Product Description

The madcap antics of Springfield’s first family continue when the Emmy® award-winning series created by Matt Groening returns to DVD. Arriving on August 15th from Fox Home Entertainment, "The Simpsons" The Complete Eighth Season showcases all 25 episodes from the critically-acclaimed eighth season, as well as a host of bonus materials including audio commentaries from Groening and "The Simpsons" Executive Producers, Writers and Directors, as well as animatics and storyboards with optional audio commentary, a special featurette, deleted scenes, a sketch gallery and much more. As a special bonus for fans and collectors, Fox Home Entertainment will release the "The Simpsons" The Complete Eighth Season in two unique packaging options - a special Limited Edition Maggie Simpson box, as well as a collectible, illustrated gatefold digipak.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #457 in DVD
• Brand: TCFHE
• Released on: 2006-08-15
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: AC-3, Animated, Box set, Collector's Edition, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: Albanian, Arabic, English, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Turkish
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Dubbed in: English, French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 4
• Running time: 570 minutes

Amazon.com
Most TV shows never make it eight seasons, but then The Simpsons is not most TV shows. At a point where other shows would generally become stale and repetitive, Matt Groening & Co. pull out the stops to come up with one of the most creative and hilarious seasons in the whole series. Cases in point for season eight (1996-1997) include "Treehouse of Horror VII," in which aliens Kang and Kodos make a bizarre run for President having taken on the appearances of Bill Clinton and Bob Dole; "Bart After Dark," in which Bart gets a job at The Maison Derriere (featuring one of their most popular songs, "The Spring in Springfield"); and one of the great all-time episodes, "The Simpsons Spin-off Showcase," a trilogy of Simpsons spin-offs that never made it to prime-time (the final segment--"The Simpson Family Smile-Time Variety Hour"--is about the best six minutes of parody in the entire Simpsons canon). Season eight also features some of the most notable guest appearances: Rodney Dangerfield as Mr. Burns’s long lost son; Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny as Scully and Mulder from X-Files in "The Springfield Files;" "The Brother from Another Series" which brilliantly pairs up Kelsey Grammar as Sideshow Bob with his brother Cecil (David Hyde Pierce) in a parallel of their Frasier characters; and in a major casting coup, Johnny Cash shows up in the form of a red fox as Homer’s spirit guide in "El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer" (also known as "The Chili Pepper episode"). Other notable episodes include "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show," a fun wink to the audience from the writers about keeping the show fresh without ruining it, and the send up of Mary Poppins "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(annoyed grunt)cious," which has one of their most memorable endings when Shary Bobbins floats off under her umbrella ("So long Superman," Barney cries)... only to get sucked into a jet engine from a passing airplane. That’s the thanks she gets for offering her help. Good to see that, eight seasons in, The Simpsons still don’t need it. --Daniel Vancini

Customer Reviews

"Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos"---Homer
Season 8 may be the last above average season of The Simpsons. It would not be long after this season when I stopped enjoying The Simpsons as much. Their story lines became increasingly over-the-top and the shows were often to intent on focusing on the celebrity of the week. This season starts to go in that direction with some way-out episodes, but is not quite there yet. Season 7 is my favorite but Season 8 has many gems including "The Homer They Fall," "Burns, Baby Burns," "Lisa's Date with Density," "Hurricane Neddy," "Homer Vs. The Eighteenth Amendment," and "In Marge We Trust."

"Treehouse of Horror VII": (a) The Thing and I: Bart finds out he has an evil Siamese brother Hugo; (b) The Genesis Tub: Lisa conducts experiments with her fallen baby tooth and creates a mini society. When she is zapped into miniature size, she warns the little society against the "Dark One" (Bart); (c) Kang and Kodos come to earth posed as Bob Dole and Bill Clinton. Of course, with the two-party system, one of them has to win.
"You Only Move Twice": Homer begins working for Hank Scorpio who is a pleasant and fun boss despite his plans for global terrorism and extortion.
"The Homer They Fall": Homer becomes a boxer with Moe as his manager. All goes well until he has to fight Drederick Tatum. Great Mike Tyson and Don King characters.
"Burn, Baby Burns": Mr. Burns finds out he has a long-lost son (voiced by Rodney Dangerfield) who becomes bosom buds with Homer. Love the line: "This place is emptier than a Scottish pay toilet."
"Bart After Dark": After Bart damages property at an spooky old house, Homer forces Bart to work at the house which turns out to be a burlesque house.
"A Milhouse Divided": Milhouse's parents get divorced and his dad decides to becomes a [bad] singer.

"Lisa's Date with Density": Lisa develops a crush on bully Nelson Muntz and thinks she can change him. I love the scene where Nelson throws a rock at a window and tries to tell Lisa the cops are chasing him and he needs a hideout only to have Homer open the window to tell him Lisa's room is the next window over. I also love the auto-dialer sub-story.
"Hurricane Neddy": One of my all-time favorites. Ned Flanders's house is the only one destroyed in a hurricane and he begins to question his faith. In a flashback, we find out how he started saying doodily, diddily, as a why to hold in rage.
"The Mysterious Voyage of Homer": This is a weird one. Homer eats a bad pepper at a chili cook-off and hallucinates about a coyote who urges Homer to find his soul mate.
"The Springfield Files:" X-Files take-off.
"The Twisted World of Marge Simpson": After being booted out of the Investorettes club for being too conservative, Marge buys a pretzel franchise but keeps hitting stumbling blocks to success. Homer decides to recruit the services of Fat Tony.
"Mountain of Madness": This one is also a little odd. During a survival retreat for the nuclear power plant, Mr. Burns and Homer are snowed-into a cabin and eventually start hallucinating.

"Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala("doh!")cious": The Simpsons need a nanny and hire Mary Pop..,uh,...Shary Bobbins.
"The Itchy and Scratchy and Poochie Show": Homer becomes the voice of a new cartoon character who doesn't go over very well.
"Homer's Phobia": Homer meets a funny guy who runs a collectible shop "Cockamamies" (gotta love that name) named John and is shocked when he discovers John, uh, prefers the company of men. Worst of all, Homer thinks John is influencing Bart.
"Brother From Another Series": (Great title). Sideshow Bob is released from prison and joins forces with his brother Cecil (voiced by David Hyde Pierce, of course, Sideshow Bob is voiced by Kelsey Grammer--get the title?). Could Bob actually be the good guy in this episode???
"My Sister, My Sitter": Lisa becomes Bart's baby sitter and Lisa is afraid she's killed her brother after knocking him down the stairs. This one is a little over-the-top.

"Homer Vs. The Eighteenth Amendment": One of my all-time favorites! Prohibition starts up again in Springfield and Homer assists Moe in creating a speakeasy. Can Homer out-fox Rex Banner?
"Grade School Confidential": Principal Skinner and Mrs. Krabappel start a romance and create controversy at Springfield Elementary. The Skinner is a virgin thing was a little much.
"The Canine Mutiny": Bart gets hold of a fake credit card and buys all kinds of stuff including a pedigree collie, Laddie. When repo-men come to collect the stuff, Bart gives them Santa's Little Helper instead of Laddie and soon regrets the decision.
"The Old Man and the Lisa": Mr. Burns, who's recently lost his fortune, joins forces with Lisa to create a recycling plant. Of course, Mr. Burns could never turn this plant into an evil operation...yeah, right! I love Moe's line about the "Little Lisa" logo: "Ah, isn't that cute. It makes Little Debbie look like a pile of puke."
"In Marge We Trust": Marge becomes the "Listen Lady" and burned-out Mr. Lovejoy is worried she has become more popular than him with his flock.
"Homer's Enemy": Frank Grimes is the new employee at the nuclear power plant and, unlike everyone else, he doesn't accept Homer's incompetence. A very dark episode.
"The Simpsons Spin-off Showcase": A 1970s-style variety show take-off of The Brady Bunch. Just as Jan refused to participate, Lisa is replaced by an actress who looks just like her...yeah, right!
"The Secret War of Lisa Simpson": Bart is forced to enlist in military school and, impressed by the discipline which seems odd since Lisa is such a free thinker that one would not think she'd be attracted to the unquestioning soldier's life, she decides to join, too. And all the boys accept her...uh, no.

The End of an Era...
I looked forward to buying the next released season of The Simpsons on DVD every year, however, getting season eight this year is going to be a bittersweet occasion. Of course, I add yet another solid gold season of The Simpsons to my collection, but this in turn will result in the end of my Simpsons collection. Yes, like many other reviewers of this DVD set on Amazon, I share the same sentiment that this is the last season worth buying. From season 9 and onward, the show grew progressively worse in the long run, and lost what made it worth watching in the first place.

Basically, this is the last season of The Simpsons that retained its witty sense of humor, and didn't resort to outlandish storylines and throwing in celebrity guest stars week after week. Episodes like "You Only Move Twice" (I love the 007 scene), "A Milhouse Divided", "The Twisted World Of Marge Simpson", Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(ANNOYED GRUNT)cious", "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show", "Homer's Phobia", and the classic "Homer's Enemy" exudes the shows last ounces of genius from script to screen. The storylines of these episodes are enjoyable, and captivating from start to finish. The witty humor of the past seasons is well retained in season eight with many side splitting moments of hillarity to prove it. In addition, season eight showcases further development of favorite characters, as well as the introduction of unforgettable new favorites like Frank Grimes and Poochie.

Truly, Season 8 is indeed the end of an era of what was the most brilliantly inventive series on television. Fortunately, it will live infinitely on DVD to be respected and enjoyed by core fans and casual viewers alike.

Still a great year
Keep in mind that a bad Simpsons episode is still better than 99% of the other shows on TV. This season has some instant classics, including my favorite Simpsons episode with Sherry Bobbins, who is NOT Mary Poppins but original like Ricky Rouse and Monald Muck.

It also feature one of my favorite little bits where Homer, trying to prevent Bart from going gay, takes his son to a gay steel meal. Everytime I hear "We work hard, we play hard" I remember this scene and laugh for 20 minutes.

Where do I end? Homer becomes the Beer Baron, Super Villian for Scorpio, a Boxer, Poochie, and befrinds Frank Grimes. Marge starts a pretzel chain and becomes the listen lady. Principal Skinner and Mrs Krabapple fall in love. Chief Wiggum and Moe get their own shows, and everybody except Lisa gets a family-hour show. Bart works at a naughty house and gets his own credit card. The Van Houtens get a divorce. Burns' son return. Lisa goes to an all-boy military school, helps Burns get his money back, and becomes the town babysiter. Ned's house is destroyed by a hurricane. And still more!

Whoever says this year is a down year doesn't know the Simpsons. In the words of comic book guy, that would be the worst ... review ... ever. The only bad part is having to wait.