For my money there isn’t a better TV show airing today then The Simpsons. Animated or not, it stands alone as one of the top rated shows in television history and has easily surpassed The Flintstones as the longest running prime time animated series. While they haven’t come close to catching up to the currently airing series, 20th Century Fox is set to roll with The Twelfth Season of the television comedy mainstay.
The Twelfth Season isn’t The Simpsons finest hour BUT it is a vast improvement on the two season directly preceding it. Classics like “A Tale of Two Springfields” (featuring The Who), “Skinner’s Sense of Snow,” and the compilation-esqe “Simpsons Tall Tales,” among others. A host of writers and guest voices fade in an out, and the disruption is evident. The show has changed a lot over the years and its certainly a different show in its twelfth season than it was in its fifth, however the individuality of the episodes ensures that you never know what might be coming next!
As with the previous seasons, commentaries are included, as well as a special introduction for this season by creator Matt Groening. Animation showcases, commercials, sketches, and deleted scenes are also included. The main extra though is a tribute to The Simpsons cult hero and chief nerd, Comic Book guy. The tribute includes bits from the entire run of this series up to season twelve and will make you laugh out loud over and over and over again. While this season may not be as strong or as consistent as the early seasons (post season one, of course, which was a hilarious trainwreck at best) it is a solid one that has more than a few moments of hilarity in each episode.
Longtime fans will need this collection but potential new fans should consider it as a solid starting point simply because it follows the format of many of the seasons and offers a solid overview of all the characters (something not all the season offer) .
Reviewed by Mark Fisher
