DVD Review: The Simpsons Season 18

The Simpsons DVD collection is eighteen, and it does what it wants.

To open up the first DVD release featuring The Simpsons in a couple of years, Matt Groening gives us a brutally honest reason as to why 20th Century FOX, days away from potentially being acquired by Disney, decided to stop producing DVDs featuring the longest-running primetime animated series. Simply put, FOX deemed that there wasn’t enough demand for the DVDs, but the fans proved otherwise. Apparently, you guys can get pretty crazy in making sure you get your entire collection of The Simpsons on DVD.

It worked. And the producers responded with the 18th season that picks up the stellar quality of previous home releases and then some. And folks, I gotta tells ya. No one else is making them like this anymore…no one.  Featuring not fucking ‘select’ commentaries like the other guys do. Nope, episode commentaries on every friggin’ episode, and every friggin’ deleted scene, as it should be. Also included, a couple of animatics and a quick hello from the voice of “Fat Tony”, Joe Mantegna, who, with Al provide a quick background to the character that has been an important mainstay to the franchise for eons.

I do wish the featurettes were more prevalent and a little cooler in terms of presentation. Like a true 10-minute video doc on “Fat Tony”, and maybe behind the voices of his various family members? I will say, the packaging for The Simpsons Season 18 is absolutely exquisite, and probably deserving to be pasted on the side walls of the Vatican for ALLLL to see.

For The Simpsons completionist or ardent fan, this collection is a must. For the fans of special features, you may want a little more on the back-end, but there’s so much episode commentary this should keep you busy for quite a while.