DVD Corner

The Simpsons: Season 16 Blu-ray Review

The 16^th season of “The Simpsons” offers up some memorable moments.

In the 21 episode sixteenth season, viewers can expect to see plots about adult magazines, Lisa losing weight, Marge reflecting on life, t-shirts, pill smuggling, Moe’s Tavern, Homer showboating, Bart faking a kidnapping, Patty’s sexuality, Bart and Lisa conflicts, a China trip, an RV, a future machine, a concert hall, a roofer, vending machines, a singing competition, the end of the world, Ned moving to another town, and Bart going to Catholic school. Of course, as with every season, there is the annual “Treehouse of Horror” episode as well.

When fans of “The Simpsons” discuss seasons 9 and on, there are always people that claim the show isn’t funny anymore. Now, granted, it’s certainly debatable that the series has run its course. After all, there are only so many stories you can tell before you run the characters into the ground. However, to say the show is without humor is rather absurd. While the first 8 seasons are undoubtedly the cream of the crop, the later seasons still provide plenty of laughs.

In terms of season 16 episodes, there are 3 episodes in particular that really stood out. First up, there’s the star studded “Homer and Ned’s Hail Mary Pass” which contains an A plot and a B plot about Homer teaching showboating and Ned making a religious movie. The episode is stuffed with hilarious gags such as the Mario bit and virtually anything Mr. Burns does in it. Second up is the groundbreaking gay marriage episode “There’s Something About Marriage” (which contains a major character revelation). While maybe not a hilarious episode (although Homer has many amusing moments), it’s an important one in the history of the series to be sure. The third highlight is the entertaining and gimmicky “Future-Drama” episode which finds Bart and Lisa watching themselves 8 years in the future. Not only was this a refreshingly different episode, but it also has some very fun and clever moments (keep your eyes peeled for a “Futurama” cameo).

Of course, the above listed episodes aren’t the ONLY good episodes in the season. The “Treehouse of Horror” episode (XV to be exact) is always a good time as was the Ned centric “Home Away From Homer.” In fact, there wasn’t a single episode that I would proclaim bad.  It’s just a solid season all around.

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 1.33:1 1080p. How does it look? If you’re tired of watching mediocre quality TV broadcasts, you should pick up the Blu-ray set as it’s far and away the best way to watch the show. The crispness of the colors alone is reason enough to watch the show in hi-def.

Audio Track: 5.1 DTS-HD. How does it sound? When it comes to “The Simpsons,” you can’t ask for more than clear sounding voice acting and music and that’s precisely what you get here.

Extras:
* Commentary on all 21 episodes by the following cast and crew members: Al Jean, Bill Odenkirk, Tim Long, Matt Selman, David Silverman, Raymond S. Persi, Max Pross, Tom Gammill, Jon Vitti, Mike Reiss, Mike. B. Anderson, Lauren MacMullan, Matt Groening, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Michael Price, Mike Scully, Joel H. Cohen, Kim Cattrall, J. Stewart Burns, Nancy Kruse, Jeff Westbrook, Hank Azaria, Tress MacNeille, Dan Castellaneta, Steven Dean Moore, Dana Gould, Nancy Cartwright, Mark Kirkland, Michael Marcantel, Lance Kramer, John DiMaggio, Kevin Curran, Carolyn Omine, Yeardley Smith, Don Payne, Matt Warburton and Michael Polcino. Expect these tracks to be very crowded and talkative as the commentators engage in banter and back patting. Of course, there are discussions about characters, storylines, jokes, and more that will be of interest to fans.
* 2 sketch galleries.
* Bonus episodes from various seasons- “Lisa’s Wedding,” “Bart To The Future,” and “Holidays of Future Passed.”
* “Greetings, Junior Scienteers!”- Matt Groening chats about season 16 and the set.
* Deleted scenes on episodes 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20.
* A special language feature for the episode “Pranksta Rap.” This feature allows you to play a Hungarian, Italian, Czech and Portuguese.
* “Living In The Moment”- A “Tapped Out” ad and stills of “The Longest Daycare.”
* “Animation Showcase Future-Drama”- An angle button feature for the “Future-Drama” episode that contains storyboards and animatics.
* “Live! It’s The Simpsons!”- An audio table read for “Thank God It’s Doomsday” accompanied by stills.

December 11, 2013 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | The Simpsons: Season 16 Blu-ray Review