until, depending on who you ask, probably season eight. From that point on, the show stretched further and further away from what it was originally.That's a different story of course, but in truth, the tiniest cracks begin to show in the Simpson facade in the course of this fifth brilliant season, such as Bart getting an elephant or Homer being sent into space yet also having been part of a world-conquering barbershop quartet (this writer's favourite episode ever, despite its lack of realism).Aside from that minor gripe, this is without doubt one of the best seasons of the show. So many classic episodes and moments are contained within. 'Cape Feare,' the greatest Sideshow Bob episode of all, featuring the hilarious rake sequence that is now a comedy classic; 'Rosebud,' featuring Mr. Burns' hunt for his lost bear Bobo; a giant teen sex comedy parody as an oblivious Homer goes back to college ('hello, that sounded like a pig fainting...') and Marge's flirt with danger and lesbian undertones in 'Marge On The Lam'.There's also a parade of quality guest appearances; the always brilliant Kelsey Grammar continues to excel as Sideshow Bob, George Harrison makes a genuinely hilarious appearance ('well, what a nice fella.'), and the brilliant Albert Brooks is surpassed only by the late great Phil Hartman in their respective appearances.The hairline cracks may have started to show, but season five is still a strong contender for the Simpsons' greatest season.

One of the best seasons of not just the show but TV comedies in general