Simpsons Movie is a Hit
By Jouni Paakkinen (jouni@snpp.com) - August 12, 2007
     As fans knew to expect, The Simpsons Movie is one of this summer's biggest blockbusters everywhere. In the opening weekend, it took the number 1 spot in the USA and grossed $71.9 million. The movie was #1 also in all major overseas markets. In Australia, Argentina, Columbia and Chile the Simpsons' premiere was the biggest industry opening day ever, and the biggest animated opening day ever in Belgium, Finland, Germany, New Zealand, Peru, Sweden, Uruguay and Venezuela. After two weeks, the estimated boxoffice total was $315.6 million worldwide.
     The possibility of a movie had been subject to various rumors for a very long time, but the more serious discussions started in 2001, when the cast signed a deal for three seasons with an option to two movies. According to the current showrunner Al Jean, work on the script started about November 2003.
     For several years, all the producers insisted that the movie could not be done as long as the show was still in production, simply because making a full season of Simpsons episodes kept everyone busy enough. However, all that quickly changed in June 2005, when Fox announced that a team of writers – all Simpsons veterans – had been chosen, and the movie was to be made simultaneously with the TV show. Later it was announced that David Silverman would direct the movie, a piece of news greeted with joy by the long-time fans of the show.
     No official word on a sequel has yet been let out, but let's face it, the only question is "when".

Complete Ninth Season DVD Reviewed
By Wesley Mead (wesley@snpp.com) - January 1, 2007
      "The Complete Ninth Season" DVD set, featuring all 25 episodes from the series' ninth season (1997-1998), was released in the USA and Canada on December 19, 2006. As ever, releases will follow in Europe, Australasia and Asia in the near future.
     A mere four months after season eight's release, Fox Home Entertainment bring us the complete season nine on DVD, 25 episodes from the first Mike Scully-helmed season (although we also get remainders from the Oakley-Weinstein, Jean-Reiss and Mirkin runs). The episodes are spread across four discs 6:7:7:5, presented in the best condition we're ever likely to see, and sit alongside the stellar selection of bonus materials we've come to expect from these DVD sets.
     Season 9 is arguably the first time since season one that the show wasn't hitting consistent home-runs. While plenty of classic episodes are present and correct in this collection, the odd weak link is beginning to surface – a sad hint at what is to come in subsequent seasons. Still, for this season at least, the greats still far outnumber the poorer episodes. Perhaps the finest episode of the season is the flashback episode "Lisa's Sax", which tells the tale of how Lisa got her first saxophone through that blend of humour and emotion that the Simpsons so employs so brilliantly. But many other fan favourites are also present: "Natural Born Kissers" sees Marge and Homer attempt to spice up their marriage in one of the series' more racy episodes; "Lisa the Skeptic" serves up a hefty dose of thought-provoking philosophy alongside the laughs; and the Simpsons' family unity is put to its' greatest test yet in "The Catridge Family". Homer attempts to climb a mountain; Moe falls in love; Marge gets a job as a realtor; the family visit a pre-9/11 New York; Bart ruins the family Christmas; Krusty becomes a stand-up comic; and U2 guest-star when Homer becomes Sanitation Commissioner in the landmark 200th episode. And we haven't even got to Apu's arranged marriage or Bart's newfound friendship with Ralph. This is, by and large, an excellent batch of episodes.
     But things aren't perfect. In his introduction to the set, Matt Groening cites "The Principal and the Pauper" as one of his all-time least favourite episodes; and it's not hard to see why. A character we've grown to love over eight seasons of the show is completely deconstructed for a few cheap laughs. It simply doesn't work, and is barely worth considering a part of the Simpson canon, let alone re-watching. Later, episodes such as "The Joy Of Sect" and "The Trouble With Trillions" hint at the outlandish plots and wacky characterisation the "Scully era" would bring (although, in the interests of impartiality, it's not as if the Scully era didn't bring a few gems with it along the way).
     As ever, plenty of guest stars crop up this season. U2 and Steve Martin feature in the aforementioned 200th episode "Trash of the Titans"; Martin Sheen appears as "the real" Principal Skinner; and Mike Judge has a cameo as King of the Hill's Hank Hill. Jan Hooks plays Apu's wife-to-be, Helen Hunt plays Moe's love interest, Brendan Fraser and Steven Weber appear as Powersauce advocates, while Fyvush Finkel, Joe Namath and an array of stand-up comedians (including Jay Leno) all appear as themselves. The late, great Phil Hartman also makes his last appearance as Lionel Hutz, and regular guest Marcia Wallace turns up too. There was certainly no downturn in either the calibre or the quantity of guest stars in the ninth season.
     Once again, consumers have a choice over which box style they wish to have with season 9, the Lisa plastic 'head' or the standard box, right off the bat by issuing both in stores and online. The downside is that there's no way to get both without buying two copies of the set, but to most fans this won't matter too much. I received the head box; included in the package are the four discs in separate disc trays that can be opened like a book design (known as a digibook), thankfully entirely removable from the Lisa head for easier and quicker access, as well as a very detailed booklet set out as a parody of Rolling Stone entitled "Rocking Stone", which details episodes, chapter stops and extra features. Last season I complained about the abysmal "cardboard strip" Fox used to hold the Digibook trays together - this time they have gone for far more effective hinges, though I can't help wondering why they didn't stick with the strong tape they used for season six and seven. Regardless, this is a step up from last time, and I can credit Fox with that, at least. Also included in the package are five 5"x5" postcards, which feature parodies of famous album covers such as Born In The U.S.A. by Bruce Springsteen and Nevermind by Nirvana – a nice touch, which adds to this set's overarching theme of music well.
     The menu system remains the same as it has been since season five – they must be happy with it; I know I am, as right now they are both easily navigable and beautifully designed. The top half of the screen contains a animated screen featuring a variety of Simpson characters revelant to the episodes on that particular disc queuing to enter a jazz club, while jazz plays in the background. The bottom half of the screen lists the episodes along with the lovely "Play All" option, and an "Extras" button. Each episode has two small buttons next to it: choosing the first, displaying a triangle similar to a Play button, will play the episode; the other, with a "+" mark, will open a sub-menu, also themed, of which there can be several in a row, featuring scene, language, subtitle, commentary and deleted scenes options. There is a chapter stop after the opening of the show for quick skipping.
     As usual, the principal extra is the commentary on every one of the 25 episodes in the set, featuring a vast array of contributors. Matt Groening, creator of the show himself, is present on many; showrunners Mike Scully, Bill Oakley, Josh Weinstein, David Mirkin, Al Jean and Mike Reiss are also present on their respective epsiodes. Other regulars throughout the set include crew members Jim Reardon, Ken Keeler, David Cohen, George Meyer, Matt Selman, Mark Kirkland, Dominic Polcino, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Steven Dean Moore, Swinton O. Scott; and cast members Nancy Cartwright and Yeardley Smith. There are also other commentators who appear just on one or two episodes, such as the excellent Jay Leno, who participates on the commentary for "The Last Temptation of Krust". The elusive John Swartzwelder even shows up on the commentary for The Cartridge Family – although admittedly only via phone for a minute or so, but it's cool regardless. Each commentary track has anything from two ("Simpson Tide") to nine ("The Cartridge Family") participants. The commentary tracks are, as ever, simultaneously hilarious and informative, and often feature interesting behind-the-scenes anecdotes and stories that we would otherwise never know about, as well as detailing inspiration inspiration for parodies, plotlines and characters. Example tidbits include the revelation that the crew were more excited about "Mr. T" appearing than Tony Blair or any rock star; that Hank Azaria thought "Herman's Head" was not a very good show at all; and that thanks to the line "Get out of the way, I'm Hitler" in Bart Carny, Mark Kirkland didn't tell his family to watch it on TV. Every single one is a gem, and much insight is offered. You'd think they'd be running out of things to say, 200 episodes in, but the opposite is true – there are fewer quiet spots now than there were in the season 1 commentaries!
     As ever, though, Fox have been much more generous than merely including commentary on every episode – no, there are many more interesting bonuses to check out. Kicking off the additional bonus features is the "A Riff From Matt Groening" on disc 1, a short three-minute reel of quick season nine clips over which Matt discusses the DVD set a great pace, in the same vein as the similar featurettes on previous seasons (it's here we learn of his distaste for "The Principal and the Pauper".
     Once again, deleted scenes are supplied, though they are fewer in number this time: 15 minutes of clips from 15 episodes. All are entertaining, and are in the later stages of production – the only thing really missing is some voice cleanup and sound effects – except for the additional verse from "The Garbageman Can", which fans may have heard previously on the Go Simpsonic soundtrack. You can view them inserted into their respective episodes via a branching feature, or as a 15-minute reel (in which the scenes are preceded by 10 seconds or so of animation actually used in the episode, to give the scenes context) with optional commentary on the final disc.
     Additionally, there are two in-depth "Animation Showcases" for the episodes "The Principal and the Pauper" and "Lisa the Simpson" featuring multi-angle animation comparisons from different stages of the animation. There are also original sketches, as well as several other animation-related bonuses such as the brilliant "A Bit From The Animators" on "All Singing, All Dancing" and "Lost our Lisa", in which show animators and staff commentate on part of the episode with the ability to freeze-frame, rewind, draw on the screen and the like. Between them, they make a very entertaining 20 minutes, but it's a shame we only get two compared to four last time – I'd prefer it if they included at least one a disc.
     Finally, we have a 3.5-minute featurette about U2's appearance on the show, commentated on by Yeardley Smith and Dan Castellaneta (where was he for the main commentaries?); a few commercials from 1997-1998; a Special Language Feature enabling us to view "Trash of the Titans" in different languages; and a teaser trailer for The Simpsons Movie which plays when you insert disc 1. It's a great batch, all told, but I can't help but yearn for a more substantial documentary or featurette – what we have is great, but it looks more on paper than it actually is. How's about a half-hour documentary on season 10, Fox? Or, for the following set, full 50 minutes of the BBC documentary, parts of which were included in the season 1 set?
     The audio-video quality on this set is again excellent – it's continuing to improve with each successive season, and whilst we're still not quite up to the impressive digital quality we'll be expecting with the later seasons, we're getting very close now. The full-frame, NTSC presentation is bright, sharp and fully detailed; it's only marred by the limitation of the source material. There is minimal grain and shimmering, and colours are vivid. The DD5.1 remaster is again excellent, and whilst largely front-focused, directional effects sometimes do make their way to the back, and the overall clarity makes for an improved listening experience. Dialogue and music alike come through clearly, if not quite as loud as you might hope. French and Spanish DD2.0 soundtracks are also included, as are Spanish and English SDH subtitles. I extensively tested the English subtitles, which appeared accurate and true to the spoken word. On occasion, the subtitles "drop out" for about 5 seconds, and then quickly catch up – I believe it is to do with the deleted scenes branching option, which also prevents manual switching of subtitles during the episode. Unfortunately, the commentaries and extras are still not subtitled, a let-down for fans with hearing impairments; note that the UK R2 release does feature subtitles on the bonus features.
     I said in my last review that season 8 was the last truly classic season, and it was. But, disregarding a couple of the very weakest episodes, this set is almost as worthy a purchase. The majority of the episodes remain gems, and Fox continue to present the show on DVD in an excellent fashion. Only the most casual viewer need stop collecting here.

The Simpsons - The Complete Ninth Season


EPISODES: A- - Another very strong batch, marred by the occasional weak link
PRESENTATION: A - Packaging, menus and AV quality are all as good as can be hoped
EXTRAS: A- - As ever, an impressive batch, but perhaps something new
OVERALL: A- - Weaker than its predecessors, certainly, but this DVD set is certainly still worthy of a purchase

     Future news concerning the DVDs, including the forthcoming Season 10 release, and any other compilation discs, will be added to our DVD News page.

New Year's Resolutions
Courtesy 20th Century Fox - January 1, 2007
      Fans might be interested in how Homer, Marge and many of their fellow Springfieldians vow to change their ways in 2007:

• Homer: I resolve to lose 15 € (10 pounds), and then gain it back by Valentine's Day.
• Marge: I resolve to finally learn how to make pancakes that don't stick to the pan. Bart helped me come up with that one.
• Krusty: In 2007, I promise not to keep using the same old jokes I've been telling since 1961.
• Chief Wiggum: In the coming year, I resolve to learn how to work the safety on my gun.
• Comic Book Guy: In 2007, I resolve to boldly go where I have never gone before – out on a date with a woman.
• Barney: I resolve to quit drinking... coffee. It leaves less room for beer.
• Ned Flanders: I resolve to be pious and kind and gentle and... yippee, skippee I already am! Happy 2007, everybody!