The Simpsons: Season 15

I was hesitant to order season 15- not having previously seen any of these episodes, and in light of how bad the last few seasons had been- but desperate for a Simpsons fix, I gave it a shot. You can imagine my surprise, when I popped in the first DVD, and started watching the first ep- a Treehouse Of Horror ep, which are never among my favorites- and lo and behold it was a gem!Ditto for many more episodes.Watching the first half of this season, I saw that the crew at The Simpson's seems to have pulled themselves out of the years-long slump that they were in. Most of the magic of the early seasons is back! (The humor; the use of many favorite secondary characters, etc.)O-K, still, a lot of the intelligent wit is still missing....but hey, at least the show is vastly improved from recent years- well...at least that is true for the first half of this season. The second half of this season is where it appears that the crew started running out of steam again. Once again, they start to revert back to plot-centric episodes, where it appears that they put all their effort into the story line, and neglect the humor and the little touches that often make the show so great. (Not that I can blame them- seeing as it so much work to make these shows, and that many of them have been working on this show for so many years...I mean, they're only human.)But all in all, in my book, half of a good season is better than an entire bad season, so I can't complain (Though I might have, had I paid full price for this season! For half-price- which is what I paid- half a season of good eps seems about right:D)My biggest complaint about this season: TOO MANY MUSICAL numbers. And I'm not just talking about the one musical episode (Why-oh-why do they torture us by making Yeardley Smith sing??!! Please...PLEASE stop!). The use of popular-music cues over montages is done in just about every episode- to the point of being cliché. I mean, such can be effective when done when appropriate, to good effect, and with restraint- but it seems as though the Simpson's crew has started using such as a crutch to merely fill space. (It's showing, guys!)The BEST thing about this season, is [drum roll].....the COMMENTARIES! Yes! In past seasons, it had seemed like those doing the commentaries had lost interest- but this season, they back to their former glory. I normally enjoy listening to the commentaries as much as/or even more than watching the actual show- and this seasons commentaries were no disappointment. I was in my glory listening to the commentary on every episode. I think writer Tom Gammill was on just about every one...and he is one of my all-time favorites, so that also helped!Again, like earlier seasons, the commentaries were once again very enjoyable; informative and funny. Kudos to all those who participates, for taking the time to do these commentaries. Some of REALLY enjoy them! (I take back what I said earlier. The price of this season would be justified just for the commentaries, alone!).All-in-all...at least 10 very good episodes; and all good commentaries- makes this season add up to 75% good content. But I'm giving it 5 stars for the great commentaries! (I should deduct 4 stars for the continuation of the LOUSY packaging!).If you're a fan of the earlier Simpson's...this season is for you!

I just love these Simpsons DVD/Blu-Ray releases. They're always jam packed with extra content, such as commentary on every episode (and not just commentary mini's like on South Park box sets). There's always a bunch of deleted scenes, tv promos/adverts, and animation showcases, where you can look at a lot of Simpsons artwork. Both before AND after the color is added. Pretty interesting.Seasons Fourteen and Fifteen are the first two I ever bought on Blu-Ray. I used to buy the DVD's, but I stopped buying those because I DESPISE that accordion-like packaging that they started doing with those. It causes the discs to get scratched, and I think it's SO stupid. I can't believe they haven't learned their lesson by now. I actually prefer the DVD's over the Blu-Rays. They also have a lot more artwork inside. But the accordion packaging ruins everything. That's why I started buying the Blu-Ray versions.The thing I DON'T like might not be caused from this Blu-Ray set itself. It might be my Blu-Ray player. But every time I buy one of these Simpsons Blu-Ray sets, it takes forever to load. And if I accidentally press stop, big mistake. I have to wait for it to load again. This doesn't happen with any other Blu-Ray discs I own. Only with these Simpsons seasons.I also had trouble getting the deleted scenes to play on this season set for some reason. If I chose to play the episode with deleted scenes turned on, and then stopped it. It would never play the deleted scenes once I restarted the episode. I would have to go back to the episode selection menu and re-select the "PLAY WITH DELETED SCENES" option again before it would register that I selected it.

I'm a little bit weary of the whole "The Simpsons stopped being funny in 19__" argument that I'm constantly hearing. While there aren't hits-after-hits in season 15, there is a good chunk of funny stuff here. Particularly: "The President Wore Pearls," "Marge vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens, and Gays," "Milhouse Doesn't Live Here Anymore," "Co-Dependent's Day," "My Big Fat Geek Wedding," "Catch 'Em If You Can," and "The Way We Weren't." I think it's a more consistent season than seasons 12-14 in terms of keeping the zany to a minimum and focusing on episodes with better plots and pacing.As for the packaging: Yeah, it's not the best, but I bought some of those white DVD/CD sleeves, put the DVDs in those, and put them in the set (4 discs fit nicely if you put the last one in the booklet slot). I've done that since they started this type of packaging and haven't had any problems at all. They're obviously not going to change what they're doing, so I decided a quick fix was better than complaining about it each time a new season is released.

I can't say that Season 15 is the among the strongest of Simpsons seasons, but it has some very enjoyable and memorable episodes.Some of my favorites:Episode 5: "The Fat and the Furriest" - Homer is attacked by a bear and builds an anti-bear suit to protect himself so he can get revenge.Episode 9: "I, (Annoyed Grunt)-Bot" - Homer is determined to prove to Bart that he can really accomplish something. He builds a battle robot which Bart uses to fight other robots. This episode also has a very funny (and a bit sad) side story where the family's cat Snowball II dies and Lisa tries desperately to find a replacement cat.Episode 19: "Simple Simpson" - Homer becomes a vigilante in the form of "Pie Man". He throws pies into the face of evil doers, but winds up in a tough spot.There are some other good episodes in there, while a few feel a bit tired and uninteresting.