Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4422 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-09-24
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 3
• Formats: Box set, Full Screen, PAL
• Original language: Albanian, Arabic, English, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Turkish
• Number of discs: 3
• Running time: 334 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
From practically the first episode, broadcast in 1989, The Simpsons impacted on planet TV like a giant multi-coloured meteor. With a claim to being the defining pop cultural phenomenon of the 1990s--hip, fast, sharp and primary--there was nothing even in rock & roll to match this. The Simpsons is possibly the greatest sitcom ever made. Although the animation was initially primitive, never before had cartoon characters been so well drawn. There had been loveable middle-aged layabouts on TV before, but Homer Simpson successfully stole their crown and out-slobbed them all in every department ("The guys at the plant are gonna have a field day with this," he grumbles in "Call of The Simpsons" as he watches scientists on a TV news item who can't decide whether he is incredibly dense or a brilliant beast). However, in this first series he isn't quite yet the bloated man-child he would become in later series; instead he's a growling patriarch with a Walter Matthau-type voice. His sensible half Marge's croak, meanwhile, has yet to settle down, while the vast cast of minor Springfield characters have yet to find their place. Bart, however, was a smash from the start: dumb as Homer but spiky-haired and resourceful, he sets out his manifesto in "Bart the Genius"; while "Moaning Lisa" spotlights his over-achieving sister and is a good early example of the series' clever handling of melancholy bass notes.

Throughout its life there's always been confusion as to whether The Simpsons is a show for kids or adults, but with allusions in these first 13 episodes to Kubrick, Diane Arbus, Citizen Kane and (in a very satisfyingly anti-French episode) Manon des Sources, it should already have been clear that this was a programme for all ages and all IQs from 0 to 200. Dysfunctional they may have been, but the Simpsons stuck together, and audiences stuck with them into the 21st century. --David Stubbs

On the DVD: The packaging is good but the 13 episodes are spread very thinly here, with just five each on discs one and two . The commentary track is intermittently interesting though a tad repetitive, as creator David Groening is joined by various other members of the team. The third disc has some neat extra stuff, including outtakes, the original Tracey Ullman Show shorts and a five-minute BBC documentary, but is again fairly brief. The menu interfaces are pretty clunky, annoyingly forcing you to watch endless copyright warnings after each episode and with no facility to "play all". The content is wonderful, of course, but three discs looks like overkill. --Mark Walker

DVD Description
DVD Special Features:

All 13 episodes
Ratio 1.33:1
Dolby 5.1 Surround
Subtitles: Spanish

Disc 1:
Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire
Bart the Genius
Homer's Odyssey
There's No Disgrace Like Home
Bart the General
Moaning Lisa
Bonus Features: Original scripts featuring notes by Matt Groening for "Bart the Genius", "Bart the General" and "Moaning Lisa". All episodes are accompanied by commentary.

Disc 2:
Call of the Simpsons
The Telltale Head
Life on the Fast Lane
Homer's Night Out
The Crepes of Wrath
Krusty Gets Busted
Bonus Features: All episodes are accompanied by commentary

Disc 3:
Some Enchanted Evening Bonus Features: Original script notes by Matt Groening
Outtakes from un-aired version of an episode
Animatic of an episode with commentary by Matt Groening and David Silverman
The Making of The Simpsons "America's First Family"
Easter Egg ABC News Special on a reported controversy
"Tracey Ullman Show" First ever Simpsons to air on Tracey Ullman Show
Five Foreign Language Clips
Early Sketches Stills Gallery
Magazine Covers

Synopsis
This collection presents the original 13 episodes from the first season of THE SIMPSONS, including such classics as Krusty Gets Busted, featuring the first appearance by Sideshow Bob; There's No Disgrace Like Home, in which Homer tries to get the family to shape up via electroshock therapy; and Life on the Fast Lane, in which Marge is tempted by a bowling instructor named Jacques. This set also features the original Simpsons shorts seen on The Tracey Ullman show, a never-before-seen lost episode, and more.

Customer Reviews

Bliss!!!
I can't recommened this DVD boxset enough, it is a superb package for all Simpsons fans.
The first season may not have been the best, episodes like "Bart The Genius" and "Moaning Lisa" are, in my opinion forgetable but "The Telltale Head", "The Call Of The Simpsons", "Life In The Fast Lane" and "Krusty Gets Busted" are hilarious! Of course, the very first ep is included and is a cracking cartoon, you really can see why the Simpsons became so popular.
The package of the DVD sets are fantastic with so many bonus features to keep you entertained for hours.
I recommened this to everyone who has a passion for the greatest cartoon series of all time but be warned, this is a package of which you find yourself playing again and again.

Avoid if you like the simpsons
The simpsons originally was a satire/family comedy which most comedies are. But the simpsons evolved and grew increasing characters before becoming what we now see today. Characters have their own origins as well which are equally funny and included in their characters personality.

Seymour Skinner: Vietnam Vet who still lives with mum and now runs the school(Surge for Power)

Ned Flanders: Psycho/Hyperactive kid who was trained to become so darn-diddly good hes now a religious menace to homer

Waylon Smithers: Obviously gay and obsessed with Mr burns

Mr Burns: Fought in a war with Abe simpson, Stole a trillion dollars from the american government, covered up smither's fathers death, has a son who looks like an animated John Candy and attempted to buy Cuba.

These characters are either partially included in series 1 or not even drawn yet so i say avoid this and buy seasons in the middle but don't buy the film it was terrible and why wasn't Mr Burns the villain then it would have been EXCELLENT!

I LOVE THE SIMPSONS
The Simpsons started off as a non-serious, satirical look at middle-class life in America and had remained that way for several years. One of the driving forces of the show is the fact that every one of the characters on the show is lovable, dynamic, and each has a personality of his own.

The main character of the show is Homer Simpson, a slow and lazy, but loving father of three children in a suburban home. The thing that makes him the most liked character on the show is his quickness to change emotions. It's hilarious to see him get worked up and start crying, then realize something redeeming and all of a sudden be in a good mood again. His oldest son is a ten-year-old named Bart, probably the most popular character on the show next to Homer. His name is a play on the word "brat", and if you've seen a single episode, you could tell why. He starts a lot of the problems in the show and gets into a lot of trouble. He has some of the best one-liners thanks to his quick wit and smart_ss remarks. After Bart, comes Lisa, his eight-year-old sister. She's the emotional one in the family and is extremely intelligent for her age. Maggie, the youngest of the three children, is an infant and plays a minor role in the show. Marge is the loving wife of Homer, and the one to always right the wrongs whenever Homer screws up. I believe in every TV program, for every main character there is that is an idiot, there has to be a main character that's smart, to counteract, for lack of a better term. Marge and Lisa are those characters, and without them, the show would fall apart.

The show's main focus, for the first few years, was just to satirize middle-class life in America. You have your average joe (Homer) working at a large corporation under an all-powerful boss (Mr. Burns) who comes home to a loving wife each day. They have to struggle with paying bills now and then, their marriage gets in a few twists and turns here and there, and relationships between the father and his children can sometimes wear thin. It's these things that make the show likable because people can relate to these kinds of problems. Throw in interesting characters, tons of ironic situations, and you have the recipe for a quality TV program that will last for years.

A lot of the humor in the show requires you to get to know the character on a deeper level for the situations to be funny. One instance is in an episode where Mr. Burns sells the nuclear power plant that Homer works at to a group of Germans. When Homer is called in to have a sit-down with the new owners, he is asked what kind of things he doesn't like about the plant and how they could improve it, and he tells them that the vending machines are too fussy about refusing to take crumpled-up dollar bills. The Germans kind of look at each other and tell Homer "We understand, Homer... after all, we are from the 'land of chocolate'." He then thinks to himself "Mmmmm... the "Land of Chocolate", and goes on a 5-minute envision of himself prancing around in a town made entirely out of chocolate. A lot of the characters don't even have to say anything witty to be funny. A favorite character of mine is Lionel Hutz, the biggest shyster of a lawyer there is, and the Simpsons' attorney. After a court hearing is over he tells them "I'm sorry you didn't win your case. As promised here's your free pizza." As he hands Homer the pizza box, Marge informs him that they actually did win the case and he goes "That's okay, the box was empty!"

The show was solid for the first 6 or 7 years, but down the line, the situations became more and more unrealistic, real-life celebrity appearances became an all-too-often resort to a entertaining plot, and characters took on different, often stranger roles than in previous seasons. But I guess all good things must come to an end, and the writers just never really grasped that idea. I would strongly recommend buying the DVDs of seasons 1-8 or 9, but after that the show just became really unfunny. But, to end on a positive note, the show was the best thing to have ever happened to television. My friends and I have watched The Simpsons since we were in grade school, and even though we didn't understand most of the adult jokes, or allusions to old TV shows or movies, we still thought the show was hilarious. The bottom line- great show for all ages, and helped lay the major foundation for the American sitcom of the 90's.