DVD Review: Fifteenth Season of FOX Hit ‘The Simpsons’

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CHICAGO – TV on DVD has been shaped by Twentieth Century Fox and their releases for “The Simpsons,” one of the best shows in the history of television. It makes a certain degree of sense that one of the longest-running and most beloved programs in history would get the most detailed and elaborate DVD releases but the producers of “The Simpsons” always go above and beyond, as they have again with “The Simpsons: The Complete Fifteenth Season.”

Rating: 4.0/5.0

Of course, as SO MANY will tell you, “The Simpsons” had faltered by its fifteenth season and it’s undeniably so. These are what us fans of the show like to call “the denial years,” those years where we kept watching and telling ourselves that it was good as it always was when it clearly was not. Watching a few episodes again, all well-transfered on DVD, I was struck by the lack of laughs. There’s a smart idea here and there but if you think that the current status of “The Simpsons” — minor diversion but nowhere near as smart as it used to be — is something new, think again. It’s been that way for some time.

And yet the DVD release is still a winner because of the devotion shown it by its producers. Even the packaging show a level of detail and fan love that isn’t often there in releases like this one. Commentaries, deleted scenes, featurettes, introductions — it’s the expected cavalcade of special features that “Simpsons” fans have come to know and love. Set aside some time this holiday season to explore it all.

The Simpsons: The Complete Fifteenth Season was released on DVD on December 4, 2012
Photo credit: Fox

Click here to buy “The Simpsons”

Special Features:
o All Aboard With Matt
o Audio Commentary On Every Episode With Executive Producer Al Jean, Joined By Writers, Actors And Directors
o Deleted Scenes With Commentary
o The Unusual Ones
o Living In The Moment
o Multi-Angle Animation Showcase
o Special Language Feature
o Commercials
o Original Sketches

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com