The Simpsons 20 Years The Complete Twentieth Season Blu-ray
The Simpsons 20th Season is out on Blu-ray and the show is once again a joy to watch and marvel at the nonsense they can come up after all these years.
Film making 20/25
Video 18/25
Audio 22/25
Bonus Features 0/25
Total 60/100
Over the past few years the Simpsons has been in a decline and I had stopped watching, the crass and senseless humor that once had me enthralled and running to the TV on Sunday evenings faded. Over the years something was lost and I eventually stopped enjoying and watching the show and following anything to do with it.
Whether it was a change in writers or a lack of enthusiasm in the ones that stayed is beyond me and I really don’t care all that much. When a show stays on the air for twenty seasons there has to be at least something there to keep some people coming back and finally I see that the wait has finally paid off.
The Simpsons 20th Season on Blu-ray brings back not only all your favorite characters who seem to not have aged a day from the very first season but they are back with their classic crass and senseless wit. The show used to be like the Three Stooges of the 90’s with its hard hitting punch lines and sight gags but in cartoon form.
Think of the Simpsons as a half hour Looney Tunes for adults as well as young adults with plenty to keep you watching one after the other. Of course there are a few episodes that only contain a few laughs but others are great and had me laughing out loud.
The Simpsons used to be that show that broke all the rules for adult entertainment and now that so many others are going much further down the road of raunch and swearing it’s a refreshing change to see one that returned to its roots. The Simpsons stars Bart, Homer, Marge, Lisa and Maggie with a whole cast of supporting characters all in the small but friendly neighborhoods of Springfield.
One thing I truly enjoyed about the Simpsons, they could easily kill off the whole town of characters or even blow up the world and next week everyone was safe and sound ready for more mischief. The creators, producers and writers had not a care in the world that one episode led to the next nor that characters stayed in synch or in character show after show.
The 20th season of the Simpsons brings back the fun look at many aspects of everyday life and things we just want to see happen like Lisa going to a better school in a rich neighborhood. Suffice it to say that when Lisa finds out she is not the top over achiever and actually has to work for her grades she opts to return to Springfield Elementary School.
This look at everyday life and events like her having to work hard to attain something she wants and chooses to not have to work so hard is just the fun we want to see. Other episodes like drugging Lisa because of a slight depressive mood so she sees happy faces on people just goes to show they can still bring everyday life to the screen and poke fun at serious issues.
The Simpsons 20th Season brings back the fun and serious comedy that the show has come to represent in our look at a seriously dysfunctional family. The Blu-ray edition has the usual cartoon look so Blu-ray high definition is more of a good transfer without technical problems than things like great color or good shadow.
The series does have a distinct difference from the first nine episodes and the rest with both overall appearance and aspect ratio. The transfer made it to the high definition format but the first nine episodes are in 1:33:1 aspect ratio while the rest of the series is in 1:78:1 widescreen.
Those first nine episodes do have the look of an older cartoon with noticeable lack of well done drawing color which kind of makes it look like those older episodes from the first few seasons instead of the last of series. The video looks good and as a cartoon it works well but it is nice to have the show in widescreen when you’re supposed to be viewing it as a high definition show.
The audio is better with superb voice acting all around and the usual cast of actors including Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Yeardley Smith and Nancy Cartwright who continue their regular roles much the same as the very first season. The show has continued the great tradition of comedy for the masses of a smarter audience and the audio has kept up with the same characters voiced by the people who understand the motivation behind the Simpsons.
Bonus content for the Blu-ray edition is not getting any rating from me; it only consists of a trailer for the Morgan Spurlock documentary on the Simpsons. The trailer is a four minute look at his documentary but why anybody would want to watch anything by Morgan Spurlock is beyond me.
While we don’t know how long the show will last we can hope that they continue to bring the things other shows do not and yet don’t have to resort to a ranting tirade of swearing. The Simpsons led the way for prime time animated shows and did so without having to resort to language or nudity like many animated series that came after.
The Simpsons 20 Years the Complete Twentieth Season is well worth a purchase as it does bring back the same comedy and funny look at American lifestyle and pokes fun at just about everything. While some of the previous seasons may have lost its appeal the twentieth season has surely seen a renewal of the shows popular comedy and appeal that is well worth owning for your Blu-ray collection.